Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site cstvax.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!epsilon!zeta!sabre!petrus!bellcore!decvax!ucbvax!ucdavis!lll-crg!gymble!umcp-cs!seismo!mcvax!ukc!cstvax!db From: db@cstvax.UUCP (Dave Berry) Newsgroups: net.games.board Subject: Re: Opening Discussion Message-ID: <338@cstvax.UUCP> Date: Tue, 10-Sep-85 11:07:25 EDT Article-I.D.: cstvax.338 Posted: Tue Sep 10 11:07:25 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 18-Sep-85 03:17:06 EDT References: <394@brl-sem.ARPA> <47@ucdavis.UUCP> Reply-To: db@cstvax.UUCP (Dave Berry) Distribution: net Organization: Comp. Sc., Edinburgh Univ., Scotland Lines: 57 In article <47@ucdavis.UUCP> ccrdan@ucdavis.UUCP (Dan Gold) writes: >Conventional wargames these days are mostly just rehashes of some beaten- >to-death topic. That's because these are the only topics that sell! There are plenty of topics other than the (somewhat hypothetical) Soviet invasion of Western Europe, the Battle of the Bulge, Gettysburg and Waterloo. >Also, see if you can find a copy of "Empires of the Middle >Ages" (I got mine right when it came out). It is kind of long but very >easy and fun. It also makes a superb postal game if you use a simultaneous movement system. If anybody can find a copy of this, I would be very interested in buying it. How much does it cost to send a package this size across the Atlantic? >> Civilization (Avalon Hill): >> Long and moderately complex, but very playable once you >> get used to it. The game is played at several different >> levels: territory aquisition, trading, cultural growth. >> I highly recommend it. > >Me too. Get the expansion set from AH to add more flavor. Get the expansion kit from AH if you want to ruin the game. Most people I've talked to think that the new trade cards reduce the tension in the game. They make it easier for everyone to do well at trading, and so reduce the conflicts between players. Civilization was originally published by Hartland Trefoil games in Britain. They do a few other games; I would recommend 1829 as their best (better than civilization). Like Civilisation, it doesn't use dice. It's more complex,; players buy shares in railway companies, which are run by the player with the most shares in that company. I haven't played AH's Rail Baron, but I'm told 1829 is much better. There are two British maps (North & South), and there is now an American map (for the American market, unsurprisingly). This game is definitely improved with the expansion kit containing extra track tiles for the end game. Railway Rivals is great fun for a couple of hours & 3-8 players (varying with the map used. It won the Game of the Year award in Germany, is now published by Games Workshop in Britain, I don't know about the USA. Someone asked about Pax Britannica. I've played this once, and quite enjoyed it. It's certainly a lovely game system (for example, the game ends when tensions between the European powers reach a certain point - WW1 breaks out!). I found it a bit slow-moving; very much a strategy oriented game. >> Illuminati (Steve Jackson Games): >> I reviewed this recently in net.games, so I'll just say >> that it is great for anyone with a slightly warped sense >> of humor and a cynical mind. Fast and playable. Cosmic Encounter is fun too (another game not available over here any more). The rules could be better defined, and some of the powers are ridiculously unbalanced, but I still enjoy it a lot. -- Dave Berry. CS postgrad, Univ. of Edinburgh ...mcvax!ukc!{hwcs,kcl-cs}!cstvax!db