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P G TH G N R L

vaIo Hill Philosophy PartA great deal has transpired since yo u receivedyour last GENERAL. Despi te our apparent sloth,an image u nd ou bt ed ly b ro ug ht i nt o sharperfocus by the seemingly ever-worsening record of

late delivery of th e magazine, we've been busierth an th e proverbia l one-armed paper hanger.This i ssue 's philosophy wil l be restricted solelyto t h e r ec en t goings on.

Th e biggest news is th e great deal re-ferred to in our opening double entendre. AvalonHill has just bought the entire Heritage Battlelineseries of wargames lock, stock, a nd b ar re l.Heritage, which has recently reorganized underne w management, decided to concentrate sole- y o n th e miniatures end of th e ho bby andtherefore sought a buyer fo r their line of boardgames. Avalon Hill made t h e b es t of many offersf or t hi s fine li ne a nd hopes to cooperate withHeritage in th e future on joint ventures such ast he p ro mo ti on of a line of SQUAD LEADERminiatures. Th e acquisition should prove to be a

great deal f or b ot h parties. Avalon Hill w il l g etsome excellent proven designs to redevelop (in-cluding t h e e xc e ll e nt AI R FORCE/DAUNTLESSseries which filled a long awaited need on ourshopping list fo r a WWII tac t ica l air game) whileHeritage w ill be ne fit fro m th e increased cashflow f r om t h e sale itself and th e ensuing royaltiesfrom ou r larger market. Th e hobby in t ur n w il lbenefi t f rom both companies get t ing a chance todo what they do best and the prospects of closermutual cooperation in future projects.

At this wri ting, i t is still to o early to tell exactly which of th e Battleline games w il l m ak e t hetransition to Avalon Hill packaging and whichwill be d is c on t in u ed a f te r t he p re se nt Heritagestock is exhausted. O ur l on g range plans are tocull th e best of th e Battleline games fo r Avalon

Hill redevelopment and ne w ar t treatment whilea ll o wi n g t h e lesser games to go th e way of allflesh as existing inventories are exhausted. Yo ucan help us in th is se lec t ion/ redevelopmentprocess b y y ou r f ee db ac k. I f y ou have any comments or questions on any of th e old Battlelinegames, please t ak e t he time to write us aboutyour experiences. We w o u ld like your commentson p la y b al an ce , typographical errors, rulesomissions, contradictions, ambiguities or overallsuggestions fo r an y of these games. All we ask isthat yo u place all of your comments pertaining toa single game on a separate sheet of paper froma ny o t he r c or re sp on de nc e. Be sure to includey o ur n am e and address with e ac h p ag e o r p ag espertaining to a s in gle game. If yo u wish toreceive answers to y o ur q ue st io n s include as ta mp ed , se lf addressed envelope fo r eachgame yo u submit ques t ions on. Do no t encloseBattleline questions or comments with th e sameenvelope/paper as other quest ions fo r AvalonHill games or general c or re sp on de nc e. We w i lle v en t ua ll y a n sw e r all game questions accompanied by a self addressed stamped envelope fo rthose games w hi ch w e reprint. Those which ared is c on t in u ed w il l, in all probability, no t beanswered.

We hope that many of y ou w il l find th e timeto t a ke p a rt in this program. One of th e reasonsmany Avalon Hill games are so well t hought o f isour strong reliance on out-of-house play testswhich tend to uncover the majori ty of rules problems before publication. Th e success of these b l ind play tests can be measured by t he c om -

parative rules failures of those t i t les rushed inprint without one (witness THIRD REICH anMAGICREALMfor example.) This is a chance fthose of yo u wh o were shunned in ou r earlie

play test g ro up s el ec ti on s to prove that yoshouldn't have been o ve rl oo ke d. T ho se whprove their worth as play testers ma y be inviteto participate in a critique of our revised editionor other play tests and earn a f re e c op y of orevised edition in th e process. Besides, wherelse can yo u ge t your Battleline game questionsanswered?

In t he m e an t im e we have exist ing l imitedventory on nine of th e 1 6 Battleline gamestheir Heritage format. Those wishing to acquirthese Batt lel ine edit ions whi le supplies l as t m ado so by ordering them no w by mail f r om Av al onHill at th e following p ri ce s. You ma y use yoGENERAL p os ta ge c ou po n or add 1 fpostage and handling costs.

FURY IN THE WEST

(The Battle of Shiloh) . . . . 10 .0ARMOR SUPREMACY

(Tank Design Card Game) . . . 7.0TRIREME (Ancient Naval Warfare) 14 .0SAMURAI(Power Politics In Feudal Japan) 1 3.0

ALPHA OMEGA(SF Spaceship Battles) . . . . 1 3.0

MACHIA VELLI(Renaissance Power Politics) 13.0

VIVA ESPANA (Spanish Civil War) 9 .0NAVAL WAR(Warship Battle Card Game) . . 9 .0

FLAT TOP(Air-Sea Battles In Th e Solomons) 1 5.0

These games are listed in descending orderof our quantities available. No t all of these titlwill be reissued in Avalon Hill packaging so theavailability here ma y be y o ur l as t c h an ce to adthem to your collection. More detailed advet i sements for those still in stock at that time wbe placed in th e next issue.

The other Heri tage Games which we seefeedback fo r are: DAUNTLESS SHENANDOAHAI R FORCE OBJECTIVE A TLANTA CIRCUSMAXIMUS and th e AI R FORCE/DAUNTLESSExpansion Kit.

The arr ival of th e Battleline games w as n ot he o nl y noteworthy happening around herelate. N ot ed Av al on Hill designer Randall Reeresigned to take a position with t h e g o ve r nm e n tdesigning conflict simulations fo r t he M ar inCorps. Reed designed RICHTHOFEN S WAR

776 CHANCELL ORSVILLEand STARSHIPTROOPERS during his 7 plus years a t Av al o n H

as well as developing PANZER LEADERTOBRUK and AIR ASSAUL T ON CRETE. Hl at e st p ro je ct , Av al o n H il l' s f i rst monster gameTHE LONGEST DA Y which has been unddesign f o r t h e past tw o years, will be finisheda f ree lance basis and should be available earnext year.

The Avalon Hill stable of designers remainsfull, however, with t he r ec en t employment o fnoted designer Kevin Z uc ke r; p re vi ou sl yassociated with SOC, SPI and OSG whichunofficial count gives him th e undisputed recorf o r e m p lo y m en t b y w a rg a mi n g c om p an ie s. Hcredits include: NAPOLEON S LAST BA TTLES

ontinue on g 32 Co

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TH G N R L PAGE

he agical ystery ourBy Richard Hamblen

Here is a p ret ty p ro bl em t o p er pl ex a g am edesigner: how do you capture the magic of fantasyl it er at ur e in a g am e? G am es a nd b oo ks can bothpresent stories but they cannot possibly presentt ho se s to rie s in t he s am e way-and the thing thatmakes fantasy li terature come alive is t he way it istold the detai ls ; t he d ep th a nd the descriptions ofremarkable characters striving to cope in fantast icworlds). Fantasy exists o nl y in t he telling an d isbuilt entirely of skillful storytelling tricks an d tools.If games by the ir nature have different tricks an dtools, then it is almost a contradiction in terms t o d oa game that captures th e essence. of fantasy. If youdon t believe there is that much clash between

games an d fantasy, consider these examples.First, variety. N o m at t er how many t imes your ea d a book, it doesn t bother you that it turns ou tthesameway each time in fact, i t would bother youconsiderably if it turned out differently each timeyou read it). But you expect to play a gamerepeatedly, an d you would be utter ly outraged i f itautomatically turned ou t t he s am e way eac h t im ey ou p la ye d i t. I n a book the hero may be portrayedas making decisions but, in fact he fol lows only onepath of adventure. He may have th e choice of joining a caravan bound for danger, leading an outlawb and, or seeking s ome lost t reas ur e in th e wildjungles, bu t hedoes only one of these an d the othersare mentioned only in passing. In a g am e t he h er omay want to change his adventure from one game toa no t he r a nd different heroes may want to do dif-

ferent adventures in the same game. So, in thegame, al ternate adventures have to be constructedan d presented.

This is a major headache because of the secondproblem: detai l. Fan tasy adven tures capture interest because they are explained in enough detail tomake the experience seem real and to account forthe hero s thoughts an d act ions. Books can do thisbecause only on e adventure is detailed an d the narrat ive can handle that q ui te nicely. I n a g am e allp os sib le a dv en tu re s h ave t o be d eta il ed w it ho utmuch narrat ive after all , you w an t t o p y game,no t read it).

Fantasy games do have one advantage, bu t itjust leads to the third problem: creating a fantasticworld. Games can invoke a whole fantasy world indetail just by mention ing a fan tasy wor ld that hasbeen carefully fleshed out in literature. After all,the people who buy fantasy games have almost certainly read fantasy fiction first. The catch is that thefantasy book has fleshed out the wor ld f rom onlyon e vantage point. If nobody ever goes to look onthe other side of a hil l, the re is nothing there . In agame tht; world has to be fil led out from all possiblevan tage point s, so the whole wor ld has to be buil tr ight down to the nuts an d bolts . Games based onparticular works of fiction have an advantage herebecal )se only the par ts of t he world th at ar e interesting in the book have to be built in. A gameabout adventure fantasy in general , a game such as

M O le RE LM has to include all the aspects thatare present in adventure fantasy generally or it doesno t invoke its world. .

The headache is becoming gigantic, and t he re isyet a fourth problem: surpr ise. You get the mostenjoyment out of a fan tasy bobkthe first time your ead it because fantas y like all f orms of storytelling) relies heavily on surprise to entertain -i tsreaders and to c re at e t he i llu sio n of real experiences. A game that entertains like fantasy eachtime it is played must therefore be able to surpriseits players with unforeseen developments even afterthey have p layed it many times an d have becomefamiliar with its mechanics. If being surprised by

something that is familiar is no t a contradiction int er ms , I don t know what is.) I n this cas e, a gamebased o n t he b oo k is at a fatal disadvantage. If thegame contains only the things that are in t he b o okt he n it c an hardly surprise yOu after you-have readthe b oo k, a nd i f i t surprises you with things not in

the book, it is hardly about the book. Fortunately, v ~ n t u r efantasy generally is so ull of variety thata game can bebased on it and still provide surprises,bu t only if it c an keep ~ players from becomingcompletely familiar with everything t ha t c a n haRpen. Here the.very size an d complexity of a generalfantasy game becomes key advantage: All th epoor g am e de sign er h as t o d o is to b ui ld a w or ldwith all of the variety an d diversity of adventurefantasy.

Ouch.

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PAGE 4 TH G N R L

DwarfAttack: Axe, FIGHT T6* in

SwingManeuver: DUCK T3* in D uc k

Comments: T he C ap ta in could not play his MOVE MS in th e meleebecause he ha d a lready p layed i t in th e encounter step. He needed th eoverstrength FIGHT to inf li ct the Heavy damage to des troy the helmet

with on e blow.

Captain

Maneuver: DUCK T3* in Duck

Maneuver: Shield in Duck, noMOVE

Attack: Sword, FIGHT M3** inSmash

Determining hits: The Dwarf s attack hits because the Captain played noM OV E a nd the Captain s attack hits by matching directions. Neither at-

tack removed.

Second Round of Combat

Encounter step: The Capta in plays MOVE MS to s top the Dwarf fromrunning.

Melee step:

DwarfAttack: Axe, FIGHT T6* in

Smash

Resolving hits: The Captain s attack has the lower FIGHT time so it

resolved first. inflicts Heavy damage equal t o t he D wa r f s vulnerability,so the Dwarf is killed an d his attack removed before i t resolved.

Fatigue: The Capta in played two FIGHT asterisks so he must fat igue aFIGHT counter, choosing FIGHT HS .

Comments: The Captain could afford to play no MOVE i n t he meleebecause he knew he ha d a guaranteed first kil l. If the D w ar f s a tt ac k h adbeen resolved it would have destroyed the Captain s shield the first pieceof armor it came to) an d killed the Captain outright.

Note: The readying of weapons was i rrelevan t in thi s combat an d waignored to keep the discussion simple. Technically, both weapons wereunready at the start of the first Round; the Dwarf s axe was readiedwhen itmissed bu t the Captain s sword remained unready ea ch t im e it hi t. TheDwarf s axe would have become unready when it hit in the second Round.

CaptainManeuver: Shield, MOVE M4*

In DuckAttack: Sword, FIGHT M4* in

Smash

Determining hits: TheDwarf s a t tack misses an d removed, the Captain sattack hits by matching directions his Smash matches the Dwarf s Duck)an d remains.

Resolving hits: The Smash attack hits t he Dwarf s helmet an d inflictsHeavy damage L weapon weight plus one level for sharpness an d onelevel for p laying an overstrength FIGHT), des troy ing the helmet. TheDwarf wounds a FIGHT TS .

Fatigue: Each character played on e MO VE asterisk an d one FIGHTasterisk so each must fatigue one MOVE or FIGHT counter. The Captainchooses a MOVE M 4* , t he Dwarf chooses a FIGHT HS

Tactics: The Dwarf threatens to use a T strength FIGHT to inflict Maximum damage regardless of armor, bu t his slowness forces him to rely onmatching th e Captain s m aneu ver di rection t o get a hit. T he C ap ta in

threatens to inflict Heavy damage that kills if i t avoids the Dwarf s helmet,so he needs to destroy the helmet or m ak e a n undercutting a t tack thatavoids the helmet.

T he D w ar f s fast DUCK avoids being undercut and forces any attackthat matches his direct ion to hit his helmet, bu t his lack of other fastMOVES makes him predictable-he must DUCK, so t he Captain can en-sure a hit each Round by Smashing. The f ir st Smash will des troy theDwarf s helmet a nd t he second wil l destroy him the Captain s attack willbe resolved first each Round because his FIGHT faster) so the Dwarf sonly hope is to hit by matchingdirections on the first Round. He should runan d the Captain should playa M OV E t o s top h im each Round.

First Round

Encounter step: Captain plays MOVE MS to s top the Dwarf from run-ning away.

Melee step:

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TH G N R L

Well, that s the theory behind MAGICREALM It s meant to be a complete fantasy worldso full of variation that the players have real choicest o m ak e, so fu ll of diversity that no matter howmany times it s played it can sti ll surprise you withits situations, an d so fil led with detai l that the illusion of a complete wor ld s created. All of this sderived from the annals an d possibilities of adventure fantasy. You can ride with a caravan or warriorband, you can lead a campaign or build an empire,you can seeka fortune or a good fight, you can meetan d deal with the nobles or dregs of humanity, youcan tamper with dangerous magical forces. Youcannever be sure of what you will find, or what will findyou.

One problem with such a diverse l it tle world sthat it s complex , so it t akes some t ime to mastertactics an d t echn iques. In fac t, par ts of the gamewere purposefu lly des igned to be sub tle so that ittakes a l it tle thought to figure out how to use themto your bes t advan tage . The game s full of littlepuzzles that need to be figured out , and each game spuzzles a re d iffe rent I am not r ef er ri ng t o t herulebook, which s an inadvertent puzzle of a different sort).

With all of these possibilities in play, I am willing to have a l it tl e mercy an d s ho w y ou h ow t o use

c er ta in g am e m ec ha ni cs ; y ou m ig ht call it a lit tl eguided tour of the M A GI C R EA L M with someobservations about the dangers and opportunitiesthat can befall you including some advice on how toescapethe dangers an d make the most of th e oppor-tunities. The individual elements will be discussedin roughly the order they are introduced in the ENCOUNTERS. So, if you re only partially throughthe ENCOUNTERS and come to a discussion thatsounds utterly unfamiliar, it probably refers to anENCOUNTER you haven t reached yet at least letus hope so).

On with the guided tour.Start wh er e t he g am e s ta rt s, wi th t he pl ay er s

assembling th e 20 hex tiles to f or m t he MA GI CREALM Strategy begins here because the placem en t d et er mi ne s h ow t he road net f its together,

where caves a re , what areas will be blo ck ed bym ou nt ai ns a n d w ha t areas a re access ib le only bysecret passages or hidden paths. The charactershave abilities that give them advantages in differenttypes of t er ra in , so a p layer can gain an advantagein t he game by constructing th e board to favor th echaracter he hopes to play in thegame. Some of thecharacters advantages are obvious. T he D w ar f sgreat in th e caves an d rotten outside of them, s o h ewould like to see th e CAVES tiles placed close toeach other so that he spends as little time as possiblewhen he moves outside of the caves. He would likethem to be cen tral ly located so they get in the othercharacter s way. Characters who have an advantagein dealing with natives such as the Captain, WhiteKnight, Black Knight an d the Wizard, because ofhis large number of f ri ends ) would l ike to see the

VALLEY t il es con ta in ing the dwel lings locatedclos e t o e ach other. Characters who have advantages in certain tiles an d who will work alone eitherbecause of weakness or special advantages shouldplace their favorite tiles of f ou t of th e way, whereother characters will no t comein an d mess things up so th e Witch a nd t he D ru id would like to see theRUINS of f in a corner, an d the Woods Girl feels thes ame way about WOODS tiles generally). Th eWizard would like to see paths and passages get int he way as much as possible. Other advantages aremore subtle. The Dwarf likes caves partly becausehe s designed to face the s low monster s the re instead of the fast ones in the mountains. TheAmazon s extra move phase allows her to hide an dmove two mountain clearings so she would like tosee mountains blocking th e board to hinder the

other players . Character s who can take a Spellallowing them to fly like to make normal movementas inconvenien t as possible, par tly by p lacing theWOODS tiles where they will cut of f sections of theboard once they are enchanted. An d so on.

Once t he board s complete, the Warning ,Sound, Treasure Locat ion, Los t City, an d LostCas tl e counter s a re sca tt ered a ro un d t o indicatewhat dwellings, monsters an d t reasures are in eachtile, while the ghosts an d four garrisoned dwellingsare placed in the VALLEY tiles . The inhabitants ofthe other ti les remain secret , a lthough each t il e sterrain gives some idea of what lives there; smallanimals an d nomadic tribes in the WOODS,treasures an d slow, powerful monsters in theCA VES, a nd mo re treasures an d smaller, fastermonsters in the DEEP WOODS and MOUN-TAINS.

This information s h el pf ul when a p lay er splanning how ne will approach the game. Planning s important because each playerchooses the condit ions he must fulfill to win the game ahead of time,an d bec aus e he h as a choi ce of how to go aboutavoiding risks an d gai ni ng th e p ow er he needs t ofulfill these conditions. It t akes p lann ing to dea lwith the dangers an d opportunit ies in the MA GI CREALM

The f ir st conside ra tions in a p layer s p lans a rehis character s strengths an d weaknesses. Eachadventure he can undertake involves differenttasks, dangers an d r e ~ r sso a character shouldplan his endeavors to match his abili ties . Once hehas chosen his objectives, a character has the choiceof going after them directly or going on minor expeditions to gain power first an d thentrying for victory. A character can p lan a whole s tr ing of adventures leading to ultimate victory.

A player s second considera tion should be forthe cooperation, antagonism or indifference of theother players in the game. Character s who t rave ltogether an d cooperate in c om ba t a nd o th er act ivi ti es great ly inc rease the ir abi li ty to survive ,search, t rade and hire successfully. A whole groupcan profit from a leader s abilities an d discoveries if

they all FOLLOW him so they move fas te r whenfollowing the Amazon, use p at hs an d passageswhen following the Wizard an d hide bet te r whenfollowing the Druid or Elf ), a lthough the groupshould search as individuals. Unfortunately, greedan d fear are powerful motives for one character toattack another so characters must be careful of thecompany they keep . This s a consideration thatleads many characters to operate on their own. Inpart icular, characters who are weak in combat theWitch, Druid or Dwarf) have reason to fear a strongcharacter the Elf , B lack Knigh t or Witch King) .The stronger character, in turn, has reason to fearthat weaker characters will combine against him. Abalance of power within the group helps, bu t thisb al an ce c an f lu ct ua te wildly or vanish as thecharacters are weakened or strengthened during

p lay. In add it ion, cer ta in character s powers a rem os t eff ect ive w hen al on e t he Druid s PEACEWITH NATURE) or at a part icular location whereothers may not careto go the Dwarf inthe CAVES,the Woods Gir l in the DEEP WOODS), which encourages these characters to go of f a lone . The netresult s that the Dru id , Dwarf , E lf , Witch , WoodsGirl an d Witch King often f ind themselvesoperating alone for one reason or another.

Operating alone s not a guarantee against beinga tta cke d, however, since a c har ac te r can huntanother down dur ing p lay a s trong character l ikethe Black Knight can even make a living o ffo f hunt-ing down his fellow players). The system of recording moves an d moving in a random order each dayallows characters to t ra ck ea ch o th er d ow n o ncethey are within a day s journey of each other, since

P G

a pursuer canrecorda move to thequarry s locatio and use the extra phases to s ear ch f or h id deenemies, if the quarry s hidden). If the pursuemoves first and rolls successfully, t he q ua rr ycaught, an d even if the attempt fails, the quarryst ill within a d ay s j ou rn ey a nd the tactic canr ep eat ed u nt il it s ucceeds . T he S wo rd sm an c anmove first perpetually to avoid being caught o rcan move first to catch up each turn when he s tpursuer), an d characters with an extra MOVphase e.g. the A ma zo n o r a ny c ha ra ct er wi thorses) can outrun pursuit with a l it tle care, but fmost characters the only means of escaping pursu s to duck into a path or passage the pursuer canuse. A character who ant ic ipates being chasedwise to search an d prepare a few escape hatchesahead of time.

Whether a character should seek or avoid comba t depends on whether he can deliver the first ki lling blow. Each Round of combat s an exchangeblows in which each character plays a FIGHcounter an d weapon to show the speed , s trengthan d direction of his a t tack and a MOVE counter toshow the speed an d direction of his defensivmaneuver. If a FIGHT s time undercuts its targetMOVE time then i thi ts. Otherwisei t hits only i f ttwo match directions. To see which opponent hthe advantage in combat, look at the fastest FIGHcounter that each s able to play which can kill wio ne bl ow if it hi ts. Th e character whose attacw ou ld be r es ol ved f ir st du e to FIGHT timeweapon length) has the advantage. H e c an relyplaying that FIGHT c ou nt er a nd a slow MOVcounter because in an exchange of b low s, hattack will kill first. The opponent who strikes seond must play a MOVE counter that cannotundercut and a s low FIGHT counter because ifcan t avo id the undercu t, he is los t) . However,this slow FIGHT counter u nder cu ts th e firsplayer s slow MOVE counter then either player cbe defeated by an undercut an d the battle turns ina guessing game. If both players avoid being undercut then the bat tl e will be dec ided by who matchesdirections first.

S tr ik ing the f ir st b low in an exchange does nwork against armor, because the target will survivet o r et ur n the b low excep t when the attack infli Maximum damage). An armored character cmaneuver so t h at a ny blow that matches his direction also matches the area protected by his armoso only an undercutting attack from an unprotecteda re a c an circumvent the armor. An opponent wcan make such a n a tt ac k can ignore armor, botherwise, he must first destroy the armor. If unamored, or lightly armored, he needs t o u nd er cu t t odestroy the armor quickly without being undercuhimself. If his armor s stronger than his enemy he can p lay fas t FIGHT counters an d slow MOVcounters to bring on an exchange of blows to wedown the enemy s armor. The battle s once moreguess ing game in which lucky blows can chanwh o h as t he armor advantage.

Wou nd s a nd fatigue become important ascharacter loses his counter s because he loses hisflexibility, his ability to avoid being undercut, ahis abi li ty to p lay undercu tt ing a t tacks . Thus ,character with ext ra aster isks an d counters wslowly gain the advantage in a prolonged batt le.

Some characters peculiar.ities affect their tactics. Those with weapons to o light to kill their oppnent or destroy his armor must use avoiding tacticsa nd h op e t o stay alive long enough t o w o un d himdeath. Such s the case wi th unready bows whicare unlikely to kill so t he ir o wn er s must relyavoidance tactics until the bows are readied.Characters who can inflict Maximum damage cignore a rm o r a n d use first-kill tactics. The Knighmust husband their easily fatigued MOVE counte

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PAGE 6 TH G N R L

ILLUSTR TING COMBAT: haracters gainst Monsters

Distribution ttackers The Amazon places one L an d on e M goblinin the box A , one L a nd o ne M goblin in box B an d the remaining Lgoblin in box C .Targets Th e Amazon attacks on e M goblin an d the Swordsman attacksthe other M goblin.PlaysThe Amazon plays a FIGHT M3** an d sword in THRUST and a MoveM4 in CHARGE.The Swordsman plays a FIGHT L2 ** and his readied sword in Thrust.Rolling r Monsters Th e first roll is 6 so the lone goblin from box C isplaced in CHARGE/THRUST; his CHANGE TACTICS roll is 1, 6 sohis counter is turned M side up. Th e second roll is 2 so the goblins frombox A go to DODGE/SWING; their CHANGE TACTICS roll is 5 , 5 sothey d o n ot turn over. Th e remaining goblins from box B are p laced inDUCK/SMASH and roll 3 ,4 to CHANGE TACTICS, so they do n otturn over.

Determining hits Both the Swordsman s an d the Amazon s attacks under-cu t t hei r t ar ge t s M OV E tim es, so both a ttacks h it . Th e g ob li n inCHARGE/THRUST hits by matching directions, while the rest miss an dare moved t o o ne side.

Resolving hits The Swordsman s attack has the lowest t ime so it hits f irst ,inflict ing Medium damage that kil ls the goblin. Then the nex t fas testattack, the Amazon s, hits an d kills that goblin. Both characters weaponsare turnedunready side up. Finally the goblin s attack is resolved, inflictingMedium damage the s ta r is ignored because of the Armor Bonus) thatw ou nd s t he Amazon s he loses her FIGHT M5 ) and damages hershield-the first piece of armor guarding the direction th e goblin attacked.

Fatigue Both characters p layed two FIGHT ast er isk s so ea ch loses aFIGHT counter, the Swordsman losing FIGHT L3* an d the Amazon FIGHT M4* .

Comments Th e characters attacked the goblins that were most dangerous.Third Round of Combat

Encounter step The Swordsman takes one goblin, l eaving the Amazonwith two.

Melee step

Swordsman sheetTh e goblin ends up in DODGE/SWING an d changes tactics.

Amazon s sheetTh e goblins are placed together an d e nd u p i n DUCK/SMASH without

changing tactics.

Determining hits The Swordsman misses and his attack is removed, hisweapon readied. Th e goblin on his sheet also misses an d is removed. Th eAmazon hits by undercutt ing; the goblins on her sheet miss an d are putaside.

Resolving hits The Amazon kills another goblin.Fatigue The Amazon fatigues a FIGHT M3** for playing two FIGHTasterisks, an d since it has two asterisks she makes change an d brings her FIGHT M4* back into play.

Comments The Swordsman took one goblin to take some pressure of f theAmazon; he was per fect ly safe because the goblin could not hit withoutmatching directions, which would cause an exchange of blows in which theSwordsman s attack would ge t the f ir st kill because the ir t imes would beequal and his weapon is longer. The Amazon doubled up the goblins on hersheet to ensure she could no t be hit without get ting a h it .

Fourth Round of CombatThe characters swap goblins and kill them by undercutting. Th e

Amazon killed four goblins, so she gets ten FAME and ten NOTORIETYon e for the first , two for thesecond, etc. The Swordsman gets three FAMEan d three NOTORIETY for his two goblins.

Fatigue None.

Comments Splitting the goblins into three groups limits the damage thatthey can inflict in th e event they change tactics and turn over. Th e Swords-man s attack will have a time of 4 -because of his WeaponTime-regardless of the counter he plays, so he plays his slowest counter.

