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- Saga [Kosmos]
Small package Wolfgang Kramer and Horst-Rainer Rösner
(Tycoon,
Nicht die Bohne)
game of medieval warfare is basically, a surprisingly unremarked-upon,
German war game from no less than Kosmos. There are similarities with
Knizia's
Ivanhoe
as well since players spend cards trying to capture common
target cards. Each confers a victory point plus some special
power or bonus. Players each begin with decks which are equivalent
in power, but differ in colors, color being critical to launching
an attack on a castle. Resolution of an attack is not subject to
chance. The player simply adds a card each turn until he exceeds
the defense strength, the cards used setting the new defense
strength. It's a wise system in that a player who owns a lot of
points also has a lot committed in cards and so fewer options
and less ability. Deciding how much to commit to an attack
becomes a major decision that's difficult to perfect. Much of
the game is actually about finding the most effective way to
proceed through its continual gain-loss-gain cycle, not the
least being to stand in the gain position at game end. But some
of the problems inherent in a multi-player war game march right
alongside. It's necessary to work together against a leader,
but not all may take their responsibility seriously. Kingmaking is
possible. An early leader can afford to recruit additional armies
which can lead to a rich-get-richer situation. The card artwork
is generally well done with several female armies included --
nice to see some Amazons for a change. The most innovative thing
here is that it is a war game at all. A little known secret is
that many of the more serious German game players, surrounded
by society games, secretly enjoy American-style war games in
the privacy of their own homes, much in the same way that wine
connoisseurs occasionally indulge in a bit of beer or brandy.
New German military game makers like Phalanx and Histogame and now
Kosmos are finally starting to give this group some attention.
This game is for them. For Americans then, this may seem a bit
bland. Of them, logistics experts will appreciate this, as will
some theme fans, but others will most likely look elsewhere.
[Holiday List 2004]
Strategy: Low; Theme: Medium; Tactics: Medium; Evaluation: High
- Saga [TSR]
Micro wargame set in the world of Beowulf and other great heroes of
the northern lands. The color map depicts all of northern Europe and the goal
of the players is to to be the best at slaying fearsome monsters. There
is more opportunism than strategy here and almost no difficult decisions
to make, but it has at least some feeling of fun.
- Samurai [Avalon Hill]
For the most part, a realization of
Kingmaker,
but set in medieval Japan. Unfortunately color and pageantry are rather
lacking here as the illustrated cards have been replaced by small,
drab chits. Rules permit players to engage in attacks so serious
that both are fatally knocked out long before it is over.
- Serenissima
Multi-player game which purports to be about raiding and trading
in the Renaissance Mediterranean ("Serenissima" is an historic name
for Venice), is swamped by military issues and by the end turns utterly
into a wargame. It seems a shame as there is a nice trading subsystem
which never seems to be used or matter. Instead whole rule sections
such as those which permit players to negotiate with one another over
commodity prices can be safely thrown out as they are never used.
[Traveling Merchant Games]
- Shanghai Trader
The corruption in Shanghai's International Bund during the early part of the
20th century. Players represent a national side, one of Americans, British,
French, Germans, Russians or Japanese. Players attempt to dominate different
areas of the city which gives special moneyraising powers, including the
ability to extort money from other players. Often players are required
to practically ruin other players with amazingly high cash demands. It
is not surprising that the game often turns into a bitter shouting match.
In addition, not only do players need to make the most money, they must
get out to the airport and hope they can roll well enough to escape alive,
an endeavor that needs a fair amount of luck. Each side has special powers,
but if playing with more than three, these should be omitted since they are
not balanced.
- Shapeshifters
Microgame wargame is an "evolutionary" battle of wizards using shapeshifting
magic to transform into a number of different animal forms and
thereby destroy their opponents. Mostly a matter of bluff.
[Fat Messiah Games]
- Shogun (Samurai Swords)
Multi-player wargame part of Milton Bradley GameMaster series is set in
sixteenth-century Japan, i.e. the era popularized by James Clavell's
Shogun
novel. The name was changed to Samurai Swords when the licensing ran out.
Reminiscent of
Risk
-- including some of its worst features -- e.g.
that a player's setup is randomly determined and that he
can be knocked out of the game long before it is over.
