Friday we completed our five player game of Here I Stand. This post's title gives a clue to the winner.
This is the situation at the end of Turn 5.
France is 2 VPs short.
End of Turn 6.
France is one VP short.
But by the end of Turn 7 France has over achieved.
Richard has provided this detailed commentary on the game. I have added a commnet or two of my own in italics.
Turn 4
The English and Hapsburg sign a white peace and England keeps Antwerp in the bargain. The Hapsburgs aren't happy about it, but at least it prevents a two front war and Metz is safe from the English, leaving the Hapsburgs to deal with the Ottomans.
After rescuing Tyndale from the pyre on a count back (he was only a little bit singed), neither Pope nor Protestant risked another debate for the rest of the game. Besides, the cost of staging Euro-conversion contests being deemed just too steep. Being a frugal bunch, both sides resorted to a massive battle with pamphlets, printed and then burned.
Basel, Zurich and Geneva swing backwards and forwards over the next several turns, however, with Jesuit Universities coming up as a mandatory card (had to be played by the Protestant this turn) and being played in Zurich and Strasbourg and York, this gave the Papacy the decisive edge in holding these areas and counter reforming adjacent areas in subsequent and more importantly, stymieing reformation attempts in France and England which failed to take hold at all until late in the game.
Borrowing from the Kaiser Wilhelm II playbook, on how to win friends and influence people, the Protestants were looking for a deal for not playing City State Rebels. The options were:
Play against Florence - hurting the Papacy
Play against Milan - hurting France
Play against Metz - hurting the Hapsburgs
None of the options represented attractive options to the Protestant as each only ends up favouring one of the other factions and none of the Powers approached wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. No deal was reached this turn. The card was retained for future turns.
With no-one to fight (apart from successfully rolling for the Irish rebels against the English), France found more Lego and continued to build Chateaux, sent forth another explorer, Verrazano (who was subsequently lost at sea) invested in colonial improvements in the form of a colonial governor and Galleons and more troops.
England tried unsuccessfully to put down the revolt in Ireland this turn and the rebellion continued to starve them of opportunities with the 1 less card penalty. Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn, but found her repulsive and the marriage was unconsummated and she was divorced.
The Hapsburgs launched Orellana on a circumnavigation attempt and he claimed the prize - a massive 3VPs
Meanwhile the Ottomans rebuilt their fleet and intercepted the Hapsburgs as they attempted to take Algiers. A massive naval battle saw the Ottomans lose half their fleet even after committing their Home Card for extra dice rolls, retreating back to their bases in the eastern Mediterranean. The Hapsburgs with a massive hand of cards, took several attempts, but eventually overwhelmed the garrison at Algiers and captured that key and built up forces ready for the coming of the Schmalkaldic League and mopped up Ottoman garrisons near Buda, capturing Ibrahim Pasha and imprisoning him.
The winter phase of the turn saw the Schmalkaldic League mandatory event converting Protestant religious influence into political control, with 5 electorates converting.
Turn 5
The New World riches phase was rather disappointing for the Hapsburgs and France, but the English finally got a card from one of their two colonies. (It would not happen again for the rest of the game for the English).
France and the Papacy became allies, the Hapsburgs negotiated a white peace with the Ottomans, giving the Hapsburgs a free hand to crush the Schmalkaldic league in the turn ahead. A perfect opportunity for the Ottomans to get back at the Hapsburgs gifted away. What did the Ottomans gain for this gift? well, um, err.....Did someone say KFC? (Kafir Fried Chicken to you unbelievers)
With his back secured, Charles V marched a large army across the Germany, intent on smashing the Schmalkaldic League and capturing as many Electorates as possible for the VP. First stop, Schmalkaldic league, next stop Antwerp! Making straight for Augsburg, the Electorate was immediately besieged.
With extremely weak forces, the Protestant fights dirty and uses Carlstadt in a series of reformation attempts which he hoped to fail, as this would result in unrest markers being placed. Predictably, the reformation attempts failed and the result is unrest along the Hapsburg LOC thus preventing an assault on Augsburg. Forced to put down the unrest for an impulse to restore the LOC, the Protestant, fighting to buy time, impudently marched a small force lead by John Frederick to Vienna and laid siege to the paltry single unit garrison. With the prospect of an embarrassing loss of Vienna, Charles V abandons the siege of Augsburg and marches back to Vienna to relieve the siege. John Frederick fails to avoid battle and the plucky protestant force is wiped out and John Frederick makes the acquaintance of Ibrahim Pasha in the Vienna dungeon they are both held captive in. Neither would see their homelands for the rest of the game.
With right of passage through France, the Pope's Hired Help Tour Troupe marvel at the Chateaux building in France and make their way to Switzerland to bully the locals (I guess that makes them "Papal Bull"-ies) and deter them from the reformed Church.
The Protestant can only use guerrilla tactics at this stage and takes a swipe at the Papal power base playing "Andrea Doria" to de-activate Genoa as a Papal ally. With the reformation burning around them, the bitterness of the fight against the Hapsburgs is too much for the Protestant and they play City State Rebels against Hapsburg controlled Metz. The weak Hapsburg garrison is wiped out and Metz briefly regains its independence.
