Turn 1
Luther's 95 Theses: Wittenberg, Breslau, and Leipzig become Protestant. Brandenburg, Madgeburg, and Erfurt all remain Catholic.
Diplomacy: Nothing is announced between England and either the Hapsburgs or the French.
Diet of Worms: Protestants play Unpaid Mercenaries (3) for 7 total dice. Hapsburgs play Fountain of Youth (2), Papacy plays Shipbuilding (2) for a total of 4 dice. Two spaces are gained for the Protestants: Nuremberg and Mainz.
Spring Deployment:
- Ottomans: Suleiman and 7CU deploy to Nezh where they threaten Belgrade.
- Hapsburgs: Charles and 4CU deploy to Navarre, threatening Bordeaux.
- English: Henry and 3CU deploy to Berwick, threatening the Scots or a naval move.
- French: Francis and 2CU to Bordeaux, countering the Hapsburgs.
- Papacy: None
- Protestants: None
The Ottomans place Belgrade under seige and take the key space from the Hungarians, then turn their attention to the Mediterranean where the Barbary Pirates emerge. The people of Genoa join the Holy Roman Emperor in his struggles as a common cause against the Pirates, deploying fleets to protect as much as possible against the pirates. But the Pirates avoid them and attack shipping off the coast of Messina, gaining 2VP for the Ottoman.
The Protestants complete the New Testament translation. Although the Bible sweeps through germany, only Worms and Nuremburg join the Protestant cause. Anababtists remove Protestant influence in Leipzing and Nuremburg, while Augsburg, Trier, Cologne, and Madgeburg all remain staunchly Catholic despite access to the Bibles. Luther makes a start on translating the full Bible, hoping to find more success there.
Clement VII becomes the new Pope and immediately excommunicates Francis I of France. The people of Grenoble and Avignon go into unrest at the news, but Francis responds swiftly, building military units and threatening to use them against the revolting cities. The people of Grenoble simmer down as a result, although Avignon remains in unrest.Sensing an opportunity, Charles V's Genoese allies lead a naval attack which destroys the French Fleet in Marseilles, while Charles leads an army which lays seige to the port city. Unfortunately for Charles, his seige is unable to take the city by the time the campaign season ends.
Montmorency is implicated in the French troubles and removed for the turn as a Threat to Power.The English build army and navy units, mostly on the Scottish border, but take no offensive action against the Scots. The French cart off the artistic treasures of Milan for their chateau. The English and French both send Explorers to the New World and build colonies.
New World Phase:
Explorers:
- Verrazano discovers the Great Lakes for the French.
- Willoughby is lost at sea for the English. Very few people outside of his family even notice.
- Narvaez makes no discovery and unfortunately for the Hapsburgs, makes it back to Spain.
- Cordova makes no conquest and returns to Spain for the Hapsburgs.
- Jamestown could have produced a card for the English had Galleons been available, but they are not.
- Charlesbourg Royale produces nothing for the French.
- Ottoman: 14VP
- Hapsburgs: 10VP
- England: 9VP
- France: 14VP
- Papacy: 18VP
- Protestant: 1VP
Turn 2
Diplomacy: England declares war on Scotland.
Spring Deployment:
- Ottomans: Suleiman and 8CU deploy to Belgrade, threatening Buda
- Hapsburgs: Ferdinand and 4CU deploy to Besancon, threatening Metz
- English: Henry and 8CU deploy to Berwick, threatening Edinburgh
- French: Francis and 5CU deploy to St.Dizier, challenging the Hapsburgs around Metz
- Papacy: None
- Protestants: None
Ferdinand leads the Hapsburg forces against Metz. The French immediately come to the defense of Metz, although they lose a battle at the outskirts of the city and are forced to retreat, leaving the seige in place. The Hapsburgs hire a large number of mercenaries and complete the assault on Metz before the French can regroup. Unfortunately, Ferdinand forgets to pay the mercenaries, and all of them desert him as soon as the assault is finished, carting off the wealth of the city in lieu of proper payment.
