Unhappy King Charles!

About this board game

Unhappy King Charles! is a two-player strategy game of the English Civil War, with games lasting about 240 minutes. Players decide whether Commons or Cavalier will rule England while competing for military, economic, and local-government control across England and Wales.

Played over eleven turns, each representing roughly four months, the game uses three period-specific card decks covering the Early War, Middle War, and Late War. These cards reflect the changing character of the conflict, bringing treachery, bravery, and stupidity into a contest where players must make do with the options available to them.

Movement activations are driven by numbered Operations Cards. Armies travel between connected Areas, changing control as they move, while opposing forces can attempt interception and force a battle. Smaller Armies move faster, but Armies also suffer from inadequate supply and continual desertion, creating a constant need to gather fresh recruits.

• Recruitment and forces: Brigades are Veterans or militia, with regional origins and different combat values.
• Leaders: Generals bring Strategic and Battle Ratings, while Local Notables govern fortresses and can transfer Brigades.
• Combat: Battles combine Brigade values, leader ratings, and Combat Cards, with options to evade or disperse before fighting.
• Sieges: Fortresses require time and attention to capture, while assaults can succeed at a cost in losses.

Major and Decisive Victories can provide extra Cards, while retreats through enemy Political Control markers may cause additional losses. Veterans are especially valuable, but they are also lost first in several drawn or decisive results, and Brigades destroyed in combat cannot normally be recruited again.

Victory can come through an Automatic Victory, failure to control enough Areas, or the final eleventh turn. An optional pack adds counterfactual possibilities such as Dutch blockades, the Duke of Lorraine, and a rising in London. Unhappy King Charles! is based on We the People and presents a focused, demanding conflict shaped by limited choices and changing fortunes.