The city-states of Venice, Florence and Genoa and their economy were doing extremely well. However, their military strength was extremely lacking not only in size, but also in experience and conviction. It was clear that strong soldiers with real battle experience were needed. So when the English soldiers returned from the Crusades, they were welcomed with open arms. Finally, the city-states would be able to extend their reach and influence, thanks to the wonderful Condottiere by Dominique Ehrhard, Duccio Vitale and Justin Kemppainen from Z-Man Games. Read the full review here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2022/03/12/condottiere-saturday-review/ Useful Links Condottiere: https://www.zmangames.com/en/products/condottiere/ Z-Man Games: https://www.zmangames.com/en/index/ BGG listing: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/112/condottiere The King is Dead (2nd Edition): https://ospreypublishing.com/the-king-is-dead-45352 Osprey Games: https://ospreypublishing.com/ The King is Dead (2nd Edition) review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2021/03/13/the-king-is-dead-2nd-edition-digital-eyes/ Intro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/) If you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblog Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlog Website: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/ (Image courtesy of Z-Man Games)