Sixteen Thirty Something Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Components
• Description of the Game Components
  • The Map
  • The Counters
  • The Player Cards
• Starting the Game
  • Setting the board up
  • Taking Victory Point Counters
  • Initial Set-up Table
• Dealing out the Player Cards
• Who goes first?
• More about Influence Cards
  • Open Cards
• The Turn Sequence
• Turn Phases in Detail
  • 1. Remove One Influence Card
  • 2. Draw New Cards
  • 3. Trading Cards
  • 4. Playing Special Cards
  • The Special Cards
• 5. The Vote
  • Placing Influence Cards
  • A Note about Factions
  • Voting Issues
  • Neutral Countries
  • Voting for War
  • A Note about Status
  • Changing Sides
  • Re-arming
  • Casting Votes
  • Bluffing
  • Adding up the Votes
  • Effect of Losing a Vote
• How To Win!
• Duffer's Guide
  • Sixteen Thirty Something, a Duffer's Guide
• Design Notes
• Playing the Game
• Select Bibliography
• Reference Tables
  • Adjacent Countries Table
  • The Turn Sequence (reference card)
  • Initial Set-up Table (reference card)

Introduction

Sixteen Thirty Something is a game based on the changing political and military situation in Europe during the early Seventeenth Century, the time of the Thirty Years War. It deals in an abstract manner with the formation of factions, campaigns, warfare and internal power struggles.

This is not a standard 'Risk' style game and this may cause some initial confusion. There are a number of key points to remember. Players have an interest in more than one country, and in some cases may share an interest with another player. You score points for those countries that you have an interest in. Scoring is based on the amount of influence you have in the country and its status. Influence is handled through the use of Influence Cards. This brings us to the heart of the game; voting. This is actually a simple game where the players' main activity is to vote. You vote to align a country, and you vote to make it attack other countries. To do well you must be able to influence the voting to benefit the countries in which you have an interest. Wars are fought simply and quickly, without stacks of soldiers moving across the map.

If, after reading the Rule Book, you are still not sure about all the rules try reading the Duffer's Guide and the Design Notes.

The game is designed for three to six players and has an average playing time of three hours.

Components

• Rule Book.
• Map.
• 1 counter sheet.
• Plastic Voting Counters and additional coloured counters.
• 110 Player Cards.
• 4 dice.
• Plastic bags.

Description of the Game Components

The Map

The board consists of a map of Western and Central Europe. There are nine named countries/empires. These are the only countries that will be involved in the game. During the game counters will be placed on countries to keep a record of their Army Size and Military Ability, and which faction they are allied to. Other counters will mark Unrest or Military Leaders. The Turn Track is situated on the map. Around the edge of the map are decorated boxes with numbers in. These are used to keep track of each player's Victory Points and the Status of each country/empire. The Victory Point Track starts to the left of the title box and goes clockwise. It is numbered from 1 to 9 and each number is in a square. The Status track starts to the right of the title box and goes anti-clockwise. It is numbered from 0 to 7 and each number is in a circle.

{Note: Europe at this time was composed of various countries, empires, and groups of states. For the sake of simplicity these rules will use the term 'country' to refer to each area.}

The Counters

Status Counters - There are nine of these, one for each country. They are placed on the Status Track and used to keep a record of each country's status. The highest Status a country can have is 7. Status is gained and lost through war between countries.

Victory Point Counters - There are eighteen of these, two for each country. At the start of the game each player will draw a certain number of these, depending on the total number of players. Players only score points for the countries that they hold Victory Point Counters for. Since there are two counters for each country some players will share an interest in a country, or one player may have two counters for the same country.

Army Size - There are a mix of these, with various values, which are placed on a country to record its Army Size. They do not move. If a country's Army Size changes then the counter should be changed to show the new value. If a country's Army Size is reduced to zero then the Army Size counter is removed from that country.

Military Ability - There are a mix of these with different values. These are used to record the military 'skill' of a country's army. Like Army Size counters these are placed on the map and do not move. They are changed when a country's Military Ability changes. If a country's ability is reduced to zero, or starts at zero, then no counter is placed on that country.

Military Leader - A Military Leader counter may be placed on a country due to the play of a Military Leader Special Card. A leader gives the country an advantage in battle, adding two to the dice roll. All Military Leader counters are removed at the end of the turn. {As each turn represents several years, the active leadership of an exceptional soldier will not last into a second turn}.

Unrest - An Unrest counter may be placed on a country due to the play of an Unrest Special Card. Unrest will have a negative effect on the player or players who have the most influence in that country. It also stops the country from attacking other countries and temporarily reduces its Military Ability. All Unrest counters are removed at the end of the turn.

Turn Marker - The Turn Marker should be placed on the first box of the Turn Track. At the end of each turn it will be moved on one box.

The First Player Marker - At the beginning of the game players roll dice to see who will become the First Player. The player who wins the die roll holds the First Player Marker. This marker is passed on to the next player, going clockwise, at the end of each turn.

