Looks good. I live near Clitheroe Castle in Lancashire, England that had a Royalist garrison stationed and Flemish mercenaries. They were hated by the locals due to s habit of kidnapping locals for ransom. When Cromwells forces came down here, they lay siege to the castle and blew a hole in it with a siege cannon called "Humpty Dumpty, where the Nursery Rhyme comes from.
Another great video! I am in the UK and just starting to get into war games. I am trying to decide which games to make a start with, I think I'm looking for something WW2 related, involving the British and I do like moving things around a map. Do you have any recommendations?
Thanks for the review, Alexander. I own the game, but have not yet played. I have played Ottoman Sunset and Habsburg Eclipse, which are good fun, and also have great historical info.
Enjoyed your demonstration and comments. I'm hoping that the States of Siege series will get reprinted soon. I especially enjoed Twilight of the Hapsbergs and Ottoman Twilight.
Excellent cover of this game. English Civil War has been an under utilised era for boardgames and (to an extent) wargames. Cruel Necessity looks like a good representation of some of the complexities, without overwhelming the players with the depth of the social and political changes. Do you think that there will be a Commands and Colors set at this time?
Eventually there will be, I think. At the moment I would Recommend getting the Men of Iron tri-pack (or just Blood and Roses) because whilst it looks involved the system is actually quite simple to learn and play.
@@ThePlayersAid I agree Men of Iron is absolouty an A* system, though Blood & Roses does cover a different English Civil War. If you wanted something tactical on 'the English Civil War' the Musket & Pike dual pack is 'coming soon' which contains a bunch of battles. Musket & Pike however is more complex than either Command & Colours or Men of Iron...
@@earlofdoncaster5018 - Though if Magna Carta was ripped up there's nothing to say that something along the lines of the French's Declaration of the Rights of Man wouldn't have appeared eventually? Speculation of course. (NB My knowledge on this subject would be very, very limited)
@@earlofdoncaster5018 Cromwell was only around until 1658. But the positive effects of the Parliamentarian victory are, arguably still being felt today. On the other hand, a Royalist victory could have ushered in decades of absolutism and severely set back the development of what would become the UK, and hence delayed the advent of democracy, the industrial revolution, and the scientific revolution.
@@earlofdoncaster5018 I don't think Charles I would have ushered in religious fundamentalism if he had won the war. Yes, he did try to impose his own beliefs on the nations (England, Scotland and Ireland alike) but Scotland and Ireland rebelled against that, and the English would not have accepted a significant change either. Besides, I think the extent of his fundamentalism was that he believed he was appointed by God - hence the turn to absolutism if he'd had the chance.
I've tried it a few times and whilst I did enjoy the battle resolution I found that I'm not really big fan of "State of Siege" system in general ‐ for me it's sacrificing too much in terms of player choices for quick gameplay. To point out some issues with Cruel Necessity in particular, from what I've read the Parliament had an advantage throught the war due to their fiscal advantage, despite losing battles it was mostly assured to win a war. Contrary to this, the events felt bery different in the game - it felt like it was sacrificing realism for playabikity
Great review but, you shouldn't besiege Oxford that soon because there's a card in the deck that will make it rebuilt twice and your battle was a draw not a defeat. It's a really good but hard game. I played it 20 times ans got only 2 victories...
Victory point website says they are intending to re-publish some of their older titles including this one Mind you they have been saying that since the take over two years ago 😉
The best of the State of Siege series, in my opinion. It would be nice to eventually see a new edition with better graphics and component quality.
Looks good. I live near Clitheroe Castle in Lancashire, England that had a Royalist garrison stationed and Flemish mercenaries. They were hated by the locals due to s habit of kidnapping locals for ransom. When Cromwells forces came down here, they lay siege to the castle and blew a hole in it with a siege cannon called "Humpty Dumpty, where the Nursery Rhyme comes from.
Another great video! I am in the UK and just starting to get into war games. I am trying to decide which games to make a start with, I think I'm looking for something WW2 related, involving the British and I do like moving things around a map. Do you have any recommendations?
Thanks for the review, Alexander. I own the game, but have not yet played. I have played Ottoman Sunset and Habsburg Eclipse, which are good fun, and also have great historical info.
I have played both of those and enjoyed them very much. This shares a lot of the same mechanics, but with a bit more chrome on it.
Enjoyed your demonstration and comments. I'm hoping that the States of Siege series will get reprinted soon. I especially enjoed Twilight of the Hapsbergs and Ottoman Twilight.
