If you are looking for a really well produced and beautiful game covering the French Revolution, you don’t need to look any further. 1793: Patriots & Traitors is a new offering from Sound of Drums and is simply gorgeous. The components appear to be top notch and the game looks very interesting as it is a Card Driven Game. We reached out to the designer Jason St.Just and he was more than willing to share about the design.

If you are interested in 1793: Patriots & Traitors, you can late pledge the game on it’s Gamefound page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/sound-of-drums-gmbh/1793-the-french-revolution-

Grant: First off Jason please tell us a little about yourself. What are your hobbies? What’s your day job?

Jason: A half a century ago, I was born in Ontario, Canada. For the first 20 years of my life, I moved to and fro between Canada and Europe and also around Europe (11 times), before settling in Belgium for good. This peculiar youth has made me a very restless and adventurous bloke. I studied history and English literature in college. In my adult life I also studied journalism and graphic design. I’m also an author. I currently work in an open-air museum called Bokrijk, that presents the way rural life was in the 17th-19th centuries. 

Grant: What motivated you to break into game design? What have you enjoyed most about the experience thus far?

Jason: I started game design back in 1996 after a frustrating game of good ol’ RISK. I wanted more strategy, so I decided to add fleets to my copy…after that, I made my very own European RISK board with mountains, different climate types and special territories to conquer…

My Epic Battles: Waterloo (aka Stratego Waterloo) officially got me launched into the board gaming world back in 2014.

What I enjoy the most about design is entertaining the players as they sit around the table. Explaining the games and offering historical background information is pure ‘showtime’ for me! And of course the pleasure of creating. It almost gives a supernatural feeling when you are done creating a brand new design and you can finally test it. Mankind should create more instead of destroying. I will always support people who build!   

Grant: What is your game 1793: Patriots & Traitors about?

Jason: The players will be representing one of the 5 political factions during the French Revolution. I’m bringing them back to the year 1793. It is certainly one of the most crucial periods of the French Revolution: France was being torn apart both internally and externally and the survival of the Revolution was hanging by a very thin thread. Historically, the French managed to emerge victorious, so I’m wondering: will the players be able to pull it off too? And which faction will emerge victorious from it all? 

Grant: What does the title of the game reference? What about the Year II part of the subtitle? What does this mean?

Jason: Instead of focusing on the entire French Revolution in one single game, I decided to put all of my energy in the period just prior to 1793 up until the fall of Robespierre. Many people are not aware that these were some very odd times. That is why we wanted to add as much oddness to the game as possible, for example why the subtitle with the ‘Year II’! We wanted people to ask themselves this same question. Because the Revolutionaries changed the entire calendar. The ‘Year II’ was the second year of the French Republic (that’s also when part of the game takes place). We could not call it the ‘Year I’ because officially that year never existed 😊 In other words: it arouses historical curiosity!

Less enigmatic is the title ‘Patriots & Traitors’: it’s all a question of opinion: in times of war and revolution the difference between ‘patriot’ and ‘traitor’ is often very small!

Grant: Why was this a subject that drew your interest?

Jason: I lived in Paris for a few years in the 80’s and got sucked into that period almost immediately – history was everywhere. I’ve read tons of books on the French Revolution throughout my life and noticed that it wasn’t just the poor cutting off the heads of the rich…the revolution was much more than that – what is portrayed in the media is often not the real story! Furthermore: is there anything more glorious than the people as a whole, taking their fate into their own hands, fighting against injustice and changing society?   

Grant: What is your design goal with the game?

Jason: Armed from head to toe with all the historical knowledge gained over the past decades, I wanted to offer a little more insight in this great and complex period that truly changed the world as we know it. Boardgames are the ideal medium to do just that: not only do they offer fun but also knowledge. I wanted to offer the players of 1793: Patriots & Traitors the opportunity to relive that period! At the same time I didn’t want to make it too complex nor too long. First and foremost, it had to be accessible…  

Grant: What things in the game focused on from the French Revolution?

Jason: The players must be prepared to encounter many obstacles…as it was historically! I have a lot of respect for all those involved in the French Revolution: there is pressure everywhere. A clash of ideologies/objectives amongst themselves, invading Austrians and Prussians on the borders, pressure from the Sans-culottes in the streets and all the while, the entire revolution is being undermined by the conniving Royalists. You can already notice the tug-of-war happening here. The players will have to find solutions to all these problems, but not everybody will agree to these measures…

Grant: How does the game use cards?

