If you’re familiar with historical wargames, you may have heard of Wargamer Games Studio before. We are the Poles behind By Fire and Sword, the popular 15mm system covering the many wars waged in the Mid-17th Century by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its neighbours.

This time, however, Rafał Szwelicki, the author of By Fire and Sword, has set his sights on making a game focused more on the stories, rather than the histories of the period. Anno Domini 1666, as this new project is titled, cites “The Three Musketeers” as a source no less important than scholarly articles.

Fantasy Rooted In Fact

Rather than winged hussars charging across sweeping battlefields, players will witness small groups of swashbucklers and thugs carrying out clandestine assignments, or simply brawling in taverns.

In the game’s fictional timeline Emperor Leopold I dies on December 31st, 1665 and European monarchs send their envoys to Vienna to participate in the coming election. These envoys, however, are accompanied by teams of hand-picked men and women, who will strive to accomplish goals that cannot be attempted at court in the light of day.

With the help of local talent and hired mercenaries, they will clash in the back alleys of Vienna. Against this backdrop rises the Order Of The Broken Cross, an evil sect that thinks that the year 1666 is perfect for carrying out its evil schemes.

Don’t be fooled by a setting that takes some liberties with the grand scheme of written history - Mr Szwelicki holds the 17th Century up as one of his favourite periods and would never allow ahistorical details to slip into any game of his. Rest assured every detail of the weaponry and attire has been meticulously researched. Yes, even the curious airgun used by one of the characters was already invented by the year 1666.

Anno Domini 1666 is a game that strives to satisfy the needs of a strategy-minded wargamer while remaining easy to pick up and play. The team at Wargamer Games Studio stays true to their miniature and wargaming roots but is confident the game will appeal to a broader audience.

What's In The Game?

The base set features no less than twenty-two uniquely sculpted miniatures in 28mm scale. These are cast in high-quality plastic and depict the Three Musketeers, Polish nobles known from Henryk Sienkiewicz’s novels, and a supporting cast of generic musketeers, dragoons, thugs, and Vienna locals. All the figures come assembled and ready to play. The option to upgrade the miniatures to metal castings is there for discerning wargamers and collectors.

Inside the box, you will also find all the custom playing cards (more on these below), character, and item cards necessary to play the game, as well as two thick double-sided boards depicting the streets of Vienna as well as its rural surroundings.

The game comes complete with assorted scenarios - both shorter Adventure style endeavours, and the more involved Battle-style struggles for players looking for a skirmish experience. A short brawl can be completed in thirty minutes by experienced players, while a clash of a dozen characters per side should take two hours.

The designers decided to replace dice with custom playing cards. The rules may ask a player to make an excruciating decision, to choose a card to play from their hand during a fencing duel, or turn to blind fate and flip the top card of the deck to determine the result of a shot (but the cards in your hand may still help if Lady Luck does not favor you). The streamlined warband building rules encourage jumping straight into the fray instead of agonising over army lists.

In addition to the two factions included in the base game - the French Musketeers of the Guard and the Polish Defenders of the Crown - additional faction sets of seven models each are available as add-ons: the Ottoman Envoys of the High Porte, the evil Order of the Broken Cross, and the Cossack Free Men of the Steppes. Smaller add-ons containing two to three extra miniatures connected by a common theme expand the game with new features: magic, expert swordsmen, alchemy, and a werewolf (yes, a werewolf), among others. All miniatures in the add-on sets are unique sculpts.

The game’s add-ons feature supernatural elements, but keep in mind that Anno Domini 1666 traces its lineage to the works of Alexander Dumas, not J.R.R. Tolkien. Instead of fireballs and dragons, you can expect alchemy, mystic rituals, and divinations.

Even magic has been historically researched so that it follows the “rules” as people of the 17th century imagined them. A sorcerer is not a being of supreme power. He is merely a mortal person who made a deal with supernatural beings to do his bidding. If this approach does not convince you, please be assured you can enjoy the base game and most of the add-on content without any werewolves or demons interfering with your swashbuckling!

Wargamer Games Studio