Wandering PineSmall dev diary: while working out the committee track, I updated the intrigue cards so they now leverage the new action spaces in Vienna. The two systems are starting to talk to each other, which is exactly what I wanted. One step toward iteration 3.5.
Servants with proxy letters have been in Vienna 1814 for a while — small, useful, and quietly liked by players. An aristocrat hands off a letter, a servant carries an action where they cannot go themselves.
In iteration 3.5, the same mechanic now reaches the committee: a servant with a proxy can move the work forward by one step, opening a higher space the aristocrat may use later that turn.
A small extension of something that already works.
A small design question I am sitting with: on the locations of Vienna 1814, should action names stay, or should the icons speak for themselves?
The thematic names ("Foster Relationships", "Spark a Scandal", "Spreading Rumours") give playtesters a hook — narrative context that helps the icons land. A more experienced designer suggested cutting all the fluff text. He may well be right.
This is still a wireframe, and I am still arguing with myself.
Committees were a real part of how the Congress of Vienna worked, so my board game has a proper committee track — one I'm still working on. And while building it, "committee" quietly became my favorite English word with three double letters in a row: mm, tt, ee. Do you have a favorite?
A small but important shift on the committee track: each player carries a personal pool of cubes that grows across the game, one added per committee action.
This means the system rewards long-term investment rather than a single decisive turn — and tilts the strategic question from "when do I act?" toward "when do I commit?"
The list is complete and voting is now closed. Six countries are in the hands of the magic die:
1 – Albania 🇦🇱
2 – Kosovo 🇽🇰
3 – Estonia 🇪🇪
4 – Switzerland 🇨🇭
5 – Latvia 🇱🇻
6 – Ukraine 🇺🇦
I'll roll most likely this weekend, and then research a real historical person connected to the winning country and the Congress of Vienna. Some of these will be genuine historical gymnastics – which is half the fun.
𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁
View of the K. K. Redoutensaal during a Masked Ball, Josef Schütz, 1815.
Painted during the Congress winter itself. The Hofburg redoute halls hosted the season's most famous masked balls — anonymity as social technology, with an orchestra on the balcony and a harlequin somewhere in the crowd. Exactly the kind of room I keep trying to make playable.
Time to fill the last two slots before the next magic die roll. So far the list has Albania, Kosovo, Estonia and Switzerland — and then a real historical figure connected to one of them and the Congress of Vienna gets a deep dive. Which European country should join the list?
Neil DixonHeading to #ukge this weekend and was really hoping to be taking at least one game concept with me - alas, they are just not ready.
One might think that’s some unconscious stalling tactic, but they are not at a point where I can defend all the important design decisions yet: not enough playtesting. I must approach these things with authenticity, I cannot just wing it, and they need more work.
Now, if we could postpone #ukge2026 until August, that would be perfect.
#BoardGames #boardgamedesign
One might think that’s some unconscious stalling tactic, but they are not at a point where I can defend all the important design decisions yet: not enough playtesting. I must approach these things with authenticity, I cannot just wing it, and they need more work.
Now, if we could postpone #ukge2026 until August, that would be perfect.
#BoardGames #boardgamedesign
One of my many favourite details from researching Vienna 1814: Emperor Francis treated hospitality and surveillance as the same project.Agents were placed in palaces, embassies and guest apartments — listening at doors, going through wastebaskets, even checking pockets. The delegations knew, and politely pretended not to. The whole Congress ran on a quiet choreography of mutual unawareness.