Jason: I’m a big fan of hand-management in games, it is not surprising therefore that 1793: Patriots & Traitors is a Card Driven Game. The cards are multi-functional meaning they can be played in a few different ways. You can use them to place influence on the board in order to gain a majority in certain areas, which in turn will offer you benefits. You can also use the cards to buy ‘currency’. Finally, you can use the cards for the described action. Some of the cards however, you don’t want to draw as they must be played immediately: the To Paris cards which will prompt the movement of the Coalition armies or the Angry Mob cards which will prompt the people to rise up against the government.

Grant: What different types of cards are there?

Jason: I did my best to add as many of the major historical events that happened during that period into the deck of cards but also the less well known! For instance, there’s a reference to the sea engagement The Glorious First of June and the discovery of the King’s Armoire de fer. There are a total of 95 cards in the game divided into three types: Action Cards, Leader Cards and Law Cards. I am very, very grateful to Sound of Drums that they decided to make them big (tarot-sized) and beautifully illustrated in order to offer the players the correct ‘feel’ for the period.

Grant: Can you share with us a few examples of the cards and can you explain their use?

Angry mob: This is a card that needs to be played immediately when drawn. If you have a majority in the Convention nationale area you will be the starting player each round and you will be able to propose laws BUT if things turn sour, YOU will get the blame.

J’Accuse Action Card. These will allow the players to perform a specific action during their turn, and rest assured there are many such actions to choose from. There were very lively debates amongst the deputies at the heart of the government during the French Revolution. There were accusations and counter-accusations alike and no one was safe or immune from criticism. The J’Accuse Action Card is a way to ensure that a rival loses influence on the Paris Board. In the deck, there are cards with a Fleur-de-Lis symbol on them: a Royalist symbol. If you are accused with them in your hand, your faction will lose influence. Alternatively, instead of accusing a rival, this card can be played for either influence or currency.

Pierre Vergniaud Leader Card. Players are able to gain the support of a famous revolutionary leader, but only IF they share the same political agenda (player’s symbol)! Each leader provides a specific benefit offering the player an extra action each turn or during a round. Pierre Vergniaud was of the greatest orators amongst the Girondin deputies of the time. When this Leader Card is activated, it will allow the Girondin player to swap two cubes on the Paris Board with each other. This can be very powerful in the continual struggle to gain greater influence during the game. Any card that allows this type of action is very valuable and should be used whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Levée en Masse Law Card. Once players are able to get a majority in the National Convention, then, it becomes their moment to propose and promote a new law which will temporarily change the rules of the game until the next law is passed. Initially, only players with influence in that area will be allowed to vote FOR or AGAINST a specific law, so it will be important for players to have fought to have a presence in the National Convention at all times so they have a ‘say’ in things. When this Law Card has been passed by a majority in the Convention nationale area, the Champ de Mars Tile will be added the Paris Board. It will make the French Revolutionary armies stronger (the first ‘citizen’ armies), but it will also lead to an increase in the amount of civil disorder present in France as well. Law Cards are a bit tricky and there is always something not quite expected with their passage that has to be considered in future plays.

Grant: What is the layout of the board?

Jason: There are two boards in the game: the Paris Board and France Board. The Paris Board will be double layered and is truly magnificent. Kudos to Marc von Martial for the art. The areas represent the different regions of significance during the revolution and will offer a certain advantage to the player that manages to gain a majority there. The France Board on the other hand will show the current military situation and the amount of rebellions in France. Outside of France are the territories. These can be invaded by the ambitious Revolutionary Generals but beware: once the French armies start crossing the borders, the British, Dutch and Spanish will start invading too! Do you really want to open up another proverbial ‘can of worms’???

Grant: What benefits do the different areas offer to players?

Jason: A majority in the Convention nationale area – your political power – will allow you to start the round and will allow you to propose a Law. The Notre-Dame area represents the wealth and influence of the Church and will allow you to draw up to three cards from the draw pile each turn. The Faubourgs represents your popularity in the Paris streets! It is advisable to have them on your side during a Coup d’Etat. There is also the Place de la Révolution where the guillotine is set up: obviously you don’t want any influence there…

Grant: How do players start a Coup d’Etat or Civil War?

