HIS - The Ottomans - Strength and Weakness

Suleiman - Leader of the Ottomans

The Ottomans

The Ottomans are the Dark Green forces in Here I Stand.  Like all factions in the game, they have particular strengths and weaknesses.  Of the factions, the Ottomans have the most straight forward of goals: Military Domination.  Furthermore, the Ottomans have an "optimal route" in their first turn, something the other factions do not exhibit.  In some ways this makes them rote in their play style for the first turn or two.  After that, the strategy really begins to open up for them.

In my opinion, this makes the Ottomans the easiest faction to play for new players.

Strengths

Ottoman Home Card

The greatest strength of the Ottomans is their ability to amass a great army and raise troops quickly.  Sulieman, by himself, can move up to 12 armies, and with Ibrahim Pasha this brings the total to 18.  The Hapsburgs could achieve a maximum of 16, while France and England could bring a maximum of 14 armies, Protestants 12, and Papacy 4.

The other powers are less likely to achieve their maximum number than the Ottomans.  The Ottomans Home Card allows them to raise 4 troops per turn (at a cost of 5 cp), and should be used almost exclusively for this purpose every turn.  Adding to their strength is the fact the Ottomans are immune to all the "Mercenary" cards.

Weaknesses

The Ottomans have two major shortcomings: Their starting position and their "External Concerns": the War cards.  The War cards are an annoyance.  At the most inopportune times they can result in troops being sent "off board" to fight some battle.  A total of 9 armies can be lost to the War cards in this way. It is up to the player to determine if they need the troops or not.  In some ways, it is better to not resolve the War cards so that they cannot be played again, but if both cards are played it can result in a loss of 9 troops, which can take a full turn to regain.

Perhaps the major issue of the Ottomans is their positioning and the terrain surrounding them.  The only effective land route the Ottomans have is through Belgrade.  This creates a natural choke point which limits their movement.  The Ottomans must defeat Belgrade to advance on the Hapsburgs or into Italy.  Furthermore, any offensive they launch can quickly grind to a halt if Belgrade falls, so it must be defended.

Choke Point Belgrade

Piracy 

Once Barbary Pirates comes into play the Ottomans have the option of Piracy.  Although Piracy is effective, it is not a guaranteed Victory point gain.  However, Piracy can, and should, generate a few victory points for the Ottomans.  We will discuss Piracy, and other options, in more depth later.

Through The Ages - Card - Moses

This is a series of blogs written about each card in Through The Ages.  To find more, simply click on "Cards" label.
Moses

History

According to the book of Exodus, the pharaoh of Egypt ordered all male Hebrew children killed as the Hebrew numbers grew to be a threat to Egypt.  He was hid among the reeds and adopted by the royal family.  After killing an Egyptian Slave Master, he fled across the Red Sea where he encountered God. He returned to lead the Israelite people from Egyptian rule after the Egyptians suffered 10 plagues.  After fleeing from the Egyptians, they settled at the foot of Mt Sinai, where Moses received the 10 Commandments from God.  He died within sight of the promised land after wandering the desert for 40 years.

The true historical facts of Moses are not exactly known.  What is known is Moses is steeped in the bases of most Abrahamic religions.  In Judaism, Moses is an important figure with many stories about him, including teaching the Phoenicians their language.  In Christianity, Moses provides the vessel for the "10 Commandments" from God, and his life story provides the framework upon which the teachings of Jesus build.  Islam considers Moses life to parallel Muhammad, and Moses is referenced more times than any other character in the Quran.

Although his actual life, trial, and tribulations are not known, the impact of Moses upon religious thought is, perhaps even more profound than that of any other figure.  Like Homer, it is possible Moses was not a single individual, but a potential conglomeration of many people.  In any case, Moses remains an important figure in many modern religions.  

Game Stats

Moses game ability is short an simple: Increasing populations costs 1 grain less.  This is surprisingly useful as the player can quickly build new buildings.  This ability is neither good nor bad, as evidenced by the chart below which shows taking Moses has little effect on the end position.
Opinions
Moses, in the end, is of average effectiveness.  Although very popular as a leader, his impact on the game seems to be marginal.   This makes him neither a good nor bad leader.  Perhaps the largest advantage of Moses is to delay building Food structures and concentrate on other structures.  Unfortunately, this can quickly lead to unhappiness, so it is likely to lead towards building a happiness structure.

In an oddity compared to the real life counterpart, I believe Moses is best among the Age A leaders best situated towards using Drama instead of Temples.  The Drama provides both happiness and culture, and can set up the Library/Drama combo needed for Shakespeare.  This is because Moses permits the player to concentrate on buildings other than Farms.  The savings in building a Farm can be balanced by purchasing a Library and Drama building.  If the cards fall the right way, this can lead to a focused Culture Strategy.

Let me know your thoughts on Moses in the comments.

