The actual battle is very simpleEach player rolls a die and must roll equal to or under the value of his Fief forceIf so, a hit is inflicted on the enemy, and one of his force cards is removedAll players roll and enemy troops eliminated before the enemy gets a chance to strike backThe enemy's attack is handled in a similar fashionBasically, the last side standing wins the war

If Sweden wins, each player who participated in the war gets to claim bootyThis takes the form of taking one of the following three options: 1) Take a History card; 2) Take a Fief card; OR 3) Roll 3 dice and take that amount in goldHowever, if Sweden loses the war, all Fiefs that are in the dominion of that foreign country are removed from play and players also are in jeopardy of losing another Fief (based on a die roll)Even those players who opted not to participate in the war have a 50 percent chance of losing a Fief

The game ends following the 16th game turnStatus points are tallied and the victor determinedPlayers earn status points in the following categories:

  • GOLD: For every 20 gold pieces, 1 status point (SP) is earned

     

  • FIEFS: For every three crown symbols on the fief cards in your possession (cards can contain from 1-3 crowns), 1 SP is earned

     

  • TROOPS: For every two troop symbols on the fief cards in your possession, 1 SP is earned

     

  • HISTORY CARDS: Players get 1 SP for every three history cards of the same series (Queen, Military, Cultural Personality, Scientist, Palace)Each additional card in the series earns another SP

     

  • MERCHANTS: For every three merchants a player has on the board, 1 SP is earned

    Thus, during the course of the game, choosing which of the three actions to execute during a turn is a vital decisionOne must insure a healthy flow of income so he can take advantage of the four history cards available for purchase (only one of which may be purchased during your turn), the fiefs available for purchase (again, only one per turn, and only if you chose Agriculture as your action), and send out merchants to foreign countriesThe more merchants you have in a particular country, the more income you receiveThis increases substantially with each additional merchant in that country

    One of the potential strategies in times of war is to not commit troops to the warSince this is all done simultaneously, other players may have been counting on your participation and will be handicapped without itWe found, however, that everyone wanted to participate in a war due to the rich spoils which were available following a victoryI'm sure that with more experience, this tactic of leaving other players "out to dry" would prove effective and damage your opponents

     

    Well, as I mentioned earlier, Svea Rike the game is driven by event cardsThus, the best laid plans and tactics can be scuttled by timely and vicious play of event cardsThis has never bothered me in a game, but players who prefer games wherein they can implement long-term strategies and see them through to fruitation will not like the chaos the event cards create in this gameIt is one that must be played with the right group of gamers -- those who enjoy a free-wheeling, chaotic game that does require planning and strategy, but also requires players to adapt to the chaos created by the cards.