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1212 : Las Navas de Tolosa

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After the defeat of Alarcos in 1195, the Castilian kingdom lost control of the Guadiana and Tagus valleys, and even the city of Toledo was threatened by the Almohad advance. After years of instability, Alfonso VIII finally reorganized his army and planned his revenge, persuading the pope to turn his long-awaited confrontation with the Muslims into a crusade. Finally, in 1212, Christian troops from Castile, Aragon and Navarre, supported by military orders and many knights from other kingdoms, engaged in battle against a far superior Almohad force in what would become the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. Today, you can step into the shoes of these brave fighters and rewrite their story.

Fast-paced games with minimal clutter, in which the battle is decided in about 30 minutes, with a card engine to determine the initiative and outcome of the battle, is what 1212: Las Navas de Tolosa offers.

The basic game works with a deck of 9 cards with different values for each side. These cards are used to determine initiative, as action points and also to resolve battles.

Players start each round with 3 cards in hand. They first play one of their cards as an initiative to determine who will act first in the action point phase. After that, the players alternate playing their two remaining cards as action points.

Although the actions are similar for both sides, they have different costs and effects depending on which side takes them. For example, Christian infantry attacks cost 2 action points and add 2 to the result of the card used to resolve the combat, while Muslim infantry attacks cost only 1 action point, but will instead suffer a -1 to the result, usually causing less damage. .

Although small in size, 1212 Las Navas de Tolosa perfectly integrates the theme in a reduced number of components, placing special emphasis on the asymmetry of the sides to bring to life the different strategies that took place in the battle that would change the course of the Reconquista.

Among other features, Christian units receive bonuses if they are activated by cards with their king's shield, adding an additional decision to the player on when to play the cards in his hand.

On the other hand, the Almohad player can use a free action "Tornafuye", which allows him to counter-attack after a Christian cavalry charge, and also has special units such as the Black Guard protecting the Caliph an-Nasir, or the Volunteers of the Jihad, fanatical troops that will throw themselves into battle by advancing if they manage to create a breach in the Christian defense.

In addition, in advanced mode, some of the units on the board are linked to events that we play with a card, so they acquire a special relevance, just like the leaders of medieval battles.

Originally designed with a minimum of components, 1212: Las Navas de Tolosa won the award for best wargame in Boardgamegeek's "9 Card Game Print and Play" design competition.

Subsequently the units, which were originally represented by dice, were redesigned to add complexity to the representation of the battle.

In this way, there are units of infantry, cavalry and archers, among which we will have to distribute the losses suffered and which can deprive the players of certain types of attack.

Contents:

• 1 Board
• 54 Unit Markers
• 9 Combat Cards
• 6 Help cards
• 12 special cards (6 on each side)