Friedrich (board game)
Encyclopedia
Friedrich is a strategic board game about the events of the Seven Years' War
. It was created by Richard Sivél, published in 2004, and won the prize for the Best Historical Simulation by Games magazine in 2006.
(Frederick the Great
), Russia
(Tsarina
Elizabeth), Austria
(Maria Theresa
), and France
(Madame de Pompadour
). In addition to those, Sweden, Hanover and the Imperial Army are also part of the game.
The game is set on a map that resembles both the topography and the political situation at the time of the Seven Years' War. The players move their nations' generals and armies and struggle for dominance in Europe. Following historic reality, Prussia fights against all the other players, who try to snatch parts of Prussia's territory by capturing strategically important cities.
Also following historic reality, the course of the game is ultimately determined by events that cannot be controlled by the players: the sudden death of Tsarina Elisabeth for example, which in reality became the turning point of the war. These events are modeled by Cards of Fate, one of which is randomly drawn after each round starting on the sixth turn. Although many of the cards have small benefits, such as allowing a general an extra movement at the end of a round or the loss or gain of a single army, four cards represent these pivotal turning points. This way, the attacking nations of Sweden, Russia, and France (requires two cards instead of one) have to quit the game one after the other, but not necessarily at the same time or in the same order. Should Prussia manage to defend itself until these three nations drop out of the war, Friedrich wins the game. Otherwise, the first attacking nation that succeeds in capturing all of its objective cities from Prussia or his ally Hanover is declared the winner. Rules exist for primary and secondary objective cities, and whether or not all the cities are required to win is dependent on which countries remain in the game. For example, Sweden only has to capture his primary objective cities and not his secondary objective cities if Russia drops out of the war.
What is noteworthy about this game is that, although the rule system is very small and simple, each of the nations has its very own character and needs to be played completely differently from all the others. Still, all the players have roughly the same chances of winning. This was achieved by elaborate statistical analysis during game development, and by delicate fine-tuning of the game's balance both in the board design and the rule system.
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
. It was created by Richard Sivél, published in 2004, and won the prize for the Best Historical Simulation by Games magazine in 2006.
Outline of the Game
Three to four players command the nations that were involved in the war: PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
(Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
), Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(Tsarina
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Elizabeth), Austria
History of Austria
The history of Austria covers the history of the current country of Austria and predecessor states, from the Iron Age, through to a sovereign state, annexation by the German Third Reich, partition after the Second World War and later developments until the present day...
(Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
), and France
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
(Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
). In addition to those, Sweden, Hanover and the Imperial Army are also part of the game.
The game is set on a map that resembles both the topography and the political situation at the time of the Seven Years' War. The players move their nations' generals and armies and struggle for dominance in Europe. Following historic reality, Prussia fights against all the other players, who try to snatch parts of Prussia's territory by capturing strategically important cities.
Also following historic reality, the course of the game is ultimately determined by events that cannot be controlled by the players: the sudden death of Tsarina Elisabeth for example, which in reality became the turning point of the war. These events are modeled by Cards of Fate, one of which is randomly drawn after each round starting on the sixth turn. Although many of the cards have small benefits, such as allowing a general an extra movement at the end of a round or the loss or gain of a single army, four cards represent these pivotal turning points. This way, the attacking nations of Sweden, Russia, and France (requires two cards instead of one) have to quit the game one after the other, but not necessarily at the same time or in the same order. Should Prussia manage to defend itself until these three nations drop out of the war, Friedrich wins the game. Otherwise, the first attacking nation that succeeds in capturing all of its objective cities from Prussia or his ally Hanover is declared the winner. Rules exist for primary and secondary objective cities, and whether or not all the cities are required to win is dependent on which countries remain in the game. For example, Sweden only has to capture his primary objective cities and not his secondary objective cities if Russia drops out of the war.
What is noteworthy about this game is that, although the rule system is very small and simple, each of the nations has its very own character and needs to be played completely differently from all the others. Still, all the players have roughly the same chances of winning. This was achieved by elaborate statistical analysis during game development, and by delicate fine-tuning of the game's balance both in the board design and the rule system.
Events
- On July 14–16, 2006, the first "Friedrich World Championship" was held in Berlin, in remembrance of the 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the Seven Years' War. The first Friedrich World Champion was Josef Gundel, playing as Prussia.
- On August 31 to September 2, 2007, the "2nd Friedrich World Championship" was held in Berlin at the same locale. The Second World Champion was Anton Telle, also playing as Prussia.
- The "3rd Friedrich World Championship" was held in Berlin on September 5 – 7th, 2008, with Bernd Preiß becoming the Third World Champion, playing as France.
- The "4th Friedrich World Championship" from October 30 to November 1, 2009, was won by Björn Apelqvist as Russia.
- The "5th Friedrich World Championship" from October 1 to 3, 2010, was won by Daniel Dunbring as Prussia.
- The "6th Friedrich World Championship" from September 30 to October 2, 2011, was won by Manfred Wichmann as Prussia.