Second Round of Combat

Encounter step Amazon keeps five goblins.Melee step

5,6to v ac an t b ox

ThrustAhead

Hits Charge)

3rd Roll: autogets box B)C H A N G E TA C T I C S rolls:4 , 4 : n o c h a ng e

ATTACKS

3,44,5,6

place in remaining direction

2nd R ol l: Igets box A)C H A N G E TA C TiC S rolls:3 , 6 : nip counters

AT TA C K IN G N O N - C H AR A C T E RS A B

1st Rol l: 6 )gets box C

CHANGE TACTICS rolls:1,5: no change

Determining hits Th e two goblins in CHARGE/THRUST hit by match-ing; the rest miss an d aremoved to on e side of the sheet. The Swordsman sattack misses an d is removed , his weapon turned r ead y side u p. Th eAmazon hits by matching.

Resolving hits Th e Amazon s weapon has the greater length so her attackis resolved first because it is the first Round-see the Weapon Lengthoptional rule). It inflicts Heavy damage, more than e no ug h t o kill t hegoblin. Th e remaining goblin then attacks, inflict ing Light damage thesharpness star is ignored because of the Armor Bonus) which has no effect.

Using Optional Rules 2.1,2.3 an d 2.6)

Tactics: Th e Amazon s armor allows her to absorb more damage, so shecan let the goblins attack her; th e goblins must change tactics before theycan wound her or damage her armor, since when lighter side up they inflictonly Light damage the ir sharpness s ta r does not count because of theArmor Bonus optional rule). Then the Swordsman can safely concentrateon picking them off.

Note Neither character s weapon is ready at the start of the combat.

First Round of Combat

Encounter step Th e Amazon lets all six goblins attack her.

Melee stepDistribution of Attackers

Ist rol l 22nd roll 1,2,33rd roll

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TH G N R L

carefully. T he D w ar f s D UC K c ou nt er is his onlyfast man euv er , ma ki ng it easy for opponents tomatch his direction. Against most opponents hemust just duck an d hope his helmet holds out untilhe gets in a l uck y b lo w.

The effects of the weapon times,- a r mo r b on usa nd w ea po n length optional rules are worth mentioning. Weapon length an d weapon times changewho has the first-kil l advantage each R ou nd , p articularly on the first Round (when weapon length

determines the order of attack) an d e ach t im eweapons hit (because they become unready), so thec ha ra ct er s s ho ul d c ha ng e t act ics a cc or di ng ly.Readied bows gain automatic first-kill status. Thearmor _bonus makes armor h ar de r t o des troy ash eav y w ea po ns c an n o l on ge r i nf lic t Maximumdamage, medium weapons have trouble destroyinga rm o r, a n d light striking weapons cannot damagefull a rm or a t all

A q ui ck examination of their counters revealsthe tactics that opponents should use an d which ofthem is likely to win. An armored character has aclear advantage and a character with the first-kil ladvantage has a decisive advantage if he ca n undercut an d avoid his opponent s armor. If both of thecharacters are armored and/or neither can undercut then the outcome will hang on lucky hits where

the directions match.A character who wants to avo id being over

matched or to a vo id s wa pp in g r is ky b lows c anescape by running away. His opponent must playaMOVE counter equal to his lowest MOVE counterto stop him, bu t the opponent s M OV E c ou nt erasterisks count against the opponent s two-asterisklimit t h at R o un d a nd thus prevent him from playinghis f as tes t c ou nt er s in c om ba t. T he o p po n en t iswiser to no t stop the character if stopping himwould cause the opponent to lose the batt le . This isparticularly true when the opponents a re e qu al inspeed a nd a r mo r. If one opponent is faster he canstop the other at little cost bu t since he is weakerthan the other he would n ot w an t to. Rather, heshould use his quickness to ru n away.

The characters should play th e game with these

tac ti cs in mind. A character should avo id enemieswith superior fighting ability, an d he should engageequal opponents only if the prospec tive gain isworth t he ri sk . A character who can ru n away canafford to let h imse lf be caught by an enemy, bu t acharacter who cannot ru n away must concentrateon evasive tactics an d hiding to avoid c om ba t. A nimpor tant point is that a character s combat abilitychanges as his armor is lost, his FIGHT an d MOVEcounters are wounded or fatigued, an d his weaponis readied. This has two effects on play. A charactershould avoid battles that will weaken him severely(especially battles that will cost him his irreplacablearmor even when he will probably win, an d acharacter should prepare for combat so his combatability is a t m ax im um s trength when combatbegins. He should rest to recover w ou nd ed a nd

fatigued counters, an d characters with bows (or anyweapons when the weapon times rule is being used)should alert them for the start of battle.

The same considera tions app ly when dea lingwith monsters- fight only when the reward is worththe risk, avoid dangerous monsters you cannot runfrom, avoid weakening batt les , an d prepare whenbat tl e threa tens . Monster s, however, requi re d ifferent tactics.

In combat, monsters, have the disadvantages ofbeing predictable, of having to attack andmaneuver in matching directions each r ou nd , a ndof having only tooth/claw weapon length. Whenf ighting a monster, a character can ensure victoryby playing a killing FIGHT counter that strikes thefirst blow an d either: 1 undercuts the monster smove time; or 2 matches the character s MOVE

counter direction when the MOVE counter cannotbe undercut (so the monster cannot hit without running into the character s first-kill attack). If thecharacter can nei ther undercu t no r avoid beingundercut then he mus t ge t the f ir st -k il l advan tagea nd h op e for a lucky hit by matching directions. Ifhe cannot get the first-kill advantage his tactics depend on whether he can survive a hit . If he cannot,then he must avoid an exchange of blows by playinga MOVE counter tha t cannot be undercut and playing a FIGHT c ou nt er in a d if fe re nt d ir ec it on inhopes of striking an unreturned blow. If hecan survive a hit, then he can use the normal tactics ofundercutting or attacking an d move in the s amedirection whi le avo id ing the undercut. Thecharacter should choose a play that worksregardless of which side of the monster counter isface up, bu t if he cannot then he should choose theless risky play, always remembering that themonster will probably not turn over.

A character fac ing a group of monsters shouldgroup them an d t reat them l ike one monster thatgets the f ir st h it . If he cannot survive their hits, hesplits his MOVE an d FIGHT counters. If he can ,then he uses normal tact ic s. O bvi ous ly, t hedeadliest monsters are his first targets. (Note: Whenthe monsters must be divided into three equalg roups because the DEADLY REALM rules arebeing used, the character should concent ra te thedeadly monster s in one group an d hope they keepmissing while he picks them off.

Groups of c ha ra ct er s a re de ad ly wh en t heycoordinate their actions in combat. A character canvolunteer to be a tt acked by a monster an d play hisbest MOVE counter to es cape while t he othercharacters use their best FIGHT counters to attackfrom three directions to ensure a hit . Againstmultiple monsters each character can volunteer to be a tt acked by the monster he can bes t avo id and at tackthe monster he has the bes t chance of killing, witht he c ha ra ct er s p ro te ct in g ea ch other f ro m themonsters on their sheets. However, characters caneasily double-cross each other in group combat byattacking each other or just abandoning a characterto his own devices after he has committed himself .

Monsters on the APPEARANCECHART haveonly a one-sixth chance of being active an d appearing on the board each day, an d even when they doappear they will land on a character only if he is inthe same clearing with the S ou nd o r Treasure locat io n c ou nt er o r in t he s am e tile wit h th e War ni ngcounter that t riggered them. A character can avoidthese tiles an d clearings once he discovers what thecounters are. Monsters that are already on a t ile aremore dangerous because when they are act ive theywill a ut om at ic al ly go to t he character s clearingwhen he ends his turn in the tile, an d even whentheyare inactive they block an d fight characters in theirclearings. This also means that when two charactersend their turns inthe sameti le , monsters can appearin the ti le when the f ir st one moves an d t he n go t othe second character s Clear ing when he moves .This allows characters to decoy monsters into eachother s path, causing groups of characters to drawcrowds of monsters. However, a character who isalone an d who is cautious about hiding an d choosing where he ends each turn is safe if he is just moving through monster territory.

It is when a character is spending a lot of time ina tile ( to f ind , m ov e t o, l ocat e an d loot a Treasurelocation there) that the monster s become a majorproblem. Every day more monsters can appear andmove into his clearing, an d they will attack as soonas he fails a h ide rol l a t the s ta rt of his turn. (The accumulation of monsters is extreme to the point ofbei ng r id icu lo us in t he L OS T CI TY a nd LOSTCASTLE where the treasures an d monsters are con-

PAGE

centrated.) Caut ion and coopera t ion are tn e tooneeded to dea l with thi s p roblem. A character wavoids ending his turns in the t il e as much as possble (by peering into the t il e f rom a mountain cleaing in an adjacent tile to find th e Treasure locatiocounter, circling around outside the tile to moveit, and even dodging in an d out of th e t ile while hlocates an d l oot s it) r et ar ds t he accumulationmonster s the re . Once monster s have appearedt he tile, he needs t o hi de e ac h d ay, a nd i f they a

already in his clearing he needs to hide on his fiphase or they will b lock an d attack him. As thm on st er s g at he r, he c an try to thin them ou tfighting each group as it a rr ives , or he ca n movaway an d hide to draw them out of the treasuclearing a nd t he n go back when it is vacant. Ifgroup is loo ting the t reasure, o ne c ha ra ct er c anvolunteer to move away, block any monsters he atracts an d then ru n away during combat, leaving trest of the g ro up t o loot safely an d pay h im a co mmission. Most importantly, when things s tar t totoo hot, t he c ha ract er can just leave. Stayinaround to draw just onemore treasure is th e leadicause of character fatalities. Incidentally, potthat at a rate of two phases per day (one if you hidit takes a long time to dig treasures out of a cac lear ing, which gives the monster s a long t ime

gather.Treas ures c an completely change th e way acharacter plays the game. Each treasure confersadvan tage in some aspec t of the game, and ifcharacter get s a t reasure that changes on e ofweaknesses into a strength, i t can change the whobalance of power in the game. Treasures a re onlytools, however, an d a character must s tu dy h owt re as ur e s a dv an ta ge interacts with his owstrengths an d weaknesses to determine what tacthe should use to get the best use out of the treasurpart icularly when the treasure is interacting wianother treasure that reinforces or cancels i ts avan tage . -Sometimes a t reasure is useless tocharacter, either because he cannot use it or becauhis own s trengths a re super io r to the s trengthsconfe rs . I t may be very usefu l to another character

t ho ug h, a nd this provides a real motive forcharacters t o t ra de with (or p lunder ) each othewhich is another r ea so n why g ro up s a re h el pf ul( trading partners are always handy).

M os t t re as ur es als o h ave f am e an d notorievalues that s how a treasure s effect on its ownerreputation among the righteous an d tlawbreakers, an d s ho w h ow it c ou nt s t ow ar ds hisvictory conditions. These values are somewhat oposite, so treasures with a large value in ocategory often have a minus value in the otheCharacters thus have thechoice between holdingto (or discarding) treasures regardless of thvalues. Character s can a lso shuff le the t reasuresa r ou n d t o come to a balance of fame and notorietythat exactly fulfills their victory conditions.

Treasures can a lso be sold for gold, whichca

be used towards victory determination or ca nspent to buy items or hire natives. Natives ca n havaluable an d useful treasures for sale, as well as improved weapons, m or e a r mo r, a nd horses to cal oa ds ( to i mp ro ve a character s movement an dprotect the character in combat). Natives can abe h ir ed t o f ight f or a c ha ra ct er , to defend hi mcombat, to help him search, an d togo of f in raidigroups to prey on monsters an d characters while hstays safely behind. Friendly natives are a powerfasset who can turn useless treasures an d gold inuseful items and hi re d ar mi es . S o, a characterwise to operate in an area where friends are nearby,even if he has to wait at a dwell ing to stop wandeing friends when they appear. Hiring natives is a keyto success, especially for characters who areoperating alone or who have advantages in dealing

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PAGE S TH G N R L

ILLUSTR TIN COMBAT: Magic(Using Optional rules 2.1,2 .3 ,2 .6 ,3 .1 ,6 .3 an d 6.4)

Situation: The following characters end the day in the same Clearing, mov-ing in the order listed: White Knight, Woods Girl, Sorcerer, Pilgrim, BlackKnight, Witch King an d Druid (assume all weapons are ready side up). TheDruid an d Sorcerer are all ied against the rest. All of the magic users haveavailable the Spells and transformed color counters referred to in this ac-count, but none of them have prepared MAGIC counters.

First Round of Combat

Encounterstep The White Knight plays MOVE H4** to stop theSorcererfrom running away an d the Woods Girl plays MOVE L2** to prevent theDruid from running away. Then the remaining characters make the follow-ing plays , in the order listed:

Sorcerer: Plays MAGIC IV3* and a PURPL counter (transformed IV5*)in his recorded FIERY BLAST Spell box.

Pilgrim: Plays MAGIC 14* an d a WHIT counter (transformed MAGIC16*) in his recorded EXORCISE Spell box.

Black Knight: P lays MOVE H6 to r un a way u no pp os ed ; he leaves t heClearing.

Witch King: Plays MAGIC VI2* an d a PURPL counter (transformedMAGIC IV4*) in his recorded TRANSFORM Spell box.

Druid: Plays MAGIC 112** an d a R Y counter (transformed MAGIC113 * in his recorded STONES FLY Spell box.

Melee step The characters mix and pick their ATTENTION counters, andselect their targets in the following order:

Woods Girl: Selects Sorcerer

Druid: Selects Witch King, White Knight, Woods Girl an d Pilgrim. ThePilgrim s Spell is cancelled by the Druid s lower MAGIC time, bu t theWitch King s MAGIC counter is as f ast as t he Druid s, so his Spell is notstopped.

Pilgrim: His Spell broken, he chooses the Druid as thetarget for his Staff.Sorcerer: Selects the Witch King, White Knight, Woods Girl and Pilgrim.

White Knight: Selects Sorcerer.

Witch King: Selects the Sorcerer, stopping his Spell.

The plays:DruidAttack: MAGIC 112·· in ThrustManeuver: MOVE L 4 i n DuckWoods GirlAttack: Ready bow, FIGHT L 4 in ThrustManeuver: MOVE L 4 in DuckPilgrimAt tack : S ta ff , F IG H T M 3 · in SmashManeuver: MOVE M5 in DuckSorcererAttack: noneManeuver: MOVE M4· in Dodge

White KnightAttack: Ready sword, FIGHT H6 in SwingManeuver: MOVE H6 in ChargeWitch KingAttack: MAGIC VI2 · in ThrustManeuver: none

Determining hits T he D ru id hits all of his targe ts by undercu tt ing, theWoods Girl hits by undercutt ing (her weapon time is 1 ) , the Pilgrim hitsby un dercu tti ng, t he White Knight hits by m at ching t he Sor ce rer smaneuver direction and the Witch King hit s by undercu tt ing. No attacksare removed.

Resolving hits

1. The Druid s STONE FLY and the Witch King s TRANSFORM havethe greates t l ength and tie for fastest time, so they go into effectsimultaneously.

a . The Witch Kingro ll s 1, 1 on the TRANSFORM Table and the Sorcererturns into a Dragon.

b. The Druid rol ls 3, 5 on the MISSILE Tableagainst the Woods Girl, in-flicting Negligible damage ( L weight plus one star minus two levels for a 5 resul t) with no effec t. He rolls 2, 3 a ga in st t he Pi lg ri m, i nf li ct in gMedium damage that kills him. He rol ls 5, 6 aga inst the Whi te Knigh t,causing no damage. He rolls 2, 4 against the Witch King, inflict ing Lightdamage that kills him.2. Th e Woo ds Girl rolls a 5 on the MISSILE Table against the Druid, in-flicting Light damage ( L weight plus two levels for sharpness minus twolevels for the roll) , kil ling the Druid.

3. Th e W hi te K ni gh t i nfl icts H ea vy d am ag e ( H weapon weight-thesharpness does not count against an armored Dragon) which does not af-fect the Sorcerer/Dragon.

Fatigue The Whi te Knigh t and Woo ds Gi rl ea ch pl aye d t wo MOVEasterisks, so each fatigues one MOVE counter. The MAGIC and PURPL

counter played by the Sorcerer also fat igue. omments The Pilgrim was able to attack with his Staff because his Spellhad been cancelled. The Sorcerer could have attacked if he h ad ha d aweapon; he would have had to attack the character on whom he ha d placedhis ATTENTION counter (while ignoring the rest of his multiple targets).The way things worked out, he would have attacked as a Dragon insteadof with his weapon.

Second Round of CombatThe Woods Girl and White Knight run away.

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P G TH G N R L

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By Richard Hamblen

THE G N R L

ADDITIONAL RULES SYSTEMSFOR MAGIC REALM

P G

M GI RE LM is a very f lexible game tha tcan be modified fo r a number o f different pur-poses: solitaire play combining game sets onelarge game etc. The sections below provide rulesfo r modifying the game fo r these purposes. Playingaid charts fo r these and other rules are included

this issue s special insert.TH E DEADLY REALM

Player s who have become familiar with t hegame mechanics will find that they can defeat or ru naway from nearly any monsters or natives that theymeet in the game. Monsters should not be such patsies, so as soon as you start feeling nonchalantabout running into enemies make the followingchanges in the rules:

THIRD ENCOUNTER1 Al l Medium an d Heavy monster counters areturned darker side up at the start of thegame and atthe s tar t of each month).

2. D ur in g combat, when a character divides themonster counters on his sheet into threegroups an dplaces them in the white A TT ACKING NONCHARACTERS boxes, t he at ta cki ng c oun ter smust be divided as equally as possible between thethree boxes. The character can still choose exactlywh ich c ou nt er s go in ea ch group, but the largestgroup can have at most one counter more than thesmallest group.

FOURTH ENCOUNTER3. T he L OS T C IT Y an d LOST CASTLE counterstrigger monsters just like Sound counters, exceptthey trigger all of the monsters pictured in their sections of the A P PE A RA N CE C HA RT. After acharacter ends his turn an d f inishes placing themonsters that appear due t o S o un d counters in histile, ifhe is in the LOST CITY s tile all LOST CITY

monsters still in the MONSTER ROLL row are triggered and appear in the LOST CITY S Clearing; ifhe is in the LOST CASTLE s tile the remaining active LOST CASTLE mon st er s are placed in th eLOST CASTLE s Clearing.

FIFTH ENCOUNTER4. All unhired natives are turned darker side up atthe start of the game an d at the start of each month.5 All a tt acking nat ives and their horses) on acharacter s sheet must be divided equally among theATTACKING NON-CHARACTERS boxes as ifthey were monster s. see rule 2 above) If a nat ivean d horse an d monster were al l a tt acking , eachwould have to be p laced in a d iffe rent box .

SEASONSThe TABLE OF SEASONS lists the 13 seasons

of the year in the Magic Rea lm. Each season lastsone lunar month an d modifies the game s rules during that month. Procedure: Before the mapboard is constructedin a gam e, roll t wo dice a nd t ot al them; the gamewill s ta rt o n day 1 of the month/season whosenumber on the TABLE OF SEASONS matches thenumber rolled, an d thereafter the seasons fol low inthe order they are listed, on e season per month.2. Effects: Each season s effects are indicated onthe TABLE OF SEASONS.2.1 On the 7t h day of the month the color magicnamed for theseason is ineffect instead of the colorn am ed o n the PERSONAL HISTORY sheets.2.2 Thenumber of MOVE phases required to entereach Mountain Clearing changes from season toseason an d is l is ted for each season.

2.3 Th e manner in which campaign, mission an dvis itor counter s a re set up and used changes fromseason to season.2.31 At the start of each month these counters mustbe set up as descr ibed for that month/season.2.311 Counters listed under Dwellings o r L oc at ions must be p laced at those locations on theb oa r d, a nd counters l is ted under Boxes must beset up in the named boxes on the APPEARANCECHART, in the row numbered 6 .2.312 Counters listed u nd er C on ti nu in g C ampaigns are set up at the named locations and boxesonly if the game is just beginning. If the game isa lready in progress when the season s ta rt s, thesecounters remain where they are at the moment.2.313 Counters that are no t l is ted for a season areou t of play that month.2.32 If mission to an d a d es ti na ti on a rel is ted for a counter, that counter can be taken tothat dest inat ion for gold l ike a normal mission.2.321 A counter must be delivered to the destination named for i t that season; destinations named inthe rules or in other seasons are ignored.2.322 The shortest route to the destination and thepayoff 2 gold per Clearing)are calculated when thecounter is taken. If no route exists or the destinationhas no t been tu rned up, the payoff is automatically30 gold.2.323 The counter is delivered an d the character ispaid as soon as he ent ers t he C lear in g wher e t hedestination is located. The counter remains therefor the res t of the month.2.324 Failure to deliver a counter to its destinationcosts 10 notoriety points.2. 33 A vis ito r m us t be in a character s Clearing forthem to t rade. A visitor cannot trade when he is of fthe board, being taken to a dest inat ion.2.34 Campaigns do not automatical ly end eachm on t h. W he n o ne season ends and another begins,all campaigns listed under Continuing Campaignscontinue.2.341 If a c ha ra ct er h as a c am pa ig n li st ed under Continuing Campaigns at the start of a season, hemust keep that counter an d continue the campaign.He is commi tted to k il ling all of the campaign senemies again including any that revived at theendof the m on th ) a nd mus t pay t he campaign s costa gai n a t t he e nd of the m on th i f he fails. H e m us tpay the campaign s cost each month tha t he fai ls tokill its enemies.2.342 When a character succeeds in kil ling the lastof his campaign s enemies in a month he candiscardthe campaign if he wishes, placing it at the startingl oc at io n lis ted f or it that season. If he does no tdiscard i t immediately he must keep it until the endof the m on th a nd i nt o t he next m on th , i f i t continues.2 .343 A campaign automat ical ly ends a t the s ta rtof a season in which it is no t listed among the Continuing Campaigns .

2.4 The four wea ther counter s have d iffe rent effects in different seasons. Each season lis ts the effects that each weather counter has.2.41 Weather determines how many days arein theweek an d how many phases a re in each day.2.411 If there are fewer then seven days in theweek, the los t days a re sub trac ted f rom the beg inning of the week. Thus, in a week with five days thefirst two days wil l be crossed o u t a nd skipped overan d play will start on the third day.

2.412 Each day has the indicated number of phasinstead of the normal four phases per day focharacters who stay ou t of caves. The limit in cav and for the Dwarf) remains at two phases per dregardless of weather.2.42 Weather determines where bonus phases cbe recorded an d executed that week. B ot hnumber of bonus phases an d the types of Clearinwhere they can be recorded an d execu ted aspecified; to record an d execute a bonus p ha secharacter must be in the proper type of Cleariwhen he records i t an d he must bein theproper tyof Clear ing not necessa ri ly the same Clear ing,however) when he executes it.2.43 Weather c an ca us e c ha ra ct er s t o woundfatigue one or more counters each day of that weWhen a character starts his turn he must immediatly wound/fatigue the number of counters indicateby that week s weather; if the weather inflicts thwounds/fatigue only in cer ta in types of Clearian d he is no t in sucha Clearing, he does no t losecounters unless an d until he enters such a Clearing2.44 Weather can prohibi t all of the charactersthe game f rom P E ER IN G o r H I DI NG for a wee3. Explanation of the TABLE OF SEASONEach season s effects are l is ted across the seasonrow of the TABLE OF SEASONS.3.1 The MONTHLY SEASONS column givesseason s name an d number an d describes it briefl also names th e color magic on t he 7 th d ay an dnumber of phases required to ent er a MountaiClearing.3.2 The CAMPAIGN COUNTERS column lthe starting locations of the campaign, mission avisitor counters that season, indicates which can bt ak en t o destinations for gold an d identifies whicampaigns continue.3.3 The WEATHER section is divided into fcolumns corresponding to the four weathcounters. When a particular weather counter comup at the s ta rt of a week, cross-index its columwith the season s row to determine th e weatherfects that week.3.31 The entry gives a one-word description ofweek s weather.3.32 The entry indicates how many days are inweek an d how many p ha ses t he re a re each d ay Normal ind icates a seven-day week and fophases per day.3.33 The entry indicates in parentheses) how mabonus phases there are each day that week an dtypes of Clearings where they can be recorded aexecuted.3 .34 The ent ry ind icates italics any specialfects that week-whether HIDING or PEERINGforbidden, the number of counters that mustwounded or fat igued each day, etc.

SOLITAIRE PLAYTo play an ENCOUNTER by yourself , use

normal rules f or t ha t E NC OU NT ER plusmodifications given below. Use optional rules athe special solitaire optional rules g iven below ayou wish.

Modifications: Setting Up theMap: Set up the BORDERLANDfirst an d the CLIFF adjacent to it. Then shuffleremaining tiles an d stack them in random ordwithout looking through the stack, an d play eatile in turn f rom the top of the stack subject t o

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P G

normal rules except a V ALLEY tile cannot beplaced adjacent to a W OO DS o r VALLEY tile ifany other legal placement possible. If a tile cannotbeplayed legally place it at the bottom of the stack;if unplayable tiles are left over at theend pick up thewhole b o ar d a n d start over. Warning Counters: Set up the WarningCounters normally b ut do n ot turn up the countersin the VALLEY tiles. These counters will be turnedup an d the Dwellings an d ghost s will be p laced in

them during the play of the game, in the same waythat CAMPFIRES are p laced in the WOODS tiles.3 Starting the Game: Pick any roadway that leadsof f the map and that also connects to theBORDERLAND an d enter along that roadway asyour first activity of th e game.4 Winning: You must fulfi ll the ENCOUNTER Svictory conditions within one month to win th egame.

Optional Solitaire Rules:Each rule indicates the earliest ENCOUNTER

in which i t should be used. These rules can be usedtogether or separately.1. Multiple Characters F IRST ENCOUNTER :

Choose any number of characters t h at y ou will usein t he g am e. All of the characters enter along th esame roadway, an d all of the characters must fulfillthe victory conditions within the t ime l imit for youto win the game.1.1 Killed characters re-enter along the same roadway the day after they are kil led.1.2 Special: These cha ract er s mu st Block eachother whenever they get the chance. W he n o ne ofthemends a phase of his turn in another s Clearingan d either of them unhidden or has found hiddenenemies , they must Block, each other. Note:Characters wh o are FOLLOWING-see th eFIFTH ENCOUNTER-cannot Block no r beBlocked.)2. H ir in g Characters THIRD ENCOUNTER):The characters you are no t using a re in t he g am e

an d yo u c an start using them during play-for aprice.2.1 Before the .game stack all of th e u nusedcharacters in r an do m o rd er , a nd each time a newDwelling discovered roll one die to see how manycharacters from the to p of the s tack are p laced atthat Dwelling. After t he l as t Dwelli ng ha s b eenplaced pu t any remaining characters at the INN.2.2 Whenever your character ends his tu rn at aDwel ling he can hire any or all of the charactersthere by subtract ing point s f rom his recordedFAME for each character he hires recording minusFAM E i f necessary).2.21 A h ir ed character remains hired until thegameends or until he removed from play.2.22 A hir ed character instantly removed fromp la y w he n he killed or the character who hired

him killed.2.3 You use hired c har acte rs just like normalcharacters, with certain exceptions.2.31 A h ir ed character does no t have to fulfill anyvictory conditions for you to win the game. He cancarry items an d record points normally, bu t all ofhis i tems an d points count as if they were carried/recorded by the character who hired him.These t ~ san d points are lost an d disposed of normally i f the character removed from play.2.32 Hired characters cannot Block or be Blockedby other characters, an d they c an n ot a tt ac k n o r beattacked by other characters.2.33 Hired characterscannot hire other characters.2.34 Hired characters have no Spells recorded atthe start of th e game. They must learn by readingrunes) any Spells they record an d use.

TH E EXPANDED REALMPlayers can combine their game sets to enhance

the size, ferocity an d richness of the Magic Realmthey are playing in. Players can also ad d extra comp o ne nt s t o the game to enr ich i t, as expla ined inthese guidelines. Combining Games-1 .1 Cer ta in cards an d c ou nt er s in eac h g am e setshould be marked with an identifying symbol, usinga different symbol for each set .