NOTE: At no point during the game will counters actually move across the map. The map is there to record various factors, which are represented by the Army Size and Military Ability counters. Countries can never gain control of other countries, although they can take Status of other countries.

The Player Cards

The card deck is made up of two types of card, Influence Cards, and Special Cards. These should be shuffled together into one deck.

An example of an Influence Card. An example of a Special Card.

Each Influence Card is tied to a specific country, shown by the name on the card, with the exception of the Open Influence Cards. During the game players will place Influence Cards down in front of them to show how much influence they have in each country. Influence means votes, each point of Influence represents one vote. Influence cards have a white arrow and a black arrow. These indicate whether a player's influence is in the 'ascendant' or the 'descendant'. These terms will be explained in full later in the rules.

Any card that is not an Influence Card is a Special Card. Special Cards have a range of effects, from allowing a player to increase the size of a country's army to assassination. Each card is fully explained in the rules.

Plastic Counters - There is an assortment of plastic counters which have a range of uses. Each player will need to choose a colour to keep track of his Victory Points on the Victory Point Track. There is a surplus of blue and red counters. These are used to record which faction a country is aligned with. These will end up being placed on the map. There are also a number of larger red and blue counters which have been glued together. Do not split these apart! Each player will take one of these Voting Counters and use them to show which way they wish to vote when a vote is called.

Starting the Game

Setting the board up

Each country starts with an initial Status, Army Size, and Military Ability. Status is recorded on the Status Track. Army Size and Military Ability is shown by placing the appropriate counters on the map. E.g. England starts with an Army Size of 1, so an Army Size 1 counter needs to be placed on England. England has a Military Ability of zero, which means no Military Ability counter will be placed on her. The map and track should be set up according to the values shown in the Initial Set-up Table shown below. All countries are neutral at the start of the game, which means that you do not place any blue or red counters on the map at this point.

Taking Victory Point Counters

Separate the eighteen Victory Point Counters from the counter mix and place them in a cloth bag or other opaque container. Each player will now draw a certain number of these counters. With five or six players each player takes three Victory Point Counters. With three or four players each player takes four counters. These counters tell you which countries you will score points for at the end of each turn. Players should keep these face down so that they remain a secret to other players. Each player should take a Voting Counter.

Initial Set-up Table

Country	Status	Army Size	Military Ability
Spain	5	2	1
England	1	1	0
France	3	2	1
Denmark	1	1	0
United Provinces	2	1	1
Sweden	2	1	1
German States	5

Dealing out the Player Cards

Shuffle the Player Cards and deal out thirteen to each player. Each player must then place three Influence Cards, face up, in front of himself. If a player does not have enough Influence Cards to place down then he must place down as many as he has. Each player must select two counters of the same colour, one large one and one small one, to record his Victory Points. The Victory Point Track only goes from 1 to 9, and since each player starts with zero points, then no counters will be placed on the track to begin with. The small counter is used to record units, the large one is used for tens. (Example - if the large counter is on 2 and the small counter is on 3 then the player would have 23 points). Each player has a second, larger, coloured counter included in the game which can be used in the event of a player gaining more than 99 points. The first large counter should be left on 9, to record 90 points, and the second one on 1, recording 10 points. This gives a total of 100 points. It is therefore possible to record a maximum of 189 points.

Who goes first?

Each player should roll a die to see who player will go first, with the highest roll the winner. Give this player the 1st Player Counter. This counter will move one place, going clockwise, after each complete turn.

More about Influence Cards

During the game players will have Influence Cards displayed face up on the table, which are used when voting. Players will also have a hand of cards which they keep secret. It is important to note this distinction as only cards in the hand can be traded while only those on display can affect a vote. At no point in the game can a player take a card from his display and place it back in his hand.

Influence Cards are very important, so at this point an explantion is appropriate. Influence Cards indicate how many votes a player has in a particular country. Cards are either in the ASCENDANT or the DESCENDANT. The arrows on the card tell you which state a card is in. If the white arrow is pointing up then the card is in the ascendant. If the card is turned the other way around then the black arrow will point down, showing that the card is in the descendant. When Influence Cards are played they must be placed face up in front of the owning player, in piles. Each pile must contain cards belonging to the same country. The pile, then, gives the total number of votes that a player has in that country. All the cards in a pile must either be in the ascendant or the descendant, never mixed.

A pile in the ascendant means you can add further cards to the pile, thereby increasing your voting power in that country. A pile in the descendant means you cannot add further cards. You may never have two piles belonging to the same country. Only when all the cards in a descendant pile have been removed from play can a player play new cards of that country. Descendant cards will gradually disappear from a player display. At the start of each turn a player must remove one descendant card from those on display. If a player loses a vote with a country that is in the descendant then he must lose a card from that country's pile. A descendant Influence Card still gives the same number of votes.

