To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Marignano in 2015, I designed a game using the “Gold & Steel” system, published by Ludifolie and later taken over by Serious Historical Games : Marignan 1515.
Time flies, and here we are on a new anniversary date – with more far-reaching consequences for the arms of France – with the Battle of Pavia (February 24, 1525). A reading (Pavie 1525), then a meeting in Lyon (with Julien the author of Pavie 1525) and some availability with my regular artists (Pascal, Sébastien, Giuseppe) convinced me to repeat the process to celebrate this campaign leading up to the battle of Pavia in Lombardy…
At present, I’ve finished consolidating my readings (a brief bibliography will soon be available on this blog), which convinced me to expand the scenario: the game won’t just feature the military campaign leading up to Pavia, but the entire 6th Italian War, beginning in 1521. The strategic map will include part of southern France, invaded by the Imperials led by defector Charles de Bourbon, former constable of France, and notably the strategic city of Marseille, which has been under siege for 40 days.
For those who own Marignan 1515, la chevauchée de François 1er en Italie, the map will be twice as large (85 x 60cm), with the same number of counters (216 in 15mm format) and a thick rules and scenario booklet in English and French. The game will be available in a cardboard folder or ziplock format, or in a box, as yet undefined.
Pre-orders will open in June, for release in autumn 2025. The edition will be limited to 500 copies, so don’t miss this 8th opus in the “Gold & Steel” series to celebrate the 500th anniversary of this battle.