About the Game

Where can I buy the game?

The game is currently available at The Game Crafter. However, I regularly place orders with them so if you live in Sweden and are interested in a copy, please feel free to contact me.

What do the Nova Suecia games have in common?

The games in the Nova Suecia series are all independent from each other with different game systems and mechanisms. Nevertheless, there is a red thread connecting them all:

1. No dice: Instead of luck, a players' abilities to foresee other players' actions determine the game. In for example Christina Regina, the Queen is moved openly one step at the time by one player at the time but each player's goal with the Queen is hidden.
2. Cooperation: A player can rarely execute her strategy on her own but is dependent on the other players. This is clear in for example Tre Kronor Infernum and Mare Balticum, where the players may set up and use routes together.
3. Competition: With the exception of Bellum se ipsum alet, the players don't fight each other directly but by taking advantage of the other players' actions. In Nova Suecia, a player may win by negotiating trade deals or free-ride on other players' tax payments.
4. Ambiguity: Actions and objectives are seldom black or white. This is particularly true in Vasa Regalis, where one strategy benefits from the ship sailing and another from the ship sinking.
5. Historic theme: All games are set in the 17th century Sweden.

What makes Mare Balticum different from other games?

Most elements that made the previous Nova Suecia games unique are incorporated into Mare Balticum. The players must cooperate to get access to the provinces beyond the sea and they must also decide when to cut the cooperation and reap the benefits themselves. At the same time, they must not weaken themselves against the common simulated enemy or they might all suffer. All this creates a multi-dimensional game where conditions may change completely over a turn and strategies constantly reassessed.

Why is the game not modular, i.e. why a fixed setup of provinces?

The fixed setup reflects the actual geography of the Baltic Sea, although the players may choose a random setup instead. However, the game would not change much since it doesn't matter whether stone provinces are in Denmark or somewhere else - the distance will still be the same. I do have ideas for a completely modular version with single-good tiles if there is an interest for it.

About the Rules

How is the game best taught to others?

Play through the first game turn openly, making sure to clarify the use of units as subjects, goods and gold. Then explain how fleets, armies and forts are related to each other, both the ladder principle for building them (fleets first etc.) and the reversed ladder principle for the profit they generate (forts first etc.). Finally explain the object of acquiring titles and that this must be balanced against not being able to invest. Revisit the points during the second game turn and be very clear about the battle rules of attacking vs defending once the first battle takes place.

If I move, the goods my subjects produced is turned into gold but what happens if I retreat from a battle?

If you had enemies in your province to start with, you should not have been able to produce goods at all. The only way to get goods with enemies in the province is through a battle, where a victory will earn you 1 good less than normal for each unit.

If, in a fort battle, I defeat both the besiegers and the army, how much does each subject earn? Does it earn both gold and goods.

Provided that each subject attacked in both battles, they earn 1 gold from the first battle and one from the second battle each. Each battle reduces the goods earned from the province so no goods are earned. If there had been only an army to battle, they would have earned 1 gold and 1 good each.

If, both fort subject and army subjects can attack an enemy army, who gets to attack first? Can they combine their attack.

Battles are fought separately in strict turn order. The only exception is farmers, that always fights last. This also means that if the fort leader is first in turn and declines to attack, he or she cannot choose to attack after the army leader, if enemy units should still remain. However, if the fort leader chooses to attack, the army leader may attack as well in his or her turn, as long as the two battles are fought separately.

If I hold the title in a province but no subjects in a province battle, may I still engage mercenaries?

Yes, province mercenaries can be engaged at any time, although only once per battle.

If I hold the admiral title but no subjects in a naval battle, may I still engage mercenaries?

Yes, naval mercenaries can be engaged at any time, although it may not be in your interest to defend other players' subjects.