A player places Influence Cards down at the start of the game and when a vote has been called, or is about to be called. Note that a player is limited to placing only cards that match the country in which the vote is being called.

An Influence card may never be returned to a player's hand once it has been placed down. Influence Cards may be traded, but only those from a player's hand.

Open Cards

The majority of Influence Cards have a country's name printed on it, indicating that it gives votes in that country. There are also a small number of Influence Cards that are marked 'Open'. These 'Open' cards may be added to any pile to add additional influence to that country. They should be treated in the same way as named Influence Cards with the exception that they must always be in a pile with at least one named card. It is the named card that gives the Open card its identity.

Example: Simon wishes to increase his influence in England. He does not have an English Influence Card but he does have an Open card. He can play this on his English pile. The Open card is now regarded as an English card and must remain with an English card until the end of the game or its being discarded.

The Turn Sequence

You should now be ready to start play. The game will last for a maximum of ten turns, although it may end earlier. Each turn consists of seven phases. The first five phases are repeated by each player. This means the first player will complete all five phases, then the second player will complete all five, and so on. Here is the entire Turn Sequence.

1. Remove one Influence Card that is in the descendant.

2. Draw four cards from the deck.

3. Trade cards with one other player.

4. Play a maximum of two Special Cards.

5. Call a vote in one country.

6. Repeat the above five phases for each player.

7. End of Turn. Players score points. The 1st Player Marker moves to the next player. Any Unrest and Military Leader counters are removed from the board. The Turn Marker moves on one space.

Turn Phases in Detail

1. Remove One Influence Card

The player must remove one, and only one, card of their choice from a pile which is in the descendant. If there are no piles in the descendant then he does not have to remove a card. The player cannot leave an Open Influence card as the last card in a pile, so if there is a choice to be made between an Open card and the last named card in the pile then the Open card must be the one to be removed. The selected card is placed on the discard pile, next to the draw deck.

2. Draw New Cards

The player now draws four new cards from the deck. There is a maximum card hand of thirteen cards. Players can temporarily exceed this when drawing cards but must end their turn with no more than thirteen cards in their hand.

If the deck is exhausted then shuffle the discard pile and place it face down to make a new deck.

3. Trading Cards

The player is now allowed to trade up to three cards from his hand BUT only with one other player. The player should declare what he is after, and may suggest what he is prepared to trade in return. The other players can now make offers. A trade does not have to be one card for one card. This means a deal could be made where one card is traded for three cards. Any card from a hand can be traded, so Special Cards can be traded as well as Influence Cards. The player is free to accept any offer made to him, or he may decide to decline. He may change what he is after and what he is prepared to offer after hearing what cards other players are prepared to offer. Trading is intended to be as free as possible, with the only limits being the number of cards that can be traded and the fact that a deal can only be struck with one other player.

Players cannot lie about the types of cards they wish to trade and if a player fails to supply the cards as agreed then the deal should be undone and all cards returned to their original owners. Players may choose to be vague about the values of the cards they seek to exchange. A player can only make one trade, then the turn moves on to the next phase.

4. Playing Special Cards

The player may now play up to two Special Cards from his hand. A player does not have to play a Special Card, in which case play proceeds to the next phase.

Special Cards should be played one at a time. E.g. If the first card played is a Vote Card then the effect of the vote should be resolved before a second card can be played.

There are seven different Special Cards, and their effects are explained on the next page.

The Special Cards

Vote - The Vote Card allows the player to call an immediate vote in one country. This vote is in addition to the one mandatory vote that a player calls at the end of his turn. All the standard rules for voting apply to this vote. It is possible that a player could call up to three votes during his turn, calling two votes through the use of Special Cards and then calling his mandatory vote.

Military Improvement - The player selects a country, then increases its Military Ability by one point.

Increase Army Size - The player selects a country, then increases its Army Size by one point.

Increase Status - The player selects a country, then increases its Status by one point.

Military Leader - The player places a Military Leader in one country of his choice. The counter acts as a +2 dice modifier during any combat.

Assasin - The player removes one Influence Card from any one pile on the table, {he may remove one of his own cards, if he wishes}. The state of the card, whether it is in the ascendant or descendant, does not limit the players choice. The card should be placed on the discard pile.

Unrest - The player places an Unrest counter in one country of his choice. The player with the highest influence in that country has his Influence Card pile for that country rotated to the descendant. If the pile was already in the descendant then the player must discard one card from the pile. If there are two or more players who have equal highest influence then each of these players suffers the full effects of Unrest, as above. No war may be declared by a country suffering unrest. If the country is attacked then it suffers a -1 combat modifier. The Unrest counter must be removed at the end of the game turn. The effects of unrest should be applied immediately. With the removal of the Unrest counter a country will be able to fight normally. However, any loss of influence or the placement of influence into the descendant, is permanent.

