Glad you got to get a taste of this fantastic game. We trained for a five person game, but alas, we could only swing a three person game. This is a magisterial game. Triple depth with religion war, political war, and with six people the diplomacy which weaves it all together. We started to get a feel for the political/military war. Some of us understood the religous war (the papal player failed to do what only the Pope can do), but we did not even come close to experiencing the diplomacy aspect. England/Protestants player was able to win. Our group had to train for the game. By that, I mean we had to have practice days before the real game to prepare. It is a long set of rules, many of which had exceptions. We had our game on Oct. 21st, 2017. It as a real blast. We played for 12 hours. On Dec. 29th, we had our HIS awards night to celebrate.
My wife did get this game for Christmas. Thank you for the thoughts about Here I Stand. It looks fantastic and I am still digesting the rules myself. I hope I will be able to find a couple more players.
As a long time gamer (back to SPI Friday nights), I have never had more mixed feelings over a game than HIS. On the one hand, it’s really well done and a remarkable achievement. On the other, I can’t help but feel it just missed….unfortunately just like when you miss the moon by a little bit, you don’t miss by a little – you find yourself WAY OFF in outer space. The way each power can pursue VPs independently of each other, and the someone boring aspect of the Catholic vs. Protestant control game left me (and our local group) a bit blase. That said, I’d encourage EVERY serious gamer to give it a whirl and form your own opinion.
The Players' Aid 
Glad you got to get a taste of this fantastic game. We trained for a five person game, but alas, we could only swing a three person game. This is a magisterial game. Triple depth with religion war, political war, and with six people the diplomacy which weaves it all together. We started to get a feel for the political/military war. Some of us understood the religous war (the papal player failed to do what only the Pope can do), but we did not even come close to experiencing the diplomacy aspect. England/Protestants player was able to win. Our group had to train for the game. By that, I mean we had to have practice days before the real game to prepare. It is a long set of rules, many of which had exceptions. We had our game on Oct. 21st, 2017. It as a real blast. We played for 12 hours. On Dec. 29th, we had our HIS awards night to celebrate.
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My wife did get this game for Christmas. Thank you for the thoughts about Here I Stand. It looks fantastic and I am still digesting the rules myself. I hope I will be able to find a couple more players.
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This looks like a fascinating game that I would love to own.
But I don’t think I could get it to the table at all. Especially with that kind of complexity.
If I ever get a chance to hop into one, though, watch out!
Punching bag, available for punching!
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As a long time gamer (back to SPI Friday nights), I have never had more mixed feelings over a game than HIS. On the one hand, it’s really well done and a remarkable achievement. On the other, I can’t help but feel it just missed….unfortunately just like when you miss the moon by a little bit, you don’t miss by a little – you find yourself WAY OFF in outer space. The way each power can pursue VPs independently of each other, and the someone boring aspect of the Catholic vs. Protestant control game left me (and our local group) a bit blase. That said, I’d encourage EVERY serious gamer to give it a whirl and form your own opinion.
LikeLiked by 1 person