1212 Las Navas de Tolosa is immediately visually arresting with a fabulous aesthetic inspired by medieval manuscript art. This aesthetic alone was enough to make me look twice but what really got my attention is how the game is powered by a deck of only nine cards. I love games with small decks - I’m a huge fan of the ever popular Japanese microgame Love Letter - and I was really interested to see how the principles of a small deck could be applied to a fairly abstract wargame. I’m also always on the lookout for short games, especially ones I can either carry around with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love an all day gaming session but these days I rarely have the time or energy for that. Great aesthetics, interesting mechanism, and a short playtime was a trifecta I just knew I had to get to the table. Despite it’s short playtime it took me a while to get it to the table as real life got in the way of in person gaming, but I finally played it and I had a really great time. As usual, I have a few thoughts.