Pincer: A Gentleman's War

A New World Awaits

Word has reached the Crown’s ear of a new world beyond the horizon.

Untamed lands, valuable resources, and new routes of commerce await those bold enough to claim them. But you are not the only player with such ambitions.

In Pincer: A Gentleman’s War, you will found colonies, harvest the riches of a new world, establish powerful guilds and trading companies, and expand your influence by land and sea.

Yet prosperity brings rivalry. As territories grow and resources become scarce, diplomacy begins to fracture. Command your infantry, cavalry, artillery, and navy on the battlefield, and decide whether your empire will be remembered for honor, wealth, or victory at any cost. History waits to be written. Great battles will decide your fate...

Overview

Pincer: A Gentleman’s War is a 2–4 player, turn-based strategy board game set in the 18th century, where players compete to build powerful empires across a hex-based world.

Throughout the game, players will establish colonies, construct road networks and ports to expand their trade, fortify their territory, and command armies on land and at sea.

The goal is to collect Royal Seals. These seals are earned through a variety of achievements, including expanding your infrastructure, monopolizing trade, and proving your strength on the battlefield.

As empires grow, their interests inevitably collide. Alliances may shift, valuable territory becomes contested, and players may be forced to declare war to secure the Royal Seals they need for victory.

With 14 Royal Seals available, there is no single path to victory. Players must assess the changing board, recognize where their empire holds an advantage, and build their strategy around the opportunities before them.

Players: 2–4
Playtime: 90–180 minutes
Ages: 14+

Expand your Empire: Secure your foothold in the New World by founding new Colonies. Grow your wealth by establishing trade routes across land and sea, and protect your territory with powerful fortifications.

Wage War: When Diplomacy Fails: Command your armies and lead them to glory on the battlefield. Blood and treasure are vital, but strategy reigns supreme.

Forge Your Own Path to Victory: The choice is yours. Whether through the subtle influence of secret societies and guilds, the economic might of powerful trading companies, or the iron fist of military power on land and at sea, how you pursue victory is yours to decide.

The Story Behind Pincer

After nearly ten years of designing Pincer: A Gentleman’s War, this video marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

I look back on the years of prototyping, playtesting, refining the rules, developing the artwork, and preparing the game for production. I also walk through what comes next—from manufacturing with Panda Game Manufacturing and fulfillment with Mountain Coast Logistics to the Standard and Deluxe Editions and our current production timeline.

If you’d like to see the story behind Pincer and how it grew from an idea into the game you see today, this is the best place to start.

What's in the Box?

Every copy of Pincer: A Gentleman’s War is packed with detailed game pieces, cards, dice, player aids, and everything needed to wage war across land and sea.

All game pieces will be professionally injection molded, and the components will be housed in a custom insert designed specifically for Pincer by Panda Game Manufacturing—keeping everything organized, protected, and ready for the table.

Compare Reward Tiers

Choose the edition that best fits how you want to experience Pincer. The Standard Edition ($59) includes the complete base game with a single-sided game board and everything needed to play. The Deluxe Edition ($89) upgrades the experience with a double-sided board, washed miniatures, linen-finish cards, laser-engraved dice, and spot UV detailing on the box and Royal Seals. Backers of either edition can also add the Loose Tiles Add-On ($19), which includes 76 double-sided tiles and a 10-piece puzzle frame for creating your own custom maps.

Standard Edition — $59

The Standard Edition includes the complete Pincer: A Gentleman’s War experience and everything you need to play the full game.

Inside the box, you’ll find the complete set of game components, including injection-molded plastic miniatures, custom dice, cards, player pieces, and the full one-sided game board.

All components will be organized in a custom tray developed with Panda Game Manufacturing for easy setup, storage, and protection between games.

If you want the complete Pincer experience in its core form, the Standard Edition includes everything you need to play right out of the box.

Deluxe Edition — $89

The Deluxe Edition includes the complete Pincer: A Gentleman’s War base game with a collection of premium upgrades designed to elevate the tabletop experience.

In addition to everything included in the Standard Edition, the Deluxe Edition features a double-sided game board, linen-finish cards, custom laser-engraved dice, and spot UV detailing on the Royal Seal cards and box artwork.

The injection-molded plastic miniatures also receive a dark wash to bring out the sculpted details and give each army a more finished, tabletop-ready appearance.

