Unboxing: Here I Stand 500th Anniversary Reprint Edition, 2nd Printing (GMT Games)

I recently received three games I had ordered on GMT’s P500: Washington’s War (third printing), For the People (fourth printing), and Here I Stand 500th Anniversary Reprint Edition (second printing). All new printings of classic, well-known, and loved wargames. I have been buying wargames for quite some time, but I had never managed to have money, interest, and opportunity align well enough for me to procure any of these. Well, until now, of course. I could not wait to get inside the boxes, and look at what I had, so I figured I would write a little, so anyone interested could see as well.

All three of these games interested me, but I started by looking at Here I Stand. It is a game that combines military, political, and religious conflict, all in a Card Driven Game (CDG) package, but apparently is only a ‘good’ game with either exactly three or six players (although a quick check of the rules shows that a two-player variant exists). Something like this seems like a great fit for our yearly gaming get together (assuming my friends were interested), although I do not think that is going to be my goal game this year.
Anyway, let’s look and see what we have.

First the box:

Well, right there on the cover, the game includes a two-player variant. The 500th anniversary edition is an upgraded edition of the game, including six new cards, some card revisions, and some rule changes ported over from Virgin Queen. I have no reference to how extensive the changes are, but if you were going to buy the game, why wouldn’t you get the new one?

Back of the box:

The game is given a two for solitaire suitability, which feels generous, with six player factions and hidden information (the cards in hand). A complexity of six, to me, implies that the game is more complex than your average CDG, which I completely believe.

Next up, we have a couple of books, starting with the scenario book:

I am sure they will update the version they have on their home page, but you can see the previous version of this book here.

Three scenarios are included, and the book mentions that the longest of these should take around eight hours, if everyone is familiar with the rules. It also provides a map of where players should sit, around the board (depending on the power they are playing).

Full color, with a lot of information (this image is from the extended example of play).

Next up, we have the rule book:

You can find the previous edition of the rules here. They will almost certainly post the newest version of the rules on their page at some point, of course. It reads quite clear, and honestly seems like a game that would be straightforward to get on the table.

One power card for each power in the game:

Each power has actions they can perform that may differ from the other powers, and a variety of different rules that apply to them. These will provide an effective way to keep track of what you can do, and how you are progressing towards your victory.

On the back of each card are setup details for the 1532 scenario:

A simpler alternative to setting it up from the scenario book, I guess.

Next, we have two identical Sequence of Play cards:

On one side is the information for the normal game, and on the other side is the information for the two-player game, as shown in the picture. Seeing which cards are added at the start of any given turn will be handy, too.

Next, a set of identical Reference Cards:

The action summary will help a player figure out what they can do on their turn, and the reverse side gives a summary of the distinct types of combat, and the modifiers for each type. Really helpful looking. Maybe one would have to make copies when playing though, one for each player? I admit, I do not know, but if I manage to play this, I will have to think about it, just as a precaution.

Next is the Religious Struggle Card:

Religious conflict is a core part of this game, and conversion of spaces to Protestantism is a way for the Protestant player to win an automatic victory. The debate area is a way to convert spaces and score VPs, and it seems to be tied to language zones in the game, which is a very intriguing rule inclusion that I do not believe I have seen elsewhere. The Reformation, and rules related to the religious struggle, take up six pages of the rulebook, so this is a major component of the game. Very interesting looking.

Five countersheets are included.

There are counters for various military units, markers to show control of spaces, game effect reminder markers, debaters, game track markers, leader counters, and standee punch-outs to go in their holders:

A beautiful, mounted map:

Included are ten dice in two colors:

Used for resolving conflicts, both military and religious.

The core mechanic of the game revolves around these cards:

The rules state there are 110 such cards, including Home Cards (available to their respective power every turn), mandatory event cards (effects that have to go off when they make it into your hand), response cards (allowing you to do something during an opponent’s turn), combat cards (providing some effect in combat), and event cards. Cards are easy to read and seem pretty self-explanatory in their effects. Pretty standard CDG fare, and perfectly good at their job.

Next up is a Diplomacy Deck, which is used in the two-player game to simulate the actions of the non-player powers.

And that is all the components. This seems like an incredible game, impressive in its scope, and honestly a little unbelievable, to me, that they manage to fit so many different facets of conflict into an eight-hour experience.

It also looks like the next printing of Virgin Queen is going to ship in July or so, meaning I will have a second title to impress me the same way. I am quite looking forward to it.

Unboxing: Burning Banners (Compass Games)

A hex and counter fantasy wargame? Has an easier sale ever been made (to me)? No, probably not. I can't remember how I first heard about this game, but after a brief look online at the components and seeing discussion about people's excitement over this game, I quickly placed my order. This is the first game from Compass Games I have ever purchased (although I own one, given to me by my friend Eric S.). After a long reroute, courtesy of the USPS, this game arrived at my door, and I was finally able to see what all the excitement was about.

