A downloadable game

Following the Battle of Pavia in 1525 and Victory to Holy Roman Imperial Forces of Charles V, Pope Clement VII joined forces with France, Milan, Florence, and England to form the League of Cognac to resist Imperial influence . This lead to hostilities between Charles V's forces and those of the League.

An issue at this time was that neither side had the money to pay and keep armies engaged in the field. Even after a truce was signed by Clement in late 1526 dispersing his troops from the field and an agreement with imperial forces, the unpaid Imperial forces under command of the Duke of Bourbon decided to march to Rome and sack it for it's gold.

On May 6th 1527 this force of roughly 30,000 mercenaries of German Lutheran Landsknecht and Spanish forces under Charles V's did what was unheard of for this period. They were able to sack a very poorly defended Rome in a siege that lasted less than a day.

This game take place in the late morning and second wave of the attack. In the morning Papal forces comprising of mostly 5,000 Roman citizen Militia and 189 of the Pope's elite Swiss Guard held off the attackers. However by mid morning the dilapidated and poor shape of the Vatican's walls gave way to the attackers that stormed the Vatican walls. As the Militia were killed and/or dispersed to protect their homes 147 Swiss Guard stayed in the courtyard to hold off the attackers long enough for Pope Clement VII to take a secret passage from St. Peter's Basilica to Castel Sant'Angelo where he was able to wait out the sack.

The game takes place at this pivotal moment and allows two players to play through the events of the late part of the siege using a simple card activation and D6 that is also very easy to play both sides for solo players. Will the Swiss Guard be able to hold out long enough for the Pope to make his escape? Or will history change and the Spanish and German Imperial forces seize the day?

All artwork is Public Domain

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