1 .11 TheTREASURE SETUP CARD,

the Dwellings, monsters, natives, square horse counters an dcampaign/mission/visitor c ou nt er s s ho ul d bemarked.1.12 Warning counters, Sound counters, Treasurelocation counters, LOST CITY an d LOSTCASTLE counters should be marked only on theircolored sides.1.13 All Spell cards, TREASURES WITHINTREASURES cards , the LOST KEYS card, Spel lBook cards, Artifact cards and Potion cards shouldbe m ar ke d o n their white sides only. Other cardsneed no t be marked.1.14 Other cards, counters and tiles need no t bemarked.1 .2 Dur ing ini ti al setup , some cards an d counterscan be setup anywhere an d some must be setup on

their ownSETUP CARDS.

1 .21 Al l of the t iles are dealt o ut a nd the board

constructed normally. The first BORDERLANDthat dealt out the first t ile played; subsequentBORDERLANDS are played like other tiles duringthe construction of the map.1 .22 All of the V Warning counters a re mixedtogether and one placed on each VALLEY tile.Similarly, all W countersare mixed an d placed onthe WOODS t iles , etc. All of the V counters areturned up an d the Dwellings/ghosts placed in theirtiles; each Dwelling/pair of ghost s mus t show thesame symbol as the V counter in the tile.1 .23 All of the S ou nd a nd gold Treasure locationcounters are mixed together face down an d five areplaced in each LOST CITY or LOST CASTLE section. The remaining counters an d the LOST CITY

an d LOST CASTLE counters are mixed togetherface down an d one placed in each t ile with sixClearings.1.24 All type I Spells are mixed together an ddistributed randomly to the appropriate locationson all the SETUP CARDS. Type II cards aredistributed similarly to their locations, etc.1.25 All small t re as ur es a re mixed t og et he r an ddistributed randomly.1.26 All large treasures are mixed together an d areused, with the treasure counters, to fill theTREASURES WITHIN TREASURES section oneach card. Then the remaining large treasures an dthe TREASURES WITHIN TREASURES cardsar e m ixed t og et he r an d distributed among theSETUP CARDS.1.27 Monsters, natives an d square horse couhters

are set-up on their own cards.1.28 Weapon, armor and round horse counters aredistributed normally.1.29 Campaign/mission/visitor ~ o u t r sar edistributed normally; they do no t have to be placedon their own SETUP CARDS.

1.3 When a counter or card taken from or retu rned to a SETUP CARD, the symbols determinewhich S E TU P C AR D it taken from or returnedto.1.31 The symbols on Warning, Sound andTreasure location counters indentify the card fromwhich ,appearing monsters are taken.1 .32 The symbols on Treasure location countersand TREASURES WITHIN TREASURES cardsident ify the card f rom which loo ted t reasures are

TH G N R L

t ak en . Simi lar ly, t he symb ol s on Spell Booand Art ifac ts ident ify the card conta in ing the irSpells.1 .33 The symbols on Dwellings identify the cafrom which natives are taken when they a pp ea r athose Dwell ings. Similarly, symbols on nativTreasure locat ion counters a nd T RE AS UR ESWITHIN TREASURES c ar ds i de nt if y t he caf rom which appearing campaign/mission/visitorcounters are taken.

1.34 The symbolson

monstersan d

natives identithe cards where they are p laced when they rev ive .Similarly, symbols on Potions identify where theare placed after they are used.1.35 The symbol on a native leader identif ies thcard where his group s box located. Similarly, thsymbol on a visitor counter indicates where his bo located. Items bought from or sold to a leadervisitor go to or come from his box, regardless ofsymbols on the items themselves.1.4 During play, symbols are ignored insomegamefunctions b ut n ot in others.1.41 A c ha ra ct er cannot have duplicate treasurcards activated.1 .42 A character can record the same Spell mothan once, as long as each time he records it helearns i t from a different Spell card. Each character

should note a symbol for each of his starting SpellDuplicated Spells all count towards the SPELLvic tory condi tion , as long as they can be Cas t.1.43 A mission can be delivered only to a Dwelliwith a matching symbol.1.44 If a character has a certain groupALLIES, he h as all such g ro up s f or ALLIES, eFor example, if Lancers are FRIENDS, all Lanceare FRIENDS; if Bashkars a re ENEMIES,Bashkars are ENEMIES, etc.1.45 Different groups of natives must be hired atraded with separately, even when they are in tsame Clearing. Two groups of Lancers in th e samClearings would have to be hired in separate HIRphases, for example.1.46 Conditional FAME can be acquired f r om a ngroup of the indicated type.

1.5 An y number of weather counters can be mixedtogether, bu t on ly o ne picked an d used eacweek.1 .6 On ly one MONSTER ROLL made each dait applies to all SETUP CARDS.1.7 Two Swordsmen trying to be CLEVER at tsame time roll to see who goes first.

2. Augmenting Games-2.1 Extra monsters, treasures, etc. can be a dd ed ta game without adding all of the other componentsas well. Ho we ver, t hese c om po ne nt s shouldadded in complete sets- i f one monster is addethen one whole set of monsters should be added,one treasure added then one whole set of treasuran d Spell cards should be added, etc.2.11 A set of monsters can be a dd ed t o a SETUC AR D j us t by doubl ing the number of monster

placed in each box . A third set can be added, triping the number of monsters in each box, etc. Noticethat the number of ghosts placed in t he D A NKtile affected similarly-doubled, tripled, etc.2.12 A set of nat ives can be a dd ed t o a SETUCARD in the same way, doubling, tripl ing, etc. thenumber of natives in each box. These natives can betreated in two different ways, as explained below.2.121 The added natives can be treated as partthe normal group in the box, so that together thecomprise one oversized group. The codes of the aded group should be changed so as t o n ot confliwi th the normal group s codes; the leader of tadded group changed to the next highest numbeafter the las t regular member, an d the res t of hgroup fol lows sui t in order. The ent ire group honly one leader.

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by Richard Hamblen

MAGIC REALM ERRATA ADDITIONS

TH G N R L

2.122 Th e natives can be treated as separategroupsthat are travelling together. Th e groups should bemarked to distinguish them, an d the added groupsar e given their o wn S ET UP C AR D where theirboxes are located. Toe groups must be hired an dtraded with separately.2.13 A set of treasures an d Spell car ds ca n beadded, but this requires another SETUP CARD tohold the treasures an d Spell cards in theTREASURES WITHIN TREASURES cards, Spell

Books and Artifacts. The TREASURES WITHINTREASURES cards, Spell Book an d Artifact cardsthemselves should be marked t o s ho w wh ich c ar dholds their treasures and Spells. T he n um be r oft reasures in the Treasure location piles an d in t henatives and visitors boxes are doubled, tr ipled,etc. b u t th e T REA SU RES W IT HINTREASURES, Spell Books and Artifacts boxes arenot increased.2.14 A set of Sound, Treasure location an d LOSTCITY and LOST CASTLE counters can be addedby doubling the number of such counters placed ineach tile, but this requires the addition of a SETUPCARD, a set of monsters to go on it an d a set oftreasures and Spells for the treasure locations. Th ecounters an d cards should be marked to show theircard.

2.15 Warning counters can be added, doubling thecounters placed, but thi s al so r eq ui re s a SETUPCARD, a set of Dwellings an d a set of monsters and a set of natives, if you want anyone to appearat the Dwellings), all of which should be coded tothe card.2.16 I te ms c an be added freely to natives boxes.

2 .2 O bv io usl y y ou can r ea rr an ge t he s et up ofcounters an d c ar ds as yo u wish, shi fting a fewmonsters or natives here an d there, etc. It is particularly interesting to have only one set of visitorsin t he g am e, f or e xa mpl e, giving them all of thetreasures an d Spells that would ordinari ly be scattered among several sets of visitors. All of the potions would return to them.2.21 Th e key point to remember when rearranging

t he se tu p is to mark the appropriate cards an dcounters to show which SETUP CARD they comefrom an d r et ur n t o see section an d followingfor a l ist ).2.22 Fo r ease of play, never use more than on eM ON ST ER R OL L per day an d one weathercounter per week. You re o n your own regardingplay balance when you start fiddling with th e setup.

DEVELOPING CHARACTERSTh e players may wish to keep their characters

from game to game an d have them gain in strengthdepending on t hei r success. Th ese r ules al low ap lay er t o keep a character from game to game anddevelop his strength.1. Th e Development section on the back of eachcharacter card is used. Th e f ir st t ime a character is

used he starts at his first stage of development, withthe appropriate combat counters, Spells an d equipment.2. D ur in g e ach g am e, ea ch character must recordan d acquire a number of victory points equal to thenext stage in his development. Thus, if a characterwas at his first stage of development he must recordand a cq ui re t wo v ict or y p oi nt s; a f ou rt h- st ag echaracter would have to acquire five victory points. Players who prefer longer games can agree to double or triple these numbers if they wish.)3. When a character fulfills his victory conditions,he wins an d the game is over.3.1 Each character who has survived without beingkilled gains on e combat counter. He gains one of

Continued on Page 32, Column 2

E S I I i N

Once upon a time there w s a game that tried toeat its designer .

From the start , MAGIC REALM was m ea nt t orecreate a small but complete fantasy world withenough b re ad th a nd depth to allow adventuring.This admirable ambition led into s trange bywaysfil led with hoary design problems like l imitedknowledge an d simultaneous movement , an d infested with game systems t ha t h ad never been seenbefore. Using novel game systems to slay wound?)the classic design problems was heady stuff, but the

very novelty of t he g am e systems c re at ed a newproblem.Th e new an d terrible problem was: how much

explanation is required for game systems that noon e has ever seen before? At t he sam e t ime , h owmuch explanation could be done without havingthegame-and its players-choke on the verbiage?And how many rules could be presented withoutmaking the game i nc o mp re h en si bl e a n dunplayable? Th e answers to these questions ha d tobe balanced against each other in the writing of therulebook, lengthening explanations to explain newg am e syst ems, p ar in g a wa y v erbi age t o keep t herules from getting lost and cutting ou t rules sectionsor whole rules to s impl ify the overa ll resul t. Expostulation, brevity and completeness had to bebalanced against each other, and t he r esul t was a

rulebook that was a compromise.With the benef it of hindsight an d the popular

response to the game, it is now clear that some ofour worries were groundless and that some of ou rcompromises were wrong. Th e new game systemsdid no t have to be treated so gingerly an d explainedin s uc h d et ail a nd so clumsily); t hey c ou ld h avebeen made shorter a nd m or e comprehensible, part icular ly with the a id of some charts . Th e spacegainedcould have been used to present the rules sections that ha d been d ro pp ed , a nd t o organize th erules so that they could be referred t o m or e easilyduring play.

With this information in hand we re planning torevise the rulebook in a second edit ion don t orderthis until w announce it is re dy we don t knowwhen it will be d on e a nd we ve hopefully learned

ou r lesson about making predict ions). The gamesystem is unchanged except for a few secondthoughts about particular details, bu t the rulebookwill be simplified an d reorganized, an d a l ot of additional material that was originally cut out sol itaire rules, combining games, extending playfrom game to game, etc.) will be pu t back in.

This art icle contains most of the new materialalong with some of the charts that present the rulesmore simply.

SECOND THOUGHTS AND ERRATAThese changes in the rules either rectify typos,

clarify ambiguities, reinsert rules that were deletedwhen the rules were simplified or correct contradictions and flaws that can arise in certain circumstances.

P G

LY S I S

SECOND ENCOUNTER

17.452 a nd MI SS IL E TAB LE : T he d am ag eflicted by a missile weapon decreases by three levwhen a 6 result is rolled on the MISSILETABLE.

17.464 Light damage that is inflicted directly oncharacter without striking armor automatically if licts a wound.

Optional Rule 2.2: A dagger has negligible weight,one sharpness star, tooth/claw weapon length ano weapon t ime, whether it is readied or not.

THIRD ENCOUNTER

Optional Rul e 3 .1 All Tr ol ls an d Vi per s a re amored an d get th e armor bonus.

FIFTH ENCOUNTER

41.5233,43.333 and MEETING TABLE: Changethe explanation of th e GIFT result to read: GIFIf you are TRADING, the i tem is free and costsgold. If you are HIRING you payno gold to hirenative s), b ut i f you do hire them yo u must subtractheir value f r om y ou r recorded NOTORIETY.

Horse counter: Th e slow horse with no strength lter on its non-asterisk side should have T strengon that side.

SIXTH ENCOUNTER

49.31 D if fe re nt c ha ra ct er s c an r ec or d t he s am eSpell, bu t each character can record a Spell no mothan once -he cannot duplicate it.

49.32 When a character selects his Spells he csecretly transform any of his MAGIC counters incolor magic so he has color magic available atstart of the game. He must reveal these countewhen play begins.

53.331 A character can record a Spell only if he ha MAGIC counter of th e proper type t o C as t thSpell; he cannot record a Spell he cannot Cast ushis own counters. He can record a Spell if he hasMAGIC counter wh ose t yp e ha s been a lt er ed bWITCH S BREW, etc.) into t he t yp e n ee de dCast that Spell; the counter must be altered atmoment he records th e Spell.

53.332 A character cannot record a Spell that he halready recorded; he cannot record the same Sptwice.

53.4 A character can count a recorded Spell towarfulfilling his USABLE SPELLS victory conditiononly if at the moment he cl aims v ict or y he h as iplaya MAGIC counter of the proper type t o C athat Spell. He can use MAGIC counters whose typhas been altered by WITCH S BREW, etc.)fulfill this requirement.

FAERIE LIGHTS changes type III counters in totype II an d type VII counters into type VI as l is ton its card, instead of t he c han ges l isted in t hrulebook.DISSOLVE SPELL VI PURPLE) Spell, Instacauses the target Spell to be broken. cannotused against curses.

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P G TH G N R L

PreviousRank

Timeson List Rating

46. F. Sebastian 7 1649EHL 37

47. W. Scot t, J r. 8 1627FFL 4448. B. Hayden 5 1624HIN 4249. J . Rar ick 2 1617CFI 43

50. K MacDonald 1612EEK 45

ORDER BY PHON

TOLL FREE

R TOP 5

If your favorite game store does no t have thg am e y ou want in stock an d you have a valiAmerican Express, Master Charge, or VIScredit card, call ou r Toll Free numbe800-638-9292 from anywhere in the ContinentalUnited States except M ar yl an d t o place youorder. O ur p ro mp t mail order service will thespeed your o rd er t o you with ou r usual lightnind ispa tch. You must give t he order tak er thenumber, expiration date, and name of your credcard along with your order and shipping address.We s hi p UP S wherever possible. If y ou p re feParcel Post, be sure to specify this.

The Toll Free number is good o nl y f or o rd ering games or other merchandise f rom Avalon Hby credit card payment . No C.O.D. orders canaccepted. The operator will be unable to answgame questions or switch calls t o s om eo ne w hocan.

Maryland residents must call 301-254-530an d ask for extension 34. Absolutely no collephone calls can be accep ted. Th e Toll F renumber is no t valid in Maryland.

Rank Names

56

7

LongGame:

4

5

6

ModerateGame:

4

5

ShortGame:

Numberof

players:

SEVENTH ENCOUNTER

Advanced: Glory

n a Final Word: Playing t o f ou r victory pointsmakes for a fas t game, bu t it is usually more satisfying to ad d a point or two an d play to five or six victory points. This is particularly true when there ar ea lot of players , s ince the game tends to go fasterwhen there are more players; a game with a lo t ofplayers can actually e nd t oo quickly when they areplaying to only four points. You can set the victorypoints to any level you wish, but suggested levelsare:

week). He r,an choose the character who was justkilled or any other character tha t is no t being used.He must take his starting weapon a n d a r mo r fromthe destroyed armor counters, native groups boxesand/ or abandoned piles on the board in that order,if he has a cho ice) ; he cannot take them from othercharacters, an d if he cannot get an i tem he m us t d owithout it no subst itut ions a re a llowed). Impor-tant: Th e player must record new victory conditionsfor his new character, an d eachtime his character is

killed he must record an extra victory point so hew ou ld r ec or d t wo e xt ra p oi nt s if he we re killedtwice).

FIFTH ENCOUNTER

Advanced: 5.1,5 .4 ,5 .5 ,5 .6 ,5 .7 ,5 .8

Suggested Additions: 5.9 new)

5 9 Credit: When a character is rolling on the AL L Ycolumn of the MEETING TABLE to hire o r t ra dewith a native group, he can announce that he is trying t o bu y o n credit. He must announce this beforehe rolls, an d if he roll s a PRICE result an d choosest o t ake th e item he c an pay the ind icated price ingold any t ime within the next fourteen days counting th e day of the t ransac t ion as the f irst day);however, he must immediately subtract t he indicated price from his FA ME , a nd he does no t get

these FAME points back until he pays b ac k thegold-and if he fails to pay by the end of the 14thday he loses these FAME points permanently. Heca n p ay b ack th e gold any t ime he is in the sameC le ar in g w it h t he l ea de r wi th whom he ha d thetransaction even i f t he leader is under hire to someone else. If the leader is killed he can s til l be paidwhen he revives a t t he e nd of the month, as long ashe is repaid within the original fourteen days.

Optional: 5.2, 5.3

SIXTH ENCOUNTER

Advanced: 6.3, 6.4, 6.5

Optional: 6 .1 , 6 .2

4

5-8

9+CHARTS

A number of charts which summarize information already in thegame are included o n t h e insert inthis issue as a helpful playing aid. Players wil l alsofind a helpful compendium of frequently askedquestions an d answers on play of the ga me in t hesame insert.

CHARACTER CARDS

Swordsman: The Swordsman s BARTER ability is

to roll on e die instead of two when trading, as is

stated on his card . The s tatement in t he L IS T OFCHARACTERS is wrong.

Magician: At each stage of Development the Magic ian get s th e MAGIC counters indicated by thatstage s Spel ls-a t s tage two he ge ts a type I I counterinstead of a type VIII, an d at stage three he hastypes II an d II I instead of V an d VI.

OPTIONAL RULESTh e rules l is ted as optional in the rulebook are.

optional to different degrees. Some are parts of thegame system t ha t a re optional solely because ofthe complexities they introduce; these rules shouldreally be considered advanced rules that are leftout only when the players are learning t he g am e o r

when they wish to play th e simplest version of thegame. Some of th e rules refine the game system atth e cost of additional complexity; these rules aresuggested for those players w ho a re willing to pu tup with the complexity to improve the game. Finally, some of the rules are truly optional and shouldbe used only when they suit the players tastes.

E ac h o pt io na l r ul e s status is given be loweither Advanced , Suggested Addition or Opt io na I . S om e new rules are a lso presented , withtheir statuses.

FIRST ENCOUNTER

Optional: 1 .1 , 1 .2

SECOND ENCOUNTER

Advanced: 2 .1 , 2 .2 , 2 .3 , 2 .6

Suggested Additions: 2 .7 , 2 .8 new), 2 .9 new)2 8 Severe Wounds: When a character is struck bydamage exactly equal to his vulnerabi li ty, he is

severely wounded instead of being killed outright.He rolls two dice an d wounds a number of countersequal to double the number rolled on the higher die the lower die is ignored). This die roll is affected bySpells an d treasures tha t affect die rol ls general ly e.g., LUCKY CHARM .

2 9 A lerting During Combat: A charactercan playaFIGHT counter during the encounter step at exactlythe same time an d under the same restrictions thathe could playa M OV E c ou nt er t o r un away. If heplays the FIGHT counter he c an no t d o any otheractions that encounter step. If he plays th e FIGHTcounter then his weapon is instantly turned readyside up , an d is ready for tha t Round s melee step. Special: Th e Berserker can play his BERSERKcounter similarly during an encounter step to goBerserk.)

Optional: 2.4, 2.5

THIRD ENCOUNTER

Advanced: 3.1, 3.2

FOURTH ENCOUNTER

Advanced: 4.3

Suggested Additions: 4.1

Optional: 4.2, 4. 4 new)

4 4 Exchanging Characters use this rule in place of2. 4 Reviving): When a player s character is killedthe player can choose a new character an d start thegame over aga in at the start of the next day or

Optional Rule 6. 3 S TO NE S FLY mu st also beaimed.

SEVENTH ENCOUNTER

57.734 Th e WARLOCK pays bonus prices for theSCROLL OF A L CH E MY, n ot the SCROLL OFNATURE.

59.1 T he re a re f ou r weather counters, no t six.

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TH G N R L

EAST FRONT ASIDESP G

by 10n Mishcon

Jon Mishcon besides being one o f ou r mostvaluable play test sources fo r CROSS OF IRONwas the primary play test group head fo r the additional CROSS OF IRON scenarios a lluded tobelow. He an d his cronies Joe Suchar an d JohnKenower played all these scenarios extensivelybefore they were unvei led to the public last Aprilan d assuch is probably the preeminent authorityonthe subject a t hand. Scenarios A through D were aspecial insert Vol. 15, No 6 o f the GENERALwhich s s ti ll ava ilab le as a back issue fo r 2.00.Scenarios 101-110 make up the SERIES 100scenario pad an d is available from the parts dept.fo r 4.00 plus 4fft postage an d handling.

Th e goal of this ar ticle is to give players an insight into CROSS OF IRON play testing an d a handle on possible approaches to the indiv idual additional scenarios.

We I note the inherent contradiction of a s ol oplay tes ter-and hereby give ful l credit to my cotesters, 10 e Suchar, Mike Suchar and 10hnKenower) see two aspects to play testing. First is rulebusting-we all tr y h a rd t o abuse th e rules to win (I fth e rules don t specifically limit yo u then y ou a refree to do whatever). Ou r biggest problem here isthat we ar e all e nt hu si as ts w ho k no w t he g am e sowell we ve deve loped pre-conceived notions. Tohelp clear th e vision we occasionally just completelyreread the rules.

O nc e t he idiocy rules a re e li mi na te d, t h en wework on play balance. Our content ion is that agame is very well balanced when excellent play onboth sides yields no wider split than 60/40 . Hereinlies th e most delicate task of game development an di t fal ls enti rely to Do n Greenwood to evaluate ou ra nd o th er s results an d m es h t h em i nt o o ne finalp ro du ct . T h e l io n s share of credit (and/or blame)must rest squarely i n h is hands . Which leads me totactics.

First,I

mightsuggest

t h at n o on etactic in a wellbalanced SLICOI game should work every time. In

each c h ai n t he re s h ou l d be an ill-forged link an devery thrust should be s u bj ec t t o p a rr y. If it takesplayers months to discover-fine. (It took morethan 6 months fo r us to discover th e defense thatmade Scenario 7 pro-American). Therefore eachs ce na ri o will only be reviewed in light ofpossibilities fo r attack an d defense.

Scenario A-BurzevoWinter 1941 finds the pressure on th e Russian.

Th e keynote to this scenario is survival as th e German. T hi s p e rh a ps ma y b est b e accomplished bylimiting th e Russian advantages i .e., firepower

mobility) an d maximizing th e German advantages;defenders get f irst crack.

A German leader on the second floor of N2 withsquad a nd M MG (and possibly a DC for dropping)should discourage Russian tank leaders from longexposure an d yield excellent i l lumination. Considerplacing the 3 Stugs in V8, U9, and U I0 or Q3, R2and Q2 ready to edge into PO RO an d Q I) support

ing th e88

in e ithe r V9 or 01 or RI an d being supported by infantry with th e A TR an d at least on edemo charge, e ithe r around the T9 woods orb ui ld in g S3. B or e s ig ht all g un s in re al clo se an dwatch the Russian response.

Fo r th e Russians, t he o nl y fatal approach is totry to simultaneously kill both squads an d themajor w ea po ns . You m us t find the German weakp oi nt a n d use your L g un s an d superior armor topierce that on e point. Tr y to roll up th e defensefrom a h ole . I p er so na ll y believ e it s w or th t hr eeA FV s to tr y to overrun the 88, bu t rather than useeven o n e f o r that, look fo r a sneaky FT s ho t. D o nothesitate to try an d set woods af ire if spreading firewill rout the rabbi t s f rom their warren. If yo u wasteon e turn in this little gem of a game I hear it is a longwalk to Vladivostok.

I rate this game as 55/45 pr o German.

~ :

. ~ ;.ca. . . . . _. t

Scenario B-Hi l l 253.5This vignette of Kursk is a lovely demonstration

of the power of SLICOIto highlight larger battles.Th e Russians should be aware that th e Germans

have only 3 avenues of approach: R7-S8, R4-S4 an dRI-S2. Since th e Russians lack anti-tank mines,your only real chance to immobilize or destroy aGerman AFV is t o l u mp mines in on e hex. Considerp lacing 36 mines in perhaps R7 an d 4 mines in S8an d cover th e R8 woods with leader directed MGfire. Use your infantry in entrenchments as much aspossible in t h e w oo ds of M7 an d M4 an d considerho w well shielded 15 is fo r a las t turn advance sayfrom 16 to 15 o n t ur n 7 an d f ro m t he re t o either 14or K5 on turn 8). If yo u have artillery o r a n A T G o nM4 yo u are a long shot gambler; this hex covers a lo tof terrain bu t it is to o vulnerable. Wire in S3, R3,S5, S6, T5, an d perhaps 0 4 covered by entrenched

squads in Q4 (n o l eade rs here) , N3, M3, L2 an d N6will substantially slow th e German rush. An A TG in14 h as a v er y i nt er es ti ng ar c of f i re- the Germanma y ini tial ly ignore i t only to f ind i t covers cri ticalhexes. Play f or t im e an d don t hesitate to transferreserves to the more threa tened side.

Th e poor Germans ares tuck with AF V s that ar every powerful versus AF V s an d incredibly weak inmobility an d anti-infantry power. T he G er ma n iscompelled by this lack of mobility to pickone-repeat ONE -avenue. First , leave th e Elefant somewhere close to Z4 as a fire base, thenthrow a brave recce squad (read suicide) down yourchosen avenue. No w if it breaks in a lousy 4 minehex yo u gotta decide to send another the same wayor down a different la ne as a v er y t ri ck y Russianwon t hesitate to occasionally pu t 4 mines without

th e 36 mine hex behind it). If all goes well youthrust down, say RI , then u p o n to the second levTr y bringing in an offboard smoke shell concentrat io n s up pl em en te d by Engineer smoke- thencharge your best troops a 10-2, 9-1,8-3-8 an d 8-3stack is s up er f or d o- or -d ie j ob s) with close arm

support right i nt o t he damn N3 w oo ds . You c ou lddo far worse than to set t he w oo ds afire.

If you penetrate this first m or as s , y ou c a n thp u sh y o ur armor deep. Bring th e Elefant in on tr oa d a nd s mo k e t he hilltop and c ha rg e a g ai n o ve rthe crest. If the Sturmoviks an d th e Russian Fdon t get you, you ve wo n a real victory.

Rate 65/35 pr o Russian, bu t a lovely historicasituation. Players might wish to delay th e Russiareinforcements on e t ur n t o help play balance.

Scenario C Bukrin Bridgeheadlust f or f un , glance at Scenario 107 before yo

play this. Pressure again on th e Russians.German player should plan to win this on e wi

his reinforcements. If th e Russian armor is comm it te d p re m at ur el y, t he German ca n essentialthrowaway his light armor to immobilize th e Tan d d es tr oy t he T70 from in close. T h e G er ma nmight pu t his 10-3 an d two 8-3-8 s in 5C8 an d a 9

with two 8-3-8 s in 5F8 with a mi xPanzerschreck, DC, and L MG s. B ac ke d up251/10 i n 5CIO, 5F9 an d 5GIO they both block armo r motion an d are a very potent counterattackforce. Place all your armor behind woods all on oside suggest south side Board 4) an d all f lak, motars an d MGs beyond a 20 h ex radius of 2R2. If tRussian insufficiently defends his northern flankdon t hesitate t o m ou nt up two 8-3-8s an d a leadin half tracks and counterattack Hi1l621. The threaa lone may unhinge the Russ ian offense . Remembera n a r mo r l eade r with a 20L gu n gets 2 shots fo r imobilization.

