Development and Realpolitik
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Jan 23, 2023 at 05:25:53 AM

Hello Everyone!

We’re happy to say we’re meeting our latest production timetable (as set out in our last update) – the development process of the Realpolitik standalone expansion is finished, the illustrations and art are all but done, and the rulebooks are almost ready to go into DTP. Good news all around!

How is Realpolitik different from other Coalitions game?

Realpolitik features many of the same core mechanics as Coalitions, but has some key differences. Most notably, the Wheel of War is replaced by a card-based action selection mechanic. Players play and resolve one of five action cards simultaneously. This introduces more uncertainty into the actions opponents will take, and more decision-making about which action to take and when.

Diplomacy also works a bit differently, being driven by a track rather than always occurring at the same step. There are no more multi-power coalitions or neutrality. Two powers can form an alliance, but otherwise will be at war with the other powers. And, since this game is set at the start of the Industrial Revolution, there are now trains! These allow Generals and Units a pre-move prior to their main movement action, meaning movement across the map is a lot quicker.

Let’s get into more details, shall we?

Action cards, turns & rounds

A hand of Action cards is used to determine which action a Power will take this turn. Each Power has the same 5 Action cards, each allowing it to take a different action: Taxation, Mobilisation, Gain Influence, Movement, and Diplomacy.

At the start of each turn, players play their chosen Action card simultaneously. Taxation, Mobilisation, and Gain Influence (i.e. victory points) are resolved simultaneously. Movement occurs after the other actions.

Once a card has been played, it cannot be played again until the Diplomacy action is played. This allows you to return all played cards to your hand, including the Diplomacy card.

Consequently, there are no shared Rounds in a game of Realpolitik. You effectively play your own round, which ends when you take the Diplomacy action, and begins when you have a full hand of Action cards.

When the Diplomacy marker has reached the leftmost space on the Diplomacy track, players jointly resolve the Diplomacy Phase. This occurs before Movement but after all the other actions have been resolved.

Diplomatic entreaties

Each player has 2x War and 1x Alliance Diplomatic Status markers. Following any negotiations, Powers simultaneously hand a Diplomatic Status marker to each other Power (regardless of their current Diplomatic Status to each other).

Each Power then reveals the 3 markers they have received. If any Power receives an Alliance marker from a Power that they gave their Alliance marker to, those Powers are now in Alliance. In any other outcome, the Powers are At War.

Don’t forget – as in other Coalitions games, no commitment made during the negotiation step is binding. Also, it’s possible that all Powers will be At War with each other, creating quite a volatile situation on the board!

Trains

Trains can be added to the board by any Power, facilitating swift movement between Territories. Trains allow for a pre-move prior to a first round of movement. They are placed between the borders of Territories controlled by the same Power, or between Ally Powers. Some are placed at set-up, and more can be added through Mobilisation.

Once a Train is placed it remains in place for the rest of the game, regardless of if control of one or both of the adjacent Territories changes.

Prior to taking a Movement action, a power may move any number of Generals through an unlimited number of Territories they control that are connected by Trains. They may also move Units in this way between Generals that do not take a Train pre-move. You cannot use a Train to pre-move Generals or Units into a Territory you do not control, unless it is a Territory controlled by an Ally, and that Ally agrees.

News on Coalitions
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Dec 24, 2022 at 04:05:48 PM

Hello Everyone

Thank you for your patience. At this point, we're focusing on editing all the rulebooks. When we have the finished files, we will make them available to you in pdf format so that you can read them and comment on them to highlight any unclear sections or to suggest any changes.

We’re also setting up a preliminary production timetable with the manufacturers. Unfortunately, we now know the delivery dates we estimated in our last update can't be met. As of this moment, we should close the entire development process in January and finish all DTP work on the project in February. We estimate that the production of all components will last until May and their transport is set to end in June. We’ll then begin shipping out the first copies of the game to you.

Of course, we will keep you updated on any changes.

