Coalitions by Phalanx - War and Diplomacy in Napoleonic Europe, and... before and beyond!

I supported the Kickstarter for Coalitions, which was fully funded July 14, 2026. Delivery was originally estimated to be November 2022; There were innumerable delays, and at times it looked like it might never  be delivered; I got my copy in late July of this year (2026), five years after paying up. I think they simply had too many different parts that had to be finalized, and thus development took far longer than expected. In any event, it arrived right after Historicon, so I hadn't had time to do anything more than a cursory look at it until this week. Despite the excruciatingly long delay, I have been looking forwards to getting this game for a long time!

The Coalitions map board has 2 sides, one "Revolution", for earlier scenarios, and 

and one "Empire", for later scenarios. The game has a LOT of different scenarios  "Full Length" Scenarios are 1792: First Coalition, 1798: 2nd Coalition, and 1805: Third Coalition. Medium Length Scenarios are 1806: Fourth Coalition, 1809: Fifth Coalition, and Short Scenarios are 1812: Sixth Coalition, and 1813: Grand Alliance.

The Wheel of War (rondel) is a key element in the play of the game - it determines which powers do what when, and means that almost everyone is doing something (different) at the same time. Eaxcch turn except the first starts with a Diplomatic phase, where after no more than 3 minutes of discussion/negotiations, each power other than France and Britain, who are always at War with one another), secretly indicates their status for the turn - they can be allied to Britain or allied to France, Neutral, or Expansionist. France and Britain can reject an Alliance or expel powers from same (you cannot attack an Ally, for example). Powers can make offers etc., during the Diplomacy phase, but are in no way obligated to adhere to any agreements! After that, a turn starts as above - Britain Musters (draws one Battle Card and discards one), Ottomans collect Taxes (when the British are on this section they also gain income for trade with the 11 ports on the map except when they are controlled by a power at War (Expansionist or French Allied) with Britain. Russians do Leadership (place any off board Generals on to the map in controlled territories that do not already have one of their Generals, OR take any on board Generals off the map, OR take 1 Battle Card, OR gain 1 Morale) When the British take this action they may offer Subsidies to Powers in the British Coalition; if accepted, each power that accepts 3 or more coins gains 1 Influence for the British (and Influence is the main way that Victory is determined!) Finally, of it is the French player's action, if Napoleon is on the board, he may take 1 Move action after all the other players act but before the Russians do! Prussia does Mobilization - spends money to buy troops, Morale points, Fortresses, and/or Battle Cards. The power also draws 1 Battle Card for every General it has that is NOT on the board. Only Britain can retain money at the end of this phase; other powers lose any excess to "corruption". Austria gains Influence - 1 for each point in a disputed (striped) territory that has that power's color on it. France does  Movement. To do so, the player must choose a power that is not in alliance with it, and you cannot choose a power with Morale 15 (the highest possible). 1 round of movement is automatic, and any resulting battles are resolved - the Envoy power gains 1 Morale. If the envoy grants it, a second round of Movement takes place, and the Envoy gains another2 Morale. If the envoy allows it, a third round of movement is possible, and the Envoy gains 3 morale if it allows that. Tricky!  Coalitions is very much a game about Diplomacy, even though there is still combat and War (aka, Diplomacy by other means). 

The game comes with nice wooden "meeples - each power has 1 general with special abilities (denoted by the extra detailing). The hearts track Morale, the stars Influence, and the cubes Strength in combat. The discs are used to mark Diplomatic Status, and the Cylinders the Envoy for that power during Movement. The game also comes with cardboard counters for money, troops and garrisons, fortresses and for declarations of status during the Diplomacy phase for Austria, Prussia, Russia, and the Ottomans (each Power has 4, one each for French Allied, British Allied, Neutral, and Expansionist)

The KS version I took has the upgraded Diplomatic status markers (France and Britain don't need one).

Optional upgraded Fortress markers

Optional upgraded General minis

Who's who of the Napoleonic Wars!

As I said, I think one thing that contributed to the excruciatingly long delay in delivering on this KS was all the extras offered. 

Solo Play as Napoleon trying to fend off the Allies in 1813

L'Empereur mode is solo  play where the players are the Coalition forces, and Napoleon undertakes his various Campaigns against them. 

Then there is Ancien Regime, the Wars of the earlier 18th century, with up to Seven powers!

Spain is the 7th Power here.

Additional markers and tokens for Ancien Regime (the Crown denotes the Holy Roman Emperor). 

A slightly different rondel for A.R., plus Spanish Battle Cards. My freind Bob Jones would be happy to see the rondel used in this way, I think; he experimented with the idea in his Mid 19th Century (Franco-Prussian, ACW, etc) Wargames rules, Zouave. 

Player Aid sheets.

Yet another add on - really just some extra rules

Soldiers of Fortune components and rules. 

There is also yet another Coalitions module Raison d' Etat, covering the era of Bisamrk and the later 19th century in Central Europe, for 3-4 players [France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia]; that's about the only option for this game that I did not get. Overall, the KS was an excellent value - about $70 US plus shipping. 

As a small thanks for enduring the long, long delay, Phalanx also gave all the backers this Coalitions artbook. 

We would all rather have had the game much closer to the original; schedule, but we'll take it!

I must confess to being very eager to get this game on the table, probably a brief solo run through and then with a group of players, as it is the Diplomacy aspect of this game that makes it shine. Maybe I fancy being Metternich! However, it probably won't be before November with the big (up to 22 players now) Snappy Nappy Spring 1807 Campaign in a Day event coming up n less than a month. I've done a lot of work preparing for that this weekend!

Video review of the final version of the game.