Henry leads the English into the Highlands to beseige Edinburgh, while fleets station themselves off-shore to prevent re-supply. It takes two assaults to subdue the dogged Scots, but in the end, the English flag is flying over Edinburgh.The introduction of the Printing Press enables conversion of Madgeburg, Trier, and Innsbruck. The Pope excommunicates Luther and calls for a theological debate hoping to stem the tide before the full Biblical translation is completed. Unfortunately, Campeggio is no match for Zwingli, and Augsburg and Erfurt are converted into Protestant cities. The printed translation of the Old Testament spreads like widfire, and when the dust settles, Nuremburg, Kassel, Cologne, Munster, Brunswick, and Bremen all see the light of the Protestant faith. The Pope calls a second debate in which Eck outshines Carlstadt, returning Nuremburg to the Catholic faith. But Luther publishes a treatise during his excommunication, which sways Hamburg and Lubeck to the Protestant faith. By turn's end, Germany is more Protestant than Catholic.
The Ottomans move forward along two axes. Suleiman attacks Buda, defeating the Hungarian army stationed there, though a token force retreats within the city's fortifications. The loss at Buda crushes Hungary, and the Hapsburgs must come to their rescue, though at the moment there are no Hapsburg forces in the area to oppose the Turks. Only the end of the campaign season will protect Vienna in the short-term. Ibrahim, meanwhile, invades Rhodes and eliminates this outpost of the Knights of St. John.
In other developments, Henry appeals to the Pope for a divorce from his infertile wife. The Venetians ally themselves with the Pope. The Pope completes a phase of development on St.Peter's. And Ottoman pirates are ineffective against the Pope.The Hapsburgs, French, and English all send explorers into the still uncharted New World. The Hapsburgs also send out a conquistador.
New World Phase:
Explorers:
- Chancellor discovers the Mississippi River for England (1VP)
- Roberval is lost at sea for France
- DeVaca discovers the St Lawrence for the Hapsburgs (1VP)
- Cordova conquers the Inca for the Hapsburgs
- Jamestown produces riches for England (1 card)
- Charlesbourg Royale is unable to produce anything for France
- Cordova carts off the Inca riches but exhausts their usefuleness (1 card, depleted)
- Ottoman: 18VP
- Hapsburgs: 15VP
- England: 12VP
- France: 14VP
- Papacy: 17VP
- Protestant: 6VP
Turn 2
Diplomacy:
- The Hapsburgs and English agree to an alliance
- The Hapsburgs and French agree to an alliance
- The Hapsburgs cede control of Metz to France for 1 card from France
- English send one card to the Pope in exchange for granting a divorce from Catherine of Aragon
- The English roll a "4" on the pregnancy chart and a girl is born
Spring Deployment:
- Ottomans: Suleiman, Ibrahim, 10CU, 2 Cav to Buda, threatening the Hapsburgs
- Hapsburgs: Duke of Alva and 4CU deploy to Genoa, threatening Algiers and other naval moves
- English: H1CU to Stirling, to keep an eye on the Scots
- French: 1CU deploy to Metz, protecting the newly aquired key
- Papacy: None
- Protestants: None
The Turks waste no time advancing on Vienna. Charles falls back to Brunn with 6CU while the remainder cower behind the city's fortifications. Suleiman sets up his forces for a seige, but Unsanitary Conditions cause the loss of 5CU, including two cavalry. To make matters even worse, Roxalana calls Sulieman back to Istanbul.
He is only there a short time before a Revolt in Egypt requires his attention, so Suleiman and 3CU head off to fight the rebels. After a brief pause to make a deal with The Fuggers, Suleiman deals ruthlessly with the Egyptian traitors, wiping them out in abloody battle that claims the lives of 2 Ottoman CU as well. Suleiman immediately gathers 3Cu and returns to Vienna.
