Empires in Arms is the computer version of Australian Design Group classic board game. Empires in Arms is a seven player game of grand strategy set during the Napoleonic period of 1805-1815. The unit scale is corps level with full diplomatic options
He manipulated while you sat in Madrid, unbesieged?
Yep your buddy cheated
8.4.1 OCCUPIED HOME NATION CAPITAILS: If a major power home nation capital is enemy occupied and unbesieged during a Manipulation Step, the major power without a capital may not collect money (see 8.2. 1. 1) or carry out any previously set economic manipulation (see option 12.5) or set any new economic manipulation ("O" must be set). Instead, the major power's political status marker must be adjusted on the POLITICAL- STATUS DISPILAY on the Status Card to show the following drop in points:
It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.
-Edmund Burke
the major power without a capital may not collect money (see 8.2.1.1)
Now, as read, it means no money. No taxation, no trade, no convoy, NO MONEY. But then you look up 8.2.1.1 and it ONLY refers to taxation.
8.2.1 MONEY COLLECTION
8.2.1.1 MONEY COLLECTION BY TAXATION
8.2.1.2 MONEY COLLECTION BY TRADE
8.2.1.2.1 Domestic (Normal) Trade
8.2.1.2.2 Overseas Trade
8.2.1.2.2.1 British Colonial Trade
8.2.1.2.2.2 American Trade
8.2.1.2.2.2.1 American Trade Value
8.2.1.2.2.2.2 Stopping American Trade-War With the United States
You would think this rule would refer to all of 8.2.1, because it's right there "may not collect money", but no...
You could estimate the amount of gold flowing into Spanish ports by measuring the inflationary pressure against the Spanish currency that such influxes caused.
Well all these Spainish stories are making me want to tell mine. Only the first bit is really relevant to the thread.
Playing Spain I was approached by France at the start of the game to start allied with him and at war with England. We were to start with our fleets stacked together in the Bay of Biscay for the big combined attack on England. It's a risky strategy. The French/Spanish navy is just slightly bigger than the British (106 to 99). IF (and it's a big IF) the combined fleet can get the wind and first shot then it has a very good chance of beating the Brits.
Before agreeing to this risk I got the French to promise to replace all Spanish losses in the battle. Losing the Spanish fleet at the start of the game IS NOT a good idea. But that's covered in the thread above. As it turned out we got the wind and beat the British fleet and chased them back to London. Upshot: British fleet destroyed, Spain VERY rich (got the cash settlement from the unconditional surrender and spent it all on ships) and spent the rest of the game making the British fleet my b*tch any time they looked like they were getting strong enough to threaten me. Free money and PP's at will. Oh joyous day, kaloo kalay! So it CAN work but it relies on luck and you'd be better off covering your bases with some kick backs from the French. As it was I got the cash AND the French rebuilt my losses (not very heavy) from the battle. But
Game got very interesting thereafter. The French player got sick and had to replaced by a complete newbie. France crashed and burned under Prustrian attacks. I tried to help but the new player was more keen on hitting the Brits (personal reasons, they were good friends) than fighting for his own survival. I was allied with the Turks and (eviscerated)French against a powerful Central Powers. Russia was largely neutral, occasionally getting some PPs from Turkey. The game never finished (no surprise there) but we were slowly fighting back against the Central Powers.
One thing the Spanish can do if they have a free hand in the Med is to make amphibious assaults all over Italy and even into Illyria (but be careful of Insurrection Corps there.)
Oddly I too finished second. Good place for Spain I think.
I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
Reading through all this has reminded me why EiA is such a solid game, especially with multiplayer.
As I see it, there is no universal strategy for Spain. You aren't in a position to be a dominant personality and, more importantly, you should avoid being seen as one.
Spain though is in a catseat position, like Russia, in that people would always like to find ways to use you without going to war with you. Your position is better than Russia's though because everyone looks at Russia as a threat. That means your strength is in bending and bargaining with the dominants. Play both sides and read the players carefully.
One strategy that might work is to encourage the rise of the Turk therefore both Britain and France will be more than happy to support you trying to curb their aggression.