5. The Vote

Voting is the heart of the game. Aside from Special Cards the only way a player can affect what goes on in the game is by calling a vote. A vote is always carried out in one country. If the country is neutral then the vote is to decide which faction the country will side with. If the country is already part of a faction then the vote is to decide whether the country will attack another country. These are the main issues that are decided by a vote. Other issues include raising an army and changing alliance, which will be explained in more detail below.

Placing Influence Cards

The player MUST call a vote in one country, this is a mandatory vote. The player can only call a vote in a country in which he has influence or is about to play Influence Cards. A player cannot choose to pass. All players who have influence in the country or who place Influence Cards down for it must take part in the vote. Essentially all influence cards on display must be involved in the vote, nobody can abstain.

The phasing player can only place Influence Cards before he calls a vote and must then call the vote in that country. The remaining players may, after the vote has been called, place down Influence Cards for the voting country.

Example: Tim wants to place some Influence Cards for England down. If he does so then he must call a vote in England. Tim places the English Influence Cards down, adding them to his English pile. He then declares that there will be a vote in England. The other players may now place down any English Influence Cards they have in their hand. This is purely optional and they could choose to retain any English cards they have. If a player placed an Open card then it must be placed on their English pile. There are five players altogether, including Tim, and three of them have Influence Cards for England on their display. This means that these three players must take part in the coming vote in England. The remaining two players are not involved.

A Note about Factions

During the game countries will align with one of the two factions, the reds or the blues. These abstract faction colours represent the fact that during the Thirty Years War countries tended to split into two factions. In the actual war there was a Hapsburg faction and an anti-Hapsburg faction. Despite the religious causes of the war, religion was not always the decisive factor in determining which faction a country aligned with. France, effectively ruled by a Catholic Cardinal, sided with the Protestant nations and fought against Catholic Spain. For players in this game the only significance of factions is that a country can only attack another country if it is in the opposing faction, i.e. red can only attack blue and vice versa.

Voting Issues

A vote can be about one of the following 'issues':

a) to change a country from neutral to either red or blue, b) to cause a country to attack another country, c) to increase the Army Size of a country from zero to one, d) to change a country's colour to that of the opposing faction's colour.

Which of these issues is voted on depends partly on the present situation of the country and partly on the player's preference.

Neutral Countries

If the country is neutral, (i.e. it has no colour counter on it), then the vote must be to decide whether the country becomes red or blue. A tied vote leaves a country neutral.

If the country is part of a faction then the player can choose one of the following issues to vote on:

Voting for War

If a player calls for war then he must declare which country is to be attacked. A country can only attack if it has an Army Size of one or more and it is not in a state of Unrest. In addition, the Status of the defending country may have an effect. Normally a country can attack any other country on the map. However, if a country has a Status of 1 or less then it can only be attacked by an adjacent country. The Adjacent Countries Table indicates which countries are adjacent to each other. If the vote is in favour of war then the two countries must fight each other. If the vote is for peace then no war takes place. There must be a majority for war. If the vote is tied then it is taken as a vote for peace.

A Note about Status

A country's status partly represents the control of territories outside of its immediate borders. Europe was a patchwork of a few large countries and numerous small states, which often fell under the control of one of these larger countries. If England attacks Spain then the actual fight might be in the Lowlands for control of one of Spain's possessions there. This is why one country can normally attack any other country on the map. However, when a country is reduced to a Status of 1 it has been stripped of all its possessions and so can only be reduced further by actual invasion. This is why a country with a Status of 1 or 0 can only be attacked by an adjacent country.

Changing Sides

A country can change its faction colour through a vote. The vote is carried out in the same way as if the country were neutral. However, if the vote is tied then the country remains with its original faction.

Re-arming

A country with an Army Size of 0, (indicated by no Army Size counter on the country), cannot go to war. However, a vote can be called to re-arm, which will increase the Army Size to 1. A vote for war means an increase. A vote for peace means no increase. A tied vote is a vote for peace. A country can only increase its Army Size from 0 to 1 by this means.

There is no limit to the number of votes that a country may be subjected to in a turn. This means a country could go to war several times during a turn.

Casting Votes

When a vote is called each player involved in the vote records his preference in secret using the double-sided Voting Counters. If the vote is to decide which faction a country joins, or whether it changes faction, then the player simply has to lay the counter down, behind his hand, with the colour he wishes to vote for uppermost. If the vote is to decide whether a country goes to war then red means a vote for war and blue means a vote for peace. If the vote is to decide whether a country re-arms then red counts as a war vote, which means the country will re-arm, while blue is a vote for peace and so the country will not re-arm.

Bluffing

Players may talk about their voting intentions. The player who called the vote should make it clear what the vote is for. However, players are allowed to lie about their intentions. What counts is the final vote. Part of the fun of the game is players talking about which way they intend to vote and then seeing how many were actually bluffing.

