by László Á. Koller
This tutorial is divided into the following sections:
[Updated September 17, 2008 7:15am EDT]
You will need to install CyberBoard (by Dale L. Larson) onto your computer. To download the latest version of CyberBoard onto your computer, visit: http://cyberboard.brainiac.com
In order to play Friedrich via CyberBoard, you will need to download the following compressed file (.zip):
Once downloaded, you will need to extract the compressed file (.zip) and save its constituent files into a folder on your computer. The following constituent files can be found in the compressed file (.zip):
Filename | Description |
---|---|
Friedrich v08.gbx | CyberBoard Game Box file |
Friedrich v08 (4-player).gsn | CyberBoard Scenario file for a 4-player game |
Friedrich v08 (3-player).gsn | CyberBoard Scenario file for a 3-player game |
Friedrich v08 (2-player) - The Austrian Theatre.gsn | CyberBoard Scenario file for the 2-player "The Austrian Theatre" game |
Friedrich v08 (2-player) - The War in the West.gsn | CyberBoard Scenario file for a 2-player "The War in the West" game |
This CyberBoard game box was designed to be used with CyberBoard v3.03. This implementation of Friedrich is bilingual, and as applicable and appropriate nearly all labels are in both German (Deutsch) and English. If you find any errors or discrepancies, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you and good gaming!
The complete, current rules for Friedrich may be found here: http://www.histogame.de/e_download.html
There are four (4) distinct files that CyberBoard uses when playing any game. Two of these are used by the CyberBoard program to create your game, and two will be used by the players during the course of your CyberBoard game. They are:
File Type | File Extension | Description |
---|---|---|
Game Box | .gbx | The CyberBoard game box file contains all of the graphics and other game elements that your computers needs to visually render the game you are playing. |
Scenario | .gsn | The CyberBoard scenario file contains the instructions used by CyberBoard to implement game specific aspects of the game you are playing, such as how many players are in the game and the initial setup for the game. |
Game | .gam | The CyberBoard game file contains all of the details of your CyberBoard game from your point-of-view. Each player will have his/her
own unique game file during your game. NOTE: This is the file you will need to play your game. When you play your CyberBoard game, you will need to load this file before you can make any moves (or watch anyone else's moves). This file will be updated by move files (.gmv; see below) created by all players during the course of your game. |
Recording | .gmv | The CyberBoard recording file contains all of the recorded activity that a player performs at one time during his/her turn (or his/her
opponent's turn in response to an opponent's attack; see Combat below). Many veteran
CyberBoard gamers refer to this file as the "move file". NOTE: When you play your CyberBoard game, you will create move files so that the other players can see what you did during your turns; also, you will load move files created by the other players so that you can see what the other players did during their turns. |
There are two more concepts to understand when using CyberBoard: trays and markers.
All pieces used during a CyberBoard game are located in trays. CyberBoard uses a movable window to represent a tray. Each tray window has a drop down list near its titlebar; you may change the tray displayed by choosing a different tray name in the drop down list. CyberBoard has three (3) trays: Tray A, Tray B, and Markers. All three tray windows may be open at the same time.
Tray | Description |
---|---|
Tray A Tray B |
Any game piece originating in one of these trays may never be deleted; these pieces are a permanent part of the game. There are set,
finite number of these pieces in the game. (However many you see, are how many there are.) You can move these pieces on the game board,
rotate them, turn them over, or even return them to a tray, but you cannot delete them. Examples of permanent pieces used in Friedrich include generals, supply trains, tactical cards, and control markers. |
Markers | The tray named "Markers" is a special tray. Any game piece originating in this tray may be deleted; these pieces are not a
permanent part of the game. There are an infinite number of each piece in each marker tray. You can move these pieces on the game board,
rotate them, turn them over, or you can delete them, but you can never return them to a tray. Examples of temporary markers used in Friedrich include army-totals, comments, and reserve values. |
NOTE: Some trays are "owned" by players, while others are public to all players. The contents (game pieces) of owned trays are marked as belonging to the owning player, unless and until he/she releases ownership of the piece.
The following temporary markers are used in this game box:
Marker | Description |
---|---|
Gesamtzahl/Army-Total | These markers are used to summarize each player's total army size. Additionally, during combat these markers summarize each player's current score. |
Kommentar/Comment | This marker is used to make temporary annotations during the game. |
Spielmarken/Game Markers | These markers are primarily used to annotate Card of Fate-related aspects of the game. These include the initial turn marker [the hourglass marker], and a marker to show that specific Cards of Fate have already been played during the game [the red "X"]. |
TK-Marken/TC Markers | These markers are used to set how many tactical cards are drawn by each nation. |
Wert der Reserve/Reserve Value | These markers are used to set the value (from 1 to 10) of Reserve tactical cards played during the game. |
Before you begin, you will need to decide whether you want to play a 2-, 3-, or 4-player scenario of Friedrich. Please note the 3- and 4-player scenarios are standard games of Friedrich, while the two 2-player scenarios are sub-games focusing on only specific region of the full game board. One of the 2-player scenarios focuses on the western front (France, Hanover, and Prussia), and the other focuses on the southern front (Austria, Imperial Army, and Prussia).
NOTE: CyberBoard assumes that the game box file (.gbx) is in the same folder as your game file (.gam); otherwise, CyberBoard will prompt you to supply the folder where you saved your game box file.
In all scenarios, the individual playing Friedrich will begin the game.
