Anno Domini 1666

[BlackLegion]

Hie rmal was zu einem interessanten SKirmish Game was noch in der Entwicklung steht. Entwickelt wird es vo nWargamer.pl, demselben Hersteller wie von  "By Fire and Sword". Hier mal der erste Einblick in die Regeln. Weiter unten post eich mal Bilder der Figuren und die Facebook-Seite:

Something about the rules (wersja polska na pod tekstem angielskim)

We keep getting more and more questions about the rules. Today the man behind it all - Rafał, will reveal some of the secret.

"The mechanics of Anno Domini 1666 is based on playing cards. Why cards and not dice?
I must say that for some time now I wanted to develop mechanics like this – I just believe that it grants more possibilities. In addition there are hundreds of games in which we roll dice while mechanics based on cards are still quite a rarity and allows to surprise the gamer with an original solution.
Why do I think that mechanics based on cards grants more possibilities? Let's have a look at a typical cards deck you may know from such games as poker (this will be the basic Anno Domini 1666 deck – of course out cards will include "a bit" of additional information used in the advanced variant of the game). The cards, apart from different values, are divided into 4 suits, and then into two colors: red and black. The third division is into odd and even values. This gives us many interesting possibilities – lets name a few of them.
During a fight card suits indicate hit location. Spades indicate a hit in the head, hearts in the upper body, clubs in the arms and diamonds – in the legs. The figure hit will suffer damages depending on the location (in general hits in the head will cause more damage). As a result equipment also becomes important – a breastplate will protect from a strike in the upper body but not in the leg. I can add that thanks to suits and hit locations we were able to resolve the issue of close combat when one of the combatants is higher than the other (standing on a table for example). In such a situation the fighter standing in the lower position treats all his spades as hitting the enemy's legs while the fighter with the height advantage treats all diamonds as hitting the enemy's head instead of legs.
Suits and colors also have significance for some of the abilities. For example Aramis has the "Lunge in the Heart" skill, thanks to which any hearts he plays during the fight cause additional damage. While Wołodyjowski can disarm the enemy if he hits him in the arm. Other figures can get additional effects when playing a card with the same suit or color as the enemy, etc. There are really numerous possibilities. The player will often have to decide whether to play a higher card or a lower one but granting an additional effect.
Another argument for using mechanics based on cards is its fairness, this means that a player will not have only good or bad rolls. In Anno Domini 1666 each player has his own deck and each one has the same number of "good" and "bad" cards. I personally do not mind a bit of blind fate in a game but many of you will surely appreciate its limitation.
There are two ways in which you can use cards in the game – from your hand (knowingly deciding which card to use) or from the deck. At the start of the game each player takes a specified number of cards in hand. Every turn another card is drawn. There are 2 types of tests in the game – direct, in which you must achieve a specified value (these include for example a shooting to hit test or a climbing test) and only cards from the deck can be played. The other type of tests are opposed tests in which two figures test their skills (like close combat tests, testy made when sneaking up on another figure, etc.). In opposed tests you can play cards both from the deck and your hand. Thanks to this the players have more influence on the game and are able to plan spectacular actions.
Of course the enemy may have an ace up his sleeve (figuratively and literally), but his hoarding cannot last too long as in the meantime there might be a deck reset. Every now and then (at irregular intervals) the players must reset the deck – that is to shuffle the discarded cards, unused cards from the deck and all cards held in hand thus creating a new deck. Then they take as many cards as they had before the reset – you must be aware that those cards might not be as good as those you had before.
This is it for now. Soon there will be more information about the game mechanics"

Facebook Seite:
https://www.facebook.com/AnnoDomini1666/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED&fref=nf

Einpaar Renders der Figuren:
https://www.facebook.com/AnnoDomini1666/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED&fref=nf

[BlackLegion]

A little bit more about the rules /Trochę więcej o zasadach

This time we will tell you how the game is played.
A.D. 1666 gameplay is divided into turns. I chose alternating activation method over the alternating turns. This means that each turn the players alternately move one model each (with possible modifications). Such alternating moves are called activations. Thanks to this the game is more dynamic. This does not mean that it is quicker than turn based mechanics but surely makes it more "action packed" - you may immediately react to any activity of your opponent with an appropriate action.
The activation based mechanics of course has its drawbacks. For example if one player has more figures than the other he can wait the opponent out and then shower him with a string of own activations. There are 3 reasons why in A.D. 1666 this is not a huge problem. First of all the differences in numerical strength of player's warbands are very small. Second of all the player with less figures on the table has the right to have the last activation. This means that he may pass – forgo the activation of his last figure – as long as he likes. He may activate it after any activation of his opponent. Finally the figures may declare a waiting action. Thanks to this a figure may shoot or move in reaction to an enemy's action in its activation.
I did not implement random activation – for which players would have to draw cards in order to establish who can move. This mechanic, although interesting, introduces too much chaos. Testers preferred to have more control over their figures as this results in a more tactical game.
Another modification of the alternating activation system is the division of a turn into phases. In fact it exists in every such system, as you separately (outside the activation system) decide who gets the initiative (moves the first figure). In A.D. 1666 we have even more phases. Three basic phases are initiative, action and close combat. The first is very short – you establish who gets the initiative.
In the action phase players alternately activate their figures. The order is decided by the player with initiative. He may move any of his figures first or tell his opponent to make the first move. When activating a figure the player specifies what the figure will be holding in hands. It is important if the figure has several types of weapons. This choice is in force until the next activation of this figure so if a musketeer is holding a musket and shoots with it and later is attacked in close combat then despite having a rapier at his side he will have to fight using a musket butt. After choosing a weapon the player may perform a single action with the figure. There are many types of actions, some combined – for example you can move, shoot (with aiming), or move and shoot. Of course such a shot combined with a move is less likely to hit than when shooting while standing and aiming. There is no close combat in this phase. A figure that wants to attack the enemy is only placed in base to base contact with it and declares an attack. The combat itself is settled in a different phase. This way more figures can join the combat or you may shoot one of the combatants and so on.
Hand to hand clashes are resolved in the close combat phase. The player holding initiative decides on the order of fights. Fights are simultaneous – this means that it does not matter who attacked who. Both figures test their characteristics and the winner hits the loser, unless there is a draw. Thanks to the fact that combat is resolved in a separate phase we were able to eliminate a problem known from , among others, old Warzone 2ed – the master of 1000 blows. There close combat was also simultaneous but it was resolved within an activation. This meant that when a very good fighter was attacked by dozen weaker figures it was able to kill them all as they were forced to attack separately. In A.D. 1666 a fight against 2 figures is difficult, while 4-5 peasants with pitchforks attacking at once from all sides can even defeat Wołodyjowski. Of course if Wołodyjowski is standing in a narrow corridor where the enemy can only attack him from the front and one on one then the situation is completely different. Then even 40 peasants would not be enough