Britain may be the hardest one to deal with, especially if they get it into their mind that they can't be safe as long as you have a dominant fleet. You may need to play a psychological game of getting others to compete with Britain navally but publicly making huge and unacceptable demands if anyone wants Spanish naval support. Give Britain reason to believe that you're too focussed on preserving your fleet to ever risk it in battle. Maybe let someone sink a few of your ships and go overboard on how devestating this is to you on principle, but not showing that you need it for something.
Alot of excellent advice here. But as I have noted for my last 30 years as a gamer,(boardgames, miniatures, and PC) most wargamers tend to under rate Spain. Spain has always been my favorite Napoleonic country. Remember first which country actually won the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain, the leading naval power. In EinA Spain is the second largest naval power. I tend to think thats a good position to be in. For example if the British fleet is defeated Spain moves to the top of that list.
Don't forget minor fleets; Portugal of course, and possibly Sicily, the Dutch, and with French help even Denmark. Of course its unlikely that all the minor fleets will be acquired, that would be suicide for the British if they allowed the Spanish to do that, but if Spain can acquirer just two minor fleets that will provide enough ships to raise the value of Spanish friendship significantly.
On the land side of the game, do not use your armys fight battles against the French that you can not win. Remember in the real war the French held Madrid for almost the entire 7 years of the war. What good did it do them? Over those 7 years Napoleon lost 250,000 men in Spain, mostly to the guerrillas (a Spanish word) and attrition. You can't collect your taxes but you'll have British subsidies, and the gold convoy. Place your army units in strong garrisons in the distant Spanish port cities like Cadiz so that the French will have to stretch their LOC to the limit if they want to attempt a seige. Then if your concerned that the French might win a seige you can evacuate by sea. If you notice a position where the French are weak use your fleets to land and destroy the French units at that location. Its the Russian strategy, when Napoleon took Moscow the Czar sat back and let the French bleed. He didn't surrender, you don't have to either. One other point if the French get very aggresive you can move your armies to North Africa. Let him try to get at them there.
To finish I wish to revisit my original point. The Napoleonic Wars were not about "Le Grande Arme", they were about the British Navy. Napoleon's deathblow came on Oct. 21, 1805.
Allow me to quote Alfred Mahan; "The world has never seen a more impressive demonstration of the influence of sea power upon its history. Those far distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and dominion of the world."
The world has never seen a more impressive demonstration of the influence of sea power upon history. Those far distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and the dominion of the world. -- Alfred Thayer Mahan
Yes I agree, and I would add, very few Frenchmen would have agreed with me as well, but then hindsight is a wonderful thing.
The world has never seen a more impressive demonstration of the influence of sea power upon history. Those far distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and the dominion of the world. -- Alfred Thayer Mahan
First off I agree with most of what everyone has to say.
I one thought, with three solid allies running Spain, Russia and Turkey can be a very powerful group.
Russia and Spain can take GB and deal with the french boats.
On the land, Turkey can help the sleeping bear that is Russia with cannon fodder. And Russia gives Turkey some real moral to start a battle.
I'm not saying it's easy, but the 3 can deliver some real pain if working well together.
Al
In my opinion Spain should seek a long term alliance with GB more than with France; although I agree when you people say that Spain can add some threats to French plans, France won't lose the chance to hit Spain during continental lapse of war...
I never played Spain, I'm just reporting my observer's thoughts:)
You should toad GB, even if it means losing minors (this is their final use), and enter the continental war at its side in exchange of Portugal and financial aid; try to negociate to get involved after you conquer Portugal. Not because of its ships or manpower, but flatly because by that time France will easily have nearly all its corps far away from you.
Getting into the war will grant you the same lapse of war as central empires', avoiding you to bear a standalone war.
Of course you should keep an open diplomatic channel with Austria to get your slice of Italy in exchange for your help.
About minors: always keep in mind that you win with pps. Minors are useful to build and mantain armys and fleet. Spain doesn't need much manpower to reach a good army size - compared to its depressing max allowance, of course - but it surely needs money to build ships. You better get minors in Northafrica and give them to GB - that desperatly needs every single filthy mp point:) - in exchange of good treaties and bucks.
One last thing - actually the most important: make yourself absolutely clear with GB that you'll not tolerate the entire french fleet destruction! If it happens immedialtely set up a coalition with Russia and Turkey and hit GB as hard and soon as you can, no matter what you 3 are doing.