France swoops in and besieges Metz and then claims it for herself, to the chagrin of the Hapsburgs. (One card could have avoided all this... just sayin'). With few cards and no allies, the Protestant is at the mercy of Hapsburg assault on the political base and Papal assault on the religious base.
The Hapsburgs play "Michael Servetus" for 1 VP which also removes a card from the Protestant. Cards can only be randomly traded which lessens viability of the deal the Protestant was trying to make with the play of City State Rebels.
The Reformation finally got underway in England, however, due to a mix up, the wrong liturgy was handed out to English soldiers and the reformation failed to gain any traction. With the Irish Rebellion still raging, it was eventually put down, with a 1 VP war winner awarded to the English.
Turn 6
Montreal, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico are all eliminated by natives and unsurprisingly the least successful colonial power, England, also fails to generate any cards for the turn ahead.
The Ottomans declare war on the Hapsburgs and recapture Buda before marching on Vienna. The Hapsburg plays Tercios and the hapless Ottomans suffer yet another defeat at the hands of the Hapsburgs. Suleiman is suspected of apostasy and dares not show his face in Istanbul. The merchants in the spice markets mock him mercifully, renaming a herb after him which is more bitter than his Janissaries.
France decides to make a play for victory. With Metz secured, they play Machiavelli and launch an attack on the Hapsburg controlled Navarre, besieging it. The Hapsburgs counter by bringing their victorious fleet from the Mediterranean to prevent Navarre being assaulted.
Charles V rushes back to the Iberian peninsula and rallies forces with play of his Home card, but France played the Treachery card and in spite of the Hapsburg fleet normally preventing an assault, France captures Navarre in a stunning blow to Hapsburg pride. It doesn't last long and Charles V quickly ejects the French from Navarre and threatens France proper.
The Hapsburgs play Copernicus for a gain of 1 VP.
Luther dies and is replaced by Calvin, however, the Protestant loses the ability to retrieve cards from the discard pile and in a mix up, fails to use the Protestant Home card for CPs for the rest of the game.
England was still trying to put down the Irish rebellion this turn, finally completing the task after multiple failed attempts and heavy losses. With cards exhausted, Henry VIII remarried, Jane Seymour this time, but she was found cavorting with gentlemen at the court, beheaded and another wife, Anne of Cleves produces a girl, Elizabeth, but fails to produce a male heir and is beheaded after charges of adultery. After exhausting all cards, another roll on the marriage table results in the birth of a sickly Edward VI leaving England only one last possible attempt at producing a healthy heir and avoiding Mary Queen of Scots taking the throne on Henry's death, which is possible from this turn onwards.
The reformation finally takes hold in England, after the correct prayer books are issued to the troops, and the correct number of dice are rolled in reformation attempts. It is too little too late for England at this stage.
France conquers the Incas for a 2 VP gain.
Turn 7
New World Riches are non-existent this turn.
With France 1 VP short of a win at the end of the turn and only the Hapsburgs capable of preventing a win by France, it was up to the Hapsburgs to prevent a certain victory and send the game into another turn. With stomach grumbling and the hearth unstoked and despite being unexpectedly attacked the previous turn, having Metz snatched by France, the Hapsburgs entered into a dubious alliance with their erstwhile enemy. et pourquoi? Just one key regained from France would be enough to delay a certain victory for France this turn and allow a clawback. With a big hand, a big army it was do-able with enough will.
Instead, the Hapsburgs continue to mess up the Schmalkaldic league, but fail by 1 to secure them all this turn. They capture Phillip of Hesse who joins John Frederick and Ibrahim Pasha in the dungeon of Vienna. It gains them precious little, other than satisfaction and revenge on their nemesis for the loss of Antwerp and Metz (not that there's anything wrong with that of course...). The Papal helpers spread out throughout German speaking lands and the reformation is rolled back, surviving on the North German plain only at turns end.
The Ottomans decided to invent state sponsored terrorism and played Revolt in Ireland by the IRA (Infidel Revolting Army), forcing the English player to put down another revolt, with more success this time, taking only 2 impulses with another 1 VP for war winner to England.
Henry VIII takes his last "shot" at producing a healthy male heir. Anything but a "2" on the marriage table with Catherine Parr will do. In what can only be described as "representative" of England's game, this is exactly what comes up. England finally makes some extra progress in the reformation and with the birth of Elizabeth, comes up to a respectable score in the VP rankings, finishing with 17, equal with the Papacy.
The turn ended with the Council of Trent. Won by the Papacy (they wrote the rules after all) resulting in 3 electorates being counter reformed.
With the necessary 25 (26 scored) VPs in the victory determination phase, France,slides to victory and is declared the winner. Most players are unaware who played the French, as they only showed up briefly in Turn 6 to pick over the carcass of Metz after they ran out of Lego for Chateaux. Vive La Roi! Vive Jef!
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