Eamon J Driscoll: Created page with "Ard Rí means "High King" in Irish, and this variant represents the struggle of Irish feudal lords and chieftains to be crowned High King of Ireland. It was created in 1996..."

2021-08-30T19:21:07Z

Created page with "Ard Rí means "High King" in Irish, and this variant represents the struggle of Irish feudal lords and chieftains to be crowned High King of Ireland. It was created in 1996..."

New page

Ard Rí means "High King" in Irish, and this variant represents the struggle
of Irish feudal lords and chieftains to be crowned High King of Ireland. It
was created in 1996 by Stuart John Bernard and published by Stupendous Games
before apparently being lost to time. The variant was revived and adapted for
Realpolitik in 2020 by Eamon John Driscoll.

Ard Rí begins in Winter 379, allowing the players to select their own
starting units. There are fifteen (15) supply centres on the board, of which
none are neutral. To win the game, a power must control eight (8) centres.

This is a five-player variant. The powers are:
C: Connacht (Connachta) - black
L: Leinster (Laighin) - green
H: Meath (Midhe) - blue
N: Munster (Mumhain) - yellow
U: Ulster (Ulaidh) - red

[[Image:Ard_Ri.gif]]

Due to limitations of the Realpolitik programme, it was necessary to exclude
both the optional Viking power and the "raiding" action (attacking off-board
areas for profit). I have considered establishing Viking outposts throughout
Ireland, but this option will require changes to the map that take it away
from the original version of the game. Nevertheless, the Viking-esque unit
icons taken from the Stonehenge variant are meant as a nod to this lost
power.

One change was made to the map from the original version. This was to give
Waterford and Kilkenny a border, taking it away from Cashel and Wexford.
Previously, it had been too easy for Leinster to build two armies
straightaway and grab Cashel without resistance.

Also important to note on the map is that Limerick is a coastal center,
bordering Shannon Estuary. Thus Clare and Kerry are separated and units
wishing to travel between them must either be convoyed or go through
Limerick.

When adapting Ard Rí, province names were changed to their familiar modern
English-language place names. This was done in part to make the game more
accessible and realistic, but also because the original names seemed to have
very little basis in geographic reality. Some were accurate, but most were
not and quite a few seemed to be not geographic at all. For those who wish to
play with the original place names, a version is included in the files to
copy, paste, and play.

Ard Rí - Revision history

Eamon J Driscoll: Created page with "Ard Rí means "High King" in Irish, and this variant represents the struggle of Irish feudal lords and chieftains to be crowned High King of Ireland. It was created in 1996..."