With the death of her father, Emperor Charles VI, in October 1740 23-year-old Maria Theresa inherited not an empire or even a country, but a collection of far-flung territories stretching from the Atlantic coast to Italy to Transylvania. The Habsburg inheritance seemed almost intentionally designed to encourage predators, with its richest territories widely separated from the “core lands” and bordering her hungriest neighbors. For the next eight years, almost all of Europe would be engaged in war as Maria Theresa fought to retain her crowns and exert her family’s right to rule the Holy Roman Empire. France, Spain, Prussia and Sweden all lined up against her, while Britain and Russia only provided sporadic help. Despite a tiny army, weak finances and utter lack of competent generals, Maria Theresa somehow kept her empire intact. Austrian Succession is an expansion book for Soldier Kings: Pragmatic Sanction, adding even more historical background to this unique conflict plus game variants plus scenarios for two additional wars: the 1733-1735 War of the Polish Succession and the 1735-1739 Austro-Russo-Turkish War. You get 76 new die-cut and silky-smooth playing pieces plus 16 additional tiles. —description from the publisher