Forged by Fire: A Napoleonic Grand Strategy Game

“All of Europe and beyond hangs in the balance. Every alliance will be tested and forged by fire.”

Forged by Fire is a grand-strategy tabletop war game set during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Beginning in 1793, players take command of the rising French Empire and the major powers drawn to its cause—or rally the Coalition in order to bring its ambitions to an end.

History provides the starting point—but never the outcome.

In up to 12 rounds, players face pivotal diplomatic decisions, maneuver grand armies, acquire new tactics, and pursue historically inspired victory points that can reshape alliances and alter the course of the war. At the end of the game, the alliance with the most victory points emerges victorious, reshaping Europe—and the world beyond—in its image.

WHAT SETS IT APART

The French Empire may dominate the continent, and Britain may rule the seas—but military power is only part of the struggle.

In Forged by Fire, success on the board builds diplomatic power, and diplomatic power can reshape the war itself—drawing major powers into your sphere, weakening rival alliances, or keeping enemies out of the fight.

Countless paths to victory. No two games are the same.

Europe was forged by fire once before. Now it is your turn.

Warfare in Forged by Fire is about far more than simply rolling more dice—it’s about how you build your army. Will more cavalry overwhelm your enemy’s flanks? Will the sheer firepower advantage of more artillery blast a whole in your enemy’s center? Will establishing impenetrable fortifications lock your enemy down? Or will victory come down to the advanced tactics equipped to your General? 

These are the strategic choices players must weigh as they build and maneuver their armies across the map.

And don’t forget the war for the seas! Britain’s navy may anchor the Coalition, but French alliances can threaten that supremacy and stretch its fleets thin. Seize key ports, cut off enemy shipbuilding, or use blockade to strangle the French economy. With naval forces limited, every fleet movement can have consequences far beyond the waters. . .

The Forged by Fire's unapologetically massive game board spans portions of the Americas all the way to the Middle East, India and central Asia.

PLAYTESTING

Forged by Fire has been tirelessly play tested using a wide range of strategies designed to expose any and all potential exploits. For more than two years, I and many others have pushed the game to its limits, refining and balancing it until we felt confident that Forged by Fire was fully ready for prime time—with its exploits effectively rooted out.

WHAT FUNDING WILL MAKE POSSIBLE

We’re using Kickstarter because we need the funding required to manufacture and ship Forged by Fire to you.

The game’s design and graphics are nearly 100% complete, but many of the physical components shown in the current photos and videos are still prototypes. If we notice that this game is gaining a decent amount of followers during pre-launch, we will order a full manufacturer prototype and do an overview video and in-depth picture analysis so you all will get to see the major upgrades in the quality of the final product.

The chits will have clean, professionally cut edges (much better than the prototype ones pictured earlier). The wooden blocks will use more on-brand colors and custom sizes. Generals will be represented by artwork printed directly onto wooden blocks, while Advanced Tactics will use metallic gold blocks with artwork printed on top (instead of chits).

The game board will remain the same size and proportions shown, but the final version will either consist of three folding boards that connect together and fit inside the box; or a neoprene version of that. I am still determining which option to go with. The vinyl map and box shown in the videos are both prototypes. I also plan to commission the final box-cover artwork from a professional artist to better capture the epic scale of the game.

The 3D-printed fortifications shown in the prototype will also be replaced with custom-cut wooden pieces featuring printed artwork for both fortification types.

Finally, if we reach our highest stretch goal, we plan to replace the unit chits entirely with custom injection-molded pieces. Doing so would require new molds, tooling, and a redesigned box to accommodate the larger components, all of which significantly increase production costs. Those additional costs will be factored into the highest stretch-goal amount.
 

WHAT COMES NEXT. . .

Right now we need to get the word out there about this game and build up our follower base here on Kickstarter before we officially launch. I fully intend to keep this page updated with the latest information and pictures about this game's development. Forged by Fire is a special game and my dream is to see it boxed and on many of your game shelves!

Don't hesitate to reach out to me directly with questions. 

Below are some other pictures of the crude prototype so far. . .