You'll be as worthy as mud to GB if France loses its fleet and unless a Ru-Sp-Tu coalition acts immediately you'll all be single impotent targets to the british.
I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind sometimes... I really did not see the signal!
I think one of the better strategies with Spain is to simple sit on the fence and not commit to anything with either GB or France for as long as possible and to pursue your own goals in the meantime.
Play with Spain is quite difficult, but it is one of the countries (together with Great Britain) in those that better you can see the hand of the good or the bad player. Is a diplomatic game, in essential. The better wealth of Spain is her fleet and the impossibility of to be invaded. The fleet you must always conserve her, never to expose it and to protect her with all the possible corps in Cádiz, and from where you can threaten Great Britain. It begins this way a diplomatic game of threats between Great Britain and Spain, and of approach between France and Spain. But you should never take the alliance with France to their last consequences (it will finish betraying you: France only needs your fleet, not your army), and never taking the threat to Great Britain at the end (or you lose the fleet, and then you don't serve France, or you eliminate the British danger, and then you are no longer useful). You can promises a lot, but have tha ability for not signing those like treaties that become turn against you, or of finding excuses that allow you to conserve your value and not-replacing ships and men. Non agression and mutual assistance is the diplomatic system.
It uses this ambiguous posture to negotiate small achievements: takes out money to Great Britain in exchange for not attacking; takes out small territories to France (Italy, free action in the North of África) to France in exchange for continuing on their side. It can be interesting to reinforce the role of Spain associating to the (you don't forget it) third fleet, the Russian, but this movement depends on Russian player's kind..
While this stays this way, Spain will go growing as power and it will maintain safe their powers. But if fails interfering hard in some big campaign (with France or another Great Power) and losing their army or their fleet, Spain turn as a secondary country that won't be able to avoid the Ottoman expansion, will lose the game.
Most of which is written above is true from my pont of view.
BUT:
I don't think an ally with GB would be any use for a Spain.
1.
GB has the same interests as Spain! Just think of Portugal, Gibraltar, North Africa, etc.
2.
You don't want France to conquer you! He has the Anti-Guerilla-Step!
3.
What do you have to offer? Nothing to GB except keeping peace. And France: Help against those nasty GB fleets.
From my point of view the best possible alliance would be (from the beginning of the game):
Spain - France - Russia
You three can crush the GB fleets and with only a few troops you and Russia may conquer GB. What's in it for you and your allies?
France:
A quick and victorious end of the war against GB. Removal of the most annoying leader in the game! Free back to advance against Austria and Prussia.
Russia:
He can be garuanteed to get Scandinavia maybe even Denmark and Poland if he gets into the war with Prussia. The required provinces of Austria for getting dominant if he gets into the war with Austria. And maybe a Province of GB [:)]!
Spain:
Of course most important. You may advance in Northern Africa without fearing intervention of the English. You get Portugal! You seize Gibraltar (And with Morokko you can seal of the gate to the Atlantic)! And withe the right diplomacy (with France) you can get Italy and a couple other areas in the Mediterranean (MALTA!). And last bot sure not least! You are THE naval power! And you may even get the dominant status (but do not get into the way of the French)
Afterwards you and Russia may decide to go for Turkey, but that needs to be seen!
First: Crush the GBs with France & Russia!
Second: Get Gibraltar, Poland, Malta, Italy (no need to do it in this order)
Third: Go for northern Africa.
And after GB's finished of it's a win-win situation!
There are only 10 types of people in the world!
Those who can read binary - and those who don't!
Lately as Spain, i've become a fan of demanding huge $$$ from Britain, or I threaten to go to war on her and ally with france. Within a year's time either Spanish or French corps will be sitting in London. If things go bad for us, I can always stockpile in ireland.
Nelson stood on deck and observed as the last of the Spanish fleets sank below the waves…
Rolling back to the early game: Portugal is yours, and so are Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Naples is yours too, but make sure you do not excessively antagonize the russians over it. You should declare war on both Naples and Portugal on the first turn, get those extra 17 ships in your ranks as soon as possible. Make it very clear that suiciding these minor countries's fleets will be considered a casus belli.
When you refer to gaining a casus belli, are you refering to the Major Power player who is controlling the Minor?
