Radetzky - Milano 1848

A few days ago I played with my brother at a new boardgame with a distinct Risorgimento theme: Radetzky: Milano 1848, which deals with the "5 giornate di Milano" (5 days of Milan), the uprising which saw the Milanese people start a 5-day unrest from March 18 to March 22, 1848 which ultimately saw Austrian Marshal Radetzky evacuate the city and retreat east towards the Quadrilatero fortresses. During the uprising, King Charles Albert of Piedmont-Sardinia declared war and started the 1st Italian Independence War. 

The game is a cooperative one, with 2-5 players playing the Milanese people against the AI (which controls the Austrians) in a struggle to win city district after city district. Players win if they control 5 districts and the Austrians have less than 5, while Austrians win if they control 5 districts before the Italians do it or if both Italians and Austrians end up controlling 5 districts in the same turn. Austrians also win if almost all their soldiers have been deployed (this happens later in the game if players didn't eliminate them effectively enough). Players have to confront an enemy which starts to send more and more soldiers against them, but they can muster resources (including the historically decisive barricades) in order to limit the enemy moves and turn the tide. The Austrians have a special "Radetzky" mounted counter that moves each turn and makes it harder for the Italians to take control of the space he's in, but also allows some more benefits if he's defeated. Historically, as the historical notes included at the end of the rulebook correctly note, Radetzky stayed inside his HQ, the Castello Sforzesco, and never went outside until the retreat, but the variation in the game allows some interesting game mechanics and challenges for the players.

We played two games, one with basic rules (where we lost) and one with advanced rules (where we won). Good coordination among players can be useful to win the game, and if ends up being too easy (but we felt it was nail-biting to the end!), players can limit communications between them to make it harder to win. Players win individually, not just as a team, but we didn't care for it. If we had done it, maybe it would have resulted in less cohesion and, possibly, in defeat...! Well, in the end it looks like our Milanese were able to overcome their political differences for the common good!

Overall, a good game that I really enjoyed playing!

First game: too many Austrian soldiers (black blocks)
and too few patriots around!

End of first game: Austrians get control of 5 districts,
while patriots only control 3... this time Radetzky wins...

End of second game: a nail-biting victory as Italians control
5 districts while Austrians have 4!