The Great Crisis of Frederick II - another board wargame played solo

Got this title from VUCA Simulations back on to table and played through solo to completion over couple of evenings.

A very visually attractive game (a VUCA trait) with low rules overhead and point to point system.

It is very much a dice fest style game with massed units (limit of 8 units making a move but no limits to 'stacking' in an area) in Field Battles hurling bunches of dice needing 6 to hit (Leaders can add +1 to +3 to chances) so can be large swings in fortune which is fine in solo-mode but might not be so desirable in face to face play.

Units are all generic 'Infantry' with 2 steps with reverse side being Damaged status (cannot be used in Field Battles only Siege Defence) that can be restored. Units that are destroyed go into a Force Pool but Leaders killed are permanently lost.

Forts can be besieged and these can be tough to take (especially with my rolling) as only 6 hits (Leaders do not modify) although they only ever have a garrison of 1 or 2 units depending on Fort type.

It is a chit pull system (nations have varied amount of chits in pool) with an End Turn chit that came up very frequently in my game even when chit pool at its max (2 Prussian 2 British, 1 French, 1 Russian (just as well as there a ton of Ivans) and 2 Austrian which also controls the minor Swedish, Saxon and Holy Roman Empire forces). Prussia starts with its 2 chits and other nations appear within first several turns giving Frederick a brief window of initiative/opportunity at game start.

When (if) a nations chit is pulled they roll a dice to establish action points they can spend to restore losses, move and fight or continue an ongoing siege with any retreats conducted previously deducting from this total. Prussians get an inherent +2 to this roll

There are 2 small decks of cards for Prussian (Prussia with Britain/Hannover) and Austrian Alliances (Austria, minor nations and France and Russia - although from 1762 Russia can changes side if Catherine dies by dice roll) to use, these have various impacts on proceedings (modifiers to combat and similar).

Turns are conducted by having 5 possible turns each year (bar first which as only 2) with a Winter phase (during which off-table reserves are mobilized and besieging armies can suffer attrition losses) ending each year. So there can be a lot of possible activity barring the End Turn chit appearing and game could take awhile as some 32 possible turns with 7 Winter phases.

Resource cities are key to game with their loss or capture influencing size of card hand and victory with Prussia under real pressure as they lose if they lose 2 resource areas (from possible 10) or 1 plus Berlin at end of any enemy phase.

Frederick is best leader in game (the only +3 leader) and has some unique combat cards only he can use but he cannot be everywhere and subject vagaries of dice like all lesser mortals.

The Austrians and their allies are more numerous than Fredericks Alliance but with only 1 chit the Russians often fail to act in a turn which showcases their ponderous methods quite well.

My game ended in 1761 with Austrians taking Berlin and having recovered a couple of lost resource areas to force Prussia into surrender.

Overall a fast playing and simple game, nice as a solo experience but lacking depth and rather lucktastic in many regards. Frederick needs to fairly lucky with chit pulls and dicing but then I suppose he also did so in reality.

Great Crisis Of Frederick II - solo play through

Managed to get a play through of Great Crisis of Frederick II over last day or so.

It is indeed a light (quite lucktastic) rendering of the Seven Years War in Europe but an enjoyable time was had even solo.

Boy oh boy the Prussians and their British/Hanovarian Allies are well outnumbered and after initial Prussian offensives at wars opening (only Prussian get to act on Turn 1) their backs are really up against the wall on multiple fronts.

The Austrians are a match numerically for Prussians with some limited support from Sweden, Holy Roman Empire and Saxony (all part of Austrian Alliance) but France outnumber Allies greatly and the Russians once they arrive are a juggernaut (some of their Commander levels seemed bit generous).

Prussians got bogged down in several lengthy sieges whilst Austrian Alliance bidded their time and built up irresistibly awaiting Russians to crush Prussia in a pincer.

Prussia has so many areas to manage threats from it is a real juggling act for them and they are susceptible to defeats/reverses and their consequences.

They suffered from below average Action Point rolls (you roll a single D6 with Prussians adding +2) and not very kind sequence of Action Chit selections (they missed one of their 2 possible activations on a couple of turns).

Once Russians arrived it was dire for Prussia as just could not stop the Tsumami from the east, of course only learning game mechanics (fairly straightforward) so better overall strategy might assist.

Combined with losses to Resource Forts (including several recaptures) the Prussians succumbed in 1759 when Berlin fell to Russia (there is auto win for Allies if Berlin captured and Prussian resource areas drop to certain level.

Catherine can die (and Russians change allegiance) later in game which would most certainly put Austria on back foot but tough to survive that long. 

Overall a fun game (as always would be much better 2 player) and certainly showcases just how lucky in many ways Frederick was in reality. 

Russians arrive on Prussian eastern flank besieging and taking Koingsberg 

French begin to mass to push on western regions

Frederick bogged down in siege warfare as enemy encroaches from France and Austria

Large Prussian force isolated at Neisse (they did 'breakout' later)

French pressuring British/Hanoverians as Austrians push north and Russians flood west

Prussian forces being 'pocketed' in central Germany as Berlin falls (blue cube)

British looking thinner on ground but holding on 

Campaign ends 

Chain of Command and The Great Crisis of Frederick II

Another bash with CoC today using our 15mm kit and another scenario from the 'Scottish Corridor' Pint Sized Campaign again as a standalone scenario.

This one was 'Encounter At Le Valtru' which has SS (Stephen again) against Scots (yours truly) in a patrol/probe type encounter both with 16 support points.

I added a Churchill, 2 x MMG Teams and an Entrenchment. 

Germans had a Tiger and a 75mm Howitzer dug in and an off table Adjutant.

Patrol phase saw Krauts gain a central table line whilst Scots had a lonely jump off point at village edge whilst others were 'forced' back to cornfield.

Huns managed to form a bit of a strongpoint in buildings with a full section (with the nasty 18 dice for 2 MG42s) later assisted by the Infantry Gun, which managed to break a Vickers team I had deployed.

Added injury was one volley that saw Huns inflict a single kill which my attached Senior Officer decided to absorb and I lost 3 Force Morale (I started with lowly 8 to Hun 10)

I did bring on my Churchill to engage said strongpoint but was soon engaged by Tiger but survived, indeed I later hit the Big Cat with 4 hits (pretty good from 7 dice) and he only saved 3 so he took shock and driver 'stunned'.

But losses mounted elsewhere and further broken saw me dip to a single Force Moral and therefore just a single Command Dice and then a Turn ending use of a CoC Dice ended game as a unit Routed and Morale evaporated.

Another fun game with CoC (we are warming to it) and great to again finish a game, albeit a smallish affair.

As ever not a lot to see in pics as low unit density on table

Germans have deployed on central locations

Scots MMG and section deploy around stream and get punished (it was here the Senior chap to rear bit the dust).

Huns pushing on their left

Strongpoint forming (75mm IG later appeared in front of wall)

I also obtained another board wargame (on bit of a binge at present after a hiatus) with arrival of 'The Great Crisis Of Frederick II' from VUCA Simulations which is a light game on SYW in Europe (certainly compared to 'Clash of Monarchs' which is much more in-depth, detailed and complex) and is a hybrid of Chit Pull with Point to Point movement and Tactical Cards 

Only just set the game up and am perusing the brief rules but its another eye catching game from VUCA chaps.