Adding up the Votes

Once all the players involved in the vote have placed their Voting Counter then their decisions should be revealed and the votes totalled. The number on each Influence Card shows how many votes it is worth. Adding together the values of all the cards in the pile for the country gives the total number of votes that the player is casting. A player cannot split his vote, he either votes red or blue. All the votes cast should be added up and this should give two totals, one for red and one for blue. Whichever colour has the most votes will determine the result of the vote.

Example: Tim has called a vote in England. He has decided to call the vote on whether England goes to war with France. England belongs to the red faction and France belongs to the blue faction, so a war is permissible. Tim has three England cards on display, and their individual values are added together to give a final total of seven votes. There are two other players with English Influence Cards on display. Martin has a total of five votes and Simon has a total of six votes. Tim declares his intention to vote for war. Martin tries to get Simon to vote for peace. Simon decides to say nothing. Each player places his Voting Counter down, behind his hand. They then reveal them. Tim has actually voted for war, by placing his counter red side up. Martin has also voted for war. Simon voted for peace, by placing his counter blue side up. This means a total of twelve votes for red and six votes for blue. The red vote wins the day and England geos [sic: goes] to war with France. Simon has lost the vote, so his English Influence pile is moved to the descendant.

Effect of Losing a Vote

If a player is on the losing side of a vote then that player's Influence Cards for that country are rotated so that they are placed in the descendant. This means that the owning player's influence will decline over time. No cards can be added to a pile of cards in the descendant. If the Influence Cards were already in the descendant then the player must remove one of the cards, of his choice. The removed card is placed on the discard pile. All players on the losing side of a vote suffer the above effects. Being on the winning side in a vote only benefits a player in so far as that player has either achieved an aim for that country, or has avoided going into the descendant. Once a country's pile is in the descendant it cannot be switched back to the ascendant. The player will have to remove all the cards from that pile, then begin placing a new pile down.

A Tied Vote

If a vote is tied then nobody suffers any of the effects of losing a vote.

Example: Following on from the previous example we had reached the stage where a vote in England had been called and resolved. Tim and Martin had voted for war and Simon had voted for peace. Simon's initial display is shown on the left below. Because Simon lost the vote in England his English pile must go into the descendant. On the right you can see how his display will end up after placing this pile into the descendant.

Example Display (before the vote, left; after the vote, right). The original shows Simon's English pile as England 1, England 2, Open 1 and England 2 (total six votes), with a France 2 card and Sweden 2 and Sweden 3 cards in a separate pile. After the vote the English pile is rotated so that it is in the descendant, with the same total of six votes.

If Simon's English pile had already been in the descendant then he would have had to remove one of his English cards, probably the 'England 1' card and this would have reduced his total influence in England to five votes. As it happens Simon's actual voting power stays the same in England. However, at the start of his next turn Simon must remove an Influence Card. As England is the only descendant country for Simon, he will have to lose an English Influence Card.

Note that Simon can only take part in votes in England, France and Sweden, as he only has Influence Cards for these countries.

A Vote for War

If the vote results in one country going to war with another then this war must be resolved before the game can continue.

Resolving a War

A war is resolved by adding up the Combat Modifiers for each country, rolling dice, and seeing which country scores the highest total. These are the Combat Modifiers:

Military Ability + ? Military Leader in country gives +2 Army Size is zero gives -1 Country in Unrest gives -1 Special defensive modifier for England and Sweden, see opposite page.

Note on the combat modifiers: the line "Military Ability + ?" is printed this way in the source; the "?" is not explained elsewhere in the rules and is transcribed as printed.

Defensive Modifier for England & Sweden - If England or Sweden are attacked and their Status is one or zero then they benefit from a +1 Combat Modifier. This is to show the defensive benefit of being attacked across water.

Note on Army Size - Notice that Army Size has no effect on combat, unless it is zero. This is intentional and reflects the fact that Army Size represents the total manpower of a country rather than the army sustained in the field, which was restricted by the poor supply systems of the time.

Rolling the Dice

Players should roll two dice for each country. Rather than adding the dice calculate the difference between them. This means a roll of a 3 and a 5 gives a difference of 2. Add the difference between the dice to the Combat Modifiers to give a final total.

The Spoils of War

The country with the highest total is the winner, the other country is the loser. The winner takes one Status Point from the loser, which involves moving the winning country's Status counter up one box and moving the losing country's Status counter down one box. The losing country also reduces its Army Size by one point, which will mean replacing the Army Size counter with one with a lower value.

Note that if the losing country has a Status of zero then the winner does not gain a Status point. Similarly, if the winner has a Status of seven then it cannot add any more to this level, but the losing country still loses a Status Point. In effect the Status Point has been removed from the game.

If the result is a tie then both countries reduce their Army Size by one but do not lose or gain any Status Points. A tied combat is not refought.

If a country with an Army Size of zero loses a war then it must reduce its Military Ability by one point.

