𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀… 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀.

The Congress of Vienna was meant to be a diplomatic gathering: meetings, negotiations, and restoring order to Europe.
It became months of politics, receptions, rumours, salons — and, apparently, some very serious wardrobe planning.

#CongressOfVienna #Vienna1814 #HistoryMeme #HistoricalGames #BoardGameDesign

Small devlog from 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟰: 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘇 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 🎲
Loyalty 🤝 in the entertainment phase now has two paths: gain support, or spend your own effort to discredit someone else’s influence.

The goal is controlled interaction — conflict without permanently destroying anyone’s resources.
Because at a polite evening, a whisper can still be a political weapon.

#BoardGameDesign #GameDesign #TabletopGames #HistoricalGames #Vienna1814

A small confession: beyond designing a board game about the Congress of Vienna, I also have a day job. Mostly remote, but today I came into the new office. View from the 31st floor.

I am not focused on the game today — though it never really leaves my head. And from up here, that forest reminds me of the Wienerwald (the Vienna Woods).

#BoardGameDesign #DevDiary

One design issue I’m working on in 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝟭𝟴𝟭𝟰: 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘇 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, my board game about the Congress of Vienna:
If an action is always worth taking, it stops being a meaningful choice.
So the entertainment 🍷💃 phase is changing — less repetitive token placement, more tension, more interaction 😳, and a stronger reason to quit early.

#BoardGameDesign #GameDesign #TabletopGames #HistoricalGames

I decided to freeze the action phase changes for iteration 3.5.

The structure is cleaner now: unified locations, fewer exceptions, and up to 3 actions per move.

I’m currently solo-testing it as five players, while shifting design work to the entertainment phase.
Goal: more tactical competition for characters, more player interaction, and better tempo.

#BoardGameDesign #GameDesign #TabletopGames #HistoricalGames #WIP

Visual Note from the Past

Der Stephansplatz in Wien bei Regen, Paul Kaspar, 1928.

This is, of course, more than 100 years after the Congress of Vienna – but St. Stephen’s Cathedral is timeless, and the rainy atmosphere felt like the right way to begin this small visual research series.

#ArtHistory #Vienna #BoardGames #GameDesign

Small Congress scandal: at the opening ball of the Congress of Vienna, rumour had it that a quarter of the 10,000 silver teaspoons bearing the imperial crest quietly disappeared into the crowd.

I would treat this more as a perfect Congress anecdote than a precise inventory report — but honestly, that makes it even better.
Diplomacy, spectacle, gossip… and apparently a few unofficial souvenirs.

#History #CongressOfVienna #Vienna1814 #HistoricalGames #BoardGameDesign #WanderingPine

I’m running a small historical game here: suggest European countries, I roll a magic die 🎲, then prepare a deep dive into a real person connected to that country and the Congress of Vienna.

And now there comes Andorra. It was selected.

It was not exactly overflowing with obvious diplomatic celebrities in XIX.

If the die chooses it, I may have to bend history, geography, and some mountains backwards.

I promised I would try.
But I am slightly worried. 😅

#History #CongressOfVienna #Andorra

Everybody, please stop naming European countries. I beg you. The magic die list is finally complete 🎲
Number 6 is Romania — specifically Transylvania 🧛‍♂️

Tomorrow the die decides which country gets the next deep dive into a real person connected to the Congress of Vienna.

Final list:
1 — Andorra
2 — Finland
3 — Austria
4 — Serbia
5 — Greece
6 — Romania / Transylvania

#BoardGames #BoardGameDesign #History #CongressOfVienna #HistoricalGames