Through The Ages - Card - Julius Caesar

This is a series of blogs written about each card in Through The Ages.  To find more, simply click on "Cards" label.
Julius Caesar

History

Of all leaders of Rome, perhaps none is as well known as Julius Caesar.  Born into an elite family in July of 100 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar's immediate family was not particularly political.  Upon his father's death, Julius Caesar became the head of his household.  He was nominated for the position of High Priest of Jupiter, a position where he could not sleep 3 nights outside of Rome, touch a horse, or look upon an army.  This fate was averted, however, when his Uncle Gaius Marius lost a political struggle to Lucius Sulla and Julius was forced into hiding.

The Roman Republic would never be the same.

Caesar joined the military where he won the second highest military decoration possible.  He set to return to Rome in 78 B.C. when news of Sulla's death reached him, where he lived in the Lower Class neighborhood and became a lawyer, the wealth of his family having been confiscated by Sulla.  While sailing across the Aegean, he was captured by pirates, and, at his own urging, was ransomed for twice what the pirates initially thought was a good price.  Upon reaching home safely, he raised a fleet, capture the pirates and had them put to death.

Upon his return, he began an ascent into politics.  He rose steadily through the political ranks, forming alliances as necessary.  Eventually he achieved the rank of governorship, but deeply in debt he decided to money the old fashioned way: military conquest.

First he defeated the Gauls, where he learned to conquer each tribe one at a time rather than all at once. Caesar's conquests were not without defeats, but his military career was more successful than those of other governors of the time.  The actual number of enemy killed by Caesar is unknown as his own propaganda inflated the numbers, but it is known he defeated many Germanic tribes and eventually landed in Briton.

Meanwhile, Civil war erupted in Rome, with an eventual victor being Pompey.  Pompey ordered Caesar to return to Rome.  Caesar, fearing being jailed by Pompey (an old political compatriot and now rival), brought a legion of troops with him.  Again, Rome fell into civil revolt.  Caesar took control of the city and began using his army to defeat his opposition.  Ruthless in his reign, Caesar tracked Pompey to Egypt, hired assassins to kill Pompey, then the assassins killed after they had succeeded.

Upon his return the Roman Senate bestowed Caesar the honor of "Emperor for Life".  In Caesar's case, this "life" was to last only one year.  However, his political reforms were tremendous to the Romans.  Debt was reduced through pardons, foreignors made citizens, and pardons issued.  He was immensely popular, and when he was assassinated, Rome again fell into disarray.  His great-grandnephew would use Caesar's popularity to raise an army of commoners against the professional soldiers of the "corrupt" senate.  This relative of Caesar was successful, and the people crowned him "Emperor Augustus Caesar", the first emperor of the Roman Empire.
Game Stats

Julius Caesar is a popular leader, and it is easy to see why.  The game statistics below show, while Julius does not guarantee a victory, he does provide a huge boost.  His boost in odds is the single largest boost of any leader in the game.  This confirms the importance of military options early in the game which may be exploited later.  His power seems somewhat lame at first, but if used properly, his abilities pay for themself.
Opinions

ulius Caesar is usually the first, or second, leader chosen.  The ability to draw an additional military card is huge, but not overwhelming.  If a bad card draw or poorly timed military failure disrupts the plan, Julius will not recover.  Those who fail with Julius usually use their military superiority too early, failing to give their economic engine a proper boost.  Therefore, although Julius boosts your military strength, do not neglect the economics.  Despite the statistics, I still prefer Aristotle over Julius Caesar, but that is more a personal taste and is debatable.

Through The Ages - Card - Alexander the Great

This is a series of blogs written about each card in Through The Ages.  To find more, simply click on "Cards" label.
Alexander The Great

History

A country on the brink of collapse, a people in turmoil, and the threat of invasion by any of its neighbors.  The king and military of 4000 men were dead after a disastrous battle, and the vacant throne was attracting many claimants   This was the state of affairs of Macedonia around 359 BC when one of the king's sons rose to power.  One year later the internal threats were eliminated, its borders secured, and the military reorganized.  Through diplomacy, marriage, and military conquest, the country of Macedonia grew from a collapsing nation to a military might.  That leader's name was: Phillip II.

Under Phillip's leadership, Macedonia grew to a great power which threatened the might of its strongest neighbors: Persia.  In 336 BC Phillip invaded Persia.  His army was now a well oiled machine.  Professionally trained and experienced, the force seemed unstoppable with Phillip's will guiding them.  At a wedding celebration, Phillip was assassinated.  Whether by a man driven to madness, or a plot by his son, the man who turned Macedonia around was dead.  The Persians waited to see if Macedonia would collapse, or at least fall back into less militaristic ways.

But Phillip's son, Alexander III, inherited his father's throne, the military that went with it, and the teachings of Aristotle (another leader in Through The Ages).  If the hope was Phillip's death would halt the expansion of Macedonian rule, the world was mistaken.  Alexander ruthlessly executed all his internal opposition.  Seeing a moment of potential weakness, the Thracians, Illyrians, and Greeks rose up to rebel.

