''Here I Stand'' is a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

first published by

GMT Games GMT Games is a California-based wargaming publisher founded in 1990. The company has become well known for graphically attractive games that range from "monster games", of many maps and counters, to quite simple games suitable for introducing new ...

in 2006.

Description

''Here I Stand'' is a card-based

wargame A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

in which players struggle for religious and political influence over early 16th century Europe during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. It can be played by up to 6 players, who represent the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

The Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, and The Protestants. The game begins in 1517 and ends in 1555, taking up to 9 turns to play each representing about 4 years of history. The game is played in "impulses", with each player, one after the other, playing a single card during their impulse. Each card has a number on it indication the number of "command points" it grants the player, as well as text of a specific event, and generally players choose to either use the command points or to enact the event but not both. Command points are used to execution various military, political, religious, or exploratory actions such as moving armies or fleets, besieging a fortress, establishing overseas colonies, calling religious debates, or burning heretical books. The events on the cards represent either a specific historical detail (e.g. the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

), or a general occurrence such as the

bribing Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...

of enemy mercenaries. Victory is determined by the first player to exceed 25 Victory Points (VP), or the player with the most at the end of the game. VP are gained in a variety of ways which are slightly different for each of the 6 sides, but include things like controlling key cities or electorates, exploring the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

, the death or disgrace of opposing religious leaders, building castles or cathedrals, or successful piracy expeditions.

Publication history

''Here I Stand'' was first published by

in 2006, and was designed by Ed Beach, Matthew Beach, and Dave Cross. A related sequel game, ''Virgin Queen'' (the title refers to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

), covering the second half of the 16th century, was published by

in 2012. A 500th Anniversary Edition (commemorating

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

's posting of his 95 Theses), featuring revised rules, new cards and other updates, was published in 2017.

Reception

Uli Blennemann comments: "''Here I Stand'' offers a ton of period flavor, and it is a game that tells you a story. What's more, it's better than a book or a movie. With just a little bit of imagination, you write a part of that story." ''Here I Stand'' won the 2006

Charles S. Roberts Award The Charles S. Roberts Awards (or CSR Awards) is an annual award for excellence in the historical wargaming hobby. It was named in honor of Charles S. Roberts the "Father of Wargaming" who founded Avalon Hill. The award is informally called a "C ...

for Best Pre–World War II Boardgame. The game has been consistently ranked near or in the Top 10 of

Boardgamegeek BoardGameGeek (BGG) is an online forum for board gaming hobbyists and a game database that holds reviews, images and videos for over 125,600 different tabletop games, including European-style board games, wargames, and card games. In addition ...

's War Game Rank since its release, peaking around 2011, although its ranking has been slowly declining over the years (#4 in 2011-2013, #5 in 2015, #7 in 2017, #8 in 2019, #9 in 2021). Likewise, its general rank has declined from around Top 50 in early 2010s to Top 250 in early 2020s.Historical rankings
as recorded from snapshots of

References

External links

* {{BGG, 17392, Here I Stand Board games about history Board games introduced in 2006 GMT Games games de:Here I Stand