The basic system is jazzed up by a lot of blind auctioning and
economics, but by far the aspect that gets players going is
impressive appearance of all of the colorful plastic armies on the map.
However, as usual, one doesn't find good food at a restaurant with a view
and one does not find satisfying play here.
James Clavell's Shogun
is a different take on the same subject.
- Shuttlewars
Two-player wargame so simple that board and rules appear on a single
side of a sheet of paper. The topic is a laser-armed
space shuttle attempting to cross
a field of opposing satellites. Some are movable mines, some have lasers.
Worth a play or two.
- Siege [Iron Bear]
Card game in which one player defends a castle and the other tries to
take it. Like a real siege, seems to present a balanced game only with
difficulty. Either the attacker manages to penetrate the walls quickly
and easily or he doesn't get the cards he needs and the handwriting
appears on the wall long before the game is over. Rules on the use of
food and famine are a bit vague.
- Siege of Constantinople
Richard Berg-designed two-player magazine wargame about the 1453 battle between
the Ottoman Turks and remaining Byzantine "empire". Generally the Turks
manage to break through and the game is over almost immediately or else
they don't and it goes on forever. The design had its (sea) legs cut out from
under it when all of the naval rules were deleted for magazine format.
These rules have since appeared on the Internet, but I have not yet had a chance
to see how much play is improved. Perhaps it is a lost cause since the topic
of siege in general with its long waiting periods is not all that interesting
to simulate, or at least as done by everyone thus far.
- Sigma File, The (Agent, Casablanca, Conspiracy, Dossier X)
Similar to
Kremlin
in the sense that players make secret bids
(here on spies) and in the Cold War theme that both share. The game
has agents working for four players trying to steal a file (think
Michael Caine's
The Ipcress File)
and deliver it to the player's
capital without getting killed. Plenty of subterfuge, but can founder
if players refuse to operate defensively. Can also be anti-climactic
if the bidding goes awry. As in
Stellar Conquest,
players are on the honor system for their bidding.
[variant]
- VI Caesars
Lawrence H. Harris light wargame in which at least six different would-be
emperors contend over the ancient Roman empire.
Area map is divided into the historical provinces of the empire as
it stood in Trajan's time, i.e. including Dacia.
Pieces include caesars, generals, infantry, elite infantry, catapults,
cities, capital cities, fortified cities, short roads and long roads.
Players choose their capital from one of Hispania, Italia, Macedonia,
Galatia (south Asia Minor), Egyptus and Numidia.
The sequence of player is Income, Move, Combat, Purchase.
Income is produced based on values printed on the board.
Movement is by land or sea, one or two areas per turn, except that
one may travel infinitely by road.
Combat is resolved via tactical display, the winner in each column
being the side with
the highest die roll added to the number of combat factors.
The overall strategic situation is apparently meant to reflect that
of the period just prior to Constantine's rise to power, but very
tenuously.
Roads and catapults are overly powerful.
The roads that players build would have already existed.
Island provinces like Sardinia-Corsica are much too valuable.
Good points are that the rules are all of two pages, the map does
provide all of the historical names of the various provinces and
the game flows well with a fun feeling.
Later re-published with plastic pieces as
Conquest of the Empire,
part of Milton Bradley's GameMaster series (not described here).
[analysis]
- Sixteen Thirty Something
Game set at the time of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) does not
have a great deal to do with the actual war apart from naming all
of the main states. Instead players each secretly favor a
few of the conflicting countries based on cards randomly dealt at
the outset. This alone can cause problems if the cards are not all
dealt (e.g. in a five-player game) since those holding states
for which not all the cards have been dealt are at a distinct disadvantage
as fewer players are trying to prop them up. Suggest that a hidden, random
nation be omitted when the number of players dictates this situation.
Beyond this, has operational difficulties such
as frequently running out of cards due to depletion of the deck when it
it is time for players to replenish. Also, the game seems
to go on too long as every player's secret wishes are
obvious long before the game
is over and because every nation inevitably ends up either at the very
top or the very bottom of the scoring track. Thus the game outcome is
rather plain long before it actually arrives as it is practically
impossible for devastated nations to ever recover.
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Please forward any comments and additions for this site to
Rick Heli.