With incredible martial awareness, Alexander defeated the Thracians in a series of battles and a week later, after marching across Macedonia, defeated the Illyrians.  Rumors of Alexander's death raised the spirits of the Greeks, who were severely disappointed when Alexander appeared with his army outside the gates of Thebes.  The rest of Greece held its breath and awaited the outcome as Alexander's army laid siege to Thebes.  Thebes fell.  The city was razed to the ground, it's citizens killed or sold into slavery. The will of the Greeks crumbled and accepted the rule of their new ruler.

Under his rule the Macedonian nation became an empire.  Alexander and his armies conquered Asia Minor, the Persians, and all armies in his way until the empire stretched to the Indus River in modern day Pakistan.  Eventually it was Alexander's men who demanded he return to Macedonia rather than march further east.

Alexander was a master of all aspects of martial warfare.  He understood logistics, supply, and morale.  His army moved fast and maintained discipline.  They were adept at fighting in defense, in attack and in laying siege.  During his Eastern march, Alexander was never defeated in a battle.  Today, many cities bear some version of Alexander's name: Alexandria, Egypt; Alexandira Asiana, Iran; Iskandaria, Iran; and more.  Through Alexander, Greek influence spread well beyond Greece and into Asia.  Alexander set the stage for the coming of the Roman Empire, although it was his father, Phillip II, who gave the Western World its greatest (arguable) contribution to military might: Heavy Infantry.

Game Stats

Alexander the Great is not as effective in the game as he was in real life. He is overshadowed by many other Leaders: Julius Caesar, Aristotle, and Moses.  Every unit dedicated to Military grants an additional strength.  True to the real life namesake, Alexander could stand evenly with any other military leader in the game with this ability.
Opinions
Opinions

Alexander's statistics, perhaps more than any other leader, stresses the importance of concentrating on Economy over Military in the early game.  Nearly 70% of the games he appears in result in the player achieving 3rd or 4th place.  Less than 7% of his appearances result in a first place win.

I believe Alexander should best be taken as a counter to Julius Caesar.  Despite having an obvious military advantage, the player should concentrate on economy first and military second.  The temptation with Alexander is to force an early military arms race.  Although the player may win the short term race for Age I, once Alexander leaves play the player will discover they are at a military disadvantage.  Furthermore, the other players will be filled with vengeance.

Overall, I recommend passing on Alexander.  It is my opinion there are more effective Age I leaders available than Alexander at Age A.   If considering Alexander, try passing on him and choosing an Age I leader instead just to see if they perform better.  In short, Alexander is an enticing Mousetrap, luring the player in with great promise only to crush the player's hopes of victory.
References
1 http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html
2 http://www.history.com/topics/alexander-the-great
3http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/PhilipofMacedon.html

HIS - Card Driven Game

Sample Basic Card

Anatomy of a Card

Cards in Here I Stand have a few important features: primarily the card text and the command points.  The command points are located in a shield icon in the upper left corner.    Command Points (CP) are the "currency" in the game, used to perform any action: from building troops, to moving armies, to sending explorers to the New World.  When a player plays a card for CP, any points not spent are lost.

Sample Mandatory Card
with Turn Availability

The second major use of a card is for the text effect.  The text outlines specific events or modifies outcomes.  Normally, a card can only be used for one or the other, either CP or text.   But there are some cards which are "Mandatory", as shown to the left.  These cards have three  effects.  First, when played, the card text must take effect.  Second, the card provides its CP to the player who played the card.  Mandatory cards, as the names implies, must be played during the players turn.

Lastly, some cards have a "Turn X" written in their upper right.  These cards are shuffled into the draw deck starting on the given turn.  If a card is played for its effect, the card may leave play.  These cards have the words "Remove from play" at their bottom.

Home Cards

Hapsburg Home Card

Every player has a 'Home' Card.  These cards, unlike the others which are drawn randomly, are available every turn to their player.  Every player holds a single Home Card, with the exception of the Papacy which has two Home Cards.  These cards are Mandatory cards, they must be played every turn.

Passing

During the game players may "pass" their turn.  This allows the player to hold on to key cards until their next turn.  However, players may not pass until three conditions are met:

1. All the player's cards saying "Mandatory Event" the player has in hand are played,
2. The player's Home Card has been played,
3. The player has no more cards in hand than their leader's "Admin Rating".

Effects on the Game

This system has several effects on the game and game style.  First, the more cards the player has, the more likely they are to have more CP to spend on performing actions.  Second, more cards leads to more options, particularly with text effects.  Lastly, the more cards a player has the longer the player may "delay" events or actions till other players have no or few cards.  This lets the player perform actions with a reduced probability of them being interfered with by the other players.

Running out of cards before the other players can be a risky proposition.  It leaves the player effectively defenseless against the player's other options.  A player must balance when it is a good decision to run their hand out of cards in order to achieve their goals, letting the other player's carry on with no danger.  Similarly, it is sometimes beneficial to hold on to a card as a "bluff", forcing the other player(s) to decide if preceding with their course of action may result in their action being interrupted, or plans foiled.