The Cousins' War (Second Edition) cover
2018BGG rank #5,586

The Cousins' War (Second Edition)

by David J. Mortimer · Surprised Stare Games Ltd

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Players2
Time30m
ComplexityMedium-Light
Age12+

About the game

What is The Cousins' War (Second Edition)?

The Wars of the Roses were fought between the Houses of York and Lancaster for over three decades during the 15th century in England. The houses were both branches of the royal family, therefore the Wars were originally known as "The Cousins' War". Each player represents one of the houses as they fight battles and gain influence to control England. The Cousins' War is played over a maximum of five rounds, with each round representing between five and ten years of the conflict. Each round involves gaining influence across England and preparing for a climactic battle. In each round, the players decide where the current battlefield will be, playing action cards to deploy troops to the battlefield, while also increasing or decreasing their influence in the regions, after which they fight. Players resolve the battle by engaging in bluff and counter-bluff, using three dice, until only one side has troops remaining on the field. Winning the battle helps to consolidate your house's influence on the board. You win The Cousins' War either by dominating all the regions of England or by controlling the most regions at the end of the fifth round. 2nd Edition is a new version of The Cousins' War with larger components. There are English (Surprised Stare Games, Flying Lemur Game Studio), German (Frosted Games) and Spanish (2Tomatoes) versions separately published. 2nd Edition contains an optional variant, Times of Change. This variant adds in the cards originally published as the Events expansion to the 1st edition. There is 1 extra card, Jura Belli, in the Times of Change variant over and above the Events expansion. —description from the publisher

How it plays

Mechanics

Action / EventArea Majority / InfluenceCampaign / Battle Card DrivenDice RollingSimulation

On the shelf

Categories

Card GameMedievalRenaissanceWargame

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

  • How do setup and the first turn work in The Cousins' War (Second Edition)?
  • When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
  • How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?