Here is the detail of my next game, which will be published soon, in may, in the issue 180 of the magazine Vae Victis (preorders available here).
VaeVictis Game 180: The Conquest of Hungary 1526
The seventh game in the Gold & Steel series, The Conquest of Hungary 1526 is a historical simulation featuring one of the many Ottoman attempts to conquer the Kingdom of Hungary, culminating in the infamous Battle of Mohacs on August 29, 1526, where the army of Suleyman the Magnificent massacred most of the Hungarian army and its allies, as well as King Laszlo II.
One player plays the role of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies (Transylvania / Walachia, Croatia, Moldova, Poland-Lithuania, Germany, Bohemia), while the other player plays the Ottoman Empire and its allies (Serbia, Bosnia, and the Crimean Khanate). The objectives are to take control of different territories (Pest, the main capital), win pitched battles or major sieges, and eliminate units, leaders, and the King or Sultan!
This is both a strategic and tactical game, with garrisons and armies evolving on the main strategic map representing the Balkan countries, and units fighting on a tactical map representing a typical 16th-century battlefield.
The Christian units are gendarmes (heavy cavalry), hussars (light cavalry), mounted archers, arquebusiers, archers, militiamen, pikemen, swords and shields, and cannons. The Ottoman units are Janissaries, Sipahis (medium cavalry), Kapikulu (heavy cavalry), mounted archers, militias from Anatolia and Roumelia, and numerous cannons. The atmosphere of this period is complemented by tactical counters with specific applications for combat—shooting and close combat—(cavalry charge in line or in deep ranks, rampart shield, mortal combat, waggonberg, cannon battery, cannon fire, feint, arrow harassment, encirclement) and events such as rain, disagreement between leaders, betrayal, janissary mutiny, artillery ineffectiveness, etc.
A turn lasts two weeks and the game is played over 12 turns. The complete sequence of a turn:
I/ Ottoman Empire
- Reinforcement, replacement, withdrawal, recruitment
- Strategic movement
- Attrition phase
- Combat phase (battles and sieges)
II/ Kingdom of Hungary
Same sequence
III/ Diplomatic phase
- Change of alliance
- Victory verification
Scale
1 turn = 2 weeks
1 FP = from 500 to 2000 men
Complexity: 6/10
Can be played solo: 4/10
Game duration: approximately 2 hours
The counters
The map
Size : 42 x 29.7 cm.