2-5 Players Ages 10 +
BACKGROUND
I had always liked war-themed strategy games, but I found that the popular games available - like RISK and Axis & Allies - had poor game dynamics, lacked balance, were too complicated (constant reference to charts, etc.), or were overly predictable. So, in the year 2000 I invented my own game. I spent a number of years test-playing and tweaking it with friends and family. My intent was to design a game that was strategically challenging, but easy to learn and play. I designed it with high schoolers & adults in mind, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much kids in the 10-13 year age range also enjoy the game! An attorney who is a leading authority in the game field has seen the game and highly commended it.
For years, friends and family have been asking me to make my game available for purchase so that they could have their own copy, so here it is.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GAME
1. Loud & Raucous
Rather than a quiet, thoughtful atmosphere, the game is usually characterized by a loud, animated, & raucous atmosphere. Players are constantly trying to forge alliances, negotiate deals, backstab, and trash talk! In this regard, the game requires as much diplomatic skill as strategic skill.
2. Unpredictable & Suspenseful
In many war-themed games, a certain player eventually emerges as the most powerful and there is a slow, steady progression toward victory while the other players die a “slow, but certain death.” There really is no fun in that! This game is more like a wild roller coaster ride. Also, if one particular player begins to get too strong, the game dynamic allows other players to work together to weaken him and keep the game more balanced. Years of playing this game has shown that often no one knows for sure who the ultimate winner is until the final scores have actually been calculated and announced!
3. Strategically Challenging
The game is strategically challenging, without being overly complex. Rather than consulting charts & graphs the whole time, players spend more time developing a strategy and interacting with other players.
4. Fun
The game is fun without being overly simplistic or boring in its dynamic (as with RISK).
5. Balanced
By creating my own map of an imaginary world and freeing myself of the bonds of “realism” and historical accuracy that characterize so many war games, I feel I have been able to design a board and game that is well-balanced. Additionally, each military component has its strengths, but also its corresponding weaknesses. Players will constantly need to evaluate the pros and cons of each element of military hardware they choose to utilize.
SOME SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE GAME
1. The Council
All players are members of a council similar to the United Nations. As such, throughout the game players will vote on various resolutions brought before the council, such as charging a given player with a War Crime penalty, or authorizing the establishment of an International Defense Force. Players will have to argue their case before the council.
2. Friendly Fire
Players will have to be careful lest they end up killing their own infantry forces!
3. Surrendering & Prisoners
If a defensive battle is not going particularly well for a player, he may opt to surrender his forces to the attacking opponent, who will then hold them as P.O.W.’s. At a later point, the prisoners may be liberated, “escape,” or the players may negotiate a prisoner exchange. In rare circumstances, a particularly “cold-hearted” player may even execute his prisoners!
4. Civilians & Human Shield
This game includes civilians. If a player attacks another player’s territory wherein he has civilians, he may be penalized with a war crime for killing his opponent’s civilians. Alternatively, a player may opt to utilize his own civilians as a human shield for extra defense, but doing so may expose him to an extremely high war crime penalty.
5. Capturing Military Hardware
Players can capture & utilize an opponent’s military hardware.
6. Non-Conventional Warheads
In addition to conventional warheads, there are missiles that are equipped with nuclear, biological, and chemical warheads. Players who utilize non-conventional warheads are subject to a possible war crime penalty.
7. Terrain Advantages/Disadvantages
The game map incorporates three different types of terrain: sea, land, and mountain. Terrain is a factor in battles. For example, digging into a mountain territory is especially advantageous when attacked by land forces, but fighters, bombers, & missiles can neutralize that terrain advantage.
8. Changing Map
The various components of the game board (mountains, resources, factories, sites of historic significance) are all randomonly distributed on the map during the initial set-up phase of each game. As a result, it is impossible to devise a strategy until the player has seen how the map turned out. This keeps players from falling into predictable patterns of play, because varying scenarios will require vastly different strategies and approaches.
9. Strategy Cards
There are 55 different types of “Strategy Cards” within a deck of 192 cards. Of these, about half appear only once or twice in the deck, thus meaning that they do not appear frequently. To the contrary, they may only appear in the game about every 5th time it is played. This keeps the game fresh because it is not the same old cards being recycled every time. With this many cards, you never really know what kind of card your opponent may be holding.
10. Game-within-a-Game
There are some objectives that can be achieved by players within the course of the game that are somewhat like playing a game within a game. To achieve an objective that no other player has achieved in the game provides some “bragging rights.”
11. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
This is an optional element in the game, but if the players vote to allow it, this element will dramatically heighten the suspense of how it will all end. The Four Horsemen (famine, plague, war, & conquest) are all unleashed near the end of the game, wreaking unpredictable havoc and destruction across the board. It becomes Armageddon! A player who wishes to win will have to anticipate and prepare for any possible outcome.
All game component designs & photos © 2000 by Alliance Games.