Th e Russian must consider trying to sweBoard 4 from either N o rt h t o S o ut h o r viceversa.strong German force blocking the northern endBoard 5 is bes t contained b y f ou r or so squads with

a couple ATRs. Use 6-2-8s a long the hilltop of 6t o m an your weapons as th e German will be abledue l with you . Putting th e 9-2 with the 50 cal . Man d threesquads in 2R2has a lovely field of fire ana good chance to dig in on the first turn, bu t indirecfire weapons in th e 2S3 w oo ds a re very vulnerableto German mounted counterattack. Th e 62 hilltois safer bu t much more limited.

Sneaky Russians m ig ht w an t t o set u p t he A Tan d perhaps the artillery on 5FFO and push themto 5GG I o n Tu rn I . If all th e German armor is in tsouth of Board 4 an d all those H Ts a nd A Cs s ta rt t oscoot around, y ou c an frequently see them throughwheatfields and they can t see you. Look for tGermanto try an d draw your 50cal. fire to allow hsuddenly converging infantry an d light armoaround your T34. A lt ho u gh t he T 34 an d T70 mu

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advance beyond safe areas, I d work hard to coverthem with infantry fire. If your T34 is immobilized,the German reinforcements will be almost impossible f or your r em ai ni ng forces t o h an dl e. I t goeswithout saying that the judicious sacrifice of a fewsquads to desperately clear away Germans from 412may clear 4B5 even better.

Rate as 55/45 pro German.

Scenario Delaying ActionVery his to rica l, i .e ., very tough on t he Ger

lmans.As t he Germans you cannot hide away in n if ty

corners. You m us t t ry to kill two AFVs somewhereat the cos t of only one leader or squad. Isolatedsquads in, say R5, d ie to o easily b ut i f you try to in

lterlock fire, perhaps around K9, 16 15 H 2 a nd K2,th e Russians will pound you with those 122s at 5 hexrange. Obviously go for the T34s and don t waste aprecious AT shot at a 1S.

Russians will f ind this is more a naval exerciset h an a rm o r action. Set tanks in l ine ahead l ike old:ships-of-the-line. Whenever possible end a movewith ; guns right, Y guns left an d Y forward.:Don t hesitate to pound a woods hex ahead that youwill pass adjacent to. Don t forge t a wily German Can start in B7 an d advance hidden into A7. Takeyour t ime-you ve got scads.

Rate as 7 0/ 30 p ro Russian an d recommendplayers t ry i t with five T34/85s an d two lS withlooL guns.

SERIES 1

Scenario 1 1 11Scenarios 101-110 are , in fac t, a form of time

lapse photograph of t he E as t Front. If you lookcarefully at th e breadth of these games you ll noteth e tactical changes engender ed by changi ngweapons and growing losses for both s ides. Inscenarios dealing with the ear ly 40s, the Russianplayer ma y best accomplish goals by concentratingoverwhelming power a t o ne p oi nt while the Germans use superior leadership to orchestrate smallmobile teams into a multi-purpose threat. As t hecampaign ages, the German l eadership edgedwindles and the advantage of flexibility shiftstoward the Russian. By considering each scenario inthis light, players ma y gain insight into play an d seehow well the play mimics history.

Scenario 1 1 Blocking Action At LipkiThis peek at Barbarossa is not a s lash ing ar

mored advance . Rather, we glimpse the suddenrecognition shock of German armored mechanicalinferiority an d how difficult it is for the Russians tocoordinate their forces.

Th e Russian p layer will in essence d ic ta te theflow of the game. He may decide to op t for e ither apure northern or pure southern flanking move. Any

a tt em pt t o spl it the Russian forces should lead totheir easydefeat . I tend to favor the northern move.Usin g y ou r BT7s, m ove qu ick ly t ow ar ds 2F8

with thetrucks next in l ine followed by the T24 an dKV. If you hold back your attack till the KV can bebrought to bear you will be fac ing an entrenchedopponent who threatens to zip into your rear.Rather, I suggest goingin with the BTs an d T34 supported by on-foot infantry advancing behind the4 AA9 -4 FF6 he dg er ow. Try t o l oo p around thestone wall at 4Z1 an d constantly th rea ten to exit.However your t rue a im should be to try and kill 10German s qu ad s. As t he German moves A FV s t oprevent your exit, concentrate on his a rm ed H Tsa nd M ar k I ll s. As the f inal coup, don t hesitate touse the fat KV to overrun a woods or building posit ion. Balancing the threat of exi t with the actua l

killing of Ger mans shoul d lead t o victory-butdon t be surprised if you are left with token strengtha t g am e s end.

The German player must be energetic. If theRussian splits his force, don t hesitate to throw allyour mounted forces against his weaker flank. I likean 8-1 with a squad and two LMG s in t he 251/l.Leave the 251/1 and the 251/10 back to give support fire as y ou r Mk Ills m ov e i nt o t he 7-14 hexrange ehin the Russian AFV. If the Russiansro tate to face you, the 251/10 goes for side/ rear kill(or the tracks) . The K V is particularly susceptible tocircling attacks.

Assuming that the Russian is uni fied , let h imcome to you, bu t the wheatfields, walls an d hedgesmade a final exit stand chancey. You ll quickly seethat attempts to get hull down in4YI are negated by

t he Ru ssi an h ol di ng 4Z8. If you put t he 2 8L Lanywhere other than 4XI you must suppor t i t withinterlocking AT fires ( or else y ou r o nl y g un willquickly develop tread-mark overlays) . I do likethe 28LL in 4X I with infantry dug in at 4Z0.Everyone else stays flexible an d as f ar f or wa rd aspossible. The Russian will come in; takeyour defensive shot then fal l back and make him come again. Iknow it s p ai nf ul t o give u p PREP fire, b ut y ou rbest differential is always in defensive fire advancing fire. When Russian superior firepower starts tochew you up an d time is running o ut , i t s perfectlyacceptable to pull back an d drive the Mark IVs intot he wo od s a t p er ha ps 4 WI an d 4Z0 or rear hexeslike 4RO an d 4PO, and wait for the Russians f inalcommitment.

Rate thi s as 55/45 pr o Russian.

THE GENERAL

Scenario 1 2 Slamming Of The DoorDeeper into Russia an d the German is bad

strung o ut . G er ma n players should carefully readthe victory conditions-then read them again. TRussian player must cross openground to get to yso you re al most sure t o eliminate two f or one.However, if you gather together into any kindstrong defensive groups the T26s will roll on to pyou , force you out, an d then his infantry will cyou up. Concentrat ions of leaders an d squads wdraw tanks like flies. How t he n t o cope?

VICTORY CONDITIONSI II w in. the i n m a n r l a\ n must eliminate tw ice as man\ Russian syua

and l lr erl \\S as he Illses himsel land a\ l l id the Russian \ ic t l ln cllnditillf the Russian r la\er eliminates ~ (ierIll;ln syuadsand llr c r l \ ~ s .re,l ard

III his own losses. he wins. An eliminated A ~ . \ lld crew ellunts as : syuaeliminated An el iminated AFV whose crc\ \ suni\e. eounts as I syuad. Aother rcsult is a dra v\

Start way back and spread way out. This will dmand th e Russian advance as far as possible. Tr yhave an alternate cover hex to move to when tT26s stop in your hex. Allowing for 1st turn movment hexes B7, 18, N8, R7, T8 an d X8 are all possble. Use t he SP guns to support your un tt ked

flank. Play for t ime an d always shoot at leaders.crummyshot a t a Russian leadermay make the Rusian more cautious than a fair shot at seversquads. Don t waste your infantry defensive firedetracking T26s. Save your shots for infantry.

Th e Russian s temporary blessing of unopposedarmor must be pushed to its ful lest . Speed T26d own the road to 4G4 and 413. If the Germanbunches up, drive a T26 atop him an d in all adjacencover hexes. Use your tracking infantry to bust tdisplaced defenders. If at all possible, save a T26two to load up squads (with molotov cocktails) fopanzerblitz assaults. Th e Stugs are par ti cu la rlyvulnerable to combined infantry-tank assaultYour T26s will have n o t ro ub le with the Stugsthey come to you but even at 5 to 3 odds will havrealtrouble attacking them without aid from infantry.

As to Russian infantry placement, I like puttinthe 8-1, three 4-4-7s an d a MMG in 5W l whih ol di ng five s qu ad s b ac k fo r f la nk in g an d tanusage somewhere in your backfield. Move partyour forces through the 4H I woods, leap into t415 woods, then link arms (shouting URRAURRA) and cross the open ground. Youmust movfast because once the Stugs arrive, if the Germaisn t already on the ropes, they will t ake up mutualy supporting positions with th e remaining Germainfantry and the combination is very tough tbreak. Don t forget one prisoner is worth two kills

I rate this scenario 50/50 with much dependinon the turn of entry of the Stugs.

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Scenario I03-Bald HillThis scenario shows the essence of mobility ver

sus stolid firepower. Th e Russian player quicklysees there are only 7 approaches to Bald Hi ll . Th esignificant hexes are 2F8, 2K9, 2L7, 207, 2R6, 2R4an d 2R1. Your 122Ls are not sufficient defenseagainst a frontal assault b ut i f the German tries tooutflank t he g un s y ou won t have the mobil i ty to

reform your l ines. I t ry to use my AA guns to limitearly German mobility an d pul l i t of f the heightsonce th e German can bring a ny g un to bear on it.Sugges ted hexes for the AA include 2F7 2S7 or2Q6. I keep my ATG o n th e heights till it s shot off,looking for long range fire versus open to phalftracks with leaders. Block two avenues (Rl/S2and R4/S4 are good) with roadblocks and pu t wirein the approach woods around th e roadblocks. Thiscomplex must be covered by infantry (perhaps inthe R3 woods. Don t put any weapons with a 360 0

arc of f ire in the bunkers (Note that a German tankin 2V8 c an k no ck out th e super bunkered gun at2N5 without any possibility of return f ire) . Onceyou ve set your defense, be ultra cautious aboutshifting. Th e German will almost al ways h av e ashot at moving troops.

German players should get a lo t of mileage ou tof holding your three trucks with matching squadsan d the 8 1 leader of f board 4 as a threat. Even ifthey never move, this fleet in being cannot be ignored. Moving the heavy and medium MG with onesquad an d th e 9 1 leader to hill 522 will essentiallyparalyze Russian movement on the southern 2ndlevel of hill 621. Consider moving th e Mark II withthe 8 1 armor leader to e ither Hil l 522 or 547 toforce th e 37 AA of f the crest. If th e Russian hasdepended entirely upon his 122Ls to guard his frontt ak e y ou r lumps (and t he g un s) by d ir ec t as sa ul t. .You ll find the Russian has great difficultycounterattacking uphill.

More likely the Russian will have enough infantr y and support up front so you ll be forced to loopy ou r h al ft ra ck s through 5U4 and y ou r t an ksthrough 5GG 1 Lead with your tanks to knock outth e ATG. After the AT G is gone, take your entiremounted force and fight mount u p o ne avenue.There is nothing wrong with ignor ing defendingstacks if you can get up the rear slope of Hill 621.You should find your bunker assault from the rearfairly easy while tanks and long range MG holddown counterattacks.

Th e 8-0 leader an d radio is tempting to move into 3N2 bu t th e Russian quickly learns to indirectbore sight that hex . As a second choice, Hil l 522 is

excellent. Don t forget off-board smoke potential.

I rate this tense game as 5 5 bu t suggest thatplayers allow bunkered guns to be given 0 level armo r t o prevent t he 2 0m m popgun from knockingou t naval gu n turrets.

Scenario I04-Penetration Of RostovThe Russian temptation is to set up loads of

dummy positions interspaced with cute traps ofNKVDers. Forget it T he G er ma n firepower willgobble up the penny pockets en passant and throwyou out of Rostov fas t. Your bes t bet is to pick asection of town, defend it with 90070 of your forces,then use 10070 to slow the German down and makehim look. A strongcase maybe made for defendingalong Q3, Q4, N4, N5, P7 an d P8 with a MMGposition on SI (check LOS from SI. The only northern covered hexes which may fire on i t a re T4, T2,U2 and BB2) with perhaps a sniper at WI but Iprefer th e upfront defense.

Our maximum upfront defense is snipers in FF6and FF3, MMG at Y3 bored onto FF3, MMG atAA7 bored onto FF6, infantry positions in Y5, BB4and mines in CC7, DD7, DD3 an d CC3. Th e finalsquad might go to D4 or K7 for a turn 7 advance.(Once the German kn ows t he sn ip er t ri ck , h e' llalways lead with recce squads.) Plan to defend on etown section 60070 of the t ime an d the other 40070

Leave dummiesin the old positions to confound th eattacker.

T he G er ma n should plan to doubletime reccesquads through the woods if i t looks as if the Russian is strong up front . If the woods are clear, prolong the guns into the G G4 a nd GG7 woods, alongwith the H MO a nd be prepared for a slow firefight.By working slowly on one bui ld ing, you can c learone flank an d push t roops deep while envelopingother strong points. Letyour guns an d tank shoot itout with the Russian infantry. Withholding infantry an d leaders (see German setup instructions) permits rapid truck movement in if you get faked out. Ilike truck mounted infantry anyway, as it forces theRussian to commit fire early. Don t be afraid ofsnipers, as long as you don t lead with your 9-2leader. Th e likelihood is that a sniper will only getone shot in this thick terrain.

Play balance rated as 5 5 with again muchdependent on the turn of entry of the tank.

Scenario lOS-Night Battle At NoromaryevkaA German player should find almost no reason

not t o p ut two functioning AFVs on 3K7 and 3J7.Putting leaders on 3K7 an d Hill 522 will allow early

P G

flare placement and they re easily pulled back. Thdecoys may be of some small assistance if you concentrate all four remaining AF V s around 304 andon t take a defensiveshot. I like to screen the towwith perhaps a squad in 3Q7 and 3S1 while dropping every th ing else around t he 3N 1 b ui ld in gGiven a couple of PF s in 3S1 and th e inabilityRussian infantry to undertake a wide flankinmove, y ou l l p ro ba bl y end up f aci ng a frontaassault across open terrain.

Russians must pick their ini tial axis of attactrying to think three moves ahead . Your infant rycan t keep up with a wide sweepingmove to the weand a s tr ai gh t d ow n a ssa ul t f ro m th e north wleave you as f la re l it t arge ts for hul l down Germagunners. A reasonablecompromise is moving alonthe west of Board 4 then through the 4LI0 woowhile y ou r t an ks go over a nd a ro un d Hill 522.possible hold at least on e mounted 6-2-8 back fo rdash-in assault . While concentrat ing on the twstory building, don t lose t he g am e to the louscreening squads. How best to approach th e 3Nb ui ld in g will solely d ep en d on German troopdisposition but don t ignore Board 5.

Play Balance rated as 55 45 pro German.

Scenario 106-Beachhead At Ozereyka BayA tru ly powerfu l attacker versus a t ru ly wea

defender but like the ancient Spartans,defenders have terrain an d t ime s trongly in thefavor.

Fo r the Germans there is little choice, in generaterms, for their defense. Everything must supporas much as possible, everything else. Th e 8-0 leadwith radio is best placed on Hill 522. Hide a c ocealed squad somewhere in town, perhaps in 30 53S1 with all the res t of your concealed counters itown. Place both artillery pieces along the 2P3-2R2ridge while splitting your remaining Germansquadsbetween 2H3 an d 2J 4 so that wh en ( no t if) t hebreak they have easywoods access. I tend to prefboth remaining German leaders up front exposinperhaps the 9 1 at 2H3 an d holding the 8 1 in2L3 woods. Leave your Rumanians to fend entirefor themselves. My suggest ion would be to leayour west flank covered by the guns and concetrate your dispersed Rumanians along Board

The Rumanian might profi tably post entrench

ments in 5EE1, 5FF3 an d 5FF4, while start ing i5FF1, outsi the entrenchments in5FF3 an d 5FFan d l as tly 5FF7. Obvious ly MGs belong onf lanks while you advance phase up o ne s qu ad a tt ime f rom the gul ly. Th e entrenchment positioni nt er est ing . By m ov ing i nt o t he w oo ds at 5GGyou ll be beyond Russian MMG range an d moviinto the entrenchment makes you tough to hit wthe pesky 50mms. With reasonable luck, your lwill last into turn 4.

Fo r the Russian I must advise you break sevecardinal rules to have a shot at winning this gamBut we re at the '43 turning point, aren t we?

First divide your forces Unless you re indinately lucky, you will not have time t o b ot h crut he g un s an d exit 5 squads. I t en d t o pu t sevregular squads an d one l eader in 406, 4N8 a

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h im se lf , Wil l I throw in with the west? Do I trustHerr Hitler? Wil l I be safe with th e Soviets in theBalkans? Will the Allies renege when I' m up to myears in Moujiks? Perhaps the answer to thesequestions, an d in fact what q ue st io ns m u st beanswered, is again intimately bound up with what acountry m ust d o to win.

This will bring us d ow n t o t he n uts a nd b ol ts o fcapabilities an d possibilities.

To reprise then, players inTHIR REI Hwho

take th e game at t he o bv io us , f re qu en tl y setinordinate an d usually unattainable obstacles infront of themselves. If we assume that the diplomatic ar rangements made an d arrived at during th e wa rare inevitable then of course there is nothing else tob e s ai d.

Bu t ou r game presupposes that as H it le r y oumight NO T be a m a dm a n, o r as Stal in no t a viciousp ar a no id , o r as Churchil l only desirous of keepingBritain named Great Britain, or as Roosevelt youwon't die untimely. On e of the mos t a t tract ive part sof the game is no t the ten varian t s, but the ability ofplayers to rewrite history through alternate arrangements an d policy. The examples of the time prove many of these

points. Spain w as a f as ci st p ow er, b ut it di d NO Tjoin the struggle against the west. Italy, up toMunich, wa s m or e s ym pa th et ic t o t he West thanGermany. There is nothing to have prevented Italyfrom NO T going to war. Ha d she done so she mighth av e s ur vi ve d th e w ar intact, an d followed thecourse of Spain. Italy, though a major Mediterranean power, wa s o ut o f he r league when she dealt withHitler. Of course, whatever arrangements are made,they ca n be reneged upon. Th e trick is t o m ak e th edeal so -attractive it cannot be reneged u po n. N o w t othe details,GERMANY o attain a d ec is iv e v ic to ry, G ermany requ i res e igh t Vic to ry cente rs . Sh e begins thegame with fi ve: Ber li n, Leipz ig , Breslau, Essen,A ac he n. T hi s means that sh e m u st a cq ui re an dretain until t he e nd of the game at least three more. Mirabla Visu - they ca n be found in Poland (andyo u thought Hitler wa s mad. He just read th erules ); Warsaw, Krakow and Lvov. But even better,i n 1941, t wo m or e fall in to thei r h a n d s Budapestan d Ploesti (all this a nd t ro op s too). In short,Germany does no t have to go far afield to get theirwin -bu t , of course , she MUST hold it . Keep youreye o n the bottom line What makes victory is no tyour panzers s lash ing Russia , Luf twaffe poundingLondon, or the Kr iegsmarine s ink ing ships . I t is ifyou main ta in those eight victory cente rs . Lose s igh to f t ha t a nd yo u will doom yourself to th e pursuit ofephemeral glory. Ah, but therein lies the rub.Germany ca n only afford to take thei r eight an d s it i fthey makear rangements with the other powers. An yarrangement with another power MUST providet h at t h at o t he r power a t th e en d of thegame is on to pw it h y ou . If yo u don't offer partnership in decisivevictory, y ou w on 't have a deal. Accommodation

with the Britain/ US will almost definitely meangoing one of tw o ways. Th e first an d easiest will beto ge t the west t o a gr ee t o roll o ve r o n F ra nc e an dg ive i t up almost dishonestly easy ( li ke a f ree trip toParis clear of even zones of control). Only by takingF ra nc e c an y ou a ll ow t he British to get around no tbeing able to take an allied c en te r. I n fact, th eG e rm a ns m u st t ak e t he m , an d then the British mustre take them l at er. I n effect, this sort of arrangementagrees t o c u t u p R u s s i a - i t h as b e en determined thatRussia wil l be the ma n left out. Britain will usuallyinsist on your rolling o ve r o n Italy in return. Th ef ina l t a lly will then look someth ing like this. Britainh ol ds F ra nc e, S pa in , E n gl an d, all of Africa, Italy,Scandinavia, Yug o sl av ia , G re ec e, an d possiblyTurkey or Persia for its 21, Germany holding th er es t. I t is the easiest to ar range because it is between

only two of t he p la ye rs , t he two player allies to bea xe d a re powerless to react against it (more so ifthere is no French or Italian player), an d th eRussian, depr ived of l end l ea se an d ai d from th ewest ( an o bv io us prerequisite) must fall to th eG e rm a n p ou nd in g. S ho ul d F ra nc e be a player, an din on the deal, it becomes more difficult asreplacement for t he t hr ee French centers must befound f or t he Allies elsewhere. Budapest or Ploesti,a nd b ot h Istanbul an d Mosul, will compensate, bu t

this is touchier a s t he y involve removal of Germanminor allies from th e m a p a lo ng with their troops,something th e Germans, hav ing given up so muchalready, should be very wary of. Should the Italiansa ls o b e in on the d ea l w it h t h e French, that is almostimpossible for their demands will remove six centers(their requirements of a decis ive victory) from th eAllied total. Th e only place to find these is SouthRussia, S ta li ng ra d, A st ra ka n, G ro zn y, M ai ko p,Dnepot rovsk and Karkov. (Shades of Deniken an dth e Whites) . As to th e feasibility in real life, th e firstis definitely so. Germany was quite prepared to sellits ally down th e river. After all, to Adolf, allies wereonly javelin catchers, an d he could have, afterdefeating France, set Vichy up and then re treated toGermany, hav ing been content w it h t he destructionof th e last vestige of th e Diktat of Versailles. No t

likely considering his personality, bu t a possibility.R e me m be r t o o t he a nt i- co m mu ni st b ia s i n th e

west (read a bout th e sent iment pr io r to thea t tack onRussia, an d especially that after the s ign ing of th eNazi-Soviet Pact an d t he t ru nc at io n o f P ol an d. )Remember that one of t h e r ea s on s for th e Allieda tt ac k o n N o rw a y wa s an a t tempt to bring a id t o t h eFinns in t he ir w in te r w ar struggle AGAINST th eSoviets. Landings at Petsamo and active operationsa ga in st t he R us si an s were contemplated. Volunt ee r u ni ts a n d m o ne ta r y ai d were sent by way ofSweden.

On th e other side of the c oi n, t he re is thepossibility of German rapprochement with Russ ia.This is less attractive in th e long run, bu t quite s o inthe short run. ( Th e s h or t r un if y ou i nt en d t o renege

on th e agreement and a t tack the Russians later). Int he s h or t t er m it allows you to concent rate all yourefforts o n d es tr oy in g o r neutralizing England , andwhen she is taken begin a punative an d spoilinga tt a ck o n R us si a. I n t he long term, keeping the dealwill mean a n um be r o f problems. S in ce R us si a is

prevented f rom at tacking Br ita in / US or France, itse ig ht c en te rs must be gained from neutrals. Th eneutrals in that a re a a re b ot h poor in centers an dtend to be G er ma n m in or allies. N or wa y a ndS we de n a re allowable, I st an bu l o r M os ul (if theAllies have not a l ready taken them, and since Mosulis a plum ripe to fall, depend only on Istanbul),Budapest, Belgrade, Ploesti ar e th e ones. B ut t he yinvolve certain unpleasant sacrifices. These a re t heencirclement of Germany-Poland by th e redmenace, loss of A L L m i no r Allies, thei r BRP 's , andunits, a t tainment of a base BR P level of 245 for th eSoviets, an d if your I ta l ian ally is a r ea l player, theforfeiture of th e areas of pr ime in te res t to HI M tothe Russians. If he is a non-player this is no t adifficulty. F in al ly, t h e German must realize thateven given Russian docility England is much harderto t ak e t ha n Russia.

Generally, then, most G erm an diplomaticarrangements will te nd to involve the dest ruc t ionand/ or partition of th e S ov iet U nion. But th eGermans must also look for possibilities in making adeal with France alone. A quie t and t rac tab le Francesecures Germany from direct invasion fa r more thana ton of units will do . Obviously the British/ UScannot invade France, so a ny a ct io n MUST BEagainst Germany directly by t he b ea ch es e as t ofBremen. No t an optimum site for Overlord. This is a

TH E G E N E R A L

valuable tactic, an d in fact is on e of the only onesFrench can use to counter a suspected sellout byBritish b ut m or e of th is l a te r.

But even more important than this is

G er ma n p re ca ut io ns t o p re ven t a n a rr an ge me ntmade dealing them out This will come primarilytwo variations. A direct straightforward Britain/an d Russian a rr an ge me nt ( Fr an ce willconquered and the game will be fought whistorical parameters). Second is an Italian sello

in return fo r Mediterranean concessions f ro m t hAllies. Loss of the t h re a t t o the Mediterranean wmean that th e British can concentrate all their powein E ng la nd m a ki ng Sea Lion impossible an dthreat of Overlord viable almost immediately upthe agreement. To counter either of these is difficuT he B ri ti sh / U S -S ov ie t is definitely a winnincombination (it did, after all , win). In most casthough Germany is defeated, the Soviets gain thvictory while the US / Bri ta in does not ( in r ea l lthey go t 9 to the Soviet 19, a marginal versusdecisive). Th e German must play on th is fear inAllies to his advantage. That isjust about a ll he hthat and threatening to purposely concentrate muchm or e a ga in st h im than the Russ ians . The Russ iancannot r ea ll y be bullied in thi s, a s t he y k no w t hehave the u pp er h an d, a nd unless the G e rm a ns a r

prepared to throw the game deliberately to tBritish/ US , will probably win no matter whatG er ma ns d o. As to the Italians, it is even modifficult. Frankly, by aligning with the German(unless they are pa rt of a n agreement workedwith Britain/ US or the Russians) all they really doensure that they will be attacked an d probabc on qu er ed . T he G er ma ns (as in real life) hanothing to really offer them. On th e other hanalignment with Britain/ US will gain ( as in one ofexamples ) more than enough victory points aB R P' s t o satisfy its requirements. Promises o f B Raid are nice bu t ephemeral. Th e Italians know twhen t he G e rm a ns get i nt o t ro u bl e in Russiawherever else they decide to get into trouble, theywelsh on th e deal an d keep them. Thenthere ' s the a i rforce a nd t he navy. They lose 'em, you rebui l'em. In s ho rt , a ny c om pe te nt Italian

player wknow all yo u wil l real ly do is take. Therefore, youmus twork on incu lca ting in him a fear that someonwill take more. H ig h on t he list a re t he Russians

BRITAIN/US-Foremost in th e British/ U S p la yer's mind should be th e fact that he ha s to achievthe most v icto ry centers to win. Any player whloses sight o f t ha t fact is b o th b ou nd to lose anwasting his time playing. Th e British/ US can realgo o nl y o ne of two ways-e i ther rapprochementwith G e rm a ny o r a r ra n ge m en t w i th R us si a. Boinvolve great difficulties. Arrangement with Russmeans a long, hard slugging match that mightenddefeat, a nd a lm os t c er ta in ly will mean less thdecisive victory. Arrangement with Germany wmean on t he o ne hand th e abandonment of All(France and Italy), or on the o ther hand , harvest ingyour victory centers in Southern Russia takeback by gratis from th e Germans . (He puts a 3

them an d you take it with armour a nd a ir forceRemember' tha t you begin th e g am e w it h s ev ecenters, and to win must ge t 4 more. Agreemenwith Germany means finding them in France, Itaan d the neutrals; or else, if these powers ar e in o n tdeal, occupying AL L OF R U SS I A A N D P O L A N Dor its equivalent. N ot a n easy task. (Re-establishTzar?) To balance this difficulty the British/ USprovided with by far th e most attractive itemsoffer to either of th e totalitarian powers. ToG e rm a ns t he y c an offer an abso lute ly free handRussia, an d NO BRP AID To th e Russians thcan offe r the second front which is really all thatgoing to save them from the Germans. (Not

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TH G N R L

necessarily the invasion, but the drain on front linetroops caused by the need to garrison the beachesan d capitals.)

