This War Without an Enemy

The First English Civil War was the most significant of a series of conflicts that raged across England, Scotland, and Ireland during the middle of the 17th century. The three kingdoms were all ruled by King Charles I, whose unpopular religious policies sparked two wars with his Scottish subjects, while his fights with the English Parliament over money also escalated into armed conflict. The Royalist forces fighting for the king were opposed by the English Parliamentarian troops and their Scottish allies in a struggle for political, economic, and religious control of England.

This War Without an Enemy is a 2-player strategic block wargame, in which one player controls the Royalists and the other the Parliamentarians. The aim of the game is to acquire Victory Points through the capture of cities held by the opponent and, for the Parliamentarian player, by capturing the king.

At the beginning of each turn, both players choose a card which enables them to move and reinforce their troops, and usually also enacts an event. Then battles and storming of cities are resolved, followed by sieges and attrition. Each player has their own deck of cards which is adjusted from year to year to reflect the historical progression of the war. The regional nature of the conflict is recreated using Leader and Regional blocks, as well as rules for regional recruitment. The resolution of field battles includes special rules for artillery, cavalry and infantry, while an innovated system has been designed for storming and sieges.

There are 5 scenarios for the game, varying from a short 6-turn introduction through to the full war up of to 27 turns.

Contents:

Ages: 14+
Players: 2
Game Length: 60-240 minutes