Soldier Kings re-creates the free-for-all that was the Seven Years’ War. Two to eight players take the roles of the nations listed above, trying to capture or hold onto the rich lands of Europe, India, South-East Asia and America. The world is changing; the power that grabs the most now will dominate the modern age that is just dawning. If you’re the Soldier King, that power will be you.

Players have allies; some are set at the beginning of the game, others alliances are forged during the course of play. Everyone else is an enemy. No one is “neutral”; those are just enemies you haven’t attacked yet.

The cards are the centerpiece of the game, giving it its free-wheeling nature. Generals can vacillate. Mercenaries can be hired. Local militia can appear to help. Soldiers might run off to loot. Bridges get burned, snow falls early, the harvests are bad, the harvests are good. Royal marriages, minor country alliances, the rise of new leaders — all sorts of events take place during card play.

The game contains seven scenarios: a campaign game covering the entire war, and then six shorter ones, one for each year of the war. Play ends on a pre-determined turn or when a player has achieved his or her conditions for automatic victory, whichever comes first.

Components: 305 playing pieces, two 17"x22" maps, eight-page rulebook.