Then Britain will have people c om in g t o t he mra ther than the other way around. As to a RussianGerman pact, these things really suit the contractingparties poorly an d ar e no t likely to last. f however,Britain expects it will hold then t he o nl y t hi ng f or itis t o tr y to unite F ra nc e a n d Italy. This is done byguaranteeing Italy's neutrality by concessions in the

Balkans an d all o ut s up po rt o f France.The most fruitful ground for negotiations an d

ar rangement though is Italy.Th e gift of a benevolent Italy is the gift of the

game. Cons ider. Wi th Italy neut ral (or friendly) allforces f ro m t he Mediterranean ca n be s tr ipped forhome defense and Europe . It means that the Britishan d the French can, between them, maintain six ai rflotillas, the equal of the Germans This alone willa lm o st e ns ur e t h at F ra nc e will never fal l. Withoutdecisive ai r superiori tythe Germans must bludgeon,not blitz. An y gains m ad e c a n be retaken in no costattri tion options. It means with the excess units thatthere can be NO Se a Lion, an d almost unlimited SRto the continent, with the French fleet doing half ofit an d the remainder of the British ready to interceptt he G er ma ns . In s ho rt , w it ho ut M ed it er ra ne an

considerations to worry about the best the Germansc an h op e f or is to get to the outski r ts of Paris by thetime t he A me ri ca ns ( or t he Russians) come in.

This will have further r epercuss ions . In a verygreat sense the s tance Italy takes will affect Russia.R us si a m ig ht be prepared to sell you ou t to theG e rm a ns u nd e r n or m al circumstances, bu t he wil lbe most unwilling to d o so if he knows the Germanswill not have I ta ly as their ally a nd a re so much theweaker.

Thus, i n ef fec t, l in in g I ta ly on your side wil lalmost certainly bring in Russia. he does not, thenhe must declare against Italy an d by default,Germany.

As I have said before, you have the most to offerItaly. C on ve rs el y, h av in g I ta ly o n y ou r side wil lmake G e rm a ny m or e willing to go east, young

man, go east. After all, no Africa Corps noI tal ian a i r force no fleets, etc.

RUSSIA-As the Russ ian player, y ou m us t neverlet one thing out o f your mind. That is that bothsides, Britain/ US a nd F ra nc e, a nd the Germans/Italians (or whatever combinatibn) have much moreto gain from seeing you skinned alive than not. Youmust be very wary for both camps will w an t t o dealyou down the river.

Face it, Ivan, you're NO T part of the Allies. TheBritish/ US would be more t ha n h ap py to see theGermans carve you u p i ns te ad of them, and theGermans would like that just fine. The other side ofthe coin is not so nice. Yo u could offer the Germansfreedom of ac tion to turn against the west, bu t thereare two serious flaws t o t ha t. T he first being that thewest is much harder to defea t than you. Th e secondis that you will require your victory centers from themost inconvenient places (German minor allies andthe Balkans). Th e most opportune d ea l f or you ispart of the aforementioned I tal ian sell out.

This will work because you provide a d ra g o nGerman forces during the years t he y a re fightinga lo ne a ga in st F ra nc e, a n d as such the Allies wouldvery much like to have you. Secondly, it is rathereasy t o t a k e t he cities in Poland and possiblya few inGermany to get your victory. On the other hand , ift he G er m an s m ak e t he deal with the Bri t ish, youarenot an o dd s o n favorite to survive. Generally then,in m os t a rr an ge m en ts , t he savior of Holy MotherRussia will be the Red Army. Skillful handl ing ofyour t roops is the on ly thing that will save you in theface of an ar rangement unfriendly to you. No t thatyou stand a chance of winning alone, bu t you might

induce the Allies to renege on their agreement withthe Germans a nd a t ta c k anyway. Generally thoughthe outlook in t he diplomatic f ie ld for you is prettybleak.

I would like to take a moment here to digress.Many players may cons ider this situation entirelyunrealistic an d biased. That it ma y be biased is true,that it is unrealistic is cer tainly false . As I have saidbefore, there was great anti-communist sentimentrampant in Europe pr ior to WWII. ESPECIALLY

IN FRANCE A N D E NG LA ND . In France therather strong showing of the communists in theelections of the '30 's scared the r ightis ts o ut o f theirwits. The revolving door quality of French governments o f t ha t t ime was due not only to ineptitudean d scandal but also to the absolute refusal ofmanyrightist an d centralist parties to have anything to dowi th t he communis ts , and further their refusal tohave anyth ing to do with an y party that would haves om et hi ng t o d o with the communists. The FrontPopulaire which gave France i ts only governmentof an y l ength in the '30 's was constantly plaguedw it h d is se ns io ns b et we en F as ci st , Monarchist,Bonapartist, Center ists , Liberals, Socialis ts an dCommunist parties. The government it providedcould thus be nothing bu t barely effective a nd n ot inan y sense adequate. (There were at last count

somethingmore than 390 separate parties in France,which I believe is m or e t ha n t he n um b er o f species ofcockroach). In England, although the party systemwas not as bad, the fear of communism to the muchmore numerous and wealthy upper middle (and forthat matter l ower ) c la sses a cc ou nt ed f or theresentment. Remember revolution appeals only topeople wh o have noth ing to lose. To a great extentthe French communists came from just this group.The Engli sh , even the lower c la sses, on the otherhand had a ver y g re at d ea l t o lose. T he n t oo therewas the British Foreign Service which must beconsidered truly elephantine in its m e mo ry o f thewithdrawal of Russia from World Wa r Th eBr iti sh knew t hey almost lost t he war in 1918because of that, an d their experiences with theWhite a rmies a nd the Bolsheviks left them wit h a

bad taste in their mouths. Further, for most of theinter-war yea rs the great f ea r wa s n ot o f G er ma nexpansion but of Russian. German rearmament andHitlerian bellicosity came only in the last five yearsbefore the war, an d the truly rabid stage bu t a rrleretwo or three. German demands in territory an dnational sovereignty were, when viewed from theprinciples of self-determination as expounded in the14 point s, ent ir ely l eg it imate, nay, even in v iew ofmuch of the Versailles provisions no t explicitlyaimed at Germany t he y w er e l eg it im at e. Ther ea rm am en t o f G er ma ny was both excused an dwelcomed in the west as a counter to the t hr e at o fSoviet Communism (Though it must be admittedthis attitude prevailed more in England than inFrance). Priorto Hitler the big bogeymanof Europewas the Russians. And it must be added in allfairness that the Russians did not help improve thep ic tu re . I t w as their age of unfeigned a tt em p ts a tworld r evolut ion. All nations were crippled bystrikes an d civil labor disputes which while in somecases were not directly sparked by the communists,they nevertheless tended to move in to the fore f ron tafter they got started an d c on st it ut e t he mostviolent , vocal an d visible elements. The Russiangovernment itself openly an d publicly proclaimedits i nt en ti on t o strike, d is ru pt a nd delay allworkings of the capitalist state. To p this off with thevivisection of Poland, devouring of the Balticstates,an d the Winte r War a nd yo u begin to wonder whyChurchill ever turned Hitler's deal down

In short, the game represents exactly thedifficulty the Russians would have in selling any sortof rapprochement with the west (p rov ided Hi tle r

P G

w an te d t o deal). Churchill said t h at t o defeat Hitlerhe would ally with thedevi l i fneed be, wel l hedid.the gam e there is little to gain from a Russiaal liance unless the Germans will not deal. Thcourse of history after the wa r has proven that thewas little to gain from an alliance with the Russianthen

AL Y I suppose I have always ha d a s of t spot

my heart for Italy, both historically an d in the gamThose beautiful off-white ships of t he Navy, thowonderful wonderfuls in t he R ei gn a Aeronauticathe laughable tanks . Ahh, al l t hi s an d cavalt oo Bu t in the game, Italy h as t o win o n m or e t ha nsentimentality. With a requirement of six victorcen te rs , I ta ly does not have to g ai n m a ny, tw ofact. She already possesses four-Genoa, MilaRome an d Tripoli. Luckily Yugoslavia an d Greefit the bill nicely. They ar e also small, relatively poand highly inaccessible countries vis a vis the All ieOn the other hand, that wonderful prohibitionagainst the Ger'mans from attacking them sealsthe only viable assault route on these neutrcenters. Italyitself is no t easy to assault amphibiously. There a re t wo choices for Italy. Sh e ca n declawar or not declare war. No t declaring wa r wil lprofitable o nl y i f an agreement is reached withAllies that will a ll ow I ta ly f re ed om to take hecenters at her leisure an d then stand pat. Itperhaps the trump card of the Italians, an d in facon e of the most powerful deals in the gamCertainly it ca n be t he m os t far-reaching of an ythem. A ny o th er a c co m mo da t io n with the Allshould be avoided. Such other ar rangements wwithout fail involve declaring w ar o n t h e Allies. TAllies might offer Ma lt a o r the centers o f S ouFrance, bu t I think this is a bad bet . Peace , l ikvirginity, once b ro ke n c a n never be mended. TItalian paucity of B R P' s a t l ea st ear ly in the gamworks to her advantage because to declare wconsumes so much of them. H en ce t he y a ct asguarantee to Italy's friendly compliance ra ther thaa s pu r t o a tt a ck the Allies. The second alternativeto a t tack. I consider this by far the lesser of t he t wbecause: 1 Th e BR P cost. 2 The difficultya t ta ining any neut ral centers (the Krauts hog itfor themselves). Denied the easy kills, all that is lis the rocky road to Suez. 3 The difficulty of gettian d retaining an y centers taken f rom t he All( tak ing them usually means br ing ing the Germana lo ng a n d y ou k no w h ow t he neighborhood godown when they move in.) 4. You get your fun earin the war, bu t youare very soon called upon to se1 factors (usually your air) to do Hitler's biddin(some crummy interception or soakoff) , usual ly iRussia where you have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO GAIN 5 Being the weak m em be r othe alliance, when the Brit i sh / US make thei r retuyou are go in g t o be the first to die. T he re ahowever very good reasons for throwing in withGermans. P er ha ps t he best is the h i sto rical o(Mussolini believed the Allies were t ur ke ys a ncouldn't figure ou t the rules, an d Hitler could.)you h av e a strong sense that this may be true ing am e y ou ar e playing then b y al l means throwwith the Germans .

On the o th e r h a nd the Allies m ay n ot deal.this case you should still make a pretense of dealinwith the Allies (the German will never really knowand extrac t a ful l p ou nd o f flesh from the Germanfor any aid you give them. By this I meanfollowing. 1 Make SURE yo u get the G re e k a nYugoslav centers an d BRP's. 2 Make s ure tGermans give y ou s om e BRP's besides. 3 Stipulaquite clearly to the Germans that no troopsRussia, in fac t no Italians outside o f t he Medite

Continued on Page 32, Column

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RUSSIAN CAMPAIGNGERMAN J R JarvinenRUSSIAN Robert BeymaCOMMENTARY Richard Hamblen

THE G E N E R L

Ifnothing else Richard Jarvinen deserves creditfo r being the first to have the gumption to stick hisneck outand tacklepublicly the thanklesstask o f aninitial Russian defense against the Ge rman sunstoppablefirst turn blitzkrieg in TH E RUSSIANCAMPAIGN. His treatise on the subject which appeared in Vol. 13, No.6 has been roundly criticizedb y j u st a bo ut everybody ever since. To his credithowever no one came forward with a viablesubstitute. Apparently it is easier to point ou t flawsin a no th er s h yp ot he si s then formulate oneyourself. In any case we asked him if he d like to pu this defense to the test in the form o f a series replay

an d thus this match was born nearly two years ago.After a short l ife in the postal wars an d a longerhibernation in ou r files while awaiting neutralcommentary the game no w finally gets its day in print.While the result was lop-sided to say the least it isimpor tant to po int out that Mr. Beyma wasprepared fo r what he met when h e cr os se d theSoviet borders a nd h ad the advantage o f a greatdeal o f advance planning before unleashing his initial attacks against a wellscouted defense.

Rober t Beyma needs no int roduct ion to longtime GENERAL readers. He has been a contributing editor o f note fo r many years an d is aregular t op f lig ht c om pe ti to r in the nat iona lORIGINS tournament scene. He more than

qualifies as a competent opponent. His commentswere written after 1st impulse movement but beforecombat resolution.

RichardHamblen is ofcourse a noted membero f our design s taff and was instrumental in clearingup existing ambiguities in thefirst edition rules. Hispopular What I f variant no w adorns the 3r d edition rules. In addition he ranks as the houseauthority on the game handling all nutmail questions pertaining to it and regularly hosting our national RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN championshiptournament at ORIGINS. Few can comment on thegame with as much authori ty. His comments are

presented in italics.

Russian SetupWell, this wil l be the first operational test of the

Viipuri see GENERAL, Vol. 13, No.6 for specificdetails of this defense . Basically, the problem is toprevent any massive German breakthrough while atthe same t ime to l eave escape rou tes for the frontline units af te r the initial German assault. No easytask, considering Rob is a very aggressive an d competent player. I m sure I ll have my hands ful l forthe first few turns.

I should add tha t a l though we are playing usingthe2nd edit ion rules, we are no t using any of the optional rules available.

Opening German CommentaryI am a relat ive newcomer to RUSSIAN CAM

PAIGN. Th e reader should bear thi s l imited eperience in mind when reviewing my play an d comentary.

It appears to me that the Germans should eithwin o r d ra w t he C am pa ig n g am e. I p la n t o a tt ac kvigorously in 94 an d 1942. If I can captuMoscow I wil l t ry t o c or ne r t he Stal in unit in ordto win. If i t becomes evident that I cannot winp la n t o go over to the defensive an d assure a draw

I believe that the Germans would have to be ft un at e t o c ap tu re L en in gr ad o r Moscow in 9

against a competent Russian player. If the weathholds in the Fall an d the situation presents i tselfwill try for either Leningrad or Moscow. OtherwiseI will concentrate on killing Russian units and making territorial a dv an ce s in t he south. I expec tmake winter quarters in Smolensk an d Vitebsk.the south I p la n t o t ak e Kiev an d hopefully eithKharkov or Stalino.

I h op e t o fight the decisive battle in 1942. TRussian army can rea lly be b led in 1942 with 3 oturns of clear weather. I hope to kill enough workerunits an d advance far e no ug h t o cripple the Rusians by winter. If that is t he c ase I will be a bl em op up in 1943.

GERMAN MAY IJUNE 1st IMPULSE: Th e Finnish front is static,wasting what will probably b e t he Finn s only 2-1 a t t ack on any Rus

s ia n u ni t. I n t h e Baltic Military District the Soviet s 1st and 7th ARMar e a t t acked a t 5 w it h a 01 result. The 1st ARM is eliminated andt he 7 th r e tr e at s t o H18. In t he Wes te rn Mili tary District the Soviet1 0t h i n Kaunas is a t t acked a t 4-1 wi th an exchange e l iminat ing theGerman 5th INF. Th e Soviet 4th Army is eliminated at 5-1. Further

south t heSov iet 3 rd INF in t he fo re s t a t L23 is eliminated at 5 withthe Axis l os in g t he I ta li a n 3 rd Corp in exchange . At Bres t -L i tovskthe Germans force a surrender of the Soviet 3 rd C AY a t 7 -1 . I n the

Kiev Military District ArmyGroup South starts things of f w it h a 7

DE vs. the Soviet th A R M. To the south-west a 5 with t hea id ofa stuka unit on t he Sovie t 5 th INF f or ce s a r e tr ea t to S27. Th e 4thCA Y in t he Odessa Mi li t ary District w as A Y d dur ing themovemen t

phase , wh ich a l lowed two a rmored and a grenadier u ni t t o adva

o n b o th t he Sovie t5 th CA Y and 12th I NF. Wit h t he a id of t he thstuka a 4-1 is ob tainedon bo th units which promptly su r render. Futher south, the Rumanian CAY is eliminated in a 3 soakoff vsINF.

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THE G E N E R A L

OPENING COMMENTS: The Russian army andterritory are mutually dependent; the army rapidlymelts away without the replacements supplied bythe territory s workerunits, andthe territory is easily overrun without the army s protec tion . Thismutual dependency means that the Russian playermust protect both o f them; if he can keep themstrong enough to protect each other sacrificing excess strength in one to reinforce the other whenthreatened), their mutual support will ensure they

constantly reinforce each other leading to Russiandominance in the game.The Axis player starts the game with enormous

attacking superiority that rapidly melts away witheach Axis casualty, each additional Russian unitreinforcement on the board, and each Stuka thatflies out o f the game. As a result the Axis playerneeds to limit his own losses while inflicting enoughto keep the Russians weak-in order to keep hisown attacking superiori ty fo r as long aspossible-and he needs to make the best use out o jhis attackingpower while he has it, getting the maximum advance to conquer territory) and the maximum attackingpower to conquer the Russian army) out o f every Axis unit every turn. If he can dothis he willhave extra turns o f attackingpower withwhich to win the game; if he fails his attacking

power will wither away too fast until the Russiansgain the superiority and eventually win the game.The key elements are the armies. A strong Rus

sian army protects the territory and diminishes theAxis attacking powerfaster than usual; a weak army loses its territory and gives the Axis a gift o f attacking time. A strong Axis army has extra time inwhich to win the game, a weak one loses time. Thismeans that bothsides need to playa delicate balancing game o f inflict ing enemy casualties whilelimiting their own losses; theplayer who can gain anadvantage in this balance will automatically gaintime and territory, leading to even more o f an advantage until the game is won.

RUSSIAN SET UP : The Russian player starts thegame at a great strength disadvantage that cannotbe repaired until the bulk o f the Russian army appears as reinforcements on the third and fourthturns. As a result the Axis is automatically slatedtogain time and territory fo r three turns; the questionis how much the-.Russian-can limit these gains bydelaying the Axis advance, inflicting Axis casualtiesandsaving his own units. He can delay the advanceon thefirst turn simply by preventing penetrations,but theproblem is that hethen faces two more turnsin which he must continue to delay with an inadequate army. He must keep enough units alive eachturn to serve as a defense on the next turn s), whilehe is preventing the penetrations. Attacking to inflict extra Axis casualties will pay dividends _whenthe Russian reinforcements arrive and the gamestabilizes it may also weaken the Axis and slowdown their advance in the critical early turns), butthe Russian must make his defenses and at tackswith the knowledge that in the early turns his lossesaffect the ratio o f strength much morethan the Axislosses-it is his own losses that should be uppermost in his mind.

There are three good ways theRussians can limitthe Axis advance: prevent automat ic vic torypenetrations, force the Axis player to tie up units ina ttacks to the rear o f his advance, and force theAxis player to chance low odds attacks that have achance o f a cCONTA CT result that can freeze asignificant number o f Axis units fo r an impulse.There are also three ways the Russians can limit thecasualties he takes: set up in strong positions thatforce the Axis player to settle fo r low odds attacksthat lessen the chances o f Russian losses, increasethe chances o f Axis losses andcan have a cC resulttha t wastes an impulse s worth o f attacking

capability; set up in blocking positions that forcethe Axis player to make automatic victories just toget to Russian uni ts on f ir st impulse-automaticvictory odds are poor fo r attrition and also preventthe A Ving unitsfrom attackingon the nextimpulse,further weakening the attacking strength; and, ifthings get desperate, just move out o f attackingrange and sacrifice territory to save units andforcethe Axis to waste an impulse or turn o f attackingopportunities. With these thoughts in mind, we will

look at the Russian setup one district at a time.

FINLAND: The Russian setup is not quite asstrong as it should be; the Axis can attack the at1-1 andthe 4 at 2 1 i f he wishes, without fear o f thesecond impulse. Also, the Russians may want tomove a unit out to help on the mainfront; since thedoubled is just as good as the doubled in holdingo ff the Finns, it shouldbe the that stays andthe 5that goes-so the should be on the rail line. The 4and should switch positions.

BALTIC: The setuppreventspenetration, but itallows the Axis to attacktwo units at 5 1 on thefirstimpulse no chance o f a contact) with 10 points-a 7and a 3- le f t over fo r deployment elsewhere; evenworse, the rest o f the units will then be wide openfo r a second impulse attack. Switching the withthe two armor units wouldriskonly oneunit insteado f two, while switching the 6 instead would forcethe Axis to use a Stuka or gamble on a 4 1 at best)with its possible cC result. This set up is toovulnerable to casualties; the Baltic is a relativelystrong area an d at least one unit s hou ld have achance o f surviving.

WESTERN: The setup prevents penetration more or less-a fai r penetration over the 3 rdcavalry, 5th armor and 8th armor, andpossibly the6th cavalry as well, is possible but not particularlydesirable), but it is too vulnerable to casualties. Toomany units are where they can be attacked easilyand with great efficiency, without risk. For example, 16 points and a Stuka attacking from 121 gets asafe 5 1 against two units; the 3rd infantry in thewoods is dangerous Only an A V is safe from aretreat result that becomes a devastating cC resultbecause o f the woods), but can be csmothered byan attack against 8th armor from M22 on the second impulse while soaking of f against the 3rd-the3rd would then self destruct before the next Axisturn. The setup has too much strength up front andallows the Axis to attack with too much efficiency,which eitherfrees too many Stukas and unitsfree tobe deployed elsewhere or if the Axis wishes) resultsin too many riskless Russian losses.

KIEV: Here the Russianforces arestrong northo f the mountains, forcing the Axis to commit unitsand Stukas orforcing them to settle fo r risky lowodds attacks. South o f the mountains the setup alsoforces the commitment o f units or Stukas-but itdoes not stop the penetration. Twelve points andaStuka at W25 gets a 4 1 with two chances in six o f abreakthrough into the rear o f the Russian position,one chance o f a cC result an Axis setback), and

PA G E

three chances o f a neutral result. Two to one oddso f blowing the Russian position apart are not bodds, particularly against a strong player.

In the Kiev district the Russians have the taskso f blocking the T24 mountains and the T26 pass,keeping theA xis from deploying in strength infroo f Kiev and salvaging enough units so that they cbe strong enough locally to confront and delay theAxis forces in the area fo r a turn or more. This seup threatens to let the Axispocket the whole groufrom thesouth, losing the mountains, thepass, andthe unitsand allowing the Axis into theplain beforKiev. The Russians should have more st rengthand/ or better positioning in the s out h at the expense o f the forces in the north, with better positioning in the north to make up fo r the lossstrength notice that in the north sixteen points anda Stuka in Q25 gets a safe 5 1 against twunits-again).

ODESSA: Here the setup prevents a deeppenetration, but the weaknessat Y25 is what allowthe potentially disastrous attack in the Kidistrict. The Russian knows that the Axis can Aexactly one three point unit using a Stuka, and wa soak-off unit left over), so hemust be verycarefuwhere heplaceshis three point units or the Axis wblow a hole a nd pour reinforcements from evfront through it. There are many deployments thatprevent this, however, and tha t do not open tsouth flank o f the Kiev district, do not allow the atack and retreat forward ploy from hex BB25 ado not allow the double attack with a Stuka againsttwo units from Z26).

Overall, the Russian defense prevents deeppenetration b ut leaves its units open to heav ycasualties; this ignores thepotential disaster at hexW25, which is simplyaflaw. The Axis should infliheavy losses with little risk and low casualties, gaining time critically early in the game.

May/June 1941 German Commentary:Th e Russian defense seems to be a very stron

well conceived one. Th e defense o f th e Baltic is pt icularly effective. However there are a f

weaknesses which I h op e t o exploit.Th e key attack is th e 4 using a STUKA ver

2 I N F a n d 5 CA V. This attack is made possiblea n a ut om at ic vic to ry versus 4 CA V. An y resother than a CONTACT will insure surroundingforces of th e Kiev Military District. If 2 IN F svives th e attack D I, EX , DR it can be retreatedY24 where i t an d 2 A RM c an be a t tacked atSURROUNDED in th e 2n d impulse. R CA V soaof f against 9 I NF a t 1 4 bu t w it h a retreat r o ut eBB24 in case of a n A R. 20 I NF a nd 38 IN F ar eposition to providea necessary 2nd impulse soakoand protect Bucharest.

The attacks on th e rest of th e front ar e designto kill as many Russian units as possible. Note thin the Wes te rn Dis tr ic t 3 INF, 4 INF, an d 10 INma y be retreated to K22 where they can be isolate

by 2nd impulse attacks on 6 C AY a nd 8 ARM.

AXIS T U RN O NE :First Impulse: The Axis make maximum attritioattacks and hit the hole at W25, threatening tpocket the Kiev group; strategically this is exacright, threatening to wipe out the entire, front lstrength o f the Russian army. I f this succeeds thRussians will be critically short o f units with whito slow the Axis advance the next two turns.

RUMANIA AN D SOUTH: The big gamble itaken at W25. The execution isflawless; notice thatlarge forces must sti ll be committed north o fmountains in the Kiev district to defeat the forcesthere and close the pocket from the nortHowever, whether the W25 attack works ornot, thAxis will need large reinforcements south o f

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GERMAN MAY/JUNE 2nd IMPULSE: In the Baltic MilitaryDistrict the Russian th Army is eliminated at 4-1. Further south theGerman loses t he42nd INF in a n e x ch a ng e a t 4-1 on t he Russ i an 8 thArmy. In t he Wes te rn M il it ar y D is tr ic t t he Soviet 6th CAV is

eliminated i n a 3 -1 . Farthersouth the Russian 8th Army surrendersto

mountains fo r use on the second impulse; the attack works they could exploit the victory an d itdoesn t they willbe needed to recover thesituation.The Axis brings in only 17 points from othergroups, however, which means that he will be weakboth on this turn s second impulse an d on the firstimpulse o f next turn the units north o f the mountains will be nearly ou t o f range even if the attackworks and the pass is cleared. By failing to rear

range his Kiev attack or his reinforcements to placemore units in the south , he is risking disaster hisattack loses and lessening his gains it wins.

CENTRE: When the Axis player is seeking tomaximize attrition 5-1 attacks are his best friend,particularly when he is attacking two or mo redefenders in the same attack; apart from the bestcasualty yield, it avoids the wasteful cc result. Hisworst enemies are penetration at tacks which havea fa r worse attrition yield, lose the units attackingcapabil it ies on the second impulse and the ccresults (or interlocking ZOC) that can freeze unitsan d prevent them from moving on the second impulse.

The Axis Centre group is making its best attri

tion attacks, avoiding automatic victories an d relying on the 5-1 an d 7 (which have the extra advantage ofminimizing Axis losses) attacks. He is takingsome unnecessary chances concerning cc results,however the 5-1 against the 3r d in the woods andthe 4-1 against the 10th infan try r isk tying up 45points from advancing on the second impulse. 16points an d a S tu ka in the north, an A V 20 points)against the 3r d cavalry an d afirst-impulseattack onthe 5th armor followed by a second-impulse A Vonthe 8th, smothering the 3r d infantry an d undoubling the 6th cavalry, would take about 70 points,freeing to help in Kiev; and it would beperfectlysafe. On the other hand, the Axis player is luckyhe will do far better with the attack as it stands.He d better be lucky.

NORTH: What else?

a 5 -1 . The n e ar by 5 th Army has better luck an d r e tr ea t s i nt o t hewoods at M20 following its 5 defense. In the Kiev Military Districtt he Sovie t26 th IN F is eliminated at 4-1 surrounded as is t he6 th IN Fwhich wou ld have escaped had it no t been surrounded. In t heOdessaMili tary District the 12th ARM is eliminated in a 4 -1 . Farther south

FINLAND: With the Axis attacking to maximize attrition across the board, he really shouldattack in Finland, even only a 2-1 against the 4-3.The ext ra uni t tha t can be sent from Finland willhelp to repair thedamage he is doing with the rest o jhis attacks.

