I’m eagerly awaiting playing Congress of Vienna at PunchedCon in May. It looks like being one of the game releases of 2025, an “event” kind of game akin to Here I Stand.
Congress of Vienna is the fourth in the Great Stateseman series of games. It’s a card driven game (CDG) where you play each card for its points value to carry out actions – in this case “debating” issues across the negotiating table. Cards have added flavour, adding value for particular factions, issues or combat.
As the English, Russians or Austrians, your goal is to defeat the French and establish your mark on the post-Napolenic settlement. As the French, you’re trying to steer the best path in the face of attack from the Allies.
The phrase “series of games” is somewhat of a misnomer, as the first three games were quite different in mechanics, setting and gameplay. Each of the games has a diplomatic track and a combat track. Events on both tracks influence the others.
Pericles, covering the Peloponnesian wars, pits rival political factions of Athens and Sparta against each other in a political phase, then the city state factions against each other in the combat phase.
Versailles 1919 focuses on the 1919 Paris peace conference after World War I. The game has more of a Euro-vibe with players placing cubes – “expending influence” – on issue cards, as opposed to the CDG style of the others in the series. Combat is highly abstracted and tirggered by events and issues on the diplomatic side. Unlike Pericles, there’s no co-op feel though the design does lend itself to deal making.
There was a bit of a buzz about Churchill when I got back into wargames a few years back. It’s that rare bird of a three-player game and that’s possibly why there was a buzz. The debating mechanism is similar to Pericles, as you move chits up and down a debating track. Again, combat is abstracted but, as I’ve learned in a couple of plays, players should put a lot of focus on the combat, as if the three powers (UK, US and USSR) don’t defeat the Axis bot, you all lose.
That brings us to Congress of Vienna which covers the historic carving up of Europe after the downfall of Napoleon in 1815-16. Unlike the other games in the series, series originator and wargame god Mark Herman isn’t credited with the design. Nevertheless, CoV builds heavily on the Churchill mechanics especially on the diplomatic front. But the combat system comes into its own courtesy of the cards. You can (and should) save cards from the diplomacy round to add weight to your armies.
Basically, it’s Churchill with knobs on.
In diplomacy, you aim to capture issues that gain you armies for the combat resolution, add resources to fund your armies, or give you instant victory points. As the Allies, you want to work together to isolate France but you’re aiming to gain the most influence in the peace settlement. It’s a game of co-operation and competition.
Added to the main diplomacy side, you’re also battling to influence the fight between democracy and absolutism, striving for economic power and determining the future government of France.
The full ten turn campaign scenario promises to last all day and into the night. There are a number of shorter scenarios though I’m not sure they will scratch the itch.
I’ve now played a couple of turns solo, and had a four-player evening session last week on Vassal to help see how things fit together. Can’t wait for getting in a full game!
