Clash of Monarchs: The Seven Years War in Europe 1756-1763

About this board game

Clash of Monarchs: The Seven Years War in Europe, 1756-1763 is a strategic board game for 2-4 players, with sessions lasting about 360 minutes. It recreates the titanic European struggle between Frederick the Great’s Prussia and Hanoverian allies and Maria Theresa’s broad Coalition.

Each player directs one or more major powers alongside their minor allies. Operations are driven by cards, while armies use a point-to-point movement system to conduct the war across Europe.

The cards bring major political, economic and military developments into play. They can represent Frederick’s pre-war invasion planning, Kaunitz’s diplomatic success in the 2nd Treaty of Versailles, large financial loans, court intrigue, the formation of the Austrian General Staff and the operational strength of Prussian and Hanoverian light troops.

• Split decks: Power-specific events unfold through an Early War phase, usually lasting through mid-1758, and a Wider War phase from 1758 to the conclusion.
• Colonial Conflict: A dedicated sub-game is fully integrated into the wider contest.
• Light unit operations: Light troops receive a complete treatment within the game system.
• Fortunes of War: A yearly chit pull introduces uncertainty into the occurrence or timing of events.

Fortunes of War may bring severe weather, desertion and attrition, as well as possible deaths affecting figures such as George II of England and Empress Elizabeth of Russia. Madame Pompadour’s political influence over French commanders can also shape the campaigns.

Clash of Monarchs uses the same rules for two-player and multiplayer games, allowing its diplomatic tensions, military operations and shifting events to emerge across different player counts. The result is a lengthy, card-driven recreation of the Seven Years War’s European theater.