Fornovo 1495: Dawn of the Italian Wars, 1495-1525

Order of Arms is a simulation game of battles from Medieval & Renaissance times; from Hastings in 1066, to Pavia in 1525, a period that featured the mounted armored knight before the rise of wide spread professional infantry armies. Players take the role of the Field Commander of an army of the period, attempting to fulfill victory conditions using mounted and foot arms of the period.

Players use arms of the period including men-at-arms, both mounted and dismounted, infantry including archers, and when available, early firearms.

Order of Arms is descended from and related to the 3rd edition of the grand tactical Napoleonic game Eagles of the Empire. Players familiar with that game will recognize many features of that system present here in Order of Arms. However (and this is a BIG however), there are significant differences between Eagles of the Empire and Order of Arms; most notably the scale at which Order of Arms portrays its combat, and the resulting procedures that emphasize unit to unit fighting. Moreover, where the queen of the battlefield in Napoleon's time was the linear Infantry formation, in Order of Arms, the dominant unit up until near the very end of the period covered, was the Mounted Men-at-Arms (MMA); the armored knight; the result of which is that the long playing piece in Order of Arms is the MMA unit.

Fornovo 1495, the first game in the series presents the battle fought between the French Army of King Charles VIII, and the Condottieri forces of the League of Venice under the command of Francesco II Gonzaga of Mantua. The game features the Historical Battle as fought by Francesco Gonzaga across a rising Taro River, a free-set up version, and a what-if scenario that portrays the Italian fear of a French drive on Parma.

Complexity: 5 out of 10 Solitaire Suitability: 7 out of 10

Time Scale: 20 minutes per turn Map Scale: 350 yards per area Unit Scale: Battalions and Companies

Players: 1 to 2 Playing Time: 2 to 4 hours

Components: 1 Series rulebook 1 Game specific rulebook/scenario book 1 Map 22” x 34” 2 Countersheets with both long and square counters Multiple charts and tables cards 3 Six-sided Dice 1 Box and Lid

(source: Compass Games website and user's description)