Machiavelli (board game)
Encyclopedia
Machiavelli is a strategic
board game
created by S. Craig Taylor and James B. Wood, and released commercialy in 1977 by Battleline Publications
, later taken over by Avalon Hill
. Set in Renaissance Italy, the board is controlled by the Republic of Florence
, the Republic of Venice
, the Duchy of Milan
, the Kingdom of Naples
, the Papacy
, Valois France, Habsburg Austria, and the Ottoman Turks
.
The game shares most of the basic rules of its predecessor Diplomacy
, and introduces many new rules such as money, bribery, three seasons per year, garrisons, and random events such as plague and famine. It features scenarios tailored for as little as four and as many as eight players.
The game board is a map of the Italian Peninsula
and its nearby countries, including the southeast of France
, Switzerland
, Austria
, Hungary
, the coasts of the Adriatic Sea
, Tunis
, and the mediterranean islands Corsica
and Sardinia
. The board is divided in 73 different areas. There are two types of areas: provinces and seas. Some of the provinces have a city, that in some cases can be fortified. Some of these fortified cities have a port.
Each player has a set of tokens that represent three types of military units: armies, fleets and garrisons. All of a player's tokens have the same colour. Also, the game includes other tokens, such as assassination tokens, rebellion tokens, famine tokens and ducats (the coinage in Machiavelli).
Machiavelli includes two 6-sided dice that are used only with some optional or advanced rules, such as natural disasters or assassinations.
The game includes a rulebook and eight cheatsheets, one for each player.
A game is divided in years and each year in three seasons (spring, summer and fall). Each season is, in fact, a game turn. The turns of all the players are played simultaneously; they must secretely write down their orders and these orders are read aloud when all the players have finished. This system makes Machiavelli a suitable game to play by mail
.
The rulebook describes four official scenarios that explain the initial setup of the military units of each player.
In the basic game, in which no advanced or optional rules are applied, every year is played by the following sequence:
In the orders writing phase, the player can assign an order to each one of his units. The available orders are Hold, Advance, Besiege, Support and Convoy.
The advanced game adds the following rules:
Also there are some optional rules to make the game funnier and add some randomness:
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
created by S. Craig Taylor and James B. Wood, and released commercialy in 1977 by Battleline Publications
Battleline Publications
Battleline Publications was a board wargame company founded by Steven Peek in 1973. Output was relatively low at first, with each game being funded by sales of the one before, but their games were generally well-respected. Several were re-published by Avalon Hill, and their second game, Wooden...
, later taken over by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
. Set in Renaissance Italy, the board is controlled by the Republic of Florence
Republic of Florence
The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...
, the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, the Papacy
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, Valois France, Habsburg Austria, and the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
The game shares most of the basic rules of its predecessor Diplomacy
Diplomacy (game)
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959. Its main distinctions from most board wargames are its negotiation phases and the absence of dice or other game elements that produce random effects...
, and introduces many new rules such as money, bribery, three seasons per year, garrisons, and random events such as plague and famine. It features scenarios tailored for as little as four and as many as eight players.
Overview
Machiavelli is designed to be played by a group of 4 to 8 players. However, the official scenarios are best played with 6 or 8 players. Each one of the players controls one of the available powers.The game board is a map of the Italian Peninsula
Italian Peninsula
The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is one of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe , spanning from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south. The peninsula's shape gives it the nickname Lo Stivale...
and its nearby countries, including the southeast of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, the coasts of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
, Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, and the mediterranean islands Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
and Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. The board is divided in 73 different areas. There are two types of areas: provinces and seas. Some of the provinces have a city, that in some cases can be fortified. Some of these fortified cities have a port.
Each player has a set of tokens that represent three types of military units: armies, fleets and garrisons. All of a player's tokens have the same colour. Also, the game includes other tokens, such as assassination tokens, rebellion tokens, famine tokens and ducats (the coinage in Machiavelli).
Machiavelli includes two 6-sided dice that are used only with some optional or advanced rules, such as natural disasters or assassinations.
The game includes a rulebook and eight cheatsheets, one for each player.
Playing the game
To win a game of Machiavelli, a player must get the control of a certain number of provinces before the other players. Usually, the game ends when a player gets the control of 15 provinces, though a longer game can be agreed in which the winner needs to control half of the provinces (i.e. 23 provinces).A game is divided in years and each year in three seasons (spring, summer and fall). Each season is, in fact, a game turn. The turns of all the players are played simultaneously; they must secretely write down their orders and these orders are read aloud when all the players have finished. This system makes Machiavelli a suitable game to play by mail
Play-by-mail game
Play-by-mail games, sometimes known as "Play-by-post", are games, of any type, played through postal mail or e-mail. One example, chess, has been played by mail for centuries . Another example, Diplomacy, has been played by mail since the 1960s, starting with a printed newsletter written by John...
.
The rulebook describes four official scenarios that explain the initial setup of the military units of each player.
In the basic game, in which no advanced or optional rules are applied, every year is played by the following sequence:
- Spring
- Update the control of provinces
- Adjust military units
- Diplomacy
- Orders writing
- Conflict resolution
- Retreats
- Summer
- Diplomacy
- Orders writing
- Conflict resolution
- Retreats
- Fall
- Diplomacy
- Orders writing
- Conflict resolution
- Retreats
In the orders writing phase, the player can assign an order to each one of his units. The available orders are Hold, Advance, Besiege, Support and Convoy.
The advanced game adds the following rules:
- Finances
- Expenses, including bribes
- Rebellions
- Assassinations
Also there are some optional rules to make the game funnier and add some randomness:
- Excommunication
- Natural disasters (famine and plague)
- Special units
- Strategic movement
- Money lenders
- Conquering
External links
- Page of Machiavelli in BoardGameGeek.
- Condottieri - Online version of Machiavelli (open source; english, spanish and german).