Jason: Ah the Coup d’Etat or Civil War: the ‘icing’ on the cake of the game! I love it. How satisfying it is to be able to purge an entire faction from the Paris Board. Each time players manage to initiate a successful Coup d’Etat it creates a sensation of disbelief amongst the players:   

Player: “Which influence are sent to the guillotine?”

Me: “All of them!”

Player: “All of them?!”

Me: “…and their activated Leader Cards!”

Player: “Those too???”

Of course you have to work towards a Coup d’Etat and Civil War. These don’t happen out of the blue. For a Coup d’Etat you need the Paris streets (Faubourgs) and the National Guard (Caserne/Champ de Mars) on your side. For a Civil War, you need at least of 7 of the 15 provinces on your side and some support from the Church (Notre-Dame).

Grant: Who are the different factions included in the game?

Jason: The players can choose to play:

The Feuillants: they want to save the former Louis XVI from the Prison du Temple.   

The Girondins: they want to prevent the execution of the former King and want the most influence when the game ends.    

The Jacobins: they want to execute the former King and want the most influence when the game ends.

The Cordeliers: they want to send the Feuillant or Girondins to the Conciergerie prison or to the Place de la Révolution.   

The Royalists: they will do everything in their power to make sure the Revolution fails!  

Grant: What different revolutionary protagonists are included and what benefits do they offer?

Jason: It is impossible to sum up all the revolutionary leaders here. Suffice to know that next to the famous leaders such as Robespierre and Danton, I made sure to include the leaders that are less well known. Take General Dumas for example, he was the first colored person ever to reach the rank of General and was the father of the famous author Alexandre Dumas. Or how about General Pichegru? His military capabilities have been underrated for centuries…yet he was also a real turncoat. I also wanted to highlight the importance of women during the revolution. I have a special attraction to the fiery Claire Lacombe! She offers all her influence in the Faubourgs a +1 value. 

Grant: What is the general Sequence of Play?

Jason: Actually it’s rather very simple. The players can only perform one of the 4 basic actions in their turn:

1. Draw a card from the draw pile

2. Exchange a card from your hand with a card from the draw pile

3. Activate a Revolutionary Leader

4. Play a card in order to place influence OR to buy currency OR to perform the action on the card.

As the game progresses, more actions can be performed depending on the Laws that are activated and the Leader Cards that are activated…so there’s a nice gradual build-up of the number of possibilities for each player. This in turn, offers a huge amount of replayabilty.

Grant: One of the Core mechanics is the making of laws for the new Republic. What is involved in this process?

Jason: The process of decreeing Laws is easy and nicely streamlined:

At the start of a round, the player with a majority in the Convention nationale area can, but doesn’t necessarily have to, propose a Law which can change the rules of the game or even alter the Paris board.  

In their turn, all players with influence in the Convention nationale area can place a vote in the Oui! or Non! Vote Box. If, at the end of the round, there is a majority of votes on the Oui! Vote Box, then the proposed Law will become active at the start of the next round. If there is a tie or a majority of votes in the Non! Vote Box, the law will not have passed and it is returned to the Law Cards pile.       

Grant: What type of laws can be made?

Jason: During the game, the players have a choice out of no less than 21 Laws. The original prototype only had 10 Laws and when the Gamefound campaign started there were already 18. No sense in discussing them all here. Suffice it to say, that they offer a broad range of effects either to strengthen the Revolutionary armies, to benefit a certain faction or to add a tile to the Paris Board. They can send influence to the Conciergerie or neutralize certain areas on the Paris Board. Always keep in mind that ALL Laws have their consequences! We recommend starting players only use the first 10 Laws for their first game of 1793: Patriots & Traitors.   

Grant: How does the solitaire mode work?

Jason: Actually, the solitaire variant basically plays the same as the multiplayer with two differences:

1. The player can choose to play the Feuillants or the Jacobin faction. All the other factions are non-active. Their actions are determined by the symbols on the bottom of the cards, revealing where on the Paris board their influence must be placed on their turn.

2. The active player will now be able to attempt to influence the non-active factions by placing influence on their faction sheets. But beware, the non-active factions will do likewise. In other words, the faction sheets are now also playable areas.      

Grant: What type of experience does it create for the solo player?

