Wallenstein (board game)

Wallenstein is a medium weight German-style board game for three to five players, designed by Dirk Henn and published by Queen Games in 2002. It is set during the Thirty Years' War of 1618 to 1648 and takes its name from Albrecht von Wallenstein, the Holy Roman Empire's most powerful military commander of that conflict, though the design plays as an accessible strategic contest rather than a detailed war simulation. Players compete for control of territories across a map of the German lands, managing grain to feed their people and gold to fund construction and military action over the course of two in-game years. Building up a region's infrastructure and army strength over time earns players honor points, which decide the eventual winner. A typical game runs ninety to one hundred twenty minutes after a roughly ten minute setup, and the rules are pitched for players aged twelve and up who want meaningful decisions without the depth of a full historical wargame.