Red Sash Games is currently taking pre-orders for their Mistral: Sea Lords Vol. I – Western Med 1740-48 on their web site.

Mistral is the first of a set of games featuring the War of the Austrian Succession at sea, as well as the concurrent War of Jenkin’s Ear.  These conflicts, which took place between 1739 and 1748, comprised the first “world war”.  The naval actions primarily took place in three locations:  the English Channel Bay and the Bay of Biscay, the Caribbean, and the western Mediterranean.

Mistral is a two-player strategy game in which each player commands either the British or Bourbon (French/Spanish) fleets.  Orders are handed down to you from the admiralty, and you must try to fulfill them within the framework of the overall war, which is represented by a series of events.  Success earns you Prestige, which will help you achieve victory and may impact the land campaign.