El Gran Capitán: Campaigns of the Italian Wars 1494-1530 – Vol.2

About this board game

El Gran Capitán: Campaigns of the Italian Wars 1494-1530 – Vol.2 is a two-player operational-level war game covering five campaigns fought in Southern Italy.

This second volume presents longer campaigns across a much larger area than the first game, with the system of All is lost save Honour scaled threefold in space and time. Its highly interactive sequence of play puts the emphasis on manoeuvre, careful planning, and choosing how to commit your forces.

The historical campaigns include Otranto, 1481; Ferrandino’s War, 1495-96, in which the Aragonese, aided by El Gran Capitán, retake the Kingdom of Naples from the French; and the 1502-1503 struggle between French and Spanish forces for Naples. The latter campaign includes the famous battles of Cerignola and Garigliano, where Córdoba gained the title “El Gran Capitán.”

• Lautrec’s Last Chance, 1528: Lautrec’s campaign to conquer Naples once again.
• The Crusade of Charles VIII, 1495-96: a what-if scenario asking what might have happened if Charles VIII had not returned to France soon after conquering the Kingdom of Naples.
• Three forms of combat: major battles, skirmishes, and sieges.
• Detailed forces: units differ by strength, maximum movement, quality, and reliability.

A 22″ x 34″ fine-art map reproduces all of sixteenth-century Southern Italy, based on an accurate study of ancient maps and sources. Gorgeous iconic counters represent the principal Capitani and the different combat units, while very low counter density and limited play time keep the campaigns accessible to manage.

El Gran Capitán combines broad operational movement with differentiated forces and a focused historical setting, giving two players a compact way to explore the major campaigns of the Italian Wars in Southern Italy.