Everything is organized inside a custom component tray developed with Panda Game Manufacturing.

For players who want the most premium version of Pincer, the Deluxe Edition combines the full game with upgraded materials, presentation, and additional board variety.

Loose Tile Expansion — $19

Take the world of Pincer beyond the fixed game board with the Loose Tile Add-On.

This expansion includes more than 76 double-sided loose terrain tiles, allowing you to build custom maps and create new battlefields from game to game.

The tiles fit inside a 10-piece puzzle-style frame that helps keep the board securely in place during play. The frame also includes built-in terrain spaces, giving you even more room to create unique layouts.

The Loose Tile Add-On is designed for players who want greater map variety, experimentation, and the freedom to build their own world.

Please note: the Loose Tile Add-On is an add-on to either the Standard or Deluxe Edition and is not available as a standalone purchase.

Player Testimonials

Hear directly from the players who joined us at 1819 Coffee for an in-person Pincer playtest. In this video, they share their first impressions, favorite parts of the game, and what stood out to them after getting Pincer on the table.

Shipping

Expected Delivery Window

August 2027

Pincer: A Gentleman’s War is currently in active development and production planning. This estimate includes time for final artwork and files, manufacturing, freight, quality checks, and fulfillment. We would rather set a realistic delivery window and deliver early than make a promise we cannot keep.

Gameplay

The following section provides a detailed look at Pincer’s core gameplay systems, including resource gathering, development, infrastructure, units, combat, and victory conditions. While it covers many of the game’s major mechanics, it is not intended to serve as a complete rules reference. Instead, it is designed to give you a clear understanding of how the game plays before diving into the full rulebook.

SETUP

Game Setup: At the beginning of the game, each player places 1 Colony and 1 Musketeer on the board.

Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each player chooses an eligible tile for their Colony. Colonies may be placed on any land tile except edge tiles or Mountain tiles, and must be at least 3 tiles away from another Colony. Once a Colony has been placed, the player places their Musketeer on that Colony.

The least gentlemanly player takes the first turn.

Starting Resources: At the beginning of the game, each player receives 1 of each of the 6 resource cards.

TURN PHASES

Harvest
Roll for resources and collect what your colonies produce, fueling your plans for expansion, trade, and war.

Mobilization
Move your forces, launch attacks, capture vulnerable units, and declare war when diplomacy is no longer enough.

Development
Spend resources to build infrastructure, recruit new units, strengthen your empire, and prepare for the turns ahead.

HARVEST RESOURCES:

Roll Resource Dice: At the beginning of each turn, the active player rolls the Resource Dice and chooses one of the two rolled resources for themselves. All other players are assigned the remaining resource.

Collect Resource Cards: Each player collects one resource card per colony, but only if that colony is adjacent to terrain matching their chosen or assigned resource.

A player may block an opponent from collecting resources by occupying an adjacent matching terrain tile with a military unit.

DEVELOPMENT:

During the Development Phase, spend resources to expand your empire with new Colonies, Forts, Ports, Roads, and Bridges. Infrastructure opens new strategic options, strengthens your position on the board, and unlocks powerful military and trade advantages.

Colony: Found a new Colony and expand the territory from which you can collect resources. Each Colony may harvest one resource card when it is adjacent to terrain matching the resource rolled during Harvest.

To found a Colony, you must have a land unit occupying the tile where the new Colony will be built.

Cost: 2 Lumber, 2 Stone, 1 Wheat and 1 Iron Ore

Fort: Build a Fort around one of your Colonies to protect it from invasion and unlock the ability to recruit Cannons. Forts must first be Damaged by enemy Cannons or Frigates before enemy units inside can be captured.

Cost: 1 Lumber and 3 Stone

Port: Build a Port on a Water tile adjacent to one of your Colonies to unlock Frigates and improve your trade power.

Each Port improves your trade rate by 1:1. For example, a 5:1 trade rate becomes 4:1 after building one Port.

An enemy Frigate may blockade a Port, disabling its trade bonus and preventing Frigates from being recruited there.

Cost: 2 Lumber and 1 Iron Ore

Road Network: Build Road between your Colonies to connect your growing empire. A Road Network is created when two of your Colonies are connected by an unbroken path of Roads.

Each completed Road Network improves your trade rate by 1:1. For example, a 5:1 trade rate becomes 4:1 after completing one Road Network.

