War Phase Mechanic?

[Megalomatrix]

I've read that there's a mechanic covering the different phases/periods of the war. How does that work out?

My main concern is how dynamic the overall experience is, and if the mechanic adds to or detracts from the gaming experience in people's opinions...

[loki100]

ORIGINAL: Wartasticus

I've read that there's a mechanic covering the different phases/periods of the war. How does that work out?

My main concern is how dynamic the overall experience is, and if the mechanic adds to or detracts from the gaming experience in people's opinions...

what happens is the war slowly spreads. So the first couple of years the only playable area is Bohemia and Austria. By about 1621, the war spreads to the upper Rhine (the Palatine). Then parts of northern Germany. Then you get the Danish intervention - at which stage about half the map is in play. By the 1630s, pretty much the entire map is playable and you have Swedes, French et al all running around destroying large areas of Germany.

As the Catholic player what you really want to do is to stamp out each of the early game phases before the next starts. If by the time the Danes join you are still at war in Bohemia and the Palatine then you are going to be over-stretched. With the Protestants, what you want to do is to see if you can save one or the other or the early war areas (Rhine is easier as they are some hard to take fortresses) so that your army grows.

It gives you the feeling of a couple of localised conflicts slowly spreading to pull in every European power.

[Symple]

So much of what loki100 says is spot on.

Historically and in the game, the HRE must stamp out each Protestant eruption before the next outbreak. It is a challenge for the Holy Roman Empire and her Catholic allies. If they can keep pace, then much of the HRE will remain Catholic. However, if places like Bohemia are left for the Protestants, then the Protestants will have more areas in which to recruit.

The dynamic is really exceptional. The pace for the HRE is challenging. The Protestants must attempt to make each new faction join with the previous Protestant rebellions. They must avoid the historical pace of one faction beat down before the next arrises.