Maria [German Version] by Histogame Spieleverlag

Prompt, good condition, and everything I could have wanted. Now I need to find the weekend time with exactly two other people to play it properly . . .

Maria is a three player game that follows the War of Austrian Succession. The game has two partially connected theaters. In Central Europe, France competes with Prussia for conquest of Austria. (France and Prussia are non-cooperating allies.) In Western Europe, the Pragmatic Army (unrelated to Prussia, but played by the same player) cooperates with the Austrian Netherlands against France. France and Austria can move their generals between the theaters, but this is a risky strategy that doesn't happen every game.The point of the game is to capture a certain amount of fortresses. Players capture by moving their generals through the city. But for a capture to be effective, there can't be an opposing general nearby. The capturing player can remedy this by moving his general close enough to the defending general to start a battle. If he wins the battle, he can force the defending general to retreat, and thereby secure his capture.The combat system adds a lot of intrigue. Here's how it works. Players secretly assign troops (strength) to their generals before the game. Players start with some tactical cards (which are similar to playing cards) and get more throughout the game. When two generals confront one another, they reveal their strength. The weaker general can then play cards to add to his strength until he is no longer weaker. Then the other player can play cards until he is no longer weaker. This can go back and forth. A general is defeated when he can't or won't play cards to make up the strength deficit. He then loses that number of troops and is forced to retreat if he has troops left. If the general has no troops left, he's off the board. At set intervals, there are opportunities to replace lost generals, supply trains, and troops by spending tactics cards.The battle mechanic is simple, but the strategies involved can get pretty complicated. This is partially because in battle, players have to play cards of a specific suit. A large grid overlays the map. Each square of that grid has a playing card suit, and generals in that square can only play cards from that suit. So movement and combat is tied to this resource management game mechanic. It makes the game really intense, especially considering that every action you take reveals something to your opponents about the strengths and weaknesses of your hand.Players also have to keep their generals in supply. Whenever a general moves out of his home country, he has to be close to a supply train. The supply trains are limited in their movement and have no defense against enemy generals. If a general is out of supply, he begins to lose troops and can no longer capture towns. So players have to balance the need to protect their supply train and the need to move their generals deeper into enemy territory.There game rounds are punctuated by politics cards. The politics cards are each helpful to some or all of the players. They are also well tied into the game thematically. Players win the right to play a helpful politics card (or discard one that harms them) by secretly bidding tactical cards. Politics cards add to the resource management aspect of the game.This game is very deep. There are a ton of strategies and gambits to try. And this game gets intense. Man is it intense. I highly recommend it.