
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,339
- BGG rating
- 7.8
Bolt Action
- 2–6 players
- 120 min
- Complexity 2.7/5
- 2012

Expansion for Black Powder: Second Edition
2021
Rules assistance for Waking the Bear: A Guide to Wargaming the Great Northern War and Turkish Campaigns 1700-1721
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Waking the Bear: A Guide to Wargaming the Great Northern War and Turkish Campaigns 1700-1721 is an expansion for Black Powder: Second Edition released in 2021 for 2–12 players. It was designed by Mark. W. Shearwood and its main mechanics are Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game.
The Great Northern War (GNW) has seen a resurgence in recent years within the wargames community, however, there has not been a general (non-rules specific) guide to the conflict until know. This book gives the reader a general understanding of the historical background to the conflict and to the main combatants. In addition to Russia and Sweden, the armies of Denmark, Hanover & Holstein, Ottoman Empire, Saxony, Poland, Prussia are covered, as well as the involvement of the Cossack nations. The book looks at naval landings, siege warfare as well as the more traditional battles, with this focus on lesser known battles instead of the more traditional battles of Narva and Poltava. Battle reports primarily are focused on small evening games utilising a small number of units and therefore achievable by the majority of wargamers. Options are included to turn a number of these into larger multi-player games. While the majority of the GNW occurred in and around the Baltic states, the book also covers events on Russia’s southern borders with the Ottoman Empire and there are gaming suggestions for the continuation of the conflict on Russia’s eastern border with China. Utilising almost 100 unit and individual figure photographs from several renowned collections, the book contains a large amount of detail readily accessible to the reader, while incorporating the latest research into the period from internationally renowned academics, historians, and wargamers. —description from the publisher
Waking the Bear: A Guide to Wargaming the Great Northern War and Turkish Campaigns 1700-1721 supports 2–12 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
Waking the Bear: A Guide to Wargaming the Great Northern War and Turkish Campaigns 1700-1721 belongs to these categories: Wargame, Miniatures, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Waking the Bear: A Guide to Wargaming the Great Northern War and Turkish Campaigns 1700-1721 are: Mark. W. Shearwood. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Waking the Bear: A Guide to Wargaming the Great Northern War and Turkish Campaigns 1700-1721 as an expansion for Black Powder: Second Edition. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Black Powder: Second Edition to use it. Check that your edition of Black Powder: Second Edition is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.