Hundred map variant

[super_dipsy]

Hundred is a 3-player Diplomacy game focused on the Hundred Years War in Europe in the 1400s. The variant bank rules and description are here http://www.variantbank.org/results/rules/h/hundred.htm but to be honest it is more or less straight Diplomacy but for 3 players only. Thanks to the creator, Andy Schwartz, for kindly agreeing to allow us to host Hundred at Playdiplomacy, and NoPunIn10did for doing all the hard work!

The variant bank rules are short and sweet. The game is played like standard Diplomacy (although with only 3 players) with the following wrinkles
- France starts with one more unit (Provence which is not an SC) than SCs, but the unit count will be matched to the SC count at the end of the 1st year
- NOTE: THERE IS A BRIDGE BETWEEN LONDON AND CALAIS; units (armies or fleets) can move directly from one to the other, whether there is anyone in the Channel or not
- With 17 SCs, the victory condition is 9
- The years are a little odd, jumping 5 years at a time with the first movement phase in 1425
- One deviation from the variant bank rules is that to avoid confusion we stick with a Spring/Fall approach and a Build phase after Fall, as in other games
- All games are 'build anywhere games' - builds are allowed in any vacant SC you own

Most Playdip game options will work with Hundred. Escalation is not supported though. A Hundred-specific icon set is provided but players can also choose from a selection of the normal Playdip ones. And as usual for map variants, Hundred is a premium game option.

The starting map is below. And remember, although there is a French unit in Provence, this is NOT an SC and France must capture at least one more SC to maintain all its units. (NOTE:- We have interpreted the written rules to mean that France's SC/unit count is reconciled as part of the first Build phase)

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[Don Juan of Austria]

I'm SO excited!

[Iggy]

I love this variant. Have played quite a few games of it on bounced years ago.

[NoPunIn10Did]

About the Units

In addition to several site regulars, I've provided custom-per-power units for the Hundred map.

As with the designs I've worked up for PBEM and PBF games, I chose to use a simple geometric distinction between armies (hexes) and fleets (curved triangles, or "sails"). Not everyone loves geometric units, so the basic cannons and boats will be available too.

Here are the units for Hundred at a higher resolution:



I wanted to use designs with some historical connection to the powers. With only three countries, picking diverse colors that still had some historical relevance was nowhere as difficult as it had been for designing units for larger variants (especially since so many frackin' European countries have red and/or blue flags).

England & France

The Hundred Years' War (wiki article), started largely because of a dispute over who would rule France. The Plantagenets of England and the Valois (a branch of the Capet dynasty), each presented competing heirs to the throne of France after the death of Charles IV.

Partly as propaganda, the Plantagenets adopted a coat of arms that combined the English and French motifs (seen below).


For simplicity's sake, I decided to make the English red, with the lions, and the French blue units with a central fleur-de-lis.

Burgundy

Hundred begins about 90 years into the conflict, and by that point the neighboring house of Burgundy (related to the Valois, but not particularly loyal to them) had been dragged into the mess. I was very tempted to use the color burgundy to represent this power but couldn't find a good example of flags or coats-of-arms using that color anywhere in proximity to the period. As seen below, the Coat-of-Arms for the Duke of Burgundy combined the Capet / Valois fleur with an angled pattern of yellow-and-blue stripes.



Unfortunately, the resolution of maps on PlayDiplomacy meant that using the blue-and-yellow striped pattern might be a bit too ambiguous, what with Blue already representing France. However, the color yellow did strike me as a good option for Burgundy's territory and units.

I eventually landed on the County of Flanders, a Burgundy possession in 1425, as the basis for Burgundy's units.


Similar motifs could also be found in the County of Holland and the Duchy of Luxembourg:



The eventual coat-of-arms of Philippe le Bon of Burgundy actually combined several of these designs, with the black lion of Flanders front-and-center.

[Jack007]

Stunning, NoPunin, great work. The flags for the variant are perfect. The lys for France, lions for England and the black beast (what is it?) for Burgundy. I like it.

[NoPunIn10Did]

Stunning, NoPunin, great work. The flags for the variant are perfect. The lys for France, lions for England and the black beast (what is it?) for Burgundy. I like it.

It's a black Lion Rampant, specifically the one from Flanders (a possession of Burgundy, as described above).

[Jack007]

Very interesting, thanks for the link, from where I came to the House of Valois-Burgundy. What a history!