This is, as I said, a fantasy wargame, where you command one (or more) kingdoms, and fight as part of an alliance against opposing kingdoms. The game contains six such kingdoms, each with its own special rules and heroes. There is also treasure to find, spells to cast, roaming monsters to deal with... really, it seems to have everything you would want from such a game. As with any game, however, it is always nice to see what the components look like, so that is what I am going to cover.

First, a look at the box.

Very nice looking! The Rage of the Witch Queen label on the left me wondering if we could expect to see more of this series someday, and apparently expansions are planned. Great news, and something to look forward to. Now, the back of the box, where we usually find a lot of useful information:

Lots of information, and a list of components, which I will show as part of this article. Low-Medium complexity is good to know- although I certainly would not have minded higher complexity, it probably is not a great fit for a fantasy wargame.

Next up, we have the art print pack, unlocked on Kickstarter:

I do not believe these have any role in the game, just a nice bonus featuring the work of the artist (known for his MTG and D&D art). These are quite nice looking, and the back of the box is wrong, as you clearly get more than six.

There are four books included in the game. First up, the book of lore:

To me, this is a very necessary inclusion into a new fantasy world, so I am pleased to see it included. Something I will have to read whenever I have some time to relax, especially if more products come out for the game.

Next, we get a rulebook:

Always important in a boardgame. I read through it already, and really like what I see. I have *heard* that Compass Games products tend to require quite a lot of rulebook errata and FAQs. I can't personally speak to that, but I feel like it's worth mentioning. I believe there is already a file on BGG with corrections/clarifications that is sitting at about three pages. I'm sure it will be fine.

There are rules for a basic and advanced game, with the latter adding heroes, magic, treasures, random monsters, and more. I am going to be honest, just in my short reading of the rules thus far, I probably will just hop straight into the advanced game.

The final book in the box is the campaign book, which contains the various campaigns (or what I would normally call a scenario).

There are 27 included campaigns (plus an introductory campaign). Seventeen of the campaigns show various periods in the history of the world, with a variety of forces, starting situations, and so on. The final ten campaigns cover the 'War of the Burning Banners', which is the story focus of this game. You can fight out the full war as a single game by starting with the first campaign, and then using the final campaign's victory conditions. You can have a truly epic game, it sounds like, although the various scenarios would be fun for telling you how the war progressed 'historically'.

Ignoring the introductory scenario, here are the counts for number of players and boards:

• Two players, one map - six scenarios
• Two players, two maps - two scenarios
• Three players, one map - two scenarios
• Three players, two maps - two scenarios
• Four players, one map - one scenario
• Four players, two maps - three scenarios
• Four players, four maps - one scenario
• Five players, two maps - one scenario
• Five players, four maps - five scenarios
• Six players, four maps - four scenarios

Any of these could be played with fewer players, with a player running multiple kingdoms, of course. I will say, I am really impressed with the variety of campaign choices- two players on a single map is likely a common way this will be played, and plenty of choices are provided for that. They did a very good job here.

Next up, we have the dice:

The game includes both six-sided and eight-sided dice. Because the core combat mechanic involves rolling five or better, this provides an effective way to create differing capabilities for units.

The game comes with four maps:

These are mounted, beautiful, and combine to form a large map to fight over. What a great world to play in!

These are just beautiful. The way they will look, with all four on the table in a large game will be undoubtedly incredible.

Some player aids are included:

Nice quality, and there are helpful aids on the BGG page for this game, too.

There are quite a number of cards in the game, separated into decks identified by their backs.

Spells (used in the advanced game if you have Mages available):

Treasure, for when you defeat a Monster (advanced game):

Blessings, with one deck per Kingdom, which are also used only in the advanced game:

There are some quick setup cards, which you can use instead of the rulebook to set up campaigns:

There are a bunch of hero cards, used in the advanced game, which are special characters who can be built and provide special abilities and enhancements to your armies:

Finally, you get some Kingdom reference cards, which show the special abilities/rules for each Kingdom:

The Magic Card Display is used in the advanced game to hold Draw and Discard piles for the various magic-related decks.

The Season Display/Income Track:

This tracks the game turn, the turn order, during each turn, the amount of gold each Kingdom has, the revolt status of the Eastern Kingdom, and space for the Arcane Study Markers, which tell players what to do doing the Arcane Study phase in the advanced game. These playmats (including the next group) are all on very thick cardboard and are extremely good quality. Just a top-notch product.

There are Kingdom playmats, one per Kingdom, to hold your forces, markers, and Heroes (in the advanced game):

The game includes seven nice, thick countersheets, filled with beautiful counters:

(Above is the only one I show the back of the countersheet for, just to give you a taste of what the reverse side looks like).

And there you have it- those are all the components for this game. It seems like incredible value for everything you get- an absolutely wonderful product. I have already read the rules in anticipation of getting this on the table someday, which will be eased by the large variety of campaigns available.

Compass really seems to have hit a home run with this one, just based on the components and the rules. I cannot wait to play it, and I cannot wait to see what they do next with this world.