The Classic

   Time of Thunder is one of the most addictive scenarios ever designed, and, of course, is another of the master-pieces about spanish History by Jesús Balsinde.

   The scenario takes place on the XVI century, when the most powerful Spanish King, Philip II, lead the biggest European empire ever seen. The scenario is designed to play as Spain, although other civilizations are also playable, but there aren’t many especial events for non-Spanish civilizations (although the Turks have some special units).

Popular militia, Spanish 'Tercio' and Spanish Cavalry

Turkish settlers and Turkish cavalry

Don Juan de Austria and the Duke of Alba

    Indeed, the strategy changes for each civilization. Of course, the Spaniards are the protagonists, so we can study their initial position:

    The Spaniards have three big regions, outside Spain and Portugal, under their control: the north of Africa (Ceuta and Melilla), the Spanish Netherlands and the kingdom of Naples. Note also that the Spaniards control three important cities: Milan, Franche Comté and Perpignan. The most powerful of their foes is the Turkish Empire (not showed in the picture); France and England are traditional foes and the Netherlands are revolting against Spain. Only the Austrian Empire is allied with the Spaniards.

    My favorite tactic in this scenario is to use the forces in the kingdom of Naples to siege and conquest Rome; this way, you’ll get a very important (The Vatican) that works as a cathedral in all your cities (so you can sell all your cathedrals and balance the treasury). After conquering Rome, you must go for the rest of the Italian cities, starting by Venetia, in order to assist the Austrian in his war against Turks (from Venetia you can put units near Trieste, effectively annoying the Turks).

    While conquering Italia, you also must pay attention to the Netherlands: they have only two cities, but are very important (both because they have wonders and because conquering The Netherlands will give you a powerful gift). Your units in Spain must go to Perpignan and Navarre in order to storm France as soon as possible. France is not very difficult to conquer, especially when you destroy the Netherlands and use your Netherlands’ units to attack France by two fronts, but you must note that both the Turks and the English are also playing. The Turks can conquer Austria if you don’t support your ally enough; the English will try to sink all your ships and also will attack any coastal city near the English Channel, so you must build (or better, rush-build) Coastal Fortress in The Hague and Calais.

    With France conquered, your next objective must be England. I suggest you to conquer the Neutral States in Germany and Denmark, and use Denmark as a ship-builder city. The AI will protect the English Channel strongly, but an assault from the East is a tactic that the AI doesn’t worry about. After England’s fall, you’ll have enough forces to attack both the Austrian and the Ottoman Empires: the Ottomans will be the most hard enemies, but with enough patience you’ll achieve a triumph.

   This scenario is almost perfect: graphics, events and so on. It’s pretty fun, re-playable and a must in any collection about the XVI century. I like specially the way the Ottoman Empire is pictured, because there are too many scenarios where it’s easy to forget how big and powerful this empire was. Also the wonders, the flags and the cities deserve a special mention.

   The scenario is big, and you’ll probable be bored while attacking the Ottoman Empire or at the end of your game. Also the Spanish have a huge advantage over many civilizations (especially France), so this scenario is not suited for PBEMs (and it could have been a great PBEM scenario).

    A great scenario, another master piece by Jesús Balsinde that you must play, specially if you still believe that the most important Spanish military unit is the Conqueror (like the PTW designers).