Coalitions’ delivery date and development
about 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 08, 2022 at 06:24:40 AM

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for your patience, both when it comes to the frequency of our updates, and the unpleasant news regarding our delivery dates. We know all of you hoped we’d be able to fulfill our campaign delivery goals but different factors – including our desire to make the core game and its expansions not just perfect (as much as that’s possible, naturally) but reflective of the period they represent – prevented us from accomplishing them. That said, at this point, we estimate the earliest we’d be able to deliver the games to you is the end of February 2023. We will try to confirm that delivery date in our next update (it should come out in the second week of December).

The ongoing work on the new illustrations and artwork is one of the reasons for the delay (we mentioned we hired some freelance authors in the previous update). Another one is the continuing development and playtesting of Realpolitik. Because of its uniqueness and additional gameplay mechanics (including railways and diplomatic cards), that expansion requires more work than anticipated. Getting it just right in terms of balance is of particular importance to us; we need to make sure the historical realities of that period and game mechanics work in perfect sync.

News on Coalitions
over 2 years ago – Wed, Sep 21, 2022 at 12:25:17 AM

Hello Everyone!

Unfortunately, we have just received news as to when the production and assembly of the game can take place, and it is clear now that we won’t be able to deliver Coalitions to you in 2022. Thus, we have decided to keep the Pledge Manager (and the Late Pledge) open until December.

We have also decided to cancel the two-wave shipping since the final 3D modelling process for the miniatures is nearly complete (both for the core game, and the expansions: Soldiers of Fortune and Fortresses). The additional reason is that the production of the Deluxe Miniature Set (and other minis) will take place at the same time as the printing and assembly of the rest of the project.

There's been a lot going on the development front. Since our in-house capacity is limited, we hired artist to do more illustrations for battle cards used in the expansions (each expansion will have its own, appropriately-themed set). In addition to that, Raison d'Etat’s and Realpolitik’s rulebooks are almost finished, and the Levee en Masse Expansion (alternate solo mode for the core game) is already going through playtesting.

The art of Realpolitik
over 2 years ago – Thu, Jul 28, 2022 at 12:55:56 AM

Hello Everyone!

The development of Coalitions’ standalone expansions is moving rapidly forward and we’re now in the process of writing the final version of rules (including quick play rules) for each of the Coalitions games. We also playtested the latest diplomatic ideas revealed in the previous update concerning the control of non-player powers – and they work brilliantly!

Realpolitik: war and diplomacy

In the previous update, we also mentioned Realpolitik’s rather unique approach to diplomacy. Here, as opposed to other Coalitions games, diplomacy is more individualized. Each player will hold three diplomatic cards – two to declare or continue a war and one to sign or perpetuate an alliance.

During the diplomacy phase, each player will secretly decide which card to give to which opponent. Then those cards are simultaneously revealed. If two players exchange their ‘alliance’ cards with one another, they will now be in a formal alliance. Any other option (either 'war' and 'alliance' or 'war' and 'war') results in a declaration or renewal of war. This way, any given power can be in a formal alliance with just one other power; there can never be any triple alliances in a game of Realpolitik. Of course, before you play your cards, you can – and will! – discuss your options with all the other players, and keeping informal alliances is still possible.

There is also one additional bit of news concerning Realpolitik that we haven’t yet shared. To make that expansion even more interesting, we decided to give each of the four powers their own Combat decks. While those decks are quite similar, there are some differences – France and Prussia, for one, will have an additional card that will be able to eliminate and discard any card played by their opponent during Combat.

Production delays possible

While it may seem unrelated to our project, the continuing war in Ukraine and resurging outbreaks of COVID-19 may affect what happens with our production schedule, specifically the availability of materials and transport. We’re getting reports from our contractors that some of them may have to face material shortages and a decrease in productivity due to newly implemented sanitary requirements.

While we don’t have a clear signal that the production of Coalitions will be delayed, we’re already quite certain we won’t be able to deliver the games sooner than by November 2022. Judging by what information we have now, we believe there is a possibility of a one or two-month delay. We’ll try to get more information about the status of our production schedule and we’ll keep you informed.