Second Impulse: The Axis was very lucky in thecritical die rolls tha t could have t ied up uni ts or

stopped his penetration. The attrition rate is alsorunning higher than average, which helps him. Heis, after all, pursuing an attrition strategy eventhough his losses are twice theaverage that couldbeexpected.

The Axis continues the attrition policy in finestyle, with high odds attacks across the board. TheRussian army is definitely going to be weaker thannormal, bu t an interesting aspect is starting to showi tself; since attri tion attacks do no t gain muchground, the Axis player is no t gaining much territory. His units in the Western Military Districtand in the Northern part o f Kiev are going to finishthe turn in posit ions that are no t really very advanced, even if they succeed in wiping ou t the Russians entirely. The Russian weakness will pa y oJ f inAxis advances during the next two turns, bu t the

second o f those turns is an imponderable becauseweather can stop the Axis short without any Russian units at all. With the Russian army decimatedan d the Axis penetration limited, weather s impacton movement is going to be very important.

There are a fe w flaws in the Axis positioning.Most importantly, there is only one HQ in the southa nd it is vulnerable to a counterattack; combinedwith the Axis weakness in units in the area, thiscould a llow the Russian to repair his pos it ion infront o f Kiev despite the Axis triumph at W25. OneHQ should have gotten to 022 where it couldhelpagainst the south, against the Dvina river l ine oragainst the upper Dnepr river line as needed. As its tands , with the Axis positions not very far advanced, the Russian player can force the Axis towaste most o f his attacking potential next turn

the German 38th INF con tinues the necessary soakoff vs the Sovi6th IN F which made the previous A V possible. The German survivethe 1-4 an d retreats his unit forward to BB24.

simply by staying ou t o f range in the north an d reinforcing in strength in the south . There are somplacementJlaws: the38th infantry shouldretreat toBB23, clearing the rail line; the 3rd panzer shouldadvance to V22; it wouldstill compromise the river(although no t quite as well), bu t it would f ree thrail line an d it wouldprotect South HQfrom a twoimpulse offensive ou t o j Kiev. Most importantly,however, the Axis fai ls to take Odessa. The Ax

really needs to take Odessa while their attackingforces are advancing in the area; they are going tohave to take it eventual ly, and uni ts tha t are sen tback after itlaterhaveto be removedfrom the maifront fo r a couple o f turns. Besides, i t is nevweaker than at the start; it can be continually reinforced by sea, an d eventually the Russianscan placea worker there an d start to place replacements,turning it into a major incursion in the Axis rea

Once more, the casualties inflicted run higherthan the expected resultsJor both players, and onceagain this Javors the Axis attrition policy.

Russian May June 41:Ouch Obviously there was a slight crack in my

Kiev-Odessa setup and Rob really took advantageof it. Small consolation that he admitted that my aticle gave him his idea for the b ig breakthrough.retrospect it appears that the 12th Armored shoulbe repositioned to X24 or X25 while the Kiev grous ho ul d be p ul led b ac k in order t o sh ow a s mal lef ro nt a nd prevent the easy isolation of the uni ts ithe mountains. The Baltic an d Western groups didtheir job but paid a terrible price. Anyway it will bea long while before his infantry ever sees th e spirof the Kreml in . I can t understand why he didnt ake the 2 aga inst the 7 th Infantry o n C I0 . T heworst that can happen to the Finns is an AI whiccan hardly hurt whereas if he wins t he attackwould have to either fight them to regain the riveline or retreat which would eventually allow himclose of f Leningrad from the North.

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S O VI E T M AY IJUNE 41 T UR N: T he Russians pull back in thenorth while attacking in t hesou th . Both units in Kiev move to attackthe German 3rd ARM at 1 1 bu t are r epu l sed ; the 12th ARMretreating V21 a nd t he 18th INF to Y21. The Sovie t s 5th INF is

For the first time in my RUSSIAN CAM-PAIGN career I don t have enough units to fulfillall of my objectives f or t he first turn. I can t evengarrison both Odessa an d Sevastapol which I nor-mally consider manadatory. However Odessaseems to be th e logical choice as a gar ri son therewill slow down his t r oo ps a n d Sevastapol ca n onfybe taken by an invasion w hi ch I d o ub t t h at he llrisk. I m mildly surprised that he would stick his 7t hArmored out where I ca n get a shot a t it. Obviouslyhe wants t o b re ak th e Bug bu t perhaps I ca n makeh im p ay w it h a small counterattack.

Unfortunately my 1 1 fizzled . I could haveb ro ug ht u p a no th er a rm or ed unit in o rd er t o at-tempt a second 1 1 in the second impulse bu t I amso desperately short of units that I just couldn t af-ford this indulgence.

As he has diverted 16 f ac to rs f ro m AGe an dA GN t o A GS it appears as if h e is going after th esouthern production centers in a big way; thus Ihave responded in k in d b y s hi ft in g most of myforces to th e south to meet this threat. Luckily heh as o nl y o ne HQ in th e south. Otherwise he couldtake Kiev in July after overrunning the 12th Ar -mored. But no w if he overruns either th e 12th or th e18th he won t have enough factors left for a decents ho t a t Kiev.

RUSSIAN T U RN O N E: With the Axis pursuing a successful) attrition policy, the Russian is rich interritory bu t weak in units. The obvious policy is touse the territoryto take thepressure o ff the army, togive ground and get ou t o f range, or pu t simply, torun like a bat ou t o f hell. Alternatively, the Russianscan try to sacrifice their army entirely to reallyclog up the Axis advance, massing units right infront o f the Axis armies; the blocking units will be

eliminated in a 1-4 vs the German 14th A R M a n d 17th and 44th INFat 1-4. The bypassed 9th INF also a tt ac k s a t 1-2 eliminating theRumanian4 th INF in an exchange. On the whole the Soviet positionsremain relatively unchanged during their 2nd impulse. On the Fin-

eliminated, but the Axis will no t advance much andthe game will come down to the question o f whetherthe weather willstop the Axis advance on the thirdturn; nothing else will be able to, since the Russiana rmy will be gone). The one thing the Russian sshould no t do is give the Axis a goodadvance and agood at tack but this is exactly what they do. Thisis the turn where the Russians give away the game.

The Axis has a lot o f strength in badpositions inthe north, and it is very tempting to just get ou t o frange. Unfortunately, the Russians choose to de-fend the Dvina, the upper Dnepr and the region inbetween, just within Axis striking range on thefirstimpulse. Creating a solid Russian defense requiresforming a solid front line o f uni ts backed by interlocking ZOC, so that to penetrate the Axis mustmass A s just to get to the second line on thef ir stimpulse, tying up large amounts o f strength. Openlines alternating units and ZOC) can be wiped ou tor penetrated, regardless o f their strength. Here,the severe Russian losses leave them with too fewunits to form solid lines in the north and the south,so th ey set up open lines in both places, invitingdestruction. They would do better to abandon thenorth and mass solid lines in the south, where theAxis weakness offers the Russians the chance fo r asuccessful confrontation.

There are some technical fl } s s well. Theplacement o f the 3rdpanzer offers the chance fo r atwo-impulse a ttack a imed at HQ south whichwould really screw up the Axis if it worked, bu t theRussian attempt in this direction is s imply tooweak. Odessa should be re inforced with a largereplacement. Too much Russian strength is tied upin the rear; the 4 at Rostov could be replaced by a

nish front t he 7 th 23rd INF still occupy BlO. In the Kiev MilitaDistrict the 3rd a n d 4 t h A R M a t t ac k t he G e rm a n 5 2 n d P G a t 1-2a re repu l sed and eliminated d ue t o isolation. Other second impu l s

moves a re shown with arrows.

weaker uni t, and using two uni ts to hold o ffFinns is simply ridiculous in light o f the Russimanpower shortage.

There s a bizarre note to this game that s worthmentioning s a warning to those who write strategyarticles and then get involved in a series replay.don t want to deter anyonefrom either activity, bwhen yo u commityourself to a strategy in print yhave a natural desire to vindicatethat strategy inreplay even when your opponent is going to etreme lengths to make that strategy inapplicable inthegame being played; yo u have a tendency to sticwith the strategy to prove its worth even when thegame s events make a change in strategy modesirable. Now, the Viipuri defense is based onfoward defense in strength an d Mr. Jarvinen is strying to implement that defense even though theAxis player has craftily destroyed the strength thatis necessary to make it work. H e is sacrificing th

game to try andsalvage the strategy. It just goesshow you shouldalways beflexible in choosing achanging your strategy and tha t show biz has idangers even in gaming.

Jul / Au g 1941 German Commentary:Th e big attack this turn is a 4 1 vs Kiev. Thi

made possible b y t he Automatic Victory versusARM giving me a slightly better than 9 7 chato take Kiev this turn.

On th e rest of t he f ro nt I am trying to k ilmany units as possible. My forces in t he n or th a ncenter will be in position to threaten a drive on Lingrad or Moscow next turn.

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GERMAN JULY/AUGUST 1st IMPULSE: The Finnish front remains quiet. Along the Baltic the Germans reach Riga and a t t ack itat 5 with air support taking the city at the cost of the 2nd INFwhich is los t in exchange. Northeast of Vitebsk G e rm a n a r mo r a n d

XIS TURNTWO The xi s continueto maximizeattri tion at the expense o f penetration. This willleadto a strong unit strengthposition even after theRussian reinforcements pour onto the board bu tonce more by limiting hisadvance the xi s player isgambling on having good gambling weather in thefall. I f he can get to things h e ll be able to a tt ac kthem bu t will he get there?First Impulse The xi s player is no t even taking allo f the penet ra tion he can get while a ttacking tomaximum effect. A 6 two 4s an d a Stuka againstRiga andtwo 8s an d a Stuka against the 6th armor

GERMAN JULY/AUGUST 2 nd I M PU L SE : A r my G r ou ps N or t ha nd C en te r c on ti nu e to advance crossing rivers and destroying

Soviet units with impunity. South of R ig a t he Soviet 10th ARM is

air throw a bridgehead across the r iver and eliminate the Soviet 7thARM in the process w it h a 7 -1 . I n t he south the Germans AV the

Soviet 12th ARM thanks t o the unexpec ted a r rival of a Mountainunit which allows them to reach Kiev with three armor units. Air sup-

on L 14 w ou ld br eak the Dvi na from both endsleaving the rest oftheforces to mop upand an 8 anda to attack the 5th armor on N15 onfirst impulse.This would allow the units to advance farther andthe nd armor couldbe attackedsecondimpulse; allo f these attacks would be safe from contact resultsand armor casualties. The move as actually playedbreaks theDvina all right it just lets the nd escapeand gets less penetration than it could.

In the south the xi s just barely gets away withhissins. Odessa unreinforced falls to a 3 in a n at-tack thatcould have been unpleasant but once again

port makes poss ible a 4 which resul ts in the surrender of the cigarrison. Odessa falls to a 3 surrounded which eliminatesthe Sovi2nd CAY for failure to retreat.

the xi s player survives a risk unscathed. He takeanotherrisk against Kiev and comes up luckyagain.By winning his risky attacks the xi s player againmakes complaints sound a little querulous bu tf ac t h e w oul d have don e b ette r to s im ply use hissouthern Stuka to ensure Odessa s fall while mass-ing units beforeKiev and wiping ou t the 12th RMand 18th IN F on thefirst impulse an d smotheringKiev by attacking the 22nd on second impulse; thiswould inflict some extra casualties make more oan advance towards Dneprepetrovsk and by making the soakoff against Kiev a 1-1 from V19 or V2

Russian 6 th C A V for a 7 surrounded.

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SOVIET JULY/AUGUST 41 TURN: S ta li n f lee s t o Archangel.Replacements bring b ac k t he 27th INF, 10th A RM , a nd the 2nd

allow the Axis to retreat forward and break theswamp line with major forces.

But why cavil? Technically the Axis play is

flawed but strategically it is going very well. Theunits on V are important Russian cqsualties areheavy and the Axis is one good turn away from in-flicting real damage.

Second Impulse: The Axis attacksenvelop theposi-t ions that were compromised during the first im-pulse. The overwhelming nature o f these attacks is atip off tha t they are using more s trength than is

really necessary; with a little better play that extrastrength could have gained some additional

ground.One thing tha t is worth mentioning about the

Axis ovewhelming attacks is that they minimizelosses and the Axis is in very good shape regardingcasualties. Actual losses are still running ahead o fexpected losses fo r both sides but the Axis armystill has conserved its strength remarkably well.

Russian July-August 41:Er r ah h what was that I sai d a bo ut

Kiev? Actua lly the theory was cor rect but m y a pplication was ridiculous. Which means I completelyoverlooked the 49th Mountain Corp, which was thekey t o t he whole attack. Which a lso means I havej u st h an de d him th e bul k of my t ro op s. My o nl y

CAY. In his second phase, the Soviet moves STAVKA to U3. Reinforcements appear in Moscow and Kursk. The illustration shows the

possible move this turn was to withdraw, holdingsome strong points, an d pray for m ud . N ot e thatwith heavy MUD, AGS won t have anybody to attack during the first impulse. It s nice to be able tof ind a brigh t spot in almost anything.) Delay unitswould be nice l ike in Dnepropetvsk, for example),bu t can anybody tell me where they re comingf rom? With c lear wea ther i t would be possible forhim to get a against Moscow, so it seemed appropriate for Stalin an d Stavka to take a small leaveof absence. Th e 2nd Cavalry an d 2nd Armored areto prevent such a attack from surrounding myglorious capital . I have counted very carefully an dthe 18th Infantry on E 2 cannot be overrun he says

). I rel eased o ne of my uni ts f rom the Finnishfront as I doubt Rob would take a attack againstthe 7t h on BI0 when, after al l, he refused t heoriginal 2 .

On the dark side, I canhonestly say I have neverlos t so many uni ts in two turns before. I t appearsdisastrous, bu t hope springs eternal

My basic s trategy now, which is considerablydifferent from that with which I started the game, is

to abandon the south except for strong points in myproduction cities. I a nt ic ip at e my wi nte r line tostretch from Leningrad which is why I am so determined to hold it) through Kalinin an d Moscow toGorki. Undoubtedly he will penet ra te the moun-tains around K I0 , b u t I hope to regain this area witha small win te r offensive . If the weather remainsclear though, I m ay as well p ac k it u p.

game positions a t t he e nd of the second impulse.

RUSSIAN T UR N T WO : Now th e Russian hanothing left with which to defend except weatherand space. He abandons the front and praysmud any kind o f mud; he is giving up his lasreserves o f space to save what s left o f his army. Tspace will be enough the weather is bad but cleweather will allow the Axis to regain lost grounandfinish off the Russian position. Technical note:as a hedge against l ight mud the Russian playershould really leave a blocking uni t in frontKharkov as he has at Leningrad.

Sept/Oct 1941 German Commentary:The weather roll has, temporarily at least, sav

the Russians. As in most Eastern Front games,weather roll is worth quite a few n or m al a tt a crolls.

This turn I will c lean up the Russian forcesfront of Leningrad. I will be able to assault th eat 4 next turn if I get CLEAR o r M UD weathThe with the Finns is a n a tt em pt t o pu t mpressure on Leningrad. One Finnish unit can alwbe replaced next spring.

In the south I have to settle for a 50-50 chancetaking Kharkov during the 2nd impulse. I will needCLEAR or LIGHT MU D to advance any furthnext turn. In the cen te r I am preparing to go ondefensive for the winter.

I feel that I will be in excellent posit ion if Itake Leningrad an d Kharkov before winter. Ifnowill be a hard f ight in 1942.

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GERMAN SEPT/OCT 1st IMPULSE: D u e t o his shortened move-ment capacity in the L I GH T M UD a nd the large scale withdrawal ofSoviet un it s the p rev ious turn the German appea r s to be merely extending hisra i l and supply lines. Al though the Finns finally attempt a

A XI S T UR N THR L ig ht Inud, a nd no w the xi s pays theprice fo r not advancing to the utmostlast turn he cannot quite get to things his at-

tacking potential is wasted. bout all he can do isget intoposition fo r thenext turn andpray fo r goodweather.

The xi s closes in on Moscow an d Leningrad,clearing the approaches, bu t again there are

north of Leningrad it is repulsed with the loss of t heF inn i sh 7 thI N F I n t he S o ut h t he G e rm a ns s p re ad out from Kiev a long the raillines moving towards Dneprope trovsk and Kharkov In t he cente r

Vitebsk is consolidated as is Smolensk To the north the approach

technica l flaws: moving with in three hexes o fMoscow just gives the Russian a chance tocounterattack with bad weather impending, in

hopes o f inflicting some casualties to make up fo rhis own weakness; and sending thepanzers againstLeningrad is a mistake although a popular one ,since their mobility is far more important ou t in theBryansk plain. On the other hand, the xi s makes

to Leningrad is cleared by a 7-1 which forces thesurrender of the

INF

some very niceplays as well moving theforces anHQ ou t into the Bryansk area is importastrategically, widening the front against Moscow

and the southern cities at the same time, an d moing th e in fa nt ry u nit to J does the same t ricnorth o f Moscow there is a nice point to thmove, since itforces the Russians to detach units todeal with the threat at a t ime when he is still we

GERMAN SEPT/OCT 2nd IMPULSE: The German effor t t o c lea rthe approaches to Leningrad continues w it h a 5 surrounded attackon t he Sovie t 27 th INF which eliminates the German 10th INF in anexchange There is no combat in t he c en te r b u t t he Germans do oc-

cupy Bryansk a v it al l in k in the r ai l n et a s we ll as a supply sourcecome winter In the south t he Germans b eg i n a move to cap tu re anunguarded Sevastapol as well as o cc up yi ng a n abandonedDnepropetrovsk At Kharkov a r is ky attack forces the Russians

out of the city e l imina t ing the worke rs and re tr eat ing bo th Sovie t

units t o 2 1 3

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GERMAN NOV IDEe 2nd IMPULSE: Leningrad is occupied, and a4 is massed vs t he two Sovie t INF a rmies to the SE of the city withthe Russ i ans re t rea t ing to F8. Just east of Lake I lmen the49 th 26th

INFa t t ack t he Sovie t52nd INF at 2 surrounded, t he26 th is lost inthe result ingexchange. West of Moscow the Soviet 31st surrenders toa 6-1 and t he32nd is polished of f in a 5 surrounded. The Soviet 19th

22nd INF a re e l imina t ed in a 4-1 o u ts id e Vo ro ne z h. O n ly t heunit is l ost in a soakoff f ro m A A8 a t odds of 1-4. Th e illustrationshows the final positions at the t ime of t he Russ i an surrender.

THE LUCK FACTOR

Final Note: Notice ho w lo w th e Axis expectedlosses ar e an d ho w large th e Russian expectedlosses are. This reflects th e nature of the a t tacksth e Axis player was making -a clear indication ofhow carefully he was pursuing his strategy of getting favorable attri t ion.

Notes: T h e nu mb er in parentheses indicates the number of critical rolls that were won by the Axis. is worth not ing thatwhenthe Axis w o n t h e y w o n big; the W25 would have been a victory with a DE result an d hero l leda OS, for example.Th e Kiev attack would have been a success even if the defenders only ret reated but in fact they were eliminated an d thelight mu d roll is treated as a l os s e ve n though the Axis could have rolled MUD.2The number indicates the probability that the Axis player would roll aswell as he did or better. Fo r example, i fhe wonthree ou t of three the number indicates the probability of winning all three gambles; if he w o n t wo ou t of three thenumber indicates the probabi li ty of winning two ou t of three or better.3Cumulative totals through this turn.

TURN AXIS LOSSES RUSSIAN LOSSES CRITICAL ROLLS

Expected Real Expected Real Major Odds 2 Minor Odds 2

1 3 14 67.7 73 1 1 33 7 2 2 69 7

2 2. 2 4 27.8 36 1 1 83 7 1 1 67 7

cum. 3 15.2 8 95.5 109 2 2 28 7 3 3 44 7

4.5 5 12.5 5 1 0 1 7 1 1 33 7

cum. 3 19.7 23 108.7 124 3 2 58 7 4 4 15 7

4 6.3 9 48 4 1 1 17 7 4 3 87 7

total 26 32 156.7 165 4 3 23 7 8 7 35 7

Russian November-December 41:I f in d myself somewhat at a loss fo r w or ds . I

fact, only one word comes readily to m n -

devastated There really was n o p o in t in playing oTh e Russians ca n survive even if they ve lost lotstroops as long as their production capacity is intacBu t heavy losses coupled wit h a non-existent prduction program spells certain doom. I t s j us tmatter of time. Therefore I have surrendered at endered Rob my congratulations. He deserved thfine win.

AXIS T U RN F O UR : Clear weather, and now itjust a question o f what the Axis player allows tlive. Even Moscow can be threatened. A short touro f the carnage:

The Axis player really should takeLeningrad bya smotherplay instead o f a 4-1, but the 4-1 loses thopportunity only the 1-1 against the20th and 40thInfantry drives them away. In other words, the Axis taking thechancethat 1 theLeningradattack willfai l and 2 the 1-1 will succeed, which then leavesthem with a 1-1 to take the city. Al l to no point inot a very big chance anyway the city falls.

The Axis have the choice o f a drive on Moscowor a drive against Voronezh, andhe tries to do a little o f both. This means that he has to chancesome4-1s again, and this t ime the Moscow one fails on

first impulse, stalling the drive the otherone workson second impulse). The Axis should really haveconcentrated in a Moscow drive through Tula iw oul d sp read his effort less a nd inflict morecasualties in a central area

In the far south the Axis player could have a

ranged th ings to take Ros tov or at least drive theRussians out; not holdin g the river line can be aserious flaw the Russians go over to thecounterattack. But everything else is going well,why worry?

The Russian surrenders. There is not a lotplay left in his position only the Moscow workeand the Moscow uni ts are lef t but he has a nchance at all it is to gamble on inflicting Axis lossin the upcoming winter. The Russiansshould attackin strength, gambling on some good luck; however,

the Russian player does no t and itis

easy to sewhy the Russian p lay er w ou ld be discouragedenough to not think much about counteroffensives he has no hope at all and he should juresign.

This chart gives a summary of th e luck elementin the game:

4-1 -and on e lesser g am bl e a ga in st O de ss a. Th eodds favored each on e of these gambles individually, bu t the Axis pl aye r was taking unnecessarychances-and all of t he m c am e t hr ou gh fo r him.On th e third turn he was unlucky enough to get lightm ud , b ut his long shot a t tack against Kharkov succeeded. A nd o n t he f o ur th t u rn , he h it th e jackpotwith clear weather and took four lessergambles- the a tt ac k a ga in st L en in gr ad , t he 7-lsagainst the 55th an d 33rd in the woods an d th e 4-1against the 32nd-and only one of them turned souron him. Th e Axis player took chances t im e a nd

again an d g ot aw ay with i t, a nd t ha t was all heneeded to turn a s up er io r p os it io n i nt o c om pl et etriumph.

More important, however, was th e Axis player s

luck in th e critical die rolls that c am e u p wheneverhe took a chance. On the first turn he took on ecritical chance- the b r ea kt hr o ug h a t W25-andtw o minor gambles that could have tied up significant forces with contact results. On the second turnhe took on e critical chance- the a tt ac k o n Kiev at

Luck played a n i m po r ta n t p ar t in this game, asmight be expected when one player is blown away inf ou r t ur n s. Real attrition exceeded expected attrit io n f or both players continuously throughout th egame, which played right in to t he Axis player shands even t h ou g h t he e xt ra a t tr it io n he sufferedexceeded t he e xt ra attrition inflicted on th e Russians. He was basing his g am e p la n on attrition,after all, so t h e e x tr a losses hurt the Russ ians fa rmore.

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THE G E N E R L

The Russian fai lure in this game stems from thethree following points: 1 t he flaw in t he o ri gi na lsetup; 2 the overlooking of the 49th Mountain inthe first game turn which allowed the AV leading tothe ear ly fal l of Kiev an d 3) t he c le ar w ea th er inNovember. Each mis take by i tsel f would no t bedisastrous, but to have more than one or twoagainst a player of Rob s caliber is deadly. He cashed in on everyone, kept me unbalanced on everyt ur n, a nd when the opportunity presented itself, he

delivered the coup de grace in fine style. Sic sempertyrannus.

Concluding German Commentary:The decisive bat tl e was the automatic victory

an d 4 1 in the south on the first turn of t he g am e. Idon t believe that the Russians ever recovered fromthis. The automatic victory and the 4 1 against Kievo n t he second turn was also a telling blow. The earlycapture of Kiev freed German forces to drive onKharkov and Stalino on turn 3. I was fortunate withsome of t he die roll s bu t t he big break was t heweather roll o n t ur n 4. Th is was t he la st s tr aw f orthe Russians an d enabled the Germans to e nd t hecampaign in 1941.

Summary: The Viipuri setup s prone to heavy attri-tion bu t the Viipuri defense s based on forming a

strong defense. This s a definite clash n policy thata clever x is player can exploit s this one did. Theproblem with n attrition policy s the lack o fpenetration bu t n the en d the good weather at theend gave the x is an extra turn to make up this defi-ciency which was all it took.

The other decisive factor n th e game was th eRussian player s lack o f flexibility on thefirst turn.There s no way o f telling what thepenetration andattri tion situation will be at the moment when theRussian player starts his first turn; the x is playerjust has too much leeway n selecting his attacks. sa result the Russian must keep n open mind aboutwhat he will do defending territory he has theunits orabandoning itto savehisunits he s weak.Territory an d strength must be used to protect eachother which means the threatened one should beprotected at the cost o f the other.

The x is player was a little remiss a boutadvancing particularly on the second turn and hisplays were repeatedly flawed technically but hisluck held a nd m os t importantly his strategic ap-proach was extremely sound. y minimizing hisown losses an d keeping the Russians weak he main-tained his attack superiority throughout the yearand n fact would be n good shape at thestart o f thenext year even i f he had eliminated no workers atall. With both the workers and the Russ ian armygone an d his own attacking power intact the x isplayer s victory was about s complete s can beachieved against a competent opponent.

FOREIGN

RE ERSDue to contractual obligations with ou r

exclusive distributors we cannot accep t mai lo rd er s f or g ames f ro m Au st ral ia , Bri tai n, Germany, Greece, Italy or Japan. Such orders must bep laced with ou r exclusive distr ibutors whoseaddresses you ll find li sted on Page 2 of thismagazine. Orders for parts and airmail subscript ions to the G EN ER L are not subject to this ban.AP O and FP O addresses of u.S. servicemenlikewise are not subject to this ban. We also urgeyou to get in touch with the d is tr ibutor for yourcountry in regards to p lacing your GENER Lsubscription through him which in most cases willresult in considerable savings for you.

I m a gamer. The voice is very soft. I vebeen a gamer for , hesitating, for, about twentythree years. About three years ago , the controlslipping now, m y wife left me. My kids don trespect me anymore, my eldest boy won t even talkto me, even the dog growls at me. My wife marriedthis other guy, an insurance salesman just l ike mewho golfs on weekends. He s home by noon. He snever even heard of wargaming. Thinks THIRDREICH is a book by some guy named Shirley. Th etears come.

A ud ie nc e m em be rs cr y along, emotionunrestrained.

S om eo ne b re ak s i nt o a c ho ru s of We shallOvercome . Others join in. Tears subside in song.

I m sorry.That s o ka y b ro th er, t ak e y ou r time.

He wipes his face with a monogrammed handkerchief (AM). Blows his nose. Snuffs out the lastsniffle.

t all began in December 65. We were shoppi ng f or a C hr is tm as p re se nt f or m y bo y. He wastwo then. We were in some toy s tore . She, mywife ,went to look at dolls an d stuff for my brother skids. I headed for the trains, j us t t o l oo k. As I waswalking down thegame aisle, I saw this game called FRIK KORPS. My father ha d been at Tobruk.Said he saw Rommel. I picked up the game an dopened it.

