Raymond Weiss has designed some pretty solid wargames over the past few years including titles like SCS Rostov ‘41 from Multi-Man Publishing, 1950: The Forgotten War from Conflict Simulations Limited and 1914: At Villers Cottérêts also from CSL to name just a few. These games are pretty good and we have seriously enjoyed playing them. But recently Ray appears to be on a bit of a design journey. What I mean by this is he is playing all types of games not just wargames, including Euros, Roll and Writes, Card Driven Games and even some trick taking games, all in an effort I believe to see how these mechanics and forms fit into wargaming. He is experimenting and recently we played one of his new experimental games called The Great Northern War from Conflict Simulations Limited. The Great Northern War covers the conflict between Sweden and a coalition between Russia, Denmark, Poland and Saxony in the early 18th century. The conflict commenced once Charles XII of Sweden ascended to the throne and this struggle was over control of the region. As many of you may know, at the time, Sweden was a major player in the area and had a significant military presence known for their skill in battle.

If you are interested, we posted an interview with the designer on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/04/15/interview-with-raymond-weiss-designer-of-the-great-northern-war-from-conflict-simulations-limited/

You can also read more into my first impression thoughts on the game at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/04/23/first-impressions-the-great-northern-war-from-conflict-simulations-limited/

If you are interested in The Great Northern War, you can order a copy for $49.99 from the Conflict Simulations Limited website at the following link: https://www.consimsltd.com/products/the-great-northern-war

-Grant