Example: Tim has won a vote for England to go to war against France. This war must now be resolved. England has a Military Ability of 1, (England's initial ability of zero has been increased by a player playing a Military Improvement Special Card earlier in the game), and Army Size of 1 and also has a Military Leader counter. France has a Military Ability of 1, and Army Size of 2. It has no Military Leader. This means England has a final Combat Modifier of +3, (Military Ability + Military Leader). France has a final Combat Modifier of 1, (just Military Ability). Tim rolls the dice for England and rolls a 1 and a 2, which gives a difference of 1. This difference is added to the Combat Modifiers to give a final total of 4. Simon decides to roll the dice for France and rolls a 2 and a 6, giving a difference of 4. Adding this difference to the Combat Modifier of 1 gives a final total of 5. This means France wins the war and England has failed. The England Status counter is moved down one box and the France Status counter is move up one box. England also reduces its Army Size to zero, which means removing the Army Size counter from the map.

6. Repeat Play

Once the phasing player has completed steps 1 to 5 play passes to the next player. At the same time the player must check his hand to see if he has more than thirteen cards in it. If he does have more than thirteen cards then he must discard enough to bring the total down to thirteen. The turn ends when each player has completed the above phases. Players now move on to the End of Turn Phase.

7. End of Turn

Players now score points for those countries they hold Victory Point counters for. These counters should not be revealed to other players, so it is up to each player to calculate how many points they have gained. It is hoped that players will realise the importance of being accurate and honest.

Scoring Points

Points are scored according to the Status of the country, and how much Influence a player has in it. A player only scores points for the lowest of these two values. For example, if a player can score points for Sweden and has an influence of 6 for that country but Sweden only has a Status of 2 then the player will only score 2 points. If a player has two Victory Points counters for the same country then he will score twice for that country. When players have calculated the total number of points from all the countries they have an interest in then these points should be added to the Victory Point Track. Remember that the small counter represents units and the large counter represents tens of units. If a player reaches 99 Victory Points then he should use an additional large counter to represent a second lot of tens of units.

Example: The display above belongs to Martin. Martin holds Victory Point counters for England, Sweden and Spain. England has a Status of 1, Sweden has a Status of 3 and Spain has a Status of 5. Martin will score 1 point for England, even though his influence is 5. he will score 3 points for Sweden, again lower than his influence. And finally he will score 2 points for Spain, where this time his influence is lower than Spain's Status. This means that Martin scores a grand total of 6 Victory Points this turn. In the future Martin should try to either increase his influence in Spain or increase the Status of England and Sweden if he wishes to score more points.

Passing on the 1st Player Marker

After each player has adjusted his Victory Points total the current 1st player should pass the 1st Player Marker to the next player, going clockwise. This player now becomes the new 1st player for the coming turn.

All Military Leaders and Unrest counters should be removed from the map.

Checking for a random end to the game

Before the Turn Marker is moved players should check to see if the game ends early. The last few boxes have numbers in them. If there is writing in the current turn box then follow the instructions, namely roll a die. If the die roll is equal to or less then the number in the box then the game ends immediately. The game will automatically end at the end of game turn 10. If the game is to continue, then the Turn Marker should be moved on to the next box.

How To Win!

The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the game wins. There is no tie breaker if the game ends in a draw, a draw remains a draw.

Duffer's Guide

What follows is a brief set of notes made by one of our esteemed playtesters.

Sixteen Thirty Something, a Duffer's Guide

Players must not think of themselves as 'controlling' countries. Their position is similar to that of the embryonic international financial/banking interests of the time, (Lombards, Fuggers etc), with a portfolio of investments across the continent.

1. You can win points at the end of each turn only by having Influence Cards on display for countries that are on your 'secret objectives' list, i.e. you have Victory Point counters for them. So, during the course of each round;

   a) try to ensure 'your' countries either increase or at least maintain their status,

   b) try to draw, exchange, or hold onto Influence Cards for 'your' countries, without making it too obvious to other players which countries you are supporting, (this becomes harder as the game goes on).

2. Countries gain status by winning wars, and lose it by losing them, so;

   a) aim to vote for easy wars with 'your' countries,

   b) vote your opponents' countries into risky wars.

3. Understand the different factors involved in warfare Sixteen Thirty Something style.

   a) Military Leaders: have brief careers, (one turn only - see Gustavus Adolphus!),

   b) Army Size: is not important except as an indicator of how much punishment a country can afford to take. Battles/ campaigns are, in effect, fought by equal sized armies, modified by i) leaders, ii) skill, and iii) luck!

   c) Military Ability: is a measure of how effectively a country makes use of its resources.

4. Alliances are fragile in the world of Sixteen Thirty Something! but;

   a) try to maintain 'your' countries military parity with any potential rivals,

   b) maintain alliances for tactical reasons, (e.g. in early and mid-game), but keep an eye on opportunities for a dramatic switch in order to unsettle a rival as the points totals rise.

5. Voting is at the heart of the game, so;

   a) ask yourself why another player is calling a vote, and is he being honest in his declared 'preferred result'?

   b) when you vote what are your reasons for calling the vote on that issue, rather than another.

