Berestechko 1651

Description

There is a little town on it,
In the middle of Volhynia, called Berestechko,
Belonging to the Leszczynski family, that was not as famous in the past
As it has now become – both ancient Cannae
And Khotyn are far outshone by it, because as many heads here
Our eyes have seen as at Thermopylae
Or Marathon they counted, although there the whole strength
Of Europe and Asia had come together.

“The civil war” poem by Samuel Twardowski.

Berestechko 1651 is a game for two players simulating the third day of the battle of Berestechko, fought on 30th June 1651 between the Zaporozhian Cossacks, led by Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky and aided by their Crimean Tatar allies, and a Polish-Lituanian army under King John II Casimir, near the Styr river in Volhynia It was one of the largest land battles of 17th century Europe.

The game is a small-footprint simulation intended to give a quick and easy representation of the battle, focusing on good preparation of attacks and on when and where to withhold, retreat, rally and reorganize.