Victory and Empire

This page provides access to an alternate victory point system for Empires in Arms. If you use these rules, or have questions or comments, please drop me a line.

Issues

In the standard rules the most dangerous threat a power can make is to win the game. This leads to weird anhistorical declarations of war against the most succesful countries, in an effort to extend the game long enough for the declarer to share in the win.

Also, victory points can normally only be earnt in warfare. This leads to odd declarations of war without objective, which are also anhistorical.

This motivates three features of the following system.

• Victory points earnt during peacetime based on the results of previous wars, via territorial control. Wars are therefore principally declared by the loser of the previous conflict, seeking redress.
• A victory interpretation independent of other players' performance.
• A game duration independent of the achievements of any particular player.

Other approaches to this problem (notably that due to Hank Meyer and that due to Kurt Frank) have been supplemental to the normal victory system. This system is intended to replace the standard system.

Deletions

Definitions

GERMANY means for each of Baden, Bavaria, Berg, Duchies, Hanover, Hesse, Kleves, Mecklenburg, Palatinate, Saxony and Wurttemburg. (Not Switzerland.) Add one if the Confederation of the Rhine is controlled. Magdeburg counts if it is part of a political combination and the power scoring is not Prussia. Tyrol counts if it is part of a political combination and the power scoring is not Austria.

OTTOMAN means for each of Algeria, Cyrenaica, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tripolitania and Tunisia. Add one if the Ottoman Empire is controlled.

POLAND means for each province that is a district of Poland, except for provinces of the major power controlling Poland.

AUSTRIA, FRANCE, GREAT BRITAIN, PRUSSIA, RUSSIA, SPAIN, TURKEY mean for each of the last three provinces of the respective major power. So if a major power has ceded three provinces to other major powers then it scores nothing.

End of Game

Zones of Interest

Procedure

Each major power scores victory points for territories it controls every economic interphase. Be generous about allowing countries to create political combinations, etc., in order to score more victory points. The initial victory point award per turn is shown (in parentheses) after the major power's name, players will probably want to keep track of this number as it varies due to conquest, etc..

Bonus

Loss of Minor Countries

A minor lost in this way cannot be declared on for reconquest until after the next economic interphase.

Interpretation

Divide the total by the number of victory point phases. Cross-reference this against the (currently non-existent) table below to obtain a level of victory for that power. Note that the scores obtained by other powers are irrelevant to the level of victory achieved.

Please send feedback to the author, David Bofinger. Other material can be found on my home page, including much related to Empires in Arms.