The Lion and the Sword: The war of the League of Cambrai 1508-1516

On the 10th of December 1508 representatives from the great powers of Europe met in Cambrai to sign a death sentence. On that day Spain, France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Papal States agreed to join forces to put an end to the Republic of Venice and split the spoils amongst themselves: for too long the republic expanding “Stato de Tera” (the “domain of land”) had interfered with the designs of its powerful neighbours in Italy, and the senate refusal to return to the Papal States the cities in Romagna that in 1503 had offered to submit to the Republic to escape the grasp of the Pope had been the last straw. Eight years later after battles, betrayals, popular insurrections and changes of sides, the signing of the treaty of Brussels on the 6th of December 1516 marked an end to that conflict: the Most Serene Republic was still standing, and still retained most of its domains. “The Lion and the Sword” is a four-player card driven game exploring how Venice against all odds managed to survive being attacked by most of Europe’s powers. Players take control of Venice, the Papal States, the Holy Roman Empire, and France, and try to achieve their strategic goals (and possibly become masters of Italy) by military and diplomatic means. —description from the publisher