1775: The American War of Independence

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1775: The American War of Independence
Game data
author Beau Beckett and Jeph Stahl
graphic Jarek Nocoń, Steve Paschal
publishing company Academy Games, Inc.,
ASYNCRON games ,,
gravity publisher
Publishing year 2013
Art Conflict simulation
Teammates 2 to 4
Duration 60 - 120 minutes
Age from 10 years on

Awards

Golden Geek Award 2013: Best Wargame

1775: The American War of Independence , originally published under the name 1775: Rebellion , is a card-controlled board game by the American game authors Beau Beckett and Jeph Stahl . It was published in 2013 as the second part of the Birth of America series by Academy Games as a sequel to 1812: The Second American War of Independence . Also in 2013, German localization by Schwerkraft-Verlag followed. In the game, two to four players play the American Revolutionary War . The game lasts about 60 to 120 minutes and is aimed at beginners in conflict simulations .

Theme and equipment

1775: The American Revolutionary War is a board game adaptation of the American Revolutionary War. Up to four players each take on a party of the war, on one side the Continental Army (blue) fights with American militias (white) against British regular units (red) and the Loyalists (yellow) on the other side. Each player moves his troops from one field to the next in order to conquer as many colonies as possible. All four parties must participate in the game. If there are fewer than four players, one takes over both parties on one side. The game components include:

  • 1 game board
  • 1 rules and scenarios booklet
  • 205 wooden units
  • 16 battle dice
  • 54 cards
  • 1 round marker
  • 16 double-sided control markers
  • 4 move markers with cloth bag

Style of play

construction

The game board shows the 13 American colonies, each of which is divided into several fields. Small squares are printed on the fields on the game board, which indicate the starting units for all four parties for the 1775 campaign: for the Americans the American Continental Army in blue and the militia in white, for the other player the British regular troops in red and the loyalists in yellow. The Indians also have green troops that are distributed on the game board. As long as they stand alone on a field, Indians are neutral and always join the player who enters their field. The American can also use event cards to bring French auxiliaries into play, which are depicted with purple stones; the British can send orange Hesse troops into the field. There is also the possibility of another scenario, "The Battle of Quebec", the list for this is mentioned in the rulebook.

After building the game board, each party shuffles their deck of cards with the cards of their own cards numbered from one to twelve and draws three of them, at least one of which must be a movement card. If he only has event cards in hand, he shows them and draws three more. Since all four parties must always participate in the game, it is necessary that if there are fewer than four players at least one plays several parties and therefore also keeps the decks separate from each other. The cards with the numbers greater than twelve are not used for the 1775 campaign, but only for the "The Battle of Quebec" scenario.

Game flow

The game is divided into several rounds, in which each player sequentially makes a turn, which in turn is divided into four phases. The four play markers are placed in the enclosed cloth bag, one of which is drawn. Depending on which color it is, this party begins its turn. A turn is divided into the following four phases: drafting, moving, slaughtering and pulling.

Convocation phase

In the drafting phase, each party brings new armies to the game board, which the player places in an area of ​​the city that must be in a colony he controls. The number of armies per phase and party is limited to four. If there are not enough stones left in the party's supply, the player only takes the existing stones. In this phase, each player can also recruit his or her fled units and bring them into play. It is possible to play event cards in the first phase if they allow it.

Movement phase

Each party may only play one movement card per round. This shows the number of armies you can move and how many spaces you can move them. An army is considered to be a group of units that are in the same space. These may also be allied units of the teammates if the respective player agrees. No additional troops may be picked up or left behind during the movement. The American regular player may move the American militias on his turn if there is at least one of his own troops in this army. Troops may not be moved multiple times per turn, unless this is explicitly permitted by an event card. There are also several water areas on the map that can be crossed using special movement maps. In order to prepare for a fight, you move into the respective field with opposing units in this phase.

In addition to the movement card, there is also the option of playing event cards, which offer special advantages. Cards determine in which phase they are played and have an effect. It is entirely possible to play all three cards, for example if there are two event cards among them. Each party also has a ceasefire card. Once at least one side has played all of their armistice cards, the game ends at the end of the round. Except for the armistice card, all played cards are removed from the game.

Battle phase

If there are opposing troops in the same area, battles are played during this phase. Each party has either two or three of their own dice with their own combinations of hit, escape and movement results. From these the player takes at most as many as he sends troops into battle. The player who entered the area may roll the die first. For each hit he rolls, the opponent must remove a squad of his choice. If troops from several friendly parties are involved in the battle, they can agree which of the troops will be removed. If, on the other hand, the player rolls an escape result, he must move one of his own troops from the field into the escape field on his side and may not put them back on the board until the next drafting phase. If he rolls a movement result, he may move one of his troops into an adjacent friendly space. This must either be an enemy space on which friendly troops are standing or a non-hostile own space. If none is available, he may not move the troops away. In addition, he is not allowed to flee over water. The dice are rolled alternately until only troops on one side remain. If both players have Indians in their ranks, so many of them flee until only one or none has any. It is also possible to play event cards in this phase if they allow it. For a colony to be controlled by a player, there must be no opposing troops. Indian troops, who are neutral, also prevent control. Only when a player has moved his own troops into a field controlled by Indians do they join the field and the player may get control of the colony. Controlled colonies are shown with a control marker.

Follow-up phase

In this phase each player draws his hand cards on three cards. If he does not have at least one movement card, he shows his three cards, shuffles the pile and draws three new ones. Then the next turn marker is drawn and it is the next player's turn.

Playing

The game ends after round three at the earliest, when at least one side has played all of their armistice cards. After all players have made their turn and the current round has been completed, the number of control markers is counted and compared with one another. Which side controls the most colonies wins the game. The game can also end in a draw.

Development and reception

The game 1775: The American War of Independence was published in 2013 by the American publisher Academy Games and designed as the second part of the Birth of America series. Compared to its predecessor, published a year earlier, 1812: The Second American War of Independence , 1775 is considered less strategic and faster because the players start directly in the game. The game starts directly with enemy contact, while the previous round spent the first rounds to get his troops in position. The game was also published in German in 2013 by Schwerkraft-Verlag. The game was also released in French and Spanish in 2013. In August 2017, a computer version of the two games 1812 and 1775 was published.

The third part of the Birth of America series is the game 1754: Conquest - The French and Indian War , which has not yet been published in German. A German version was implemented in 2017 via a crowdfunding campaign and is expected for 2018.

The Birth of America series is a representative of conflict simulations, but is clearly aimed at beginners and newcomers to these games, as the rules are very clear and simple.

Web links