Thirty Years of War - New Game Explores the Conflict that Made Modern Europe

The Thirty Years War is the subject of a new turn based strategy game. (Image source: WikiCommons) — The Thirty Years War has inspired of a new turn based indie strategy game. (Image source: WikiCommons)

“The landmark three-decade struggle that changed the face of Europe is now the subject of a PC release by indie developers at HQ.”

THERE HAS BEEN no shortage of computer-based war games covering World War Two. Titles exploring the U.S. Civil War have been equally plentiful in recent years. The Napoleonic period, the Crusades and even the military conquests of the Roman Empire have also proven to be fertile ground for game developers. Few however have tackled the Thirty Years War… that is until now.

The landmark three-decade struggle that changed the face of Europe is now the subject of a PC release by indie developers at HQ.

The real conflict was anything but fun and games as this contemporary illustration, entitled "The Great Miseries of War", suggests. — The real Thirty Years War was anything but fun and games as this contemporary illustration, entitled “The Great Miseries of War”, suggests. (Image source: WikiCommons)

Fought from 1618 to 1648, the conflict was born out of the political disintegration of the centuries-old Holy Roman Empire. As the fragmenting states, some Protestant and some Catholic, struggled for Independence and territory, Europe’s other long bickering powers threw themselves into the fray. What was initially a small sectarian dustup eventually morphed into a an international bloodbath involving nearly 20 countries including France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, the United Provinces and even England. By the the time the warring factions met to hammer out the Peace of Westphalia, between eight and 12 million Europeans were dead, national treasuries were depleted and entire regions had stripped bare by marauding armies.

The immersive turn-based simulation, which is based on the popular AGEod engine, lets players dive right in to the chaos by taking control of either the Protestant faction or the Catholic League. Gamers then fight their way through five vast scenarios covering the war’s major phases. The game map encompasses all of Europe from France and the Low Countries to the Volga River and includes Germany, Denmark and even parts of France. More than 80 historical figures do battle along with 160 types of units ranging from Scottish infantry and Spanish cavalry to German mercenaries. Gamers must manage not only military strategy but logistics, as well as finances and diplomacy, while contending with shifting weather and random historical events.

“Players can relive the key moments of the Thirty Years War and change the course of history,” Biagio Sileno of game distributor the Slitherine Group told MHN this week. “By maneuvering armies, using the diplomatic tools and triggering historical events, they have the chance to not reproduce the strategic mistakes of these generals. Numerous factors influence one game from another: weather, supplies, attrition, mercenaries… and other variables can support or shatter a player’s plan.”

For more information, click HERE or watch a video of gameplay below.