This War Without An Enemy Board Game

The game map depicts England and Wales, the scene of the conflict, split into five Regions and further divided into Areas, as well as parts of Scotland, Ireland and ‘Le Continent', from which other forces may enter the war. New troops that can be raised in England and Wales are represented by blocks kept in the Recruitment Areas. Blocks that enter the game through major events or through card play remain off map.

The blocks are coloured blue for the Royalists, orange for the Parliamentarians and green for their Covenanter allies. Each block has a Tactical Rating, consisting of its class – Artillery (A), Cavalry (C) or Infantry (I) – and an effectiveness from 1 to 3. Most of the blocks have a designation showing their home Region, which places restrictions on their movement and ability to recruit. The most important generals are represented by their own blocks, and are either Leaders (L) or Regional Leaders (R), with the ability to take Regional blocks out of their home Region.

There is a deck of cards for each player. Every card has a number, from 2 to 4, which is the amount of Action Points it provides. 2- and 3-AP cards also have an event, described in the text, which can be activated in a specific phase. Some cards are removed from the decks at the end of a year, and other cards are added to the deck.

Battles are resolved on the Battle Mat. This helps players to keep track of the timing of the battle and the interaction between the blocks. There are different sections for each class of block, as well as for reserves and for off-battlefield cavalry. There are specific rules for each class of block that reflect the use of the different types of soldier on the mid-17th century battlefield.

This War Without an Enemy includes five scenarios. The three longer scenarios end either with a player reaching 3 VPs or at the end of 1646.