Swords & Sails

The year is 1000. Europe is divided and fighting rages everywhere. Powerful groups battle for control of the continent, with armies, cunning and big ambitions. In Swords & Sails you step into the shoes of one of those groups and set out to rule all of Europe. Build up your armies and fleets, found new cities, make alliances and break them again, spy on your opponents and go to war. On a large map of Europe, a good 96 by 71 centimetres and drawn as the continent looked around the year 1000, you move up to five armies and fleets. Each army can be made up of six kinds of units, from knights and heavy cavalry to peasant troops. Your fleets fill up with warships, raiding ships or transport ships to move your armies. Each season you can build new units and found extra cities for more income. The combat system with two dice really lets you feel how your troops face each other on the battlefield. Will the Byzantine Empire rise again and bring back the glory of ancient Rome? Will the rising Kievan Rus bring a new golden age for Slavic culture? Or will the Fatimid Caliphate push further into Europe? You play this evening-filling campaign with two to seven people aged ten and up, and you can count on settling in for a good long session.