In a hobby filled with zombies, Great Old Ones, and endless farming, Victory Point Games has been a shining beacon of unique themes and gameplay. The moment I read about High Treason: The Trial of Louis Riel, I knew it had a place in my collection. Like many, I didn’t know much about the trial despite having an interest, and education, in history. But that matters not, because the real star of the show is the game system: a card driven game reminiscent of classics such as Twilight Struggle. Both are games of battling for influence, but in High Treason you sway jurors rather than nations.
<PERSON>
@Murgen17
I have enlisted the help of my good friend and gaming buddy, <PERSON>, as he had a similar interest in the game. What we found is an interesting game of tug-of-war between the prosecution and defense in the infamous Canadian trial.
Components
The game is a part of VPG’s Gold Banner series, which means it comes with all of the charm I’ve come to expect from them. The first thing we see is the famous crimson pizza box with an attractive sleeve
Included are 100 laser-cut tokens and a napkin to wipe the sooty edges before playing. I’ve seen many compliments regarding VPG’s tokens, and I now understand why: they are wonderfully thick!
<PERSON> graphic design looks lovely on them, and the symbols are easily distinguishable. The same can be said for the game mat.
It’s unmounted, but it still feels solid. I do recommend plexiglass, or something similar, to lay over the map to flatten and protect it during play. Much of the hard to remember information is included at the top to keep players from referencing the rulebook, and this will prove especially useful for the first game or two.
Two player aids are included, with a reference for each round and small strategy guides. It’s helpful to see the best strategies for a certain side, however it may take some of the magic out of figuring it out for yourself. Of course, one could simply not read it if that’s the case, and it could also be argued that the games would become more tense if each side knows the weakness of the other. To each their own on that regard.
There are 50 Trial Cards and 12 Juror Cards, and these are the meat of the game. The cards are fairly thick and seem like they’ll hold up to repeated plays. 92
The Trial Card backs are especially attractive, with the front being more practical than stylish.
Each card represents an important person, group, or event involved with the trial, including a picture and description. The flavor text on each card is a welcome addition, presenting a snippet of historical information about the trial. As an added benefit, players should learn at least a bit about the history surrounding the trial between the rulebook and cards.
Set Up
Players choose a side, with the Prosecution sitting on the red side of the mat and Defense on the blue. The track markers are placed in the bordered boxes of their respective Aspect track, and the Current Round and Insanity/Guilt Markers are placed at the beginning of their tracks. The 12 Juror Cards are placed, with 1 Religion, Language, and Occupation Aspect marker each. The remaining Aspect Markers are set aside, and the small Sway Tokens are put within easy reach.
Gameplay
Now, the part we’ve all been waiting for: How do you recreate a trial with some cards and tokens?!
The gameplay involves 3 motives for each player: swaying jurors, influencing Aspects of the trial, and providing Evidence of Guilt/Insanity. Each one is abstracted as a track, with the players attempting to sway each to their side.
The Aspect Tracks are numbered 1-10, with the Defense fighting for lower numbers and the prosecution fighting for higher numbers. To win, the Prosecution needs to earn 100+ points. The Defense needs to keep that total under 100 for success. Points come from the 3 Aspect Markers on a Juror, a sum of the 3 numbers found on that Aspect Track, which may be modified by the Sway Tokens on Juror Cards. For an example, using the tokens pictured above, let’s say we have an English Protestant Farmer as a juror. That would be 5+2+4= 11. Those sums from all 6 are totaled for the final score. So, the more you know about the Jury, the more focus you’ll have on where you’ll want to sway Aspects or Jurors. More details on how to score Juror Cards can be found in the Deliberation description.
There are 5 rounds: Jury Selection, Trial in Chief pt. 1, Trial in Chief pt. 597