Nevsky is a cool game. It dares to be different and breaks wargaming pedagogy in many delightful ways. It eschews hexes and counters, for euro-style mats and colorful bits of wood. Instead of Ardennes, Normandy or Gettysburg we get the Northern Catholic Crusades. Instead of a tactical or strategic focus we get an operational examination of medieval warfare. It truly is a “Road Not Taken” wargame.
I hope my slightly contrived solo playthrough was interesting to the small group of people that might read my blog. I should mention that Nevsky is one of a series of similar games covering other equally interesting if somewhat obscure military conflicts. The titles currently in print are:
Like most war games, the box is full of historical facts and information about Alexander Nevsky and the other colorful people and historical characters surrounding the events of the game. There is a list of source material to peruse if you wish to learn more about Nevsky and the Northern Crusades that made him famous.
The scenario just played is the smallest offering in the game. The full campaign is 16 turns and covers several seasons. A full campaign would feature lords coming in and out of the story. There will be changes in weather that affect your transportation options. You will need sleds to transport your provender across trackways in winter.
There are a few other bits of the game that I did not get into. There is a mechanic for William of Modena an agent of the catholic church who offers benefits to the crusaders. The Russians have the Veche of Novgorod that has unique benefits to the Russians. These two aspects of the game introduce an interesting political dimension to play through cards unique to each.
Nevsky is currently out of print but you can often find used copies of older wargames if you do some hunting. It is a cool game worth your time if anything in the blog series has piqued your interest.
Strategic Buffoonery 