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PaperclipPerfector  6mo ago (text post)   2442 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 27, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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If you're tired of the unrealistic peace treaties of Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Victoria, and Hearts of Iron, one enterprising company has published a board game about the Paris Peace Conference that ended World War One: Versailles 1919. Here are some of the 52 different "issues" that can be resolved as part of the game. (The players are UK, France, USA, and optionally Italy.)

Kurdistan (Middle East, 3 victory points):

  • French mandate: +1 to French empire, −1 to USA happiness, +1 to Middle East unrest, +1 to Balkans unrest

  • UK mandate: +1 to UK empire, −1 to US happiness, +2 to Middle East unrest

  • Independence: +1 to self-determination, −2 to French happiness, +2 to Middle East unrest

  • No Kurdistan: (no effect)

Palestine (Middle East, 4 victory points):

  • UK mandate: +1 to UK empire, +1 to Middle East unrest

  • French mandate: +1 to French empire, −1 to UK happiness, −1 to US happiness, +1 to Middle East unrest

  • Arab state: +1 to self-determination, −2 to UK happiness

  • Zionist state (28 years early!): +1 to UK happiness, +3 to Middle East unrest

Prussia (Europe, 5 victory points):

  • Germany: +1 to industry, −1 to French happiness, +2 to Europe unrest

  • Danzig corridor: +1 to German containment, +1 to Europe unrest

  • Poland: +2 to German containment, +2 to Europe unrest, −1 to US happiness

Slovenia and Croatia (Balkans, 5 victory points):

  • Both independent: +2 to self-determination, +1 to Italy happiness

  • Slovenia independent, Croatia in Yugoslavia: +1 to self-determination, −2 to Italy happiness

  • Both in Yugoslavia: +1 to German containment, −4 to Italy happiness

If unrest in a region gets too high (perhaps due to an event card—Eleutherios Venizelos, Ho Chi Minh, Ibn Saud, etc.), an uprising may cause a settled issue to become unsettled, requiring a new resolution to be agreed to. But keeping troops mobilized to quash unrest will make your people unhappy.

The same company has also published board games in the same vein for negotiations during (not after) the War of the Sixth Coalition (UK, Austria, Russia, and France) and World War Two (UK, USA, and USSR). These two games have slightly more military action. (Which is more important—achieving your long-term diplomatic goals, or actually defeating the enemy in the short term?) All three of these games have solitaire/bot rules.

Have you played any of them? Are they fun? I've played the Crusader Kings Board game (just solo) but really enjoyed it.

I now have spent a few hours muddling through a few solitaire games of Versailles 1919, and IMO it's quite fun.

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