Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555 is the first game in over 25 years to cover the political and religious conflicts of early 16th Century Europe. Few realize that the greatest feats of Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ignatius of Loyola, Henry VIII, Charles V, Francis I, Suleiman the Magnificent, Ferdinand Magellan, Hernán Cortés, and Nicolaus Copernicus all fall within this narrow 40-year period of history. This game covers all the action of the period using a unique card-driven game system that models both the political and religious conflicts of the period on a single point-to-point map.

There are six main powers in the game, each with a unique path to victory:

• The Ottomans
• The Habsburgs
• The English
• The Valois Dynasty of France
• The Papacy
• The Protestants

Here I Stand is the first card-driven game to prominently feature secret deal-making. A true six-sided diplomatic struggle, the game places a heavy emphasis on successful alliance-building through negotiations that occur away from the table during the pre-turn Diplomacy Phase. Set during the period in which Niccolò Machiavelli published his masterpiece "The Prince," backstabbing is always possible, especially because the card deck is loaded with event and response cards that can be played by any power to disrupt the plans of the powers in the lead.

Here I Stand integrates religion, politics, economics, and diplomacy in a card-driven design. Games vary in length from 3–4 hours for a tournament scenario up to full campaign games that run about twice the time. Rules to play games with 3, 4, or 5 players are also included. The 3-player game is just as well balanced as the standard 6-player configuration, taking advantage of the natural alliances of the period.

Game Components:

• Four full-color counter sheets
• One 22" × 34" full-color mapsheet (Deluxe edition: Mounted Mapboard)
• 110 Strategy cards
• Ten 6-sided dice
• 32-page Rulebook
• 24-page Campaign Manual
• Six 8.5" × 5.5" Power Cards
• Two Player Aid Cards (two-sided) Game Features
• The 2010 Deluxe Edition also contains the 2-player variant rules and cards

NOTE: Here I Stand was due for a reprint in 2017, but with October 31, 2017 being the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's posting of his 95 Theses, Ed Beach and his team of Here I Stand enthusiasts have put together a series of enhancements to the original game that transform this reprint into a deluxe 500th anniversary treatment.

Enhancements include:

• 6 brand new cards added to the deck, including Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Rough Wooing, and Imperial Coronation.
• Revisions to over 15 existing cards including Copernicus, Master of Italy, and Machiavelli to allow for more exciting in-game play and additional possibilities for diplomatic deals.
• A new Chateau construction table is now used to resolve France's Patron of the Arts home card plays.
• Several Virgin Queen rule updates are incorporated back into Here I Stand, affecting minor power activation, piracy, space trading, and foreign wars.

• COUNTERS Four and a half full-color counter sheets
• CARDS 116 Strategy Cards
• MAPS One 22"x34" Mounted Mapsheet
• Player Aid Cards (11"x17" & 8.5"x11")
• Rules/Scenario Book
• One ten-sided die

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