This War Without an Enemy

About this board game

This War Without an Enemy is a two-player strategic block wargame about the First English Civil War, with games lasting approximately 240 minutes. Royalist forces supporting King Charles I face English Parliamentarian troops and their Scottish allies, the Covenanters, in a conflict shaped by political, economic, and religious control.

The game uses a card-driven block wargame system, with a separate deck for each side. Around two-thirds of the cards contain events, while the decks change from year to year to reflect the historical progression of the war. Regional recruitment and the regional nature of the conflict are represented through Leader and Regional blocks.

Field battles adapt familiar block-game mechanics with distinct rules for artillery, cavalry, and infantry. Sieges and assaults are handled through a completely new system for storming fortified cities, giving major strongholds a central role in the campaign.

• Play as the Royalists or the Parliamentarians and Covenanters.
• Use individual faction card decks, event cards, and changing yearly card pools.
• Recruit forces regionally and command Leader and Regional blocks.
• Fight field battles, conduct sieges, and storm enemy-held cities.
• Parliamentarians can also advance toward victory by capturing the King block.

Victory comes primarily from capturing cities controlled by the opposing side. Parliamentarians have an additional route toward victory through the capture of the King, represented by his own block.

This War Without an Enemy includes five scenarios: the 26-turn Full War, the eight-turn Early War, the up-to-18-turn Mid-to-Late War, the six-turn Mid War, and the up-to-27-turn Prelude to War. Together, they offer both introductory games and longer campaigns covering different stages of the conflict.