I never got to the trains. A half h o ur o r so later,my wife found me in that same aisle setting up thepieces on the map, on one of the aisle shelves.Needless to say, I bought the game.

wasn t easy to find opponents for wargamesin t ho se d ays, so at f ir st , I just played solitaire. Isp en t a l ot of nights in my basement trying to findthe perfect German strategy. An d a ft er I ha d it, Iwent on to o ther games. But I was getting restless. Iwanted an opponent. My three-year old was candy.

I advertised for opponents. After several weeks,a guy called me. He lived about two hundred milesaway, bu t I h ad t o go . I b ea t h im .

We s ta rt ed to get together regularly. I d visitand stay overnight an d get i nt o w or k t he nex t d ayafter noon. Tell my boss I d been away on business.Once a week, then twice a week. I told my wife theywere regular business trips.

P G E

By Alan R. Moon

Meanwhile, I kept advertising. At l as t, i t poff. A guy in the next town called me. An d he hafriend who gamed too. Suddenly, other opponentssurfaced. I began to write to people in other staan d play by mail. was then that I began to losehead. P laying three , four n ights a week, bus inesstrips every weekend.

My wife f ou nd o ut . She was hys te rica l. I ther i t was only social gaming. She begged me tosome help, to see someone . I told her everythiwas under control , I cou ld handle i t. She told mwas sick. I ha d a disease. I laughed. I told her I jneeded o ne m o re game.

She was right, of course, I was hooked. I kworrying where my next game would come from.started staying home during the d ay t o p la n stratefor an upcoming game. I only fel t calm when I wasgaming.

I bought every game out. Magazines. BookBlank counters. Wa r so uve ni rs. T- shi rt s. I waspending all my time gaming. My thirst was unending.

No t surpr is ingly, I was f ired . Actua lly, I hbeen fired several weeks be fo re I fo un d outwalked in to the office one day to ge t a book I dthere, an d myboss to ld meI was f ired . I didn t caI thanked him.

I collected unemployment an d stayed home.wife got a job. I began to s teal the househomoney, what little t he re was. My kids hi d th eipiggy-banks. I couldn t stop myself. Tunemployment ra n out, bu t I stayed home.

How my wife suffered through those yeaWhy she s tayed with me I ll never know. Finallyshe left. was that, or die. I had s topped carabout how I looked, what I ate, sex, everything except games. I didn t even play aga inst anyoan ym or e. I stayed home and worked onultimate wargame. was going to be a ma p ofworld, made up of dozens of regular-sized maan d hundred of thousands of counters. An d I walready planning its extension-the whole universI don t even remember her leaving.

I was living in t he b as em en t n ow. N o c on tawith the outside world. On e day, a ma n came dowth e stairs an d just stared at me. Then he went baup. The next day, theycame for me. A whole bun

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MAGNETIC GAMES

PAGE

of people. Cops. Health Inspector. Doctor. Attendants. Collectors.

On the way ou t t o t he v an , I noticed there was nofurniture in the house, most of windows werebroken, there were no cars in the driveway, an d thegrass hadn t been cut. I w ou ld h av e t o tell the wifeabout that , I thought to myself.

I went cold turkey. The shakes, convulsions, thewhole bit. It worked for awhile. About two months.Then I got a jo b as a short-order cook. I s pe nt m yfirst paycheck on games.

T he s ec on d t im e was worse than the first. Th ethird worse still. After that, th e times became lost inhorror. I knew I was dying, bu t I couldn t savemyself.

Then I me t Bill. He d been a g am e r t o o . H e t ol dme a bo ut G A a nd the buddy system. Said he d bem y b ud dy. I said I d tr y it. An d I did. O ne da ythough, I cheated-bought a game. Just one. Billfound it under t he b ed d ur in g his daily inspection.He b ea t m e senseless.

I lay on my bed for days, n ea r d ea th . Billwouldn t take me to the doctor. Said i t was better Idie.

O ne m o rn in g, a bluebird landed on the windowsi ll . I watched it an d it ,seemed no t to noticeme. It was s o happy. Suddenly, I kn ew the truth.

Ir e me m be r ed t he ma n I d been

yearsbefore.

Icried an d the t ea rs w as he d m y face. My sou l wascleansed. I broke the habit.

Applause. Cheers.

Filing out, the members pass under a doorwaywith the sign:

GAMERS ANONYMOUSServing the Afflicted since 1972 G

A.H. Philosophy Cont inued from P ag e 2

BL OO D Y RIDGE N POLEON A T BNAPOLEONA T LEIPZIG and numerous development credits.

Closer to h o me , t hi s issue conta ins the longawaited M GIC RE LM f e at ur e. U ni ve rs al ly

praised fo r i ts i nn o va t io n s a nd c ur se d fo r it srules, M GIC RE LM owners s ho ul d s pe ndsome time with this issue. I f n o th i ng else, th equestion and answer nsert should help y o u c o mprehend th e rules more easily. We ll eventuallyhave a revised rulebook available fo r th e gameb ut f or th e time being this issue should be a bighelp.

We ma y no t have th e n ec es sa ry c ol orseparations available to adver ti se them in thisissue bu t both CRESCENDO OF DOOM and WAR ND PEACE are no w available fo r mail order purchase. Each game sells fo r 1 5.00. Play testreports fo r both games have been veryfavorable.

Las tly, the ne w year will bring with it a slightincrease in our payment rates fo r articles printed

in THE GENERAL. Starting with t he J an ua ry,1980 issue we will be paying 6 .00 or 9 .00w or th o f Avalon Hill merchandise per 10 inchcolumn of edited text. We are in great need ofq ua li ty m at er ia l f or t he m ag az in e and activelysol ic i t a r tic les from th e readership. If y o u e nj oyth e GENERAL 5 emphasis on true game analysisr at he r t ha n t he m or e c om mo np la ce h is to ry orreview approach of m a ny o t he r magazines, givesome thought to lending your exper ti se to th ereadership in the form of an article. If just onereader per thousand woul d favo r us once a yearwith an in depth analysis of his favorite game,THE GENERAL could be great ly improved. Wh ok n o w s - w e might even ge t one done on t ime.

8

ADDITIONAL RULES ontinuedfrom age 3

the counters listed in the next stage after his currentstage, an d ca n use it in the next game.3.11 A character who is at first stage an d w ho h astwo extra counters is still at first stage.3.12 When a character gets all three of th e countersof a stage, the next game he starts a t t h at new stagewith the appropriate Spells an d equipment.3 .2 T he c ha ra ct er w ho w on t he g am e jumps a ful l

s tage in the next game. If he were f ir st s tage withone extra counter, the next game he would be secon d stage with one extra counter.3.3 A character who is killed drops a ful l s tage forthe next game.3.31 If the revival rule is being used an d a characteris killed, he loses the stage before he is revived-andif he is kil led again he loses another stage.3.32 A c ha ra c te r c an never be lowe r than firststage.

4. When a character reaches fourth stage he shouldcontinue to keep track of the stages an d counters hehas earned even though he cannot get additionalcounters.4.1 Instead of extracounters, a character gains certain advantages for eac h full stage h e ha s earnedabove the fourth (hegains nothing for counters thatdo no t complete a stage). He takes these items whenhe p laces h is f ir st hex ti le.4.11 Fifth stage an d above: 5 extra GOLD.4 .1 2 S ix th s ta ge an d above: Take on e randomt re as ur e c a rd f ro m a ny native group.4 .13 Seven th s tage an d a bo ve : 10 NOTORIETYan d 5 FAME.4.14 Eighth Stage an d above: Tak e o ne h or se f ro man y native group.4.15 Ninth stage an d above : Get s b on us p ha seevery day.4.16 Tenth stage: Ta ke one weapon or armorc ou nt e r f ro m a ny native group; or record one extraSpell of an y type.4.17 Eleventh stage: T he c ha ra ct er should bedeclared an immorta l and retired, an d his owners ho ul d s ta r t o ve r with a new (and preferably different) c ha ra ct er . O ve r t he really long haul theplayers ca n compete to see w ho c a n r ea ch immortal status with the most characte rs .4.2 A charac te r mus t record an d acquire extra victory poin ts for his excess stages of development, soa seventh-stage character needs eight poin ts to win.

5. Th e players will find that games can end quicklywhen some of the players ar e at low stages; when agame ends to o quickly the characters ca n leave theboard se tup, m ove to th e s ta rt of the next lunarm o nt h a nd s ta rt the next game from there. fA:\o

N ow y ou c an c on ve rt your favorite game forvertical display or secure in-play s to rage withmagnetic tape, un mou nt ed boa rds a nd j us t a nhour ofyour time. All you'll need is a metal surfacea nd a n u nm ou nt ed g am eb oa rd . We supply themagnetic strips with selfsticking adhesive alreadyapplied. You just cut the x l s tr ips into hal finch squares and app ly them to the uni t counter swhich came with your game. The resul t is a

thick counter which will s tack six high even whenthe mapboard is mounted in a vertical position ford isplay purposes. Never wor ry about t ha t pbmmo've being jost led again between turns.

Naturally this magnetic treatment will be lessvaluable for counters with two-sided printing, but

THE G E N E R A L

T H I RD R E IC H ontinued r o age

ranean, a nd Ma lta MUST be r ed uc ed an d tGermans MUST do it a ll . (Get them t o use thei r aforce to counterair) an d YOU take po·ssession ofThese are the very concessions the Ital ians wantefrom the Germans, bu t backed down on. I consideit imperative to a sk f or t he m. Not to the letter,course, the Germans will always welch on somet he m b ut having so many you cushion youself a

will wind up with just the number you ca n hold ar ea lly need. Also the two variants numbers 4 an dincrease immensely the Ital ian bargaining positionwith either side.

T he w at ch wo rd for th e Italians is To tBritish, t re at e m n i ~to the G er ma ns , m a ke e mpay.FRANCE-Of all the powers, France has t o d olea st t o win, all sh e had to do is survive. The threshestarts with are allshe needs to win. But to surviis a neat trick. The difficulties ar e many. Weaarmy, weak ai r force, weak posi tion, weak BRP Further, you have an Ally (Britain US) who stant o gain a lot bycast ing you to the wolves. No BE F 94 is l ike a day without sunshine. Ah, bu t two cplay that g am e. Se ll in g t he Brit ish ou t toGermans is a good trick, an d really devastating. TG er ma ns ca n t he n turn against Russia an dneutrals an d win, an d the Bri tish will be ou t inco ld to even get a s talema te. Remember, Frencfriendship will guard t he beaches o f N or m an dybetter than a thousand Atlantic Walls. T he F re ncs ho ul d be pushing the Bri tish to seek an Eastesolution to Hil ter's egomania , a f te r all, bette r thborscht eaters than them. Both variant 1 an d 2 hthe French a t ta in these goals in making them a moviable partner in a war.

The key t o France in th e g ame is to m ake a ndeal that will allow you to survive y ou d o t ha tyou've made it to the top. (See, the Maginot line wuseful after all.)

Central to all these arrangements is a timetabof turnover. What that i s i s a general agreement aswhen in t ime the cen te rs to be turned over ar e doso. Ifthe centers d o n ot confer any specific benefitBRP s this is not of major importance. Howevewhen they do, fairly restrictive guidelines shouldset. Remember that the clock is always running, aas the game wends on, your time for reprisal againan ally who cheats on his agreement is fast slippinaway. Remember that w he n y ou d ea l f or Budapean d Ploesti which involve BRP s an d German minAllies. He may well w an t t he m at the en d ofgame just at the poin t when you want your centeThis is an added factor to cons ider whendealing fthese areas of the countryside. You c an allow yopartner in t he arrangement a turn or two of grabu t you can t take next turn for an answer forev

Good luck an d don t take Russia

that still leaves them with a multitude of usesNOTE: it will be necessa ry to be sure that the toppor t ion of all uni t counters are uniformly appliedto the top half of the magnetic strips. Otherwise,the polar ity may be reversed an d the counters .wia ct ua ll y repel e ac h o th er r at he r than attract.Therefore, it is wise to mark the ba ck of thmagne ti c s tr ips uni fo rmly across the top so as tobe sur e to a pp ly th e t op h al f o f the counter t o thtop half of the magnetic str ip .

Magnetic strips are available from Avalon Hillfor 90lt a foot or 7.50 for t en feet. Unmountedmapboards are available upon request for 6.00apiece. Usual pos tage charges app ly, a s does the5% state sales ta x for Maryland residents.

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8/12/2019 Vol16i4


PAGE 34 THE GENERAL

READER BUYER S GUIDETITLE M A G IC R E A LM

SUBJECT Multi-Player Fantasy Role P lay ing Game

15.00

STILLMORESQUAD LEADER BOARDS

The 4 5th g am e t o u nd er go analysis in theRBG, M GI RE LM rated surprisingly low inmost categories. The cumulative rating of 3.54

pu t it a dismal 41st on the overa ll chart .

The biggest factor in the lackluster showingwas the 5.29 ra tingfor Ease of Understanding, thesecondworst rating ever in this category 1914 stilla t theabso lu te bottom). It c a n o n ly b e h o p ed thatt he s ec on d e di ti on r ul eb oo k will improve thisdeplorable situation. The 4 .4 2 r at in g f or Completeness of Rules seems t o b ac k this up.

The Realism rating of 4.06 is probably d u e t oa contradiction in terms, since fantasy and realismare simply redundant entitites. Assuming thatmost GENER L r ea de rs a re predominantlywargamers and n ot f an ta sy b uf fs a cc ou nt s f ormany of the low ratings, e sp ec ia ll y in t hi scategory. O t he r p o or ratings were fo r Phys ica lQ ua li ty 2 .7 4, Components 3 .1 3, E xc it em en tLevel 3.39, an d Overall Value 3.26. The Components ra t ing was surprising since s o m uc h t im e

and effort was put in on the ar twork. The Excitem en t r a ti ng m a y a l s o b e a t t ribu ted to wargamersreviewing a fantasy game.

Good ratings were g ar ne re d f or t he m apboard 2 .81 , a l though t hi s w as e xp ec te d to behigher especially in view of the innovativedouble

pr inted hexagon t il es w hi ch s er ve d a s t he m a pboard. Play Balance2.80 is not really indicative ofthe game, where ba lance is completely in relationto playing ability, making for a perfectly balancedgame be tween equa l opponents.

Playing time will vary d e pe nd in g o n t he encounter being played, the number of players, andt he v ic to ry c on di ti on s, b ut t he 1 9. 9 f ig ur e isabout right f or a n a ve ra ge 4 -p la ye r g a me usingmost of the rules from all seven encounters.

Physical Quality 2.742. Mapboard 2.813. Components 3.134. Ease of Understanding 5.295. Completeness of Rules 4.426. P la y B al an ce 2.807. Realism 4.068. Exci tement Level 3.39

9. Overa ll Value 3.261 Game Length 3 hours 20 min

For those of you interested in adding to yourpossible t er r ai n c on f ig u ra ti on s f or t he SQU DLE DER system we offe r four add it iona l boardsnot yet included in any of the SQU DLE DERgamettes. Those who can't wait for additional terr ai n c an p u rc ha s e these games separate ly f romour Mail-Order De pt . f or 2 .00 ea ch plus theusualpostage charges for parts orders 10070 of thedollar amount fo r U.S ., 20070 for Canadian, and30070 for overseas customers). The boards shouldbe o rd er ed u nd er t he title S QU D L E DE Rboards 8, 9, 10 or 11.

The boards will not comewi thany di rec tionsp er t ai n in g t o t he new terrain types nor will anyquestions per ta ining to them be answered. Theyare offered strictly on a a s they are basis for

those individuals who can't wait to add new terra in to thei r SL gaming and don ' t mind making upt he ir o w n rules a s t he y g o a lo ng . N ot e that thevarious shades of c o lo r o n these boards do nonecessarily match exactly with earlier boards othe series.

Board 8 features a wide r iver in an urban seting. Board 9 is the mounta in b o ar d a n d introduces 4th level hil ls and crags. Board 1represen ts an o ld French village with an urbanfeel and also introduces a new type of buildingand a pond. Board is in tended to represen t theNormandy hedgerows. All the boards maintainthe geomorphic feature which allows them tbe butted together to form an ever growingnumber of possible terrain configurations.

OMING UP NEXT TIME

MANEUVER CARDS

( ) ~ ( ) ; [ s ( ) rm

OJ (1) x

u :

I::: : <

a u S, c U~

OJ ~

i if f

Ill::J ~1) Q

::J(1)

V LON HILL RBG R TI NG H RT

The games a re ranked by the i r cumula t ive scores which is a n a v er ag e o f the 9 categories forgame. While it may be fairly argued that each ca tegory should not weigh equally against the othwe use it only as a generalization of overall rank. By breaking down a game s ra t ings in to ind ividua lcategories the gamer is ab le to discern for himsel f where t h e g a m e is strong or weak in thequa l i the valuesthe most . Readers a re reminded that the Game Length category is measured in multipleten minutes and that a r at in g o f 1 8 w o ul d e qu al 3 hours.

Roll, Falling Leaf, Flat Spin, lmmelmann, Loop,Nose Dive, Side-Sl ip, Tight Circle, and VerticalSpin in a n a t te m pt (not always successful) to geto n the enemy's tail, r at h er t h an j us t t ra de shots.This 27 card deck is professionally illustrated andprinted and available from Avalon H il l w it hinstruction sheet for 4.00 plus usual postage andhandling charges. Maryland residents please add5 sales tax.

Vol. 14 N o . 4 of the GENERAL printed avariant for R CHTHOFEN S whichfeatured the use of a deck of 27 maneuvercards toaugment the mechanical movement system andadd a degree of uncertainty and excitment t o t hegame. Not jus t a random luck element, use of the .maneuvercards is dependent upon such factors asturning ability, a t ta c k p o si ti on , a nd pilot skill.Using the maneuver c ar ds o ne can more vividlyexecu te the classic maneuvers of the day: Barrel

RI CHT 0 FEN S

8/12/2019 Vol16i4


THE G E N E R A L

Vol. 1 6, No.2 slipped a bi t in t h e r at in gs incomparison to th e previous tw o issues whichhad done ve ry well. Th e BISMARCK issuemanaged a 3.28 overall rating led by, as onemight e xp ec t, t he lead articles on th e BIS-MARCK game. Alan Moon's / B ISMARCK-AChild of th e 60 ' s Grows Up led t he v ot in gfollowed c lo se ly b y d es ig ne r/ de ve lo pe r MickU h l' s v a ri a nt Search For th e Graf Spee . Asusual, each first place vote w as w or th threep oi nt s, 2 n d place tw o points, and 3r d place onepoint in o ur r an do m s am pl e of 200 ballots.

BISMARCK. . 30 6Search Forthe Graf Spee . . 28 3Fire As Your Guns Bear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3Prelude to Conf l ic t . . 11 7The Incoming Tide. 86K. O. In Round 5 . . . . . . . . . . 83TheAsylum,No.4 . 52PANZERBLITZSeries Replay. . . . . . . . . . . . . 45BISMARCKDesign Analysis. 31A.H. Philosophy. . . . . . . . . . 14

Early indications are that ORIGINS '8 0 hashad to switch it s site and d at e. T he much ant icipated July w ee ke nd a t th e University ofDelaware is a pp ar en tl y o ut du e to th eUniversity's inability to guarantee access to allt he n ec es sa ry f ac il it ie s. Th e ne w plans are toagain hold the convent ion at Widener College inWidener, PA during t he J un e 27-29 weekend.We'll keep y ou p os te d as m or e d et ai ls b ec om eavailable.

Among t he w ar ga me t ou rn am en ts beingheld a t WA RC O N '8 0 this February 8 9 10 arecompetitions in DIPLOMACY KINGMAKERWS IM SQUAD LEADER CROSS OF IRONPANZER LEADER and VITP Registration is 4 .00 before January 15 and 5 .00 at thedoor. See the Convent ion Calendar fo r details.

The Empir iCon II/Conspiracy is a combinedscience fiction and gaming convention to be held July 4 ,5 ,6 a t the Prince George Hotel, 14 E 28th St.,

N Y, N Y. As one might e x pe c t t h e c o nv e nt i on w i llbe heavily oriented towards fantasy and science fict ion games al though a DIPLOMACYtournamentwill be featured. Registration fees are set a t 6 untilFebruary 1, 7. 50 until June st, and 9 thereafter.

GLASCON V Greater Los Angeles SimulationConvention) will be held July 11 , 1 2, 1 3 a t t he Airpor t Marina Hote l in Los Angeles , CA. Events areplanned fo r MIDWA Y 1776 TOBRUKDIPLOMACY KINGMAKER GETTYSBURGSQUAD LEADER/COl WS IM BISMARCKPANZERBLI Z PANZER LEADER and m ore.Pre-registration is set at 6 with t ickets a t th e doorgoing fo r 8.

To m Oleson informs us that th e ANZIO addendu m dated November 1 977, is no w available. It iseight pages long, near ly all variant rules, many ofthem new. It hasalready been mailed to those wh opaid fo r the 1977 addendum, bu t did no t receive it,because it wa s no longer available. Anyone elsewanting the addendum should order it f ro m TomOleson, Pi so 9-1, Orense 32,'Madrid 20 , Spain, onth e following basis:

1. To a Europeanaddress, send an unstamped,self-addressed envelope containing one U.S. dollar(check, money order, or stamps).

2. To anywhere else, th e same, bu t 2.Whatever you send be sure to wrap it in opaque

paper so it won't show through the envelope. At thepresent time, it costs To m 1 .8 5 to copy and airmailthe addendum to the U.S., exclusive of papercosts.

nfilfrafor·s eport

• I

· · J ; n ~ ~ I _ ~ ~ ~

i j ~ ~

7 r ~ ~ . · . ~ : . - - - r ~ -

Wargaming/ Moves Uptown might ~ ~b ~th e headline of an a rt ic le a b ou t t h e r ec en t opening o f S WO RD OF T HE PHOENIX - probablyth e most expensive hobby shop of it s kind in acity th e size of Atlanta . Located in luxurious ParkPlace Shopping Center and stocked with t hewidest selection of board games and militaryminiatures in th e Southeast , this storerepresents a real class wargaming image to allpassersby as yo u can see f r om t he above illustrat io n. W he n in Atlanta be s ur e to d rop i nt o t hemall at 4505 Ashford Dunwoody Road to checko ut h ow t he o th er h al f lives.

Taking a page from several other GENERALsubscribers wh o have produced their ow n pb msheets for the ir favor i te games, Chester Hendrixhas f il led th e void fo r STARSHIP TROOPERS byprinting TERRAN and ARACHNID PBM sheets.Each sheet is good f or t hr ee t ur ns and includesall v a ri an t c o un t er s ( ex c ep t recruits) publishedin Vol. 13 , No.6 of th e GENERAL plus some addi tional uni ts he plans to introduce in a seconde di ti on v ar ia nt to appear in th e GENERALThose interested in acquiring t he s he et s, orplay testing his postal s ys te m a nd /o r ne ws ce na ri os , o r wh o would be willing to sharewith him any ideas fo r rules clarifications orquestions answers should contact hi m at his760 Sycamore Ave., Marysville, CA 95901 address. Chester will send yo u sample sheets fo rtw o 1 5 ¢ stamps an d a SA SE , or 50 sheets fo r 4 .00

Those wanting the complete set couldsend an additional 2.00 and ge t 25 Humanoidsheets as well.

Nobody submitted t h e s ol ut io n f o r C o nt e st90 exactly as explained in th e previous issue.Murry Burns of T us cu mb ia , A la ., c am e th eclosest with a v er y s tr on g s ta rt in g p os it io n.Three o t he r c o nt e st a nt s wh o had b et te r t ha n

average setups and wh o w e re a w ar d ed prizeswere: Louis Desy, J r. , Wor ce st er , M a. ; G.F.Lientz, Charlottesville, Va. and Jerry Hall,Wichita, Ks.

Th e keys to solving Contest No. 91 are:el iminat ing the German units in Bryansk first soth e units in he x U 14 are no t combat supplied,knowing Finnish units like th e o ne in hex S13)are always in supply, dropping a paratrooper tocu t of f th e re treat route of t he u ni ts in U 14 , andremembering that units in woods hexes do no tretreat (including Bryansk which is a woods he xas well as a city).

The exact sequence is as follows: Drop aparatrooper in he x T1 6 ( wi th in t he e ig ht he xrange of t h e S t av k a u n it in Tula). M o ve t h e 1 0- 7

PA G E

and 8- 6 armor units to he x U 1 3, and th e tw o 7-infantry units to T 1 3, all f ou r t o a tt ac k Bryanskat 4-1 odds, a d ie r oll of 5 el iminat ing both Gem an u ni ts . Th e tw o 5 -3 inf ant ry units at T 1move to S 1 2 and th e one 5 -3 in fan try unitS 11 moves to R1 3, all three attacking th e 3-Finn infantry at 5-1 odds, a die roll ofel iminat ing the unit in an exchange. Finally, th5- 7 caval ry uni t moves to V 14 at tacking the twunits in U 14 , no w n ot c om ba t supplied (botunits worth one factor each), at 2-1 odds, rollingan exchange with a 4, eliminating one unit whit he o t he r is eliminated because it h as n o retrearoute.

ONVENTION LEND R

The following list of gaming conventions is madstrictly on the basis of the presentation of a date to us bthe convention publicity chairman. Avalon Hill does nonecessarily attend or endorse the gatherings listed below,nor do we mean to suggest that events using Avalon Hillgames will be held there, although it is likely t hat a t leacasual, open gaming with AH games will be present .Readers are urged to contact the sources listed for furtherinformation before making plans to attend.

JANUARY 18-19-20WINTERWAR VII, Champaign, IL L ontact Alan B Conrad 2215 S. F ir st 103,Champaign, IL 61820

FEBRUARY 1-2-3W ARCON '80, Texas ontact WarCon '80, Box 5718, College Station,TX 77844

MARCH 14-15-16UPPER SOUTHCLA VE ontact Red Carpet Inn, P.O. Box 8423Louisville, KY 40802

MARCH 22-23SIMCON II Rochester, NY ontact S im Co n I I, Box 5142, River S ta ti on ,Rochester, NY 14627

MAY 16-17-18-19CAN GAMES '80, Ottawa, ON ontact Can Games '80 , 201-360 Dundas St. ,Vanier, Ontario KI L 7W7

MAY 23-24-25GENGHIS C ON I I Denver, CO ontact D en ver Gar ners A sso ci at io n, 2527Gaylord St. , Denver, CO 80205

JUNE 6-7-8MICHICON IX GAMEFEST Detroit , MI ontact Metro Detroit Garners, P.O. Box 787Troy, MI 48099

JUNE 30/JULY 1NAN CON II Houston TX ontact Nan s Toys an d Games, 385 GalIen

-Mall, Houston TX 77056

JULY 4-5-6EMPIRICON II/ConSpiracy New York, NY ontact PO B 682, Church St reet S ta tion , NewYork, NY 10008

JULY 11-12-13GLASC V, Los Angeles, CA ontact L. Daniel, 7048 Keokuk Ave. , CanogaPark CA 91306

AUGUST 1-2-3CWACON '80, ontact Tony Adams, 3605 Bobolink, RollingMeadows, IL 60008

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8/12/2019 Vol16i4


MAGIC REALM u stions nsw rsOVEMENT

Q : W he n a character executes the f irst of twoMOVE phases t oen te r a Mountain Clearing, doeshe m ov e h al fw ay t o t he M o un ta i n C le ar in g ordoes he s tay where he is? f he stays, can he beBlocked t here be fo re do ing the second MOVE?A: He stays where he is and he can be Blockedafter the f irst move.Q: When a charac te r on a pony starts his turn byusing a M O VE p ha se t o m ov e t w o Clearings, canhe Block or b e B lo ck ed in the first Clea r ing he

enters?A: Yes.Q: Can a character HIDE and remain hidden ifhedoes other activities (such as SEARCH)?A: Yes.

