Frederic Barbarossa, Henry the Lion, Henry VI, Welf VI - Guelf or Ghibelline? Your skill in the game will decide who will be crowned King of Germany in the Palatine Chapel at Aachen. Two players control three Ghibelline or three Guelf princes each, with initially, an additional five other nobles and clerics. These extra nobles and clerics are chosen at random from 50 archbishops, dukes, bishops, palatines, markgraves, landgraves and counts. This means that the starting situation is different in every game. To succeed in crowning one of your princes you have to win the support of nobles and clerics from all four of the German tribes, and you have to convene your supporters in an election assembly under the chairmanship of an archbishop. Conquer castles and towns, found new towns, get control of river crossings and of passes in the Alps. Gain the support of mighty nobles and clerics. You have many options from which to choose to gain the victory before your opponent can beat you to it. Welfen und Staufer was first published in 1990 and 1991 in two German editions as a historical game based upon a new, strictly historic concept. This new edition adopts the strictly historic intention of the game, but also makes use of other, additional game mechanisms not found in the first and second editions. Inside this box: the game board showing an accurate map of the Holy Empire (Germany, Italy and Burgundy) as it was in 1138 AD, with the additional boxes "Pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of Santiago de Compostela", "Election, Coronation", and "Armies". 112 cards, 100 wooden counters, dice, data sheets and a rule-book containing the basic rules, optional and additional rules, the following full-game historical scenarios:-
- 1138 The Wrong Successor. 
- 1148 A failed Reconciliation.
- 1176 A Refusal in Upper Italy.
- 1192 The Flight of Richard the Lion Heart.
- 1198 A Child as King.
and a Glossary on the nobles and clerics of the Holy Empire, a chronology and maps.
A History Game for 2 players aged 16 and up by Gerhard H. Kuhlmann M.A.
Art work (game board, cards and counters): Helmut Eisele jr.
Art work (box): Werner Pollack.
Editor, English rules: Kevin Van der Schyff.
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