MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE

EUROPA UNIVERSALIS by PHILLIPE THIBAUT

from AZURE WISH

2 23” x 34”maps; 1412 counters; 1 Rules Book, 1 Scenario Book, 1 Book of Charts, 1 Book of Events and Information; boxed. AWE, 9 rue Mandar, F-75002 Paris France. $54 (in the US) including shipping.

Reviewed by RICHARD H. BERG

Where to begin … which is a question one not only asks oneself when reviewing this remarkable game, but also when attempting to play it, a feat for which someone ought to be handing out certificates, or ribbons, or something to indicate you have mastered part of this immense universe. For Europa Universalis, Phillipe Thibaut’s epic simulation of all of the history of the world (granted, through European eyes) from 1492 to 1792, is not just a game; it is an event. On the other hand, there are “events” and there are “events, some of which, like an earthquake, are far more interesting to watch where someone else is involved than in placing oneself in such a position.

Word of EU has been floating around for over a year now, and I have had the game in one form or another for about that time. The original copy I received from the most gracious folk at Azure Wish was in French. After that, I received a series of translations and additions until my last, most recent package, was the full English version, 2nd edition. No matter which way you slice it, though, EU is an immense package. … huge not only in size and scope, but in the amount of “oooh-wow” art lavished on the game. The counters, with their flags and pictures (including one of the designer), have more colors than a Crayola factory. Who cares that almost every leader, from Cromwell to Condé, from Ali Bey to Boris Gudonov, and from the Khan of the Golden Horde to George Washington, all have the same icon? (Actually, it’s not an icon, it’s one of those 18th century paintings of some famous military Euro-type on horseback.) And any game that includes counters for both Barbados and the Duchy of Berg is making a statement about “covering all bases”.

There are two maps, one of Europe, and the other of the rest of the world, all divided into province-like areas, some of which are smaller than the counters. Colors and icons run riot, and, although there is lots of information portrayed, most of it is easy to discern.

Then there are the rules books. You thought Campaign for North Africa was overloaded? Wait’ll you try to (metaphysically) lift this one! The actual rules cover 72 pages, the scenarios 48. A book of Random Events and Minor State Information adds another 48, while the last tome, a folio of charts, tables and player aids for each Major Power, tops off the tree-killing at another 48. Blue and Gray it ain’t.

By now you have determined that EU is for serious gamers only … very serious gamers. Gamers who like to see the Big Picture together with all the little photos, players who, Silas Marner-like, enjoy reveling in the horde of information provided, and, most importantly, players who want to immerse themselves in detail after detail after detail. If it happened between 1492 and 1792, it’s in here… somewhere. And while the English version/translation is admirable, every once in a while you come across sentences like, “The different rules of this game are presented by homogeneous rubric ….” Wasn’t he the cousin of Hieronymous Bosch?

To be fair, there are several, solitaire learning scenarios covering such varied enterprises as the American Revolution to Yermak’s colonization of Siberia, complete with a guest appearance by Ivan the Terrible. These are followed by two (or more)-player “battle” scenarios for a host of goodies like The Seven Years War, the 30 Years War, the Anglo-Dutch War, even that old warhorse, the Campaign of Zenta. (Wasn’t that with Ronald Coleman?) The battle scenarios are, supposedly, to get you used to the basic game systems for land and naval combat, preparing you for complete EU immersion into the massive, all-encompassing, beyond-the-time barrier, campaign scenarios, which bring in the Advanced Game Rules for logistics, revolts, diplomacy, trade, colonies, commerce, technology, loans … if someone thought of it then, Thibaut included it now. Be Warned, mes amis, the Campaign Games are to be played only by those who have nothing else left to do in life, or those of you doing 5-to-10 as a guest of the state.

Actually, the game system and mechanics are quite simple; it’s the fringe details, and keeping track of them - or even finding out how to work them - that make this the Olympics of Wargaming. The play sequence for the basic game is Buy - Kill - Collect (or, Logistics, Military Actions and Redeployment). The Advanced game throws in phases for Monarchial Survival, Random Events (of which there are a whole book’s worth), Diplomacy, Admin Stuff, and, finally, Peace … which only comes when you go to bed. Attempting one of these campaign games is really only for those large groups of gamers who have found World in Flames far too jejune or have come to realize that Second Front is really a study-at-home accounting course (without, thankfully, Sally Struthers). The BROG Crack Playtest Staff got about halfway through discussing this grotesque mass of detail - about two+ hours of yadda-yadda-yadda - when one of our folk, his Prozac not available, simply sat in a corner, spittle running from the corner of his upturned lips, and began talking to his Magic cards.

Eventually, we opted for one of the more ambitious “battle games”. First out of the gate was The Thirty Years War, 3-player version. Took us about half the war to set it up (finding some of the counters is a game in itself) but only 5 minutes to realize we hadn’t the vaguest idea what to do about Poland. Now, there are all sorts of rules for Minor States, but was Poland one of those? And if so, who ran it? Or what? Now, we all knew it was buried somewhere in the rules … about the only thing NOT buried in these rules is 10 shares of 3W stock … but we sure couldn’t find it. This is one of the problems in a game of such over-reaching scope and grandeur: finding what you need for that little microcosm of its world that you want to join. The problem seems to be inherent with the way in which they provided the scenario information, which is voluminous. Instead of “listing” items, they paragraphed them, with one item running into another, often without punctuation. This means you’re never quite sure whether the number of troops applies to the counter before or after that listed. In addition, the method for determining troop strength and availability is rather arcane, depending on whether the counter/unit is at half-strength or full-strength. Needless to say, there is no small amount of written record-keeping going on here, so, if that’s not your cup of demitasse, proceed no further.

Realizing that there were lots of scenarios from which to choose, we moved our time clock 50 years forward to the adventures of the Sun King and his nemesis, the Duke of Marlborough. After several hours of haggling about who got what, we finally sort of gave up … or maybe the pattern of provision finally became clear, and we got down to ravaging the countryside.

It was actually fun, although I’m sure we weren’t doing it right. Despite the scale, there’s ample opportunity for the feel of campaigning, which is certainly important in this era (Marlborough). Logistics were important, and things seemed to occur within historical parameters, or at least were within what could have happened. As said above, the actual “playing” was not nearly as overwrought as the explanations of how to do same, or the setting up to get started. Most of the latter appears to arise from Thibaut’s desire to get 300 years of history into one barrel, requiring, for many, more individual scenario fixes than the gaming mind can bear. And, aside from ignoring much of the naval game for this scenario - by mutual agreement - we never even approached all the Byzantine intricacies of the Advanced Game.

Yes, it’s Way Too Much … and it’s Far Too Detail Laden. But, as the title says, it’s a universe unto itself. And for those wishing to visit such a universe, the $50+ you pay to get there will provide you with almost endless entertainment. (With 30+ scenarios, no wonder.) But if you’re looking for an afternoon of quick fun, isolationism is the way to go.

CAPSULE COMMENTS

Graphic Presentation: Massively colorful.

Playability: Not bad, but learning how to play is almost an ultimate barrier. Solitaire OK.

Replayability: Once you master this Universe - 2 years of Hard Labor, to be sure - a whole world opens up.

Creativity: Lots, but some is unnecessary, some just Too Much.

Wristage: Not that much!!

Historicity: The Ultimate, which may or may not be a compliment.

Comparison: WiF/Europa for the pre-modern folks, but far more detailed, far more involving. I can’t remember seeing a game so rich (and overladen - or overburdened, if you will) in detail.

Overall: For multi-player clubs and History Buffs, worth a definite look. Others? Well, you’ve been warned.