Then ask yourself; 'What's in it for me?'

a) what happens if I win the vote?

b) apart from losing influence, what happens if I lose the vote?

Then ask yourself: 'what's in it for other players?' Finally, look around the table at the Influence Cards on display and try to guess the likely outcome...

Design Notes

Sixteen Thirty Something started life over a year ago, in the Summer of 1994. The original idea concerned developing a fantasy game that encouraged alliances and had some voting in it. That led on to the idea of influence. As the design developed I began to realise that maybe the game would work better within a historical setting, which led to it being set during the Thirty Years War. Therefore, I cannot claim that the game was designed to simulate this period. However, during the first few playtests it become apparent that, even though the central mechanisms were quite simple, and limiting, the overall effect generated many of the aspects of the Thirty Years War.

The first design used wooden blocks instead of cards to represent influence. Each player had a block for each country and the number of votes would be indicated by which side was uppermost, (those familiar with Columbia's wooden block games, such as 'Napoleon', will know what I mean). Another important difference was that Victory Points were only scored at the end of the game. It worked, but only just. Out went the blocks and in came the cards, along with scoring at the end of each turn. The Influence Cards worked much better, allowing for a greater range of influence and the introduction of trading. There was still a large amount of luck, though, in what cards happened to come your way. This led to an easing of the trade rules and the inclusion of the 'Open' card. The design was developing well but it didn't have a name. Naming a game can sometimes be the hardest part of the design process, especially if it is based on actual history. Calling it the 'Thirty Years War' would probably have been the most accurate title, but boring and used umpteen times already. The period is an obscure one, and very few phrases or sayings spring to mind that the average gamer would recognise. After an extensive discussion at the local pub with some eminent military historians the best our combined minds could come up with was the present title, Sixteen Thirty Something.

Unfortunately the limitations of space do not allow a fuller discussion of the Thirty Years War. It is, however, important to show the thinking behind some of the game mechanisms and justify them in a historical sense.

German States - Why are the German States included when a) it wasn't a distinct country, and b) Italy isn't included? Well, most of the Thirty Years War involved decimating various parts of Germany, and even though the area was a patchwork of states, some of these were quite large, such as Saxony and Brandenburg. States would also form alliances within Germany and with other countries. The status of Germany is high at the start of the game, representing the fact that its states were coveted by the surrounding countries. At the same time its Army Size and Military Ability are low, reflecting the fact that the states found it hard to co-ordinate any military action. Arguably Italy should be in the game, but an additional country would mean fewer Influence Cards for each country, which would increase the luck element. Production constraints also have a major impact on the design of a game, and Italy is a victim of that. However, it may help to think of Italy as being represented through the high status of Spain and the Hapsburg Empire.

Factions - Although having only two factions may seem to be an over simplification it does reflect the fact that countries did tend to align into two 'blocs'. Countries, however, did not always stay aligned to the same faction. The north German States switched between supporting the Hapsburg Emperor and Sweden. During the war countries had their own reasons for which faction they would join. France, a Catholic nation, opposed the Hapsburg Empire despite it being the major Catholic power in Europe. France was more interested in removing threats to her borders, which happened to come from lands held by members of the Hapsburg dynasty. Denmark wanted parts of Germany, and so fought against the Hapsburgs. Within the game players have their own reasons for wanting certain factions to emerge, which they try to bring about through voting. The personal interests of the players are used to reflect the personal interests of the rulers of the time.

Wars - There is no general war of one faction versus the other. Wars are still fought between individual countries. This is how it was. The Imperial forces of the Hapsburgs fought in various battles against Sweden and Denmark. Denmark had her own war with Sweden. France and Spain had the occasional battle, ending with Spain's defeat at Rocroi. The Thirty Years War was really a series of wars which flared up from time to time. It was an episodic war and this does come through while playing the game.

Influence & Voting - This is the most abstract part of the game. These countries were not democratic, so why is there voting? Influence represents something more subtle and varied. Players actually represent financiers, who were an emerging force at the time. Influence represents contacts with powerful groups in the different courts and capitals of Europe. At different times these groups will be growing in power or falling into decline. Financiers had influence in other ways, such as through the use of loans to finance these wars. Influence could even represent the role of a single individual who happened to have the ear of their king, as with Phillip II of Spain who was strongly influenced by his leading councillor, Balthasar de Zuniga. The system appears abstract in nature, but it works, and that has to be the best reason for having it!

