![]() You just have to use them with your eyes wide open as it can really backfire! This is the best part of the game and really adds an interesting element to the experience. ![]() This represents a commander’s initiative in making a bold or aggressive move that has a high risk high reward type of result. Their primary function is to reset the orders as mentioned earlier but you also can roll a die to attempt to inflict additional damage on the enemy as a part of the action as a bonus. It also allowed me to more deeply think about strategy and the implications of my different actions.įinally with the order system, there is an aspect of resource management with the game as you have the limited Aggressive Commander actions. I also found that the angst with these limited actions was palpable and forced me to plan ahead to get my desired result. It also will give them a wider variety of outcomes from each turn and will make the experience worthwhile. This limitation then opens things up and forces them into a difficult decision to make on their turn. What this limitation in the Order system does is forces players to carefully consider their order selections. This allowance doesn’t take into account fatigue, loss, lack of supply and ammunition or command problems. This overuse of the actions would lead us to believe that the troops engaged in the siege or combat could just attack over and over again with no real consequence. Without any restrictions on players in this part of the game they’re free to reissue the order they need or prefer every turn. The way this is accomplished through the orders systems is once an order is taken by the player, they cannot do that order again until either all 7 of their available orders are taken or they use one of their scarce resources in their Aggressive Commander Actions that resets those orders and makes them all available to the player or they play that final 7th order and all spots are used and then reset automatically. So in order to increase engagement with 1565 Siege of Malta the designer removed choice from the players a bit and causes the need to refocus into different areas by making the Orders one time actions that are used up until you refresh them. It’s not a secret, figure out what works well and simply do that action over and over until you win. This creates disengagement from the history and leads to disappointed players because they were able to game the system and do what they needed to do. Why? It can lead to players simply doing the best actions over and over again until they get the desired results. Game designers will tell you that too many choices, especially in certain key areas, isn’t a good thing. One of the best parts of the design is the focus on orders and how they are issued. This siege historically is a very important and pivotal moment in the future of Europe. Had they captured all of them, the most likely outcome would have been sustained Turk expansion into Europe, including into Sicily, Italy, Spain and perhaps even France. The Turks failed to capture all of the important fortresses in the area, among them Fort St. John and 5-6,000 other soldiers, including civilians. Malta was defended by around 500 Knights of St. It was supported by around 40,000 troops. The Ottoman Turk invasion force was huge as the armada delivering the troops was almost three times the size of the vaunted Spanish Armada defeated by the English (and the weather) in 1588. The game deals with The Great Siege, as it’s also known in history, where the Ottoman Turk’s westward expansion broke against the wall of Christian defense on the small but strategically significant archipelago of Malta in the Western Mediterranean. The first of these games that I decided to play was 1565 Siege of Malta designed by the very talented Maurice Suckling of Freeman’s Farm 1777 and Chancellorsville 1863 fame. Ooops! Now, they have come out with 2 new Great Sieges Series games focused in antiquity that are both brutal as well. I played about 10 times and only won once but after looking back I think that I did some things incorrectly that made my victory possible. In 2021, I played and did terribly at Tarawa 1943 as it was simply brutal. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a masochist and do like to actually win games from time to time but there is something about the struggle and the pain you feel as you see your plans fail time and time again that makes that elusive first victory feel so rewarding when it finally happens! Worthington Publishing has published several of these type of tough solitaire games. There is something about putting a plan together and trying to make it happen that really connects with me, even in the face of great odds and longshots. I really love a tough, hard to win solitaire game. 1565 Siege of Malta from Worthington Publishing
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