The Lash of the Turk (2011)

Overview

With the fall of Jerusalem, Europe learned a new synonym for bogeyman - "Turk." Organizing the Moslem forces of the Middle East with discipline and training, the Turks recaptured the Holy Land and gradually took over the rest of Asia Minor and spread into Europe like a slow tide, including capturing Constantinople and swallowing the remnants of the Byzantine Empire and the Balkans. Presuming extreme cruelty, various European leaders called for new crusades, to free fellow Christians from the Lash of the Turk.

The game covers the tenuous period in history when all of Christian Europe felt threatened by Suleiman the Magnificent, Turkey's greatest sultan. Would Hungary be the next prize for the Ottoman Turks? Would Vienna follow, and the dam of resistance collapse entirely? You decide. One side features various forces from Europe, who sometimes seem more divided than united by their "common religion." The other side includes the might of the Ottomans with new "allies," vassal states who prefer their new overlords to being part of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Lash of the Turk features 176 large counters and a 22 by 34 inch map covering the area from Graz to Bucharest. Units represent various columns of infantry, artillery, and cavalry. Game rules stress ease of play, but give players lots of options, including river movement and combat, siege rules, forage, and political turncoats. Four different scenarios let you juggle the strengths and weaknesses of the principal leaders for both sides, along with Austrian, Hungarian, Transylvanian, Tartar, Turk, Bavarian, Polish, and Franconian troops and appearances from other nationalities.

--from the publisher

Expansions

Backlash!