Armies & Leaders - A country's military strength is represented by its Army Size and Military Ability. Army Size does not represent the size of the army in the field, and so has no effect on actual combat. It represents, rather, the reserves of manpower that a country has. Logistics determined how large an army you could field, which seemed to be around 50,000 men. Military Ability represents the tactics and organisations of those armies. This period saw the rise, and demise, of the Spanish Tercio, the emergance of linear tactics, as developed by Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus, and the gradual replacement of pikes by muskets. There were also a number of leaders who were proven 'winners', such as Tilly, Wallenstein, and Adolphus. Leadership was often the major factor in a battle, which is why a +2 leader can have such a large effect. It also seems true that, without these leaders, countries achieve less. During playtests it was common to see a country start the turn with a leader and then make a number of attacks, and so dramatically increase its status. At the same time some leaders never had the chance to prove themselves in battle, Maurice of Nassau being a prime example.

Countries can attack any other country on the map, which at first seems odd. However, we have to remember that warfare then consisted of relatively small armies living off the land while wandering across Europe. Borders, or defensive lines, did not exist then as they would do during the 20th Century.

Unrest - The 17th Century was a period of immense unrest, partly because of the war, partly for other reasons. This is the period of the English Civil War, the Fronde in France, and the original revolt of Bohemia which sparked off the war. The Unrest card also serve the very useful purpose of making sure a player cannot dominate a country through having a clear majority of votes under his control.

The Increase Status Card - If Status represents land then how can you add more land to Europe? You can if the card represents the acquisition of overseas possessions, such as the Americas or the East Indies. Status can also be seen as wealth, and countries such as England and Holland could increase their status through commercial and industrial developments rather than by going to war.

Playing the Game

This is in addition to the Duffer's Guide and represents the designer's thoughts about how the game plays. The game starts peacefully with all the countries neutral. At this point you have to think about where your countries are going to get their status points from. If you have England then you will want a high status country, such as France or Spain, to be in the opposing faction, so that you can take status off them. Even a high status country will need to think about where to get extra status points from. Military Ability is crucial. Attacking a country which has a higher Military Ability is not a good idea. It is much better to pick on those countries of the same or lower ability and try to align with those of a higher ability. At the start of the game this seems contradictory advice, since those countries with a low Military Ability also have low status. You may need to wait until special cards change the status and Military Ability of countries.

For the first few turns players will have no idea which countries other players have an 'interest' in. However, as players score points it should become evident who has interests in the major powers, such as Spain and the Hapsburg Empire. This is the time when smokescreens and false trails can be laid. It is possible, I've seen it done, to set up a country so that it becomes the target of numerous attacks. All you need to do is make it look obvious that you have a major interest in the country and that it is becoming a threat to other players. This can be done through the use of Special Cards.

You have to be careful when playing a card from your hand. You need to have Influence Cards on the table to score points, but laying them down involves a vote in that country, whether you called it or somebody else called it. Laying down a small number of votes means running the risk of being on the losing side of the vote and so ending up in the descendant. Sometimes it pays to hold onto Influence Cards so that you can expect greater control of a later vote.

Do not be discouraged by a slow start. In nearly all the playtests the player with the early lead never held on to it. Games would often end with players coming from nowhere, racing ahead of the early leaders. The random end adds a degree of urgency to the game, with early leaders attempting to hold on long enough to remain ahead of the late starters. A poor hand can be overcome with a little trading. The clever player keeps hold of important Influence Cards, especially Spain and the Hapsburg Empire. Other, more unwitting players, will give these away and so let you back into the game.

It helps to be a convincing liar. Use the voting to get your own way, which involves being nice to people and convincing them that it is in their best interests to vote your way. Of course, you may want to lose the vote, or send a rival player's influence into the descendant. Whatever you do, if everybody says that they are voting for peace, be assured they are actually voting for war!

I hope you enjoy this game.

Select Bibliography

• Stephen J. Lee, The Thirty Years War.
• The West Point Military History Series, The Dawn of Modern Warfare.
• Hans Delbruck, The Dawn of Modern Warfare.
• Eduard Wagner, European Weapons and Warfare 1618 to 1648.
• Herbert Langer, The Thirty Years War.
• Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.

The printed Credits page (designer, artist, developers, playtesters, special thanks, publisher address and copyright notice) has been omitted from this transcription.

Reference Tables

Adjacent Countries Table

A 'Y' means the two countries are adjacent.

	England	France	Spain	United Provinces	German States	Denmark	Poland	Sweden	Hapsburg Empire
England	-	Y	Y	Y	-	Y	-	-	-
France	Y	-	Y	Y	Y	-	-	-	-
Spain

The Turn Sequence (reference card)

1. Remove one Influence Card that is in the descendant.

2. Draw four cards from the deck.

3. Trade cards with one other player.

4. Play a maximum of two Special Cards.

5. Call a vote in one country.

6. Repeat the above five phases for each player.

7. End of Turn. Players score points. The 1st Player Marker moves to the next player. Any Unrest and Military Leader counters are removed from the board. The Turn Marker moves on one space.

Initial Set-up Table (reference card)

Country	Status	Army Size	Military Ability
Spain	5	2	1
England	1	1	0
France	3	2	1
Denmark	1	1	0
United Provinces	2	1	1
Sweden	2	1	1
German States	5