[BlackLegion]

Mehr dazu:

Wir waren nun also die beiden glücklichen außenstehenden die zum ersten mal das neue 28mm Skirmish Spiel testen durften.

Was gibt es also zu Anno Domini 1666 zu sagen?

Wie bereits erwähnt ist das ganze ein Skirmisher und soll in seiner fertigen Spielgröße mit 10 bis maximal 14 Modellen auskommen. Wir selber haben ein Testszenario mit 4 Figuren pro Seite gespielt. Der Clou ist, das dass Spiel keine Würfel braucht, da Kämpfe und weitere Aktionen mit einem normalen Pokerkartendeck geregelt werden. Weitere Aktionen? Ja, denn das Spiel besteht nicht nur aus Kämpfen, Schießen und Bewegen, sondern enthält auch eher rollenspielartige Momente in denen Man versucht dem Gegner Objekte zu stehlen oder Informationen zu erhalten. Aus diesem Grund gibt es auch "neutrale" Figuren die man anheuern kann, wie Beispielsweise einen Dieb oder eine Verführerin.
Nun kommen wir aber zum wirklich interesanten Teil. Denn das Spiel spielt nicht, wie man vermuten möchte, im selben örtlichen und geschichtlichen Abschnitt wie By Fire and Sword, sondern nutzt das Jahr und einige der Buchfiguren nur als Grundlage für eine Semihistorische Horrorgeschichte.

Im Jahre 1666 stirbt der Kaiser des heiligen Römischen Reiches und die Elektoren versammeln sich um einen neuen Kaiser zu wählen in Wien. Auch andere Monarchien und Mächte entsenden ihre Diener um die Wahlen zu beobachten und beeinflussen. So treffen sich neben Spaniern, Franzosen, Österreichern und Deutschen, auch Polen, Kossacken und Abgesandte des osmansichen Sultans.

Doch in der Kanalisation unter Wien bereitet sich eine weitere Fraktion darauf vor ihren Einfluss geltend zu machen. Die Diener des Gehörtne, die Ritter des zerschmetterten Kreuzes, treiben ihr Unwesen!

Das Spiel selber scheine eine echt gelungene Mischung aus Spielen wie Freebooters Fate und Dungeon Crawlern a la Descnet zu werden, da das Spiel zwar mit Tabletop Gelände gespielt werden kann, jedoch eigentlich für Spielbretter konzipiert ist

[BlackLegion]

Rezension zum ersten Eindruck vom Spiel:
http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.de/2017/03/anno-domini-1666-upcoming-game-from.html

[BlackLegion]

Ein par Figuren kann man jetzt schon bestellen. Englische Regeln gibts ab 5. Mai
http://sklep.wargamer.pl/category/en/anno-domini-1666

[BlackLegion]

Beta-Regeln:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1276773549097026/files/

[BlackLegion]

► Wargamer Games Studio Reveal New Game, Anno Domini 1666

Read More Here http://ow.ly/KuHD30jAB6p

Come and find out more about the new game from Wargamer Games Studio, Anno Domini 1666, which puts an alternative spin on European history and features some very characterful miniatures!

[BlackLegion]

Kickstarter ist live
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1263001724/anno-domini-1666/description

[Two-Dice]

Die Figuren sehen gut aus, sind die aus diesem weichen Plastik?

[BlackLegion]

Wie weich das Plastik ist weiß ich nicht.  Aber man kann sie auch in Metall haben.

[BlackLegion]

Antwort:

It's much more closer hard plastic than board game plastic

Ich bin versucht. Aber ohne Mitspieler in Leipzig ist doof. Würde ja am liebsten Teilen, dann könnte man sich auch alles in Metall leisten Sind ja ca 75€ für das Basispiel mit Plastikfiguren und 125€ mit Metallfiguren.

[BlackLegion]

Haben sich ein paar Mitstreiter gefunden

Video zur Qualität der Figuren. Vergleich uA mit denen von Star Wars Legion:
https://www.facebook.com/privatebrush/videos/2039184469687290/

[BlackLegion]

Die Hunde aus Update 10 sind ja geil :-D  Wie von die aus Coburg.

[BlackLegion]

Interview mit den Machern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8PoxbqRDh4

[BlackLegion]

Gibt nun einen All-in- Pledge. Ca 225€ für alles in Plastik oder ca 350€ für alles in Zinn:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1263001724/anno-domini-1666/posts/2197812