The Reign in Spain
By William Sariego
September 2008

Once upon a time in a land not so far away, a well-known game designer came up with a brilliant idea for a wargame on a global scale. The designer was Rob Markham and the game was Soldier Kings, based on the Seven Years War, not just in Europe but showcased as the first true world war. That was in 2002 and the game was a huge success, and spawned two direct offspring, Soldier Emperor and Soldier Raj, and yet a third, my own Red Russia, as a distant cousin. Rob’s system is playable, colorful and most importantly, replayable! The latter is especially important quality since most of us grognards have more games than time to spend playing them!

As a testament to its popularity, Soldier Kings is certainly no stranger to Daily Content on the 119694_avalanche Press website. Doug McNair began a series of articles in fall of 2005 on each of the major powers in the game. My piece today is obviously targeted toward the Spanish player, a favorite of mine due to heritage. Nothing I say will contradict Doug’s excellent work, which is required reading for its strategy. My piece simply fills in a few technical gaps Doug did not cover.

All the World's a Stage

The following chart details Spanish holdings throughout the different regions of the map. From this one can readily see some weaknesses and strengths of the Spanish position.

Crunching the important numbers here, Spanish areas yield a total of 39 Resources and 22 Manpower. Looking at the distribution of the areas you see that the wealth is concentrated in the Americas and the manpower in Europe. You have no holdings on the African coast or India and have no reason worry about those regions. Areas indicated with an asterisk are also islands, which have their own particular vulnerability.

Not readily apparent is the importance of Galicia. Northwest Spain contains the small province of Asturias, ancestral home of the Sariego family. A Spanish player who loses that area in a game of Soldier Kings must be forced to run the bulls with a sprained ankle as punishment! On a more serious note, Cuba is the Jewel of New Spain.

Here lies the center of your power.

Of Arms and Men

For all its worldwide holdings, Spain does not have an equally huge military to defend them or expand the empire. Placement of your initial forces is crucial, and will be determined by pregame diplomacy and game strategy (who are your friends and foes?).You have the following at your disposal:

• Armies: Seven total, four At Start; strengths are: 2 x 3-2, 2 x 2-1, 3 x 1-1
• Fleets: Five total, two At Start, strengths are: 1 x 3-2, 2 x 2-1, 2 x 1-1
• Leader: One, available At Start: Alvarez 1
• Provincial Armies: Three, none At Start: 1 x 2-1, 2 x 1-1

The value of your starting forces is at the whim of the draw, and you have more than a few 1-1s in each type to depress the King. You don’t get to build the Provincial Armies unless you get that Event Card. Its acquisition is a prime part of your strategy. In trading make it known that you will pay well in Resources and Manpower. Promise the moon if need be, but try and get away with giving up Toledo (Ohio, not Spain)! Just remember to set aside the resources to fully use the card. It will take 6 Resource and 15 Manpower to build the three Provincial armies. At Start, the Spanish coffers hold 37 Resource and 28 Manpower. Note that this is slightly different than your normal intake; a few more able bodies and a little less cash.

Seven Years and Eight Players?

If you are even worried about how to play Spain well as a Major Power then one understood prerequisite has been met; you have at least six players around the table. Spain is the sixth power added in a multiplayer game; Holland and Turkey joining the party with seven and eight, respectively. As Spain you are happy to have the party stop at six players. An active Holland is dominant in the Spice Islands and will result in the rapid loss of the Philippines. There will be little you can do to prevent this, as the Americas are the main colonial focal point of your stretched military might.

The Armada Triumphant?

Doug’s suggestion of an early, concerted attack on England in conjunction with Russia and France is ideal. France is a great power, but second fiddle to England in nearly every respect, so will not take much enticement. Russia, with loads of troops but little Resources to build them, should respond well to Spanish gold. If England is taken down a race for VP’s will result for the Triple Alliance. Russia needs 10, France 20, and you need 15 for Automatic Victory. Despite the lesser number needed, Russia is hemmed in with enemies on land and is the lesser threat to eclipse you. France is a real threat, and if she decides to turn on you things can get brutal quite fast.

The English attack Havana, 1762. They would be sorry.

Once England is defeated where do you look for the Victory Points? Doug recommends Italy, and it is certainly a fertile ground for conquest. However, this will bring you into conflict with Austria and possibly Turkey. I feel the New World is the best source, while keeping a few armies at home in case France gets frisky. Certainly go into Italy if Austria is hard pressed against another Power. Portugal certainly should be taken, as Iberia belongs to Spain! Hopefully you can entice a Minor Country to ally to supplement your troops in Europe, and if you acquired the Provincial Armies so much the better for making the New World entirely Spanish.

If neither Russia nor France can be enticed into an anti-Anglo alliance your tenure in the game may be short. As Doug said, you have a huge empire that is poorly defended, and subject to being “nibbled to death by cats." Your overseas areas mostly have a fortification value of two, which is certainly not going to withstand a serious siege effort. Even though you cannot formally ally with Britain, if France refuses an alliance you can make it clear to England you won’t mess with her colonies if yours are left alone. It probably won’t work, but if both France and England decide the road to victory goes through your empire the game is all but lost before it begins.

Conclusion

A campaign game of Soldier Kings is a serious investment of time that is well spent. The game is simple and represents the era very well in its grandeur. If you haven’t taken it off the shelf for awhile do yourself a favor and do so. If you haven’t time for the campaign game, the one-year scenarios are viable means of honing your skills for a campaign game, in addition to being fun in their own right. And for those brave enough to play Spain, Hasta la Victoria Siempre!

Buy Soldier Kings now and protect the glory of Spain!