Designer: Amabel Holland
Duration: 30 minutes
Players: 2
Solitaire Suitability: High
Theme: 18th Century
MSRP: $20.00
Great Battles of Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine is the sixth expansion to Amabel Holland's Table Battles, taking as its subject the not-exactly illustrious career of its namesake. Oh, the six battles in this set are "great" battles, including some of the most famous engagements of the eighteenth century. But they're not famous because of Charles, who is widely regarded as one of the worst commanders in history. They're famous because of guys like Frederick the Great and Maurice de Saxe, who ran circles around our boy Chuck, inflicting one humiliating defeat after another. Of course, the battles didn't have to end the way they did, and perhaps with your skill and a little luck, the outcomes might be very different!
This builds on some of the layers added in the last two expansions, and adds some new wrinkles of its own! Linked formations support one another, and tactical victory conditions allow you to win by attrition when a more decisive outcome is out of your grasp. Cards are demarcated as Infantry or Cavalry formations (with illustrations!), and the new Shift mechanic allows you to move forces of a certain type from one card to another. This not only can shore up places where your lines are weak, but if you concentrate enough force in one area, the resulting Oblique Attack can inflict heavier casualties on the enemy.
The six battles in this set are:
Hohenfriedberg
Soor
Rocoux
Prague
Breslau
Leuthen
