How would it look like?

[Nico[PL]]

Would this game "Swords Around a Throne" be something like Empire in Arms? Diplomacy, economic actions and war:) or like War and Peace - just war?

[Edgar]

Any Playtester can explain us how many time will long a campaign, if the game has 100 rules pages, how it uses the cards, if the 2 player is fun or better with 6, etc, etc?

[kzucker]

Nico, The game is much more detailed than those you mentioned. The idea is to show some of the difficulties of organizing a nation for war.

Edgar, Right now the game-turns represent 20 days each. That makes two hundred turns from 1804 to 1815. Playing time ±100 hours. The rules will probably be 24 or 28 pages plus a separate book for scenarios and historical notes.

[kzucker]

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who can cite information regarding the size of the economies of the countries of Europe in the 1805-15 period.

[Arsaces]

Mr. Zucker,

Paul Kennedy's books The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers and The Rise and Fall of a British Naval Mastery are both easily accessible and contain various charts which compare the principal world economies during the period.
Fernand Braudel's Civilisation matérielle, économie et capitalisme should also be useful, though it may be more difficult to find in the US.

Best regards,

Marc-André Brie

[kzucker]

Marc,

Thanks. I will definitely check out those sources. Braudel is certainly well-known here, even in the original.

Victory in this game will be decided upon economics.

[Nicola]

Kevin,

will be able to finish the war with 200 turns?
Anyway, looking forward to it ...

Nicola

[kzucker]

Nico,

It would be 200 turns if the game continued to the bitter end with war on every turn (which could not happen). If the game turn is a peace turn there will be no operations- only some diplomatic and economic events.

[Nicola]

Kevin,

your answer presses me to know even more of the game.
Hope this may happen soon,

Nicola

[kzucker]

Hi Nico,

We will be learning some lessons from the design of La Guerre de l'Empereur, in particular, how to model the shifting alliances, and most importantly, to model the economic aspects of the conflict.

[Didier Rouy]

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who can cite information regarding the size of the economies of the countries of Europe in the 1805-15 period.

Kevin,
A good source is the classical "Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire" by Thiers, he talks a lot about money and the way it was spent. And of course where to find it...
The other classical is in english, "Guineas and Gunpowder", I forgot the author, about the money Britain spent during the war.

[kzucker]

Hi Didier,

Thanks for reminding me. We have a translation of Thiers from 1893 into English. This is a very much-overlooked resource. Thiers wrote the longest book about Napoleon ever printed ("History of the Consulate and Empire of Napoleon")...12 volumes I think. He had access to Napoleon's correspondence prior to its publication. I am attaching an appreciation of him that I wrote for my (unpublished) book "The Habit of Victory."