How to Win as the Protestants in Here I Stand (Three Basic Tips, #10)

Haven’t done a strategy post in over a year! But I know you like them, so there will be more of them over the next months.

Today, we’re returning to a mainstay: Here I Stand (Ed Beach, GMT Games) is one of my favorite games ever – if not my favorite game of all. (I should really do one of those Top X games of all times posts!) So far, we’ve had three strategy articles for it already:

• How to Win as the Hapsburgs in Here I Stand
• How to Win as the Papacy in Here I Stand
• How to Win as England in Here I Stand

All of them have been in the tried-and-true fashion of giving three basic tips which new and intermediate players can easily remember. Today, we’re doing that with the faction whose emergence started the whole scenario for Here I Stand: The Protestants! They play a bit differently than most of the other factions. Here’s how to make the most of the explosive potential of this faction, to avoid the most dangerous trap for it, and to push yourself over the finish line once you have come out as a fully-fledged contender.

Blog Recommendations, #1

Earlier this year, I assessed the state of board game/history blogging and found it to be somewhat better than expected. Reports on the death of blogging seem to have been greatly exaggerated. I resolved to highlight great blogs more often so that my loyal readers will find additional sources of inspiration and enjoyment. So, here are the first recommendations – three of my favorite blogs!

Glimming Embers: 1849 (1848, #5)

Welcome back to the fifth – and last – instalment of the 1848 series! So far, we’ve seen the European continent erupt in a plethora of revolutions fueled by liberal, democratic, and nationalist demands. The centrifugal tendency of their underlying movements turned out to be no match for a unified response of the conservative, monarchist forces which mostly restored the old order by the end of 1848.

In this post, we’ll have a look at the last attempts of the revolutionaries to create a new world in 1849 in Germany, Italy, and Hungary before we turn to what remained of the great revolutionary conflagration of 1848/49.

The State of Blogging

This is a blog. The hottest medium of self-expression… in 2003. Since then, blogs have turned from the exciting new thing to something a lot of people were dabbling in to something a lot of people had once dabbled in. Now, conventional wisdom has it, the blogosphere is withering away – including the blogs on history and/or board games. Let’s see if that is true, what might have replaced blogs, and what that means for this particular blog here.

SDHistCon Online Winter Quarters 2024

One of my board gaming resolutions for this year is to attend the right events – those that are really up my alley. In that spirit, I once more attended the San Diego Historical Games Convention (online)… with a slightly more active role than before.

2024 Board Gaming Resolutions

It’s good to have goals. Thinking about them gives you clarity on what you want, chasing them is fun, and fulfilling them even better. Thus, here are my board gaming resolutions for 2024.

BochumCon 2024

I had the special pleasure of attending BochumCon on the first January weekend! BochumCon is a small invite-only convention held in Bochum, Germany focusing on longer, more complex games (often with a historical theme) organized by designer Matthias Cramer (of Weimar and Watergate fame). Here’s how it went.

Most Anticipated Historical Board Game Releases in 2024

Happy new year, everybody! I hope it will bring you much joy. I also hope it will bring you board games (which is basically the same thing). The question is, however: Which games? – Here are a few 2024 releases which look most intriguing to me.

As always, don’t take this as a shopping list (neither for you nor for me). Your taste in games and your discretion how many new games you want to chase decide what will end up in your shelf (and, hopefully, on your table)!

After that reminder, on to the games. As all of them are set in human history, they are ordered from most ancient to most recent.

Farewell 2023 – Best on the Blog!

Now the year truly comes to a close. I’ve celebrated the sixth anniversary of this blog this year. I guess that means it’s time for this blog to grow up and go to school. Let’s see what has been going on here this year – as the last Farewell 2023 post.

Farewell 2023 – Historical Games!

Games + History = Life.

Here are the three that gave me most life this year!

You can read the other Farewell 2023 articles here:

Farewell 2023 – New-to-Me Games

Farewell 2023 – Historical Fiction

Farewell 2023 – Non-Historical Games

Farewell 2023 – Historical Non-Fiction

Farewell 2023 – Best on the Blog