I traded away Ottoman Sunset, but am hoping for a second edition at some point. But who knows when/if that'll be.
Rerelease coming of those games.
Top review of a top game. Would echo that playing this is a great way to understand the history too 👍
Only one thing should go in a pizza box.
Your reviews are always fantastic. Do you plan on releasing a review on the 2020 reprint of Flying Colors from GMT?
Once it arrives at some point yes.
Nice review! Looks interesting, I will have a look at the new edition!
Excellent cover of this game. English Civil War has been an under utilised era for boardgames and (to an extent) wargames. Cruel Necessity looks like a good representation of some of the complexities, without overwhelming the players with the depth of the social and political changes. Do you think that there will be a Commands and Colors set at this time?
Eventually there will be, I think. At the moment I would Recommend getting the Men of Iron tri-pack (or just Blood and Roses) because whilst it looks involved the system is actually quite simple to learn and play.
@@ThePlayersAid Thanks for the reply. I know you and Grant did a review of Men of Iron tri-pack, and I've been meaning to get round to that.
@@ThePlayersAid I agree Men of Iron is absolouty an A* system, though Blood & Roses does cover a different English Civil War.
If you wanted something tactical on 'the English Civil War' the Musket & Pike dual pack is 'coming soon' which contains a bunch of battles. Musket & Pike however is more complex than either Command & Colours or Men of Iron...
Great thing about this is when you win, happy days. And when you lose Cromwell loses (being Irish that's good enough too).
Win, win
There's no good side to be on in this war. Cromwell wins you get the Puritans and Charles wins you rip up Magna Carta.
@@earlofdoncaster5018 - Though if Magna Carta was ripped up there's nothing to say that something along the lines of the French's Declaration of the Rights of Man wouldn't have appeared eventually? Speculation of course.
(NB My knowledge on this subject would be very, very limited)
@@earlofdoncaster5018 Cromwell was only around until 1658. But the positive effects of the Parliamentarian victory are, arguably still being felt today. On the other hand, a Royalist victory could have ushered in decades of absolutism and severely set back the development of what would become the UK, and hence delayed the advent of democracy, the industrial revolution, and the scientific revolution.
@@janoshunyadi2 An era of religious fundamentalism would probably be worse.
@@earlofdoncaster5018 I don't think Charles I would have ushered in religious fundamentalism if he had won the war. Yes, he did try to impose his own beliefs on the nations (England, Scotland and Ireland alike) but Scotland and Ireland rebelled against that, and the English would not have accepted a significant change either. Besides, I think the extent of his fundamentalism was that he believed he was appointed by God - hence the turn to absolutism if he'd had the chance.
I've tried it a few times and whilst I did enjoy the battle resolution I found that I'm not really big fan of "State of Siege" system in general ‐ for me it's sacrificing too much in terms of player choices for quick gameplay. To point out some issues with Cruel Necessity in particular, from what I've read the Parliament had an advantage throught the war due to their fiscal advantage, despite losing battles it was mostly assured to win a war. Contrary to this, the events felt bery different in the game - it felt like it was sacrificing realism for playabikity
Any update on the 2nd edition reprints? The VPG website didn't have much info on timelines.
No, sadly
@@ThePlayersAid I wonder if they will make the victory conditions a little easier with the reprint
Great review but, you shouldn't besiege Oxford that soon because there's a card in the deck that will make it rebuilt twice and your battle was a draw not a defeat. It's a really good but hard game. I played it 20 times ans got only 2 victories...
Got this, it's a very good game, but have never scored more than a minor victory.
I have it but never won. Great game. Think I prefer Dawn of the Zeds best though.
Victory point website says they are intending to re-publish some of their older titles including this one
Mind you they have been saying that since the take over two years ago 😉
It's one of those things that I have just put away and told myself will never happen, so that if it does I will just be pleasantly surprised.
@@ThePlayersAid
So rather like Red winter 2nd expanded edition from gmt then 🙃
I can assure you work on Ottoman Sunset and Hapsburg Eclipse is ongoing.
Have it. Played it. Very good game. I got 'lost' a few times, but overall a good game....'Off with his head!'
Where did you get that dice tower?
Company is called C4Labs
I might have to get this, U all right Alex ? ? ,
Get the new version from Worthington, the rule book is much easier to read than the old one!
I played this game no more than twice, found it boring, and tossed it.