And then Charles goes on the Offensive. His Hungarian Allies place Buda under seige while Charles attacks the Turks in Vienna. Charles has an advantage in Field Artillery and Suleiman is caught sleeping after his arduous journey from Egypt, allowing Charles to make a Surprise Attack. 8 of 12 Ottoman CU are destroyed before they are ready for battle. Suleiman hastily calls upon the Jannisaries to help him escape, and they take a fearful toll, eliminating 4 Hapsburg CU.
Charles follows Suleiman's retreat to Pressburg and attacks again hoping to catch the Turks before the regroup. Suleiman is up to the challenge, however, beating back the Haspburgs and dealing 3CU worth of losses while suffering 2CU of their own.
Suleiman shifts to the offensive in this see-saw battle and attacks Buda. The small beseiging force fights courageously and beats back Suleiman, but they are decimated and when Suleiman returns, they are no longer an effective fighting force and Suleiman enters the city unopposed.
Charles recruits some mercenaries and moves on Buda. Suleiman, having gotten word of his approach, slips away to Szegedin without a fight. A seige is established, and the city falls shortly thereafter to a determined Hapsburg assault.
Meanwhile, in Italy, the Duke of Alva leads Hapsburg forces against Florence, defeating the defenders of the city and placing it under seige. The first assaults fails, but a second assault enables the Hapsburgs to take the city, although the cost was high (3CU).Barbarossa and his fleet attack the Hapsburg fleet at Messina. In a massive naval encounter, the Turks lose a naval squadron and a Corsair, while the Hapsburgs lose a single naval squadron. Responding in kind, the Hapsburg fleet attacks the Turks at anchor in Algiers. The Hapsburgs lose one naval squadron, while the Turks lose 2. The naval battle rages on in the Mediterranean, with Pirates raiding Trieste, but to no effect.
Early in 1528, Clement VII dies and Paul III succeeds as Pontiff. He immediately sets to work on St. Peters. Luther, meanwhile, publishes the first Protestant Hymnal, featuring the smash hit A Mighty Fortress, which causes waves of Protestant fervor to sweep through Stettin, Nuremburg, Leipzig, Regensburg, and Salzburg. Basel remains Catholic.The Protestants continue to press ahead with a translation of the New Testament in French while the Pope burns copies of the Protestant hymnal and german translations. the people of Trier and Salzburg are cowed into returning to the Catholic faith. The triumph is short-lived, however, as Luther immediately responds with a treatise, and the pliant population of the two cites allows themselves to be wooed back to the Protestant faith.
The Pope then calls for a debate, naming Eck as his hand-picked debater and challenging the committed Protestant debater Bucer. Eck wins the debate, although perhaps not as definitavely as the Pope would have liked. Salzburg changes religion again.
The Protestants, in response, for the Shmalkaldic League to protect themselves bodily as well as spiritually. They also publish yet another treatise which returns the confused citizens of Salzburg to the Protestant faith ("if this is Wednesday, I must be Catholic, right?"). Basel, by contrast, remains Catholic.
In 1529, Anne Boleyn slipped and fell onto an axe, which chopped her head off by mistake. Henry marries Jane Seymour almost immediately, and they produce a rather sickly child, albeit a male child, who is christened Edward.England sends Cabot out to explore, while the French and Hapsburgs follow suit with Explorers of their own. The Hapsburgs also send out a Conquistador, although he gets lost enroute when the Protestants play Search for Cibola. England increases the size of her navy, the Pope increases the size of her forces, those of her Venetian allies, and the splendor of St. Peter's. France increases the size of her chateaux. The Protestants pull Marburg Colloquy from the discard pile.
New World Phase:
Explorers:
- Cartier sails for France but makes no discoveries
- Orellana sails for the Hapsburgs but makes no discoveries
- Cabot sails for England, discovers the Pacific Straights (1VP), but is lost at sea attempting to circumnavigate.
