Queens' Gambit: Italy, 1742-48

Queens' Gambit: Italy 1742-48 - Volume IV in the Lace Wars series

Queens' Gambit (QG) is the fourth volume of Red Sash Games Lace Wars series. Like its predecessors, Sport of Kings, Cockpit of Europe and Charlie's Year, it examines the War of the Austrian Succession at an operational level. Italy is the stage this time. Physically isolated from the titanic struggles in Germany and the Low Countries, Italy was anything but a backwater: successes and failures here had an important impact on the war as a whole. The war for Italy opened at the beginning of 1742. The Spanish Crown, after lengthy preparations, successfully invaded Italy by sea, bent on acquiring a duchy for the Queen's son, Don Felipe, and on reclaiming Spanish dominance in the region. Distracted by events elsewhere, the Habsburgs and their British allies were unable to prevent this move, but soon rebounded, drawing as a reluctant partner the pre-eminent local power, Piedmont-Sardinia, and its Frederician-like ruler, Charles Emmanuel of the House of Savoy.

QG can accommodate up to four players, though it is easily played with two, and can even be played solitaire. The four sides are Bourbon France, Bourbon Spain, the Habsburg Empire, and Savoy (Piedmont-Sardinia). Also available are the forces of Genoa, Modena, Venice, Naples, and some pesky Royal Marines. Other territories, like the Papal States, wield influence rather than the sword.

A game on the War of Austrian Succession in Italy. In the same serie as Sport of Kings, Cockpit of Europe and Charlie's Year (Lace Wars). Both DTP and mounted versions exist.

Map scale is 8.5 miles per hex. Most units are brigades. Units are rated for Strength (in battalions),

• 6 maps
• Three books
• Charts
• 1200 counters in 10 counter sheets (incl. markers)