The Glory of Hapsburg Eclipse
Review - Hapsburg Eclipse
Hapsburg Eclipse is not what it seems. At a glance, it looks like its sister game, Ottoman Sunset. There you play beleaguered empire beset by too many enemies. An anachronistic polity of a different era finding itself in an existential fight against the rising tides of history in the greatest war ever. With great powers marching on Constantinople—Russia, England, France—and your Arab subjects revolting against your benevolent rule, gameplay is non-stop crisis management compounded by insufficient resources to deal with it all. Even worse, the Royal Navy could finish you in a single stroke. In a nutshell, you are a dead man walking. Your mindset is “survival is victory”.
In Hapsburg Eclipse, much seems the same. Again, great powers assail your empire—Russia, Italy, Romania, France—with mighty Russia right on your doorstep. Of course, the Achilles Heel of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is its polyglot nature. Ethnic tensions and nationalist sentiments from multiple groups—Czechs, Croats, even the Hungarians—threaten to tear apart your empire even more quickly than the Russian hordes. This assessment is deceiving.
Admittedly, by default, most players will choose to play defensively. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, per se. It is a States of Siege game. Players figure if they can just deftly finesse the various crises confronting it, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire can survive. However, as the war drags on, the shambolic nature of the Austro-Hungarian Empire becomes more manifest. Sure, chances are Tsarist Russia will likely disintegrate into revolutionary chaos. But, Italy and France get significant upgrades. France, in particular, is a ready to deliver a coup de grâce to take Vienna at the very end. Egads, even the hapless Romanians could get it together and get the drop on you!
Even worse, the loyalty of many of your subjects is drifting into outright rebellion. The Czechs and the Croats yearn for independence, despite the blessings of Imperial rule. The Hungarians themselves are tempted to break away in the areas of nationalist agitation.
The cold truth is playing defensively will almost assuredly lead to the historic result of catastrophe before the Event Deck runs out. Quite simply, the historical forces arrayed against are very powerful. Sure, some Gemischter Satz might help as your world falls apart. I say, start drinking once the Emperor is safe and the war is won.
The good news in Hapsburg Eclipse is there is an actual path to victory, glorious victory. Victory that will not merely defer defeat to another day. Rather, victory that is substantial and decisive; wherein the Austro-Hungarian Empire will emerge triumphant!
The Best Defense is Offense
Broadly speaking, States of Siege games can be characterized into two types: defensive or offensive. Defensive games are those like Ottoman Sunset or A Blood-Red Banner. They are clear-cut defensive struggles. Against heavy odds, the player seeks to outdo their historical counterparts. Equaling the historical outcome or doing slightly better is an accomplishment and a ‘victory’ of sorts. This is tough to do in Ottoman Sunset, but plausible and satisfying. However, in a game like A Blood-Red Banner, the Texians have zero chance of any kind of victory. The situation is too grim. The Texians are going to get massacred. Surviving all the Event cards is really an accomplishment.
Some States of Siege games are different in that there is a path to outright victory. In Soviet Dawn, driving enemy fronts from the game is important. In We Must Tell the Emperor, the option to pursue Military Victory is a thrill-ride that most players forgo. However, the player must pull this off early before this window of opportunity closes.
Hapsburg Eclipse is this type of SoS games. There is a viable path to glorious victory. It is based upon the Napoleonic principle of defeating your enemies in detail. In practical terms, this means being ruthless and methodical in eliminating your enemies.
Russia > Romania > Italy > France
Out of the gate, this means containing Russia. Hold the Przemysl fortress and shut down their Polish track. Stop the Brusilov Offensive. Thereafter, you can reasonably expect political turmoil to weaken them and the Bolsheviks to remove them.
With Romania, the challenge is being ready to knock them out. As soon as they enter the war, seize Bucharest. Keep them at arms length. When you get a chance to finish them off with the Foscani Armistice, be ready with Mackensen, Reserve Actions, maybe even German Aid. Sure, they could come back with the “Romanian Army Reformed” event. But, if they were knocked out previously, they remain a weak 2-strength front and easily contained in Jassy.
Italy is the toughest nut to crack. It is not for the faint of heart. To pull it off, you have to plan ahead and be ready to go all in when the opportunity presents itself. Half measures will not do. Nerves of steel are necessary. But, if you pull it off and send the Italians packing, you should be in excellent shape to win the war and the game.
Thus, the end-game should see you facing France alone in the Balkans. For this purpose, have some German Aid squirreled away. You will need it when France launches her final war-winning offensive. Given how hollow your military has become by the end of the war, your entire position in the Balkans could collapse like a house of cards. But, if you can stop them cold and maintain the Bulgarian Trench Line, this will be the final showdown. Win this battle and almost assuredly you will win the war.
Resources
The key to this pursuing this aggressive strategy is the careful husbanding of the following resources for this purpose.
Mackensen - Re-roll Offensives
German Aid - Grants +2 to Offensives
General Staff Reserve Actions - Extra actions
The Reserve Actions are effectively your strategic reserve. Ideally, you can save the bulk of them for knocking out Italy. I would even cannibalize Resources allocated to the Western Theater if victory were achievable. Complimenting them with Mackensen and German Aid is a force multiplier.
Ethnic Loyalties & National Will
Sure, you need to succeed in the other aspects of the game: keeping your fractious subjects loyal and keeping your National Will positive. But, these challenges are more straightforward, almost mundane, administrative even. With proper attention, it is highly unlikely the Hungarians will desert the Empire. Unless your allies systematically fail you by consistently losing Off-Map Battles, you should be able to judiciously and efficiently allocate Resource markers to get the needed outcomes and keep you on track to victory.
However, battling to take out enemy fronts is different. You won’t be reacting to the latest events. Rather, you will be anticipating them and have a strategic plan on how to deal with them in turn with resources ready. Locked and loaded, as it were. Doing so will require every ounce of agency and nerves of steel to succeed. Figuring this all out will, of course, take time and energy to acquire and master this knowledge. Doing so is a lot of fun.
That’s why I highly recommend Hapsburg Eclipse. If you are looking for a States of Siege game that grants you lots of agency to win the game and the war, not mere hold on and survive, Hapsburg Eclipse is a thrilling challenge. Indeed, a glorious challenge.