- None
- Jamestown is unable to produce anything for England
- Charlesbourg Royale is unable to produce anything for France
- Ottoman: 16VP
- Hapsburgs: 16VP
- England: 18VP
- France: 17VP
- Papacy: 17VP
- Protestant: 19VP
Turn 3
Diplomacy:
- The French declare war on the Hapsburgs
Spring Deployment:
- Ottomans: Suleiman, 2CU to Belgrade, to protect her interests
- Hapsburgs: Charles and 2CU to Buda, threatening the Turks
- English: Henry and 6CU to Calais
- French: Francis+8 to Bordeaux
- Papacy: 4CU to Ravenna
- Protestants: None
The Turks start the year by placing Janissaries in Nezh, near at hand for Suleiman, and later moving them to join him in Belgrade. Those same Janissaries Rebel later, throwing their Home keys of Salonika and Edirne into Unrest. Unrest in Edirne is dealth with harshly, while 1Cav is built in Sofia and a Corsair in Algiers. The unrest in Salonika is subsequently also dealth with, while a Cav is built in Edirne and 2 Corsairs in Algiers.
Pirates move into the Ionian Sea and attack Trieste, yeilding a VP for the Turks. The Hapsburg fleet moves into the same area shortly thereafter to oppose the pirates.
The Hapsburgs convert Pressburg, reopening supply to Charles in Buda.
The Hapsburgs build mercenaries in Navarre and move the Duke of Alva and 2CU to join them there. France crosses into Spain, laying seige to Navarre. A scandal erupts in the Spanish court, the Duke of Alva is implicated as a Threat to Power, and forced to flee for the time being, leaving his troops in Navarre without a leader. France follows up with three separate assaults on Navarre before wresting control from the Hapsburgs.
England declares war on the Hapsburgs. Fleets move into positions in the English channel and North Sea. henry and 8CU beseige Antwerp. Additional units are built in Calais in case Henry requires reinforcement. The seige of Antwerp is concluded quickly thereafter, with the loss of 1CU to Henry's army.
Henry's army does not rest for long. Antwerp is brought under English control, a garrsion is left in Antwerp, and new nercenaries picked up from Calais en route to Brussels, which is placed under seige. The seige does not last long before Brussels and Liege are both brought under English control.
The Hapsburgs do not go quietly, of course. They raise a mercenary army in Beancon and place the French key at Metz under seige.
The Defender of the Faith enables the Pope to get a start on counter-reformation attempts, with Geneva and Salzburg converting, but Trier remaining loyal to the Protestants. The Protestants counter with the Marburg Colloquy, committing Melanchton and Zwingli. When the dust settles, Grenoble, Metz, Liege, and Basel convert while Salzburg and Besancon remain true to the Holy See. Calvin is expelled from Geneva just before the Protestants complete their New Testament translation, which converts Strassburg and Besancon to the Protestant faith while Lyon, Brussels, Dijon, and St. Dizier remain Catholic.
Anabaptists convert Bremen and Hamburg back to Catholicism. In response, the Protestants build up 1Cu worth of mercenaries in Bremen to hold the line against the Catholics. Eck takes on the uncommitted Protestant Olivetan in a debate, which goes to a second round in which Cajetan takes on Farel. In the end, the Papists get the best of the debate and Besacon returns to the Catholic faith.
Tetzel follows up with an unsuccessful book burning in which geneva and Strasbourg both remain staunchly Protestant. To make matters even worse for the Pope, Luther publishes a treatise which returns the German cities of Bremen and Hamburg to Protestant control. Retaliatory book burnings in Metz and Grenoble change no one's mind.
The Hapsburgs are declared Master of Italy (1VP). They also send a Conquistador and an Explorer to the New World. The English establish a colony at Roanoake. The French send an explorer to the New World. The Protestants continue translation on the French Bible and pull Augsburg Confession from the discard pile.
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