Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Description from the publisher: The Battle of Grunwald (15 July 1410) was one of the biggest, and most decisive, engagements of the middle ages.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
Description from the publisher: The Battle of Grunwald (15 July 1410) was one of the biggest, and most decisive, engagements of the middle ages. The myth of Teutonic invulnerability - already wobbly after the Battle on the Ice - was shattered by the combined might of Poland, Lithuania, and their allies. Though both sides fielded some infantry, and the Teutonic Order some cannon, cavalry predominated. The sudden withdrawal of the Lithuanian forces left the Poles vulnerable, and their dramatic re-entry onto the battlefield may have been decisive in turning the tide against the Germans. Poland is still immensely proud of their victory over six hundred years later, and the Germans were still feeling sore about it into the twentieth century. This first title in the revamped SHIELDS & SWORDS II series lets two players refight this dynamic and exciting battle. With lots of horsies on both sides, it's a tense contest of maneuver and tempo. The Teutonic Player must protect his camp at all costs, and use every opportunity to slow the enemy's headlong advance. But blocking him here can open a hole over there - knowing where and when to leave a hole is key. His opponent must decide when to remove the Lithuanians from the battlefield, and when to bring them back on - there's a right time and wrong time for both, but in each case it's heavily contextual and dependent on the current game state, on his own strategy, and on his opponent's. The result is an unusually replayable medieval battle game that you, your friends, and your family can revisit again and again. The SHIELDS & SWORDS II series builds on, and improves, the Shields & Swords series of games (We Happy Few, Stamford Bridge, A Hill Near Hastings, and Our Royal Bones), with a greater variety of unit types, revised suppression rules, and a new D8-based CRT.