Road Networks also unlock Cavalry recruitment and allow units to travel more efficiently between your connected Colonies.

Cost: 1 Stone per Road segment

Bridge: Build a Bridge across a Water gap to connect separated land routes. Bridges allow land units to cross Water and attack across the bridged space, opening new paths for expansion, defense, and surprise attacks.

Cost: 1 Stone and 1 Lumber

RECRUIT UNITS:

Each unit type has different movement and attack ranges and may require specific infrastructure before it can be recruited. New units are placed in one of your Colonies or Ports.

Newly recruited units cannot be used until your next turn.

Musketeer: Spend 2 Wheat resource cards to recruit a Musketeer.

Cavalry: Spend 2 Wheat and 1 Mustang resource card to recruit a Cavalry unit.
Requires a Road Network.

Cannon: Spend 4 Iron Ore resource cards to recruit a Cannon. Cannons must be placed inside a Colony. Requires a Fort.

Frigate: Spend 2 Iron Ore and 2 Lumber resource cards to recruit a Frigate. Frigates must be placed inside a Port.

MOVEMENT & ATTACK RANGE:

Units may normally either move or attack once per turn, according to their ranges. Cavalry are the exception: they may move once and then attack.

Players may use any number of their units during their turn, provided each unit follows its movement and attack restrictions.

Moving & Capturing: Moving and capturing are closely connected: a unit captures an enemy unit by moving into its tile.

Attacking and capturing are separate actions.

Attacking: Units may attack enemy units within their attack range. When a unit is attacked, place it on its side to show that it is Injured.

Capturing: A unit may only be captured and removed from play when an enemy unit moves into its tile. Only Injured units may be captured.

Unit Health: Units enter play at Full Health. When attacked, they become Injured and are placed on their side.

While Injured, units cannot attack, but they may still move according to their movement range and may capture other Injured units.

An Injured unit may be revived on its owner’s next turn by spending the required resources. Once revived, that unit cannot be used again until the following turn.

Reviving: On your turn, you may spend the required resource cards to revive your Injured units.

Counter Action Rule: After a player performs an offensive action—either attacking or capturing—the defending player may immediately take one Counter Action with any unit they control. That unit may either move or attack.

UNIT RANGES

Musketeer: Move 1 tile per turn or attack 1 tile per turn.

Cavalry: Move up to 2 tiles per turn, or attack 1 tile per turn, or move 1 tile and then attack 1 tile.

Cannon: Move 1 tile per turn or attack up to 2 tiles away.

Frigate: Move up to 2 tiles per turn or attack up to 2 tiles away.

CAPTURING EXAMPLES:

Example; A Blue Frigate moves into the tile occupied by Red’s Injured Frigate, capturing it and removing it from play.

Example; A Yellow Musketeer moves into the tile occupied by Green’s Injured Cavalry, capturing it and removing it from play.

BLOCKADE:

Players may blockade an opponent’s Port by moving a Frigate into that Port’s tile.

While a Port is blockaded, its owner loses that Port’s trade bonus and cannot recruit Frigates from it. The blockade remains in effect as long as the enemy Frigate occupies the Port.

SIEGING:

Cannons and Frigates are the only units that may attack a Fort.

When a Fort is attacked, turn it upside down to show that it is Damaged. Once Damaged, units inside the Fort are no longer protected and may be attacked by Cannons or Frigates.

Once the Fort is Damaged and any units inside are Injured, offensive units may move into the Fort’s tile to capture those units.

If the attacking player remains inside the Damaged Fort until their next turn, they may remove the Fort from play.

CLAIM ROYAL SEALS (VICTORY)

There are 14 Royal Seals available throughout the game. Your goal is to collect the required number of Royal Seals based on the number of players.

There is no single path to victory. Build a thriving trade empire, race to develop your infrastructure, become a military power, or adapt your strategy as the board changes.

Royal Seals can be earned through three paths:

TRADING COMPANIES

Control valuable resources and establish powerful economic monopolies.

Trading Companies represent control over the trade of the six resource types, with one company corresponding to each resource. Companies are founded by spending matching resource cards and grant a trade monopoly to their owner. Other players may later seize control through a forcible buyout.

SECRET SOCIETIES

Be the first to reach major development milestones, such as founding colonies, building road networks, constructing forts, or establishing ports.

