1618 AD: The Thirty Years War began.

The small German states are divided into Catholic and Protestant camps. But for political rather than religious reasons, foreign powers are moved to intervene. There are Wallenstein, called the Emperor's General, the Count of Pappenheim, and also the Swedish king, Gustav Adolf. All of them would happily join in the conflict. No matter which camp they belong to, each one is looking out for his own best interests. Nevertheless, you must protect your land and thus you need sufficient troops at the right places.

But the conquering of land is merely a means to an end. The actual aim is to increase the value of your lands by constructing the most impressive buildings. The people have to eat and the army and buildings need to be financed, but you must work with very limited taxation so that the farmers will not rebel.

There's lots to do all over the place, but in each area you may only do one of 10 actions each season. Try to overcome all obstacles in order to be the strongest power when a new order in Europe is settled due to the Westfaeali Peace in 1648.

Historically, Albrecht von Wallenstein, duke of Friedland and Mecklenburg was one of the most important mercenary commanders of the Imperial army during the Thirty Years War (1618-48). His overweening ambition was to head a large central European empire which got him dismissed in 1630. Such was his power, however, that the empire was forced to reinstate him when Sweden came into the fray. He recovered Bohemia, but was defeated by Gustavus Adolphus at Lützen, and was again dismissed. His subsequent intrigues with Protestant forces alarmed the Catholic princes who were probably complicit in his assassination in 1634 by Irish mercenaries at Eger, Bohemia.
 

This game is Out-of-Print but it is republished in late 2006 as Shogun with changes to theme and some rules changes. Buy Shogun now

1 Game Board
5 Player Game Maps
45 Province Cards
25 Blank Province Cards
5 Leader Cards
10 Action Cards
25 Event Cards
80 Building Markers
- 28 Palaces
- 26 Churches
- 26 Marketplaces
42 Peasant Unrest Markers
62 Armies in each of the 5 player colors
20 Peasant Armies (Green)
55 Gold Point Treasure Chests
- 35 1-gold Point (Natural)
- 20 5-gold Point (Orange(
1 Cube Tower
1 Sorting Tray
1 Rulebook (German)

Download the English Rulebook here.　

AWARDS
	Games Magazine GAMES 100 Best Advanced Strategy Game Runner-up 2003
	International Gamers Awards Best Strategy Game Nominee 2003

Employs the cube tower (above) included in the publisher's previous game, Im Zeichen des Kreuzes.