This War Without an Enemy is a 2-player strategic block wargame on the first English Civil War. One player controls the Royalist forces fighting for the King, while the other controls both the English Parliamentarian troops and their Scottish allies, the Covenanters.
Although based on the same system as Hammer of the Scots and Crusader Rex, This War Without an Enemy adds a number of innovations in order to faithfully simulate both the warfare of the mid-17th century and the unique nature of this conflict that engulfed not only England but also Scotland and Ireland. The game features individual cards deck for each side, two thirds of which contain events. The card decks are adjusted from year to year to reflect the historical progression of the war. The regional nature of much of the conflict is recreated using a system of Leader and Regional blocks as well as rules for regionally-based recruitment. The usual block game mechanics for field battles have been modified with special rules for artillery, cavalry and infantry, while a completely new system has been designed for storming and sieges.
The Parliamentarians start the game with a slight advantage in terms of control of cities, but the Royalists have both higher quality troops and more cavalry. However, the Parliamentarians will receive more reinforcements during the game as the Covenanters become allies, while the creation of the New Model Army will both improve the quality of their forces and increase their strategic flexibility. The object of the game is to acquire Victory Points through the capture of cities held by the opponent. In addition, the Parliamentarians can move closer to victory by capturing the King, represented by his own block.
Designer: Scott Moore
Type of game: block wargame
Number of players: 2
Playing time: 1-4 hours
Availability: Nuts! Publishing
Birmingham Game Designers 