CROWN & BALLOT Open the game

From Waterloo to this morning

Each scenario starts on a real date, on the borders of its time, with the real leaders, armies and armed movements in place. The sides listed are suggestions: you can take any country or movement on the map.

Map of Present Day on the borders of the time
TodayModern

Present Day

The world as it is now: the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and the Sahel, the Middle East after Gaza, great-power rivalry over Taiwan.

Play asUnited States of America, China, Russia, Israel, Palestine and more
Map of Syria 2023 on the borders of the time
1 June 2023Theatre

Syria 2023

Twelve years into the war, Syria is split four ways, played here on Syria's own map, village by village. Assad is back in the Arab League; the SDF holds the northeast with American backing, HTS rules Idlib and Turkey's proxies hold the north.

Play asSyria, Syrian Democratic Forces, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Syrian National Army, Turkey and more
Map of The Arab Spring on the borders of the time
17 December 20102010s

The Arab Spring

A street vendor sets himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, and within weeks regimes across the Arab world begin to fall.

Play asTunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and more
Map of September 11 on the borders of the time
11 September 20012000s

September 11

Hijacked airliners strike New York and Washington, and the United States sets out on a War on Terror.

Play asUnited States, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and more
Map of Cuban Missile Crisis on the borders of the time
16 October 1962Cold War

Cuban Missile Crisis

U-2 photographs show Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, ninety miles from Florida, and Kennedy and Khrushchev have days to settle it short of nuclear war.

Play asUnited States, USSR, Cuba, United Kingdom, France and more
Map of Operation Barbarossa on the borders of the time
22 June 1941World War II

Operation Barbarossa

Three million Axis troops cross into the Soviet Union. Most of Europe is already under German control.

Play asGermany, USSR, United Kingdom, Italy, Empire of Japan and more
Map of Invasion of Poland on the borders of the time
1 September 1939World War II

Invasion of Poland

Germany invades Poland at dawn. Britain and France must decide whether to honour their guarantee.

Play asGermany, Poland, United Kingdom, France, USSR and more
Map of The Spanish Civil War on the borders of the time
18 July 1936Interwar

The Spanish Civil War

Nationalist generals rise against the Republic, and Europe's rival ideologies go to war in Spain.

Play asSpain, Germany, Italy, France, United Kingdom and more
Map of The Road to War on the borders of the time
1 December 1935Interwar

The Road to War

Italy is invading Ethiopia, Germany is rearming and Japan eyes China, while the League of Nations looks for a way to stop the slide to war.

Play asUnited States, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France and more
Map of The July Crisis on the borders of the time
28 June 1914World War I

The July Crisis

Archduke Franz Ferdinand is shot in Sarajevo. Europe's alliance system starts to pull every power toward war.

Play asAustro-Hungarian Empire, Serbia, German Empire, Russian Empire, France and more
Map of After Waterloo on the borders of the time
19 June 181519th century

After Waterloo

With Napoleon beaten, the Congress of Vienna redraws Europe and the great powers carve up the peace.

Play asUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, France, Austrian Empire, Prussia, Russian Empire and more
Any dateSandbox

Your own start

Pick any day from 1815 to today and the base map to play it on, then tell the game master what the world looks like.