Here I Stand is one of the best games of all time. Since it’s first print run it has won the hearts of many players including myself (and Grant). I actually rank it as my second favourite wargame ever. It has the perfect mix of diplomacy, conflict, theme, and history. So when I had the chance to play in a PBEM game through Vassal and Discord I jumped at the chance. I wanted to do a quick AAR each turn just to report and share what’s going on and hopefully inspire more people to pick it up!

So, here we are. This is the end state of turn 1. I am playing as the Hapsburg’s which I have never done before. We had a good mixture of standard 1517 openings, and other things going on. To start with there was the 95 Thesis, and then Diet of Worms. The 95 Thesis was a clean sweep for the Protestants, which was amazing to see. And then The Protestants also got two more spaces due to doing well in the Diet of Worms. So, fantastic opening for them.

The Ottomans took Belgrade and then positioned themselves to spring deploy and take Buda in turn 2. A standard opening, but their land based forces are already strong and something to be concerned about.

here i stand map

For the Hapsburg’s, I spring deployed to Antwerp, and quickly took Liege and then Metz. I shipped Charles V over to Vienna and then started to get troops built up there to eventually fend of the heathen Ottomans. We had Barbary Pirates played in Turn 1, so I also moved up my naval forces to try and centralize their strength and intercept capacity. Other than that I felt like I had a somewhat weak hand CP-wise so was grateful for the starting explore and conquest actions.

here i stand england

The English and French both had somewhat stationary turns in terms of military conquest. Henry VIII got tied up in an Irish revolt which was incited by the French player. It held down a chunk of his forces, making the conquest of Scotland seem a little more challenging, and was delayed until turn 2. France also patronized the arts and collected VPs that way and committed CPs to exploring the new world as well.

here i stand germany

Here’s a look at the German speaking language zone. As you can see all 6 Electorates are Protestant, and no Schmalkaldic League was played, but the Protestants definitely got the upper hand in the religious war. The Papacy and Protestants basically spent most of the turn burning books and reforming back and forth, and Luther was able to translate the New Testament into German in the mean time.

here i stand new world

The New World was a mixed bag, I got lucky and was able to pick up some VP’s, but all the French and English attempts were disastrous. Seriously, three 3’s were rolled, three explorers dead. Insane. On top of that when we rolled for new world riches everyone came up empty handed, so it was a massive wasted CP investment by the French and English. It’ll be fascinating to see how they recover in the future and if they’re more hesitant to commit.

Anyways, I love this game. It’s amazing, and I’ll throw these up after every turn is completed. Thanks for reading.

-Alexander