Another strategy post on one of my favorite games – Here I Stand (Ed Beach, GMT Games)! So far, we’ve got:

• How to Win as the Hapsburgs in Here I Stand
• How to Win as the Papacy in Here I Stand
• How to Win as England in Here I Stand
• How to Win as the Protestants in Here I Stand

All of them have been in the tried-and-true fashion of giving three basic tips which new and intermediate players can easily remember. Today, we’re doing that with one of the most popular factions: The Ottomans! Straightforward gameplay, huge armies, and the always-popular piracy make them a power like no other. Here’s how to rack up victory points (VPs) with them, how to manage the relationship with the Hapsburg arch-enemy, and how to push yourself over the finish line in one fell swoop.

Pirate & Conquer

Okay, I admit that this is not a very sophisticated tip. After all, that’s what the Ottomans are all about! Yet things are rarely so simple in Here I Stand. For example, the Pope wants to keep spaces Catholic and snatch up a key or two in Italy, but that alone won’t be enough to win. The Ottomans, however, can easily get to 25 VP just by doing their two favorite activities:

• Piracy can net you up to 10 VP. It’ll take a few turns to get there, but it’s absolutely possible. Incidentally, the 10 VP are the largest amount of VP any power can unilaterally earn with reliable actions (unlike, say, debating) and which cannot be taken away.
• Every key is worth 2 VP. You have 4 keys (so, 8 VP) from the start. You’ll take Belgrade on turn 1 and Algiers whenever Barbary Pirates triggers (so, no later than turn 3). Buda is extremely easy to take as long as it is still Hungarian-controlled. That makes 7 keys (=14 VP). Add the 10 from piracy and the 2 War Winner VP you get from defeating Hungary, and you’re already at 26!

Of course, your exact totals may differ – you can make up for fewer VP in piracy if you conquer more keys (say, Vienna, Tunis, or something in Italy). Maybe a power whom you’ve beaten up sues you for peace and you get more War Winner VP. But the basic math remains Piracy + Conquest = Victory.

As an aside, it’s almost impossible to win a military auto-win with the Ottomans. They need 11 keys for that. These would be worth 22 VPs already, plus the 2 which you will almost assuredly have gotten from defeating Hungary, so, 24 VP. As 11 keys will probably not be taken from one enemy power only, several of your enemies will have had the opportunity to sue you for peace to get their keys back, leaving you with more War Winner VP (and fewer keys) – so, before you ever get close to your military auto-win, you’ll probably have won by VP.

Go to War with the Hapsburgs at the Right Moment

The Ottomans eschew many of the finer points of diplomacy. Trading mercenaries? Granting divorces? That’s for decadent western barbarians. However, the Ottomans are not without subtlety when it comes to war and peace with their main rival, the Hapsburgs.

The two powers are initially at peace. The Ottomans are at war with the minor power Hungary. Once Hungary is defeated (typically, when the Hungarians lose the field battle at Buda), the Hapsburgs automatically intervene on Hungary’s side, take over whatever is left of it, and are now at war with the Ottomans who bag 2 War Winner VP for defeating Hungary.

There is almost nothing the Hapsburgs can do but wait for whenever the Ottomans feel like they are ready for war. Sure, they could conceivably declare war on the Ottomans themselves, but then they’ll have a hard time hurting them – Hungary is not their ally (yet), and they cannot declare war on Hungary either, so the country functions as a semi-permeable buffer state: The Ottomans do as they will in Hungary, and the Hapsburgs cannot enter it. Thus, any Hapsburg hostilities would be limited to naval warfare, and the odd (and expensive) amphibious campaign. Most Hapsburg players will begrudgingly stay at peace and try to pick (that is, beat up) lower-hanging fruit in France, Italy, or Germany.

Thus: The power to change from peace to war with the Hapsburgs is yours. Use it at an opportune moment!

Lunge Late

Now that you know where your VP will come from, and how to manage your main enemy, how do you craft that most important of Here I Stand campaigns – the final push that will get you to 25 VP?

I counsel patience. Start sluggishly. Build forces, especially naval. Do the minimum in conquering (Belgrade, and, if you want, Rhodes to get rid of the Knights of St. John). Focus on piracy. Your VPs will lag behind the Papacy, the French, or the Hapsburgs; and thus everyone will be happy to give you VP for your piracy attempts (instead of giving you a card or destroy a naval squadron of theirs).

In the meantime, the Hapsburgs will be at leisure to spend their forces elsewhere. A protracted struggle with France. The pursuit of Italian dominance. A punitive expedition against the Protestants. And when you have enough VPs from piracy (and probably a few cards saved from the previous turn thanks to the awesome admin rating of Suleiman the Magnificent), you will strike against a weakened emperor.

Say, you have made it to 19 VP and were able to save two cards from your previous turn. Now’s the time to strike! You smash into Buda, take it and the 2 War Winner VP, march onto Vienna, and take that, too. 6 VPs in one campaign, and victory!

Which tricks do you use to win as the Ottomans? Let me know in the comments!