Description

Cruel Necessity, from designer John Welch, is a solitaire game simulating the military, political, and religious struggles of the English Civil Wars (1640-53). You attempt to stop the advance of four armies bent on destroying Parliament and Puritanism, whom you represent; simply holding on to London is not enough!

There are civil wars going on not just in England, but in Scotland and Ireland too; and each will have varying impact on the play of the game at different times. You can also play Cruel Necessity cooperatively with a team of players working together and deciding how best to preserve and propagate the principles of the Enlightenment and Reformation.

The title comes from the purported response to the beheading of King Charles by his implacable foe, Oliver Cromwell, who remarked that this act of regicide was a "Cruel Necessity."

Second Edition Enhancements include:

- A larger (11.7” square) telescoping game box with a new cover illustration

- A larger (23” square) one-piece mounted mapboard with the Sequence of Play and Action Types added for easy reference

- Die cut counters (these have changed very little from the first edition, so owners of that version to prefer their laser-cut pieces have an opportunity to enjoy the best of both worlds)

- Achievement cards have evolved. First, they are never removed; instead, new cards are stacked on top of old ones so, after acquiring the card on top of one of the three Achievement piles the card beneath it again becomes available.

- Second, they now have different Zeal Point costs for each of the three epochs (going from cheaper in the Copper epoch to pricey in the Gold epoch). This will make early acquisition of Achievement cards a more viable play strategy. See the samples below and note their increasing Zeal costs by epoch color.

- A new Battlefield Option is introduced: If Prince Rupert is not present at that Battle, you may also spend 1 Zeal to perform a Stratagem which allows you to redeploy your like pieces on the Battle Line before resolving its four sections.

- You can thrash Armies on their #5 Areas not merely to Disorder them, but also to gain a free Fortress “click” for that track’s frontier Fortress (thus providing you a double benefit).

- One very small but impactful rule change is that the + 1 DRM/+1 Strength Zeal marker is not available when you have any “F” Political Grades. Players must mind their political situation!

- Some old Optional Rules are gone but we have added a very interesting new one: English Settlers can now be sent to Ireland or Scotland when those regions are docile (i.e., their Army is in its #5 Area). For the remainder of it game, these colonists strengthen their Army unit by +1 (from resentment), but also strengthens your hand in their political affairs allowing you to place the Zeal +1 DRM marker on their Political Track marker for free (for having some “allies” among the populace). This is a very high risk, high reward strategy, but it just might work!

- There is a more refined Quick Combat Resolution Table courtesy of Wes Erni.