NOTE: The first time you open your game file, CyberBoard will prompt you to choose the game box file (.gbx) for your game—unless the game box file is in the same folder as your game file.
Each player is responsible for creating their own move files during the game.
Remember during a typical player's turn in Friedrich, a player will:
The complete, current rules for Friedrich may be found here: http://www.histogame.de/e_download.html
Drag a tactical card from the current draw deck to your nation's TK/TCs tray. (For example, for the player playing Madame Pompadour, the nation tray is named "TK/TCs: Frankreich/France".)
When the game begins, the initial draw deck is the tray named "TK/TCs #1". When a deck no longer has tactical cards in it, begin drawing cards from the next available tactical card deck tray (namely, #2, #3, and #4).
If all of the tactical cards have been drawn, then select all of the discarded tactical cards in the discard pile with the most tactical cards in them, and drag these used tactical cards into the tray named "TK/TCs #1". Next, perform this again for the discard pile with the second-most tactical cards in them. All of the these tactical cards will automatically be shuffled and drawn randomly; no separate shuffling is necessary.
If your nation is required to discard a card, drag the card of your choice to the appropriate discard pile. After you do this, be sure to
of the card.NOTE: As you become more proficient with CyberBoard, you may want to use a single Compound Move to encapsulate all of your tactical card draws (and/or discards, as appropriate).
NOTE: There are buttons on the toolbar duplicating many of the functions of the File, Edit, Actions, and Playback menus. Additionally, you can right-click on the game board (or on any of the individual game pieces, after selecting them) to popup a context sensitive menu with many of the same functions available.
For each of your generals that ends its movement adjacent to any enemy general(s), you will have to resolve combat. This process will (potentially) require you and your opponent to create many move files (.gmv) as you play tactical cards during combat.
If you are the attacking nation [the active player], you use the top-half of the combat area; if you are the defending nation, you use the bottom-half of the combat area.
If combat continues between you and your opponent, then you will repeat steps #3, #4, and #5 until a winner has been determined.
Once a winner has been determined, move the "Gewinner/Victor" piece (the Pour le Mérite medal) to the left of the victorious general's name. (In a stack, this will be the lowest numbered general.)
Next, clean up the combat area by moving used tactical cards to the appropriate discard pile (be sure to turn the cards back face-down), delete the current score army-total markers, and return each general's army size piece to the army sheet. A defeated general (or generals, if in a stack) must adjust his army size appropriately as well as his nation's Gesamtzahl/Army-Total value.
Finally, if a general needs to be removed from the map, then drag that general's corresponding piece from the map onto the army sheet next to the left of his name.
NOTE: When combat is initiated, the first file exchange will usually only involve the attacker (the active player) setting up his/her portion of the combat area and revealing his/her army size piece(s), and then the defender doing same (plus playing tactical card(s), if he/she has lower initial score). Next, the battling players will play tactical cards, saving and sending move files (.gmv) between each tactical card played.
If you have any control markers on the map with their question mark ("?") side facing up, then you must now either: turn them over -or- remove them from the game board, based on the outcome of the relevant combat.
If at the end of your turn any of your generals are out-of-supply (OoS), then you must turn each of the out-of-supply generals face-down. To do so,
select the piece you want to turn over and then from the
NOTE: You can also press the 'turn over' button on the toolbar, or press the Ctrl+I shortcut keys.
Each time all of your activity at a given point in a game turn (your own, or your opponent's, if responding to an attack) is complete, you must save your move file.
All players need to load every other player's move files. To load a move file (.gmv):
NOTE: Once you save your game file (.gam), you will only have to load move files (.gmv) created subsequent to the last loaded & saved move file.
Each player can name his/her move file in any way they wish. That said, it may be practical for all players to agree upon a standard move file
naming convention before playing their game. One convenient method would be to name each move file with a three-digit sequential number following by the first-letter the player's (leader's) name.
For example, Friedrich's first move file would be named: 001F.gmv, Elisabeth's would
be named: 002E.gmv, etc.
In Friedrich, the players (leaders) are: Friedrich [F], Elisabeth [E], Maria Theresia [M], and Pompadour [P].
NOTE: In this CyberBoard implementation of Friedrich, the name of Austria's and the Imperial Army's leader (at least initially) uses the German—not English—spelling of the name, hence "Maria Theresia" (not Maria Theresa).
I want to thank the following individuals for their help and support in making this CyberBoard game box possible. First and foremost,
I want to thank Richard Sivél and histogame for their patience, support, and trust in making this project possible. Next, I want to thank Mark Christopher,
Garry Haggerty, Brian R. Mullin, Bruce Spears, and Anton Telle for your individual assistance and insight; each of you helped propel this project in the
right direction in your own way. Finally, I want to thank all of the playtesters who spent the time to help make this game box possible.
If you find any errors or discrepancies, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you and enjoy the game,
László
Friedrich © 2004 histogame. CyberBoard © 1999-2008 Dale L. Larson. The CyberBoard implementation of Friedrich and this web page © 2008 László Á. Koller. All Rights Reserved. Permission to use graphical features of the original board game, Friedrich, was explicitly granted by histogame; these features are © 2004-2007 histogame. Permission is hereby granted to copy the CyberBoard implementation of Friedrich electronically for your personal use only, provided it is copied in its entirety. Any deletion, alteration, or selling of this work, without the express written permission of histogame and László Á. Koller is strictly prohibited.