Jason: It causes stress 😉 The solo player will not only have to figure out how to prevent the Austrians and Prussians from invading the young Republic, but at the same time will have to figure out how to gain their objective and influence the non-active factions. All throughout, the non-active factions are placing influence everywhere…and in the solo variant, there is no negotiation possible. It is absolutely not the proverbial ‘walk in the park’, but the nice thing is: it is not difficult to grasp.     

Grant: How is the game won?

Jason: I’ve always had a natural aversion for difficult victory conditions where you almost have to be an accountant in order to be able to determine the winner at the end of the game. Needless to say in 1793: Patriots & Traitors it is simple and straightforward: if the game does not end prematurely prior to the 21st game round, the faction with the most influence in the Convention nationale, the Caserne/Champ de Mars and Provinces of the France Board wins the game. The idea behind it is logical: if you don’t have the military behind you, the government is impotent. If you don’t have the government behind you, you are ruling as a dictator…and finally, if you don’t have the majority of the nation behind you, it will eventually lead to civil war!        

Grant: What side has the advantage?

Jason: Um…none actually. At least, I did not pay attention to this while designing the game. Maybe the Girondins and Jacobins because they have the tendency to work together to prevent the Feuillants or Cordeliers from ending the game prematurely? Certainly, the poor Royalists will be targeted by all in a 5-player game…

In any case: I’ve seen all factions win and lose during playtesting these last few months. 

Grant: How did you go about inserting asymmetry between the factions?

Jason: Um…that’s what many people asked me about my Epic Battles: Waterloo too: how can a game work if the sides are not equal? I have never paid much attention to this aspect. I simply let historical fact determine the asymmetry. For 1793, I based myself on each faction’s historical legacy, their ideology, what caused their rise and what caused their fall…Essentially, I guess it is first of all important to know what you are talking about before designing an historical boardgame.     

Grant: What type of experience does the game create?

Jason: There is a distinct uniqueness to 1793: Patriots & Traitors because the game does not hold your hand like other games do. Most games give you a distinct road to follow in order to emerge victorious. Here, the players are just thrown into the fray…you know what you need to do to win, but not how to achieve this. This is done on purpose as historically, the people that led the revolution had no previous experience in politics nor governing either. I once had a playtester who called me over and whispered to me, uncertainty in his eyes: “I don’t know what to do!” upon which I answered “Don’t worry, your rivals don’t either” In short, that’s just the intention, find out for yourself, that IS the experience 😉 I designed the game, but that does not mean I will automatically emerge victorious. It largely depends on the people sitting around the table…   

Grant: What do you feel the game design excels at?

Jason: If I have to name three main elements in which 1793: Patriots & Traitors truly shines:

1. Immersion: the game just oozes the French Revolution theme, you will relive it…   

2. Replayability: thanks to the broad range of options, each game will be totally different, you will replay it…

3. Historical: the game will help the players and those interested in the French Revolution to understand this period of history, you will learn it…      

Grant: What are your future plans for the system? Would it lend itself to other historical settings?

Jason: Sure! There is already a 1st expansion ‘1795: The Thermidorians’ that will be available in April 2024. It is a sequel to 1793 and it takes place right after the fall of Robespierre in Thermidor 1794 until the convening of the Directory in the autumn of 1795. Not many people know what happened in between the fall of Robespierre and the rise of Napoleon…now they will.

There are indeed ideas in my head to use the system for other historical settings, but let’s not move ahead too soon. Let’s wait, enjoy and learn from 1793 and 1795 first…   

Grant: What other designs are you currently working on?

Jason: My concept 1812: The Retreat is currently in the pipeline. It is also an older design from 2013. In this game for 1 to 4 players you must lead your remaining soldiers back to the Polish border during Napoleon’s tragic retreat from Moscow in the winter of 1812. The concept is also rather unique, the setting very historical and the game cutthroat.

And I’ll also be working on writing a gamebook – you know those Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80’s? It is my intention to write a series of them. In it, the reader is a French soldier and must survive the campaigns from the French Revolutionary wars all the way to Waterloo…  

Thank you so much for your time in answering our questions Jason. I am very much anticipating this game and can’t wait to give it a go.

If you are interested in 1793: Patriots & Traitors, you can late pledge the game on it’s Gamefound page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/sound-of-drums-gmbh/1793-the-french-revolution-

-Grant