Secret Society Royal Seals are earned by building infrastructure. Be the first player to complete one of the following to claim the corresponding seal: found 2 colonies (not including your starting colonies), build 2 ports, construct 2 forts, or complete 2 road networks. Once claimed, place the Royal Seal in front of you. Each Secret Society provides a unique bonus while you control it, but it may be stolen by other players.

FOUNDER'S OATH — First to Found 2 Colonies:During each Harvest Phase, you may choose either resource rolled. This Seal may be stolen if an enemy occupies all of your colonies.

MARITIME EXCHANGE GUILD — First to Build 2 Ports: Your ports retain their trade bonus while blockaded. However, if all of your current ports are under blockade by an enemy this seal may be stolen.

STONEWALL SOCIETY — First to Build 2 Forts: You may immediately repair a damaged Fort. If used during another player's turn, this counts as your Counter-Action. This Seal may be stolen if all of your Forts are destroyed.

CROSSROADS GUILD  — First to Complete 2 Road Networks: Revive units using any resource cards, paying the normal card amount. This Seal may be stolen if all of your road networks are cut off.

MILITARY ACHIEVEMENTS

Capture enemy units and prove your dominance on the battlefield.

There is no single path to victory. Build a thriving trade empire, race to develop your infrastructure, become a military power, or adapt your strategy as the board changes.

ROYAL MUSKET BADGE — Most captures by Musketeer: While in possession of this seal, musketeers may attack even when injured.

MOUNTED VANGUARD —  Most captures by Cavalry: While in possession of this Seal, Cavalry may move up to 3 tiles away per turn.

BLACK POWDER VOLLEY —  Most captures by Cannon: While in possession of this Seal, your cannons may attack twice per turn.

NAVAL SUPREMACY — Most captures by Frigate: While in possession of this seal, frigates may be immediately revived at their normal cost.

Rulebook

Want to take a closer look at how Pincer: A Gentleman’s War plays? You can view the current rulebook below.

Please note that this is a near-final draft. The rules themselves are largely complete, but the rulebook will continue to receive small refinements, formatting adjustments, illustrations, and a final review by a professional editor before production.

This remaining work will not affect the production or fulfillment timeline and is already accounted for in the development schedule.

Rulebook Draft

Birke Publishing, LLC

Pincer: A Gentleman’s War is created and published by Birke Publishing LLC, an independent game publisher based in Tennessee.

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Meet Julian Birke

About Me

Greetings! I’m Julian Birke, the creator of Pincer: A Gentleman’s War and founder of Birke Publishing LLC.

I’m a graphic designer and motion graphics artist based in Franklin, Tennessee. Pincer has been my creative outlet and passion project for years. What began as a game I was simply making for myself gradually grew into something much bigger.

For the most part, Pincer has been a solo project. My background in graphic design, animation, and visual storytelling has allowed me to take on much of the work myself—from the game’s visual identity and graphic design to its trailers, promotional artwork, videos, and marketing. Being able to combine all of those skills with game design has been one of the most rewarding parts of the process.

I’ve also had a love for film from a very young age. The Lord of the Rings films in particular had a huge influence on me growing up. I loved the movies, but I was just as fascinated by how they were made. As a kid, I obsessively watched the behind-the-scenes documentaries and special features, learning about everything from miniatures and visual effects to costumes, sets, and filmmaking. That fascination with building believable worlds has stayed with me ever since and continues to influence the way I approach Pincer today.

Once I realized other people were genuinely interested in the game, I started documenting the design journey on YouTube. To my surprise, a community began forming around the project, and that encouragement pushed me to keep developing, refining, and expanding the game. Eventually, I decided to take the leap and launch a Kickstarter to bring Pincer to life—and here we are!

Outside of designing games, I enjoy camping, sailing, spending time with family and friends, watching films, and, of course, playing board games. I’m also a big music lover and play guitar, which has been another creative outlet for me over the years. I’ve always been drawn to creative pursuits in one form or another, whether that’s design, animation, filmmaking, music, or game design.

I also have a deep love for history, which has heavily influenced Pincer’s visual identity and overall design, while still leaving plenty of room for creative liberties of my own.

A special thank you goes to the YouTube community that has been watching, encouraging, and supporting Pincer from the very beginning. Sharing the journey with you all has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding parts of this entire experience, and it’s something I’ll always be grateful for.

Thank you for following the journey and helping make this project possible.