CHARACTER SPECIAL ABILITIESQ: Is the Swordsman s BARTER ability to rollone die whenever he t rades (as i ndicated on hisca rd) o r tosub t ract onef rom the dierolleach timehe rol ls (as stated in the rule book)?A: Oops The card is r igh t; he r ol ls one diewithout subtracting.Q: How many t imes a daycan theCap ta in usehisREPUTATION to get an ex tra phase in a Dwelling?A: He gets o nl y o n e e x t ra p ha se p er day.Q: Is P E AC E W I TH NATURE manda to ry fort he Druid or can he choose to ignore it?A: It is mandatory.Q: How does the Druid s P EA CE W IT HNATURE w or k w he n t he re a re other characters

in his t ile?A: PEACE WITH NATURE does no t p reventm on st er s f r om a pp ea r in g at t he e nd of otherplayers turns, only at t heend of the Druid s turn.If t heDru id moved in first no monsters would appear t hen , bu t when t he o ther charac te r s a r rivedthey would trigger monsters normally.Q: Ca n the PILGRIM Block or b e B lo ck ed b yD e mo ns a nd t h e I mp ?A: H e c a n Block t hem but they cannot Block him.Q: I t s ee ms that when the Witch King is u singMAGIC SIGHT he cannot find horse countersandhe must roll a result to find hidden paths orsecret passages . Is this correct?A: Yes.Q: Ca n the Witch King ( or a ny o t he r c ha r ac t erwho is using MAGIC SIGHT) draw Treasures orSpells from a Treasure location pile if he has no tfound that Treasure location and crossed it off?A: No. You must have crossed the location off tobe at it.

COMBATQ: Can I attack w it h m y weapon even if it isunready?A: Yes.Q: Then w ha t g oo d d oe s it do t o r ea dy myweapon?A : B ow s and spears inflict more damage whenthey are readied; being ready does not a ffec t theother weapons unless optional rule 2.1 (WeaponTimes) is being used. (Spears inf l ic t Negligibledamage when unready.)Q: In Combat, am Ilimited to ~ t t k i n g o n e o f t h e

monsters, natives and charac te r s who are a t tacking me?A: No. You cana t t ack someone who is not attacking you, i f y ou wish.Q : W ha t h ap pe ns w he n t wo ( or m or e) w ea po nswith t he s am e speed and length simultaneouslystrike t he same piece of armor?A: Both (all) of the attacks inflict damage on thearmor, but both (all) of t he a t t acks count as hitting the a r m o r- n o t the character carrying the armor. E X M P L E F ou r H ea vy a tt ac ks hit aMedium shield s imul taneous ly. The shield isd es tr oy ed a nd t he t ar ge t c ha ra ct er takes fourwounds, but no dama ge is inflicted on thecharacter or any other armor he is wearing.Q: What happens if I hit a t a rge t who is dead byt he t im e m y a t ta c k is resolved (because he waskilled by someone else s a t t ack tha t was resolvedfirst)?A: Your attack inflicts no damage and you get nocredit for the kill, but it is stil l a hi t and yourweapon is unready for the next Round of Combat.Q: When a character is wounded and mustremovea counter from play, exactly w ha t ki nd ofcoun ter s can he remove?A: The c ha r ac te r c an remove a ny M OV E,FIGHT, MAGIC, DUCK or BERSERK counterhe has in playas l on g a s h e d id no t play it duringt ha t R ou nd of Combat. If all of his combatcounters in p la y w er e us ed d ur in g t h at R ou nd ,t he n he must remove one of t he coun ter s he

played. If all of the c ha r ac t er s c ou nt er s a rewounded or fatigued, he must change one of hisfatigued counters into a wound.Q: H ow d o I determine whether I must removeacounter due to fatigue during combat?A: A t t he e nd of each Round of Combat add upthe asterisks on the FIGHT and MOVE counter syou played t hat Round ; i fyou played twoMOVE

asterisks you must remove a M OV E c ou nt er , i fyou p la ye d t wo FIGHT asterisks you mustr em ov e a FIGHT c ou nt er , i f you played oneMOVE asterisk andone FIGHT asteriskyou mustremove either a FIGHT or MOVE counter, as youchoose. f you played on ly one asterisk or noneyou d o n ot fatigue t hat Round .Q: What coun ter do I remove when I fat igue?A : You can remove any counter you have inplay,as long a s it is the right type and has at least oneasterisk on i t. I f yo u r em ov e a counter with twoasterisks you c an make change and b ri ng afatigued single-asterisk counter of the same typeback into play.Q: H o w m u ch d o I fatigue if I play more than twoasterisks in a Round (by using the P OT IO N O FENERGY t o r ai se m y effort limits)?A: Each extra asteriskcauses you to fatigue an ext r a counte r tha t is t he the same type as t ha t ex traasterisk-so i f y ou played f ou r M O VE asterisksyou would fatigue three MOVE counters, one fornormal fatigue a nd t wo m or e for t he t wo e xt r a

asterisks youplayed. Youfatigue the counters oneat a t ime, making change a s y ou g o.Q: H ow d o I fatigue if I play MOVE counters anda MAGIC counter (including a transformed colorcounter) in t he same Round?A: Calcu la te your MOVE fatigue by counting upyour MOVE asterisks normally-in other words,just ignore t he M AG IC c ou nt er s. T he transfo rmed co lo r counter fatigues at t he e nd of thatR ou nd , a n d t he M A GI C c ou nt er fatigues whenthe Spell expires(or at the end of the Round i f theSpell expires during the Round).Q : W he n does Combat end in a Clearing?A: Combat ends i f all of the following conditionsare met f or t wo consecutive Rounds:

I) No character, monster, native or horse is killed;2) no comba t coun ter is wounded or fatigued; 3)no Tremendous monster counter is red side up; 4)no Spells a re Cast . The th ird cond i tion can be ignored unt i l the THIRD ENCOUNTER a nd t hefour th cond i tion can be ignored until t heSIXTHENCOUNTER.

MONSTERS AND COMBATQ: f two Sound counters simultaneously triggert hesame box of monsters, where do themonste rsgo?A: To t he coun ter with the lower number. Thenext box (if any) would go to the ne xt hi ghernumber, etc.Q: Do the LOST CITY and LOST CASTLEcounters ever trigger monsters?A: No. (Unless the Deadly Realm rules are beingused.)Q: f a character is hidden when heends his turn,do active monsters on h is t il e s ti ll m ov e tc hisC le ar in g a n d a re active mons ter s f rom the APPEARANCECHART still placed on his tile event hough he is hidden?A: Yes. A cti va te d M ons te rs mov e i nt o t hecharacter s Clearing and onto his t ile even whenhe is hidden; if he is hidden they will ~ Block nora t t ack h im, however.Q: In what order do the characte rs in a Clearingc ho os e t he m on st er s t ha t a re placed on theirMELEE sections? This is important when twocharacters want to choose thesame monster, sincet he charac ter who goes last can take the mons tero f f o f the o the r cha rac ter s MELEE SECTION.A: The characters select monsters in clockwiseorder around t he b oa rd , st ar ti ng with thec ha ra c te r w ho m ov ed first that d a y - t h e sameorder in which they play MOVE counters to runaway.Q: When a character is moving monsters onto hissheet, can he take a red-s ide-up Tremendousmonster that is on ano the r cha rac ter s sheet?A: No A Tremendous monster that is redside upmust remain on the sheet where he is located.Q: What is t he a t ta c k time and weight for thespear-carrying goblins when the side without attack values is face up?A: They do not at tack. Blank values mean negligible damage-no attack.Q: f the non-red side of a Tremendous monstercounte r a t t acks, hits and kills t he m on st e r s

target, is the Tremendous monster still turned redside up?A: No.Q: When t he D e mo n o r Winged Demon counterattacks, hits and rolls o n t he P OW ER O F T HEPI T table, is it thenturned red side up for the nextRound of Combat? Yes (unless its target is killed.)

Q: W he n t wo (or more) weapons with t he samelength a nd a tt a ck time simultaneously kill thesame monster, who gets the FAME for killing thatmonster?A: T he F AM E is divided equally between thecharacters making the simultaneous attacks. EX-

MPLE If three characters simultaneously kill aIO-point monster, it is as if each one had killed amonster worth 3 points. f the monster was thethird kill of t he day for one of the characters, hewould triple his FAME gain and record pointsfor his part in the kill.Q: What does the circled number on the red sideof the Tremendous monsters mean?A: This indicates that the attack kills automatically when i t hits. The circled number is t hea t t ack stime number.

TREASURES AND ITEMSQ: f a character is Blocked before he takes histurn, c an he still activate, inactivate, abandonand/ or sell items he is carrying?

A : N o.Q: Can I use t he DRAGONF ANG NECKLACEto control anothe rd ragon i f the dragon Iwas controlling is killed in combat?A: Not until the next day. The necklace can control only onedragon perday and is still committedto that dragon even if it is killed.Q: f I sell an item with FAME poin ts on it, do Ikeep the FAME points?A: No. T he F AM E a nd N OT OR IE TY pointsbelong t o theho lde r of t heca rd (except for condit io na l FA ME , which is g ai ne d b y t he characterwho delivers t he c ar d t o t he p ro pe r native group).Q: Do the effects of a otion treasure stop whenthe Potion card is d i sca rdeda t theend of the dayo r a re the effects permanent?A: The effects stop when t heca rd is discarded.Q: Are the horses at the CRYPT a n d M E AD O Wkilled if they are discovered in a Cave?A: Yes.Q: W he n t he Witch K in g l oo ts one of theTREASURES WITHIN TREASURES cards, does

he use t he M AG IC SIGHT table or the tableprinted on the set up char t ?A: The table on the set up char t .

NATIVESQ: After the native groups are introduced, all ofthe armor and weapon coun ter s a re s et up i n t hegroups boxes a t t he s ta rt of the game. Where dothe characters get the armor and weapons withwhich they s t ar t thegame?A: Each charac te r takes his starting armor andweapon counters fromthe nativebox(es) that contain them. If a character is entitled to a counterthat is in several boxes hecan choose which box totake it f rom-so a character entitled to a helmetcould take it from theCompany, Pa t ro l , Soldiersor Guard.Q: Can characte rs buyand sell damaged armor?A: Yes, at ful l priceas if it were not damaged.Q: What happens if a characater chooses one ofhis own hirelings as t he ta rge t for a weapon a t -tack? .A: The hireling s whole group is no longer underhire to that character and he must subtract theirvalue from his r ecorded FAME and NOTORIETY (natives t h at a r e n o t u nd er hire to him a re no taffected and he doesn t lose their value) . Thefreed natives instantly start fighting like unhirednat ives; f reed nat ives o n o th er c ha r ac te r s ornatives MELEE SECTIONS stay there and attack, b ut i f a f re ed native is on his own sheet allmons te r s and unh i red natives there become uncommi tt ed and all hired nat ives there r e tu rn t otheir own sheets - and one of t he m c an t ak e t hefreed native s counter (if none of them take it thenthe freed native is uncommi t ted ). No one has toroll to be battled when natives are freed, b ut t hefreed natives group battles t he owners of thesheets where they are placed and all characterswho attack a gr ou p me mb er , s ta rt ing a t t hemoment they are freed (so at the very least theywill battle the character who doublecrossed themand all other characters who were attacking themat that moment). Since the natives are freed whentargets are being chosen a t t he s ta r t of the melee

TH G N R L

step, mons ter s and natives that become uncomitted a s a r es ul t w il l no t be commi t ted untinext Round s encounter step. At t he e nd oday the freed natives a re re tu rned to the loca tionswhere they s t ar t ed the game .Q : W ha t h ap pe ns when a character choosesof his hire lings as a target for a Spell?A: f it is ana t t ack Spell,it is treated like a weaattack (see above). If it is a ny o th e r Spellnative stays hired and things proceed normallQ: What happens if a character places one o

hirelings counters on another of his hireliMELEE SECTION, so they f ight each other?A: The owner of the MELEE SECTIONloyal, bu t theo the r na tive is freed (along witrest of his group) as if h e w er e attacked bowner (see previous two questions). In thismons te r s and ba tt l ing natives that becomecommitt ed are c ommi tted again t ha t sameR ou nd , a t t he s am e t i m e t h a t other uncommitmonsters and natives are committed.Q: f I l ea ve m y horse behind w he n I g o i nCave, can I leave a hirednative withit t o ho ldI need not s ea rc h f or it w he n I return?A: No. Youcould leavea hiredleader toguardhorse by Blocking anyonewho moved in andto search for i t, b ut h e c a n no t h ol d the horsehired captain couldhold thehorse, as explainoptional r ul e 5 .5 ; a ls o, you w oul d n ot ha ve tsearch i f you cached the horse as explained intional rule 4.1.)

SPELLS (GENERAL RULES)

Q: Can a Spell c ar d a t a Treasure location (e.gtheAlta), be freed and Cast in thesame way Scan be Cast by Artifacts?A: No. They can only be learned and recorded .Q: Exactly howcan a Permanent Spell be brokA : I n three ways: I) by killing the target on wit is Cast; 2) by killing t hecharacte r whoCas t thePermanent Spell; or 3) b y u si ng a Spell-breakSpell such as REMEDY.Q : W he n a Spell is Cast against a character whor iding a horse, does the Spell a ffec t the horsethe rider? Attack Spells inflict damage like weaponsso a ffec t thehorse, i f it is played. Other Spellfect the rider directly a l though they may incthe horse intheir effects; for example, MELTTO MIST affects a character and h is i te mscluding any horses he may have.Q : H o w m a n y times can I us e a transformed

counter before it fatigues?A: Only once, to enchant one tile, Cast oneor activate one Permanent Spell or Treasure .

SPECIFIC TREASURES AND SPELLSQ : W he n a character uses t he C R YST AL Bto execute a SPELL phase in a remote Clearinc an he use r m gic that is present inClearing? Ca n he use r m gic (includingown counters) that is present in his ownClearinA: Yes and yes, the r m gic c a n c om e f reither Clearing.Q: Ca n ASK DEMON be used t o a sk a playfuture intentions?A : N o.Q: f ENCHANT ARTIFACT is used to aSpell t o a n a rt if ac t, c an t ha t Spell be lea rnedreading runes?A : Yes , but only when the ENCHANT ARFACT Spell is activated.Q: Exactly h ow d oe s M E LT I N TO M I ST a f fe c tcharacter?A: H e c an no t d o any activities except MO(with Tremendous ca rry ing capac ity ), he canno tBlock nor be Blocked and hecanno ta t t ack noattacked with weapons or Spells. H e c a n useden pa ths and secret passages freely as he m(without discovering them). Otherwise he pnormally.Q: Exactly how does M E LT I N T O M I S T affenative or monster?A:The coun te r moves around normally butotherwise is ignored.Q: Can coun ter s that have been fatigued becof the WITHER curse be rested and broughtin to p lay befo re the curse is removed?A: No. The character can rest t o c ha ng ew ou nd s t o fatigue but he cannot bringasterisked coun ter s in to play unt i l t h e c ur seremoved.Q: C a n R EM E DY ( or a similar Spell ) be usebreak a S pe ll i n t he s am e R o un d that t ha t oSpell is Cast?A: No, the target Spell must be in effect atstart of t he Round .Q : I f R E ME D Y is Cast on a character who isfering f rom two curses, are both removed?

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TH G N R L

CONTEST NO.

CITY :>T.L\TF lr ADDRESS

f\JAME _

Issue as a Whole. 0 • Rate from 1to 10, with 1equating excellent, 10 terrible)

kh

Te n winning en tr i es will receive certificates redeemable for free AHmerchandise. To be valid an en try must be received p r io r t o the mai ling othe next G EN ER L an d include a numerical r at in g f or t he issue as a wholeas well a s l is t th e best 3 articles. The so lu t ion wil l be announced in th e nextissue an d the winners in the fo llowing issue.

It is the Combat Por tion of the day i n a g am e of M GIC R E L M an dfour characters-the White Knight, Black Knight, Berserker an d Swordsman-a re battlinga Tremendous Troll , a Tremendous Dragon, one goblinwith a spear, one goblin with a sword, on e Rogue with a bo w an d t he B 5Bashkar wi thout a horse assume the Rogues are bat tl ing a ll of thecharacters). Th e question is: how can the characters coordinate their playsto kill all of the monsters an d Rogues without having any of the characterskil led in the process?

T H E S IT U TION The characters have all of their listed fourth-stageequipment an d counters no Spells) an d nothing else. I t is the s tar t of thefirst Round of Combat an d all of their weapons ar e unready. The Berserkeris no t Berserk.

OPTION L RULES Optional rules 2.1 Weapon Times, 2.3 Armorbonus, 2.6 Weapon Length, 3.1 Armored Monsters an d 3.2 Heads an dClubs ar e all in effect .

TH E PROBLEM Specify each character s play for the first R ou n d o nthe char t below, an d we will assume you know the cont inuat ion that wileventually kill all of th e monsters. You m us t specify the attackers eachcharacter takes onto his sheet, the target he attacks whether on his ownsheet or another s), the FIGHT counter he plays an d the direction he playsit i n a nd t he M OV E c ou nt er he plays a nd t he direction he plays i t in; youmust also specify where th e Black Knight plays his shield.

LUCK Always assume the worst possible die rol ls when assigning attacking non-characters to their directions, when rolling for changing tactics an d when rol ling for the archer s MISSILE at tack. xception Youmay assume that sometime during the first five Rounds of Combat theTroll will roll CHARGE/THRUST, but you do n ot know exactly when hint: this is s o y ou can eventually match directions with him).T H E M O N S TE R S

TH E CH RTIte Blac

Knight Berserker Swordsman Knight

Attackers:

Target:

Attack:

FIGHT an d

direction

Maneuver:

M OV E a nd

direction

Shield

direction:

CAMPAIGN COUNTERSQ: T h er e a r e o n ly six campaign/mission/visitorcounte rs to place in the seven boxes on t he A PPEARANCE CHART. Which box is left empty?A: That varies f rom game to game, depending onwhere the players place the counte rs . The playerwho places a counter can p la ce it in any emptybox; t hebox that is left when all six counters havebeen placed remains empty for that game.Q : W h at is the reward for successfully completinga campaign?A : T h er e is n o r ew ar d except for not having top ay t he c a mp ai g n cost again). Th e only benefityou get for taking a campaign counter is thepower you get by having all those allies.Q: Can a character have one of his hired leadersdeliver a mission counter?A: Not unless optional rule 5.5 is being used,because withoutthat rule the leader cannot recordthe gold he would be paid for the del ivery.Q: Where does a mission or campaigncounter gowhen the month ends or thecharacter carrying it is

killed?A: Thecoun te r is placed in the Clearing where thecharacter is l oc at ed a nd t he c ou nt er is turnedover if it is the end of the month). Characters canpick up such counters when they are mission orcampaign s ide up; if a character picks up a mission he determines wher e he is going andcalculateshis reward all over again, starting fromthe Clearing where he picks up his counter.Q: Can a hired leaderpick up a campaign or mission counter for his owner?A: Yes. It travels with the leader, who cangive i tto his owner when they are in t he same Clearing,but it counts a s b el on gi ng t o t he owner-so theleader c ou ld n o t t ak e a campa ign i f his owner orany of the o w ne r s o t he r hired leaders) alreadyhad a campa ign tha t month.

TRANSFORMATIONS ANDENCHANTMENTS

Q: Can characters who havebeen transformed into birds, squirrels or frogs Block? Can they stopo ther characte rs f rom running away in combat?A: Yes, yes .Q: Can frogs, lions and squirrels m o ve f ro m o n etile t o ano the r?A: Yes, but they must use the roadways if theymove f rom t ile to t ile.Q: If a fr og or squirrel or lion) moves into aClearing without using a roadway, where doeshego if h e r u ns a wa y d u ri n g combat that day?A: If he is st ill a f ro g o r e tc .) he goe s i nt o t hewoods in the tile. he has changed back into acharacter he c nnot run away that day.Q: If a character moves into a Clearing on a roadway that vanishes because the t ile is enchantedlater that day) , where does he go if he runs awaythat day?A: He c nnot ru n away if the roadway hasvanished or has been changedinto a secretpassageor h id d en p a th t h at he cannot use.Q : W h er e d oe s a character go if he runs onto aroadway and t he roadway vanishes because thetile is enchanted) before he takes his next turn?A: t he roadway vanishes or t u rns in to a hiddenpath or secret passage that the character cannotuse, he goes on t he woods in that tile.Q: What happens w he n a character no t a f ro g,etc.) is n ot o n a roadway or Clearing at thestart ofhis tu rn-where can hego if he starts his t u rn o u tin t he woods?A: H e m u st s t ar t his turn by m ov in g b ac k t o t heClearing that heran ou t of the previous day- i .e . ,the-last Clearing that h e w a s i n.Q: When a character h as b ee n t u rn e d i nt o amonster by T RA NS FO RM o r AB SOR BESSENCE), doe s he move from Clearing toClearing automatically l ike a monster or does herecord moves l ike a character? Similarly, when amonster is transformed in to a differentmonster is

it treated like what it really is or like what it h asbeen changed into) For example , when a wolf is

changed into a dragon, is itactivewhen the wolvesare or when t he dragons are?A: A t r ansfo rmed charac ter still m ove s l ik e acharacter except that he m u st F L Y if hehas beent r an s fo r me d i nt o a f ly in g monster). A transfo rmed monste r o r native) acts like what it reallyi s - the t r an s fo r me d w ol f is act ive when thewolves a r e, n o t when the dragons are.Q: Can a character who has been turned into amonster or animal by TRANSFORM or ABSORB ESSENCE) s ti ll use his weapons, Spellsand combat counters?A: No. he c an c ar ry i tems subject to themonster/animal s carrying capacity) but theymust be i na ct iv at ed , a n d he must use themonster/animal s combat values.

same curse was inflicted twice, a r e b o t h removedby one REMEDY?A: No and yes. Each time REMEDY is Cast itremoves n y o n c ur se e .g ., ASHES orD IS GU ST, b ut n ot b ot h) no matter how manytimes the curse was inflicted.Q: When rolling WISHES, can I accumulate Iwish for strength resultsso t ha tmy a t t ack will inflict damage for several attacks in a r ow ?A: No. It is always the very next attack that is affected.Q: Where d oe s a garrison na tivego w he n I apply I wish you wereelsewhere results to himwhenheis already a t hi s starting dwelling?A: He s tays where he is.Q: What a re t he differences between hiring amonster and controlling a monster?A: Hired monste rs are treated like h ir ed n o nleaders-they cannot move, search or Block independent ly and they cannot carry items. Controlled monsters are treated like hired leaders an dcan move , etc. independently and t hey can be ridd en i f they fly. Hired mons ter s remain loyal untiltheir term of hire expires regardless of the expiration of the Spells that hired them, while controlledmonsters stop being controlled when the Spell expires.FLYINGQ : H o w do I u se a treasure or Spell that allows meto f ly?A : U se it a s if it w er e a MOVEcounter : dur ing anencounter step youcan p lay it t o r u n a wa y or stopsomeone else f r om r u nn i ng a wa y, d u ri ng meleey ou c an p la y it to do a maneuver and duringm o ve m en t y ou c an use i t t o de fine your ca rry ingcapacity when youmove , except you fly when youmove.Q: What a re t h e values shown on t he t r easure orSpell?A: Th e letter is t he s t r eng th letter, showing theweight you can be carrying w he n yo u u se thetreasure or Spell. Th e number is the time number,which is used like a MOVE counter s time numberif the Spell of treasure is u se d in a m el ee or encoun te r s t ep . The FL Y indicates t h at i f y o u uset he t r easure or Spell to leave the Clearing, eithermoving or running away, you fly from t ile to t ileinstead of moving a long the roadways.Q: Ho w d o I use a S pe ll or t r easu re to flyawaydur ing combat?A: Play it at t hesamet ime and under thesame circumstances that you would playa MOVEcounte rt o r un away. it s a treasure, play t heca rd itself;if it s a Spellplay the MAGIC counter youused toCast the Spell. Assuming i ts t ime number is lowe n ou g h t o escape, instead of runn ing ha lfway tothe next Clearing y ou f ly halfway t o t he nextt i le -you c ho o se a n y a d ja c en t t ile, p lace yourcharacter counter h al f o n that tile and y o u m u sts t a rt your next turn w it h a FL Y phase either intothat tile or back in to thet i le you are flying out of.Upon executing that F LY p ha se y ou m u st l a ndbefore con tinu ing your tu rn.Q: How do I use it t o maneuver or to stop someon e else f rom running away?A: You play the treasure card or MAGIC counterexactly as if it w er e a MOVE counter. You d o n otfly out of the Clearing.Q : H ow do I us e the treasure or Spell to fly fromtile to tile during movement?A: R ec or d F LY p ha se s and w he n y ou e xe cu tethem display t he c ar d or MAGIC c o un t er t h atal lows you to f ly. A s long as you continue exe cu ti ng F LY p ha se s y o u do n ot l an d; y ou m us tland as soon as you execute a non-FLY phase ore n d y o ur turn.Q : W h er e do I land in the tile?A : R o ll a d ie and land in the Clearing that matchesthe roll. If n o C le ar in g m a tc he s t he r ol l, r ol lagain.Q: Can I Block or be Blocked while flying?A: Not until you land.Q: What are the differences between the differentways of flying?A: HURRICANE WINDS can be used on ly to flyout of a Clearing, and it m ust b e used on theRound after i t goes into effect. BROOMSTICKcan b e u se d to fly i n any of the ways describedaboveand it can be used any time a f t er the Spell is

Cast and goes into effect, but it can be used onlyonce before it expires i fyou are flying from tile totile it expires as soon as you land ; o the rwise it expires at the end of t he encoun ter or melee step inwhich it is used). Th e FL YING CARPET can beused repeatedly any number of times, flying andlanding, as long a s i t h as b ee n activated that day.Charac ter s whoare riding flying monsters can flyrepeatedly as they move, bu t they cannot fly during combat; characters who have been t u rned in toflying monste rs can fly repeatedly during movem e nt a n d combat.

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TH G N R L

Fight/we-apon 3 any HIT HIT HIT

Move/horSe} CHARGE HIT MISS MISS

or the DODGE MISS HI T MISS

times tie DU CK MISS MISS HI Tno MOVE/horse is played HI T HIT HIT

stays in same ClearingCURSE attack 2

blank spearcarriers don t attack 3

POWER OF PI T attack 2

P OW ER O F P I T attack

Special:has head counterattacks separatelyJhas head counterattacks separatelyhas club counterattacks separately

LIST OF NATIVESThis list summarizes the natives an d indicates the composition of each native group.

Natives Pe r Group:

Native: Value: Vulnerability: Weapon: R: S: 0 : G: C: W: P : L:

Knight 8 Tremend (arm or) B. sword 4Great 4 Heavy (armor) G. swordSwordsmanPikeman 2 M ed iu m ( ar mo r) S pea r 2 3Short 2 M ed iu m ( a rm or ) S. swo rd 2SwordsmanCrossbowman 2 Medium (armor) CrossbowArcher 2 Medium M. bo wLancer 2 Light Spear 4Raider 2 Light S. sword 6Swordsman I Medium T. sword 2G. Axeman 4 Heavy G . A xe 2Assassin I Medium S. sword 2

Total Natives in Group: 8 4 4 3 7 3 3 4 6Total Value of Group: 16 1 32 12 16 6 6 8 12

Notes:1 The head or club must attack the same target that the body attacks, but i t must attack from a different direction.2. W he n t he monster s at tack hits while the monster counter s red side is down, the attack is resolved by rolling on the indicated SpellTable.3. Goblins carrying spears d o n ot a tt ac k when they arepink side up.

LIST OF MONSTERSThis list summarizes the values and attributes of each monster.

Monster: Value: Vulnerability:T. Flying Dragon 15 Tremendous (armored) Head of) (cannot be attacked)T. Dragon 12 Tremendous (armored) Head of) cannot be attacked)Giant 10 Tremendous(Club of) cannot be attacked)

Octopus 1 TremendousT. Spider 8 TremendousT. Troll 1 Tremendous (armored)T. Serpent 1 Tremendous (armored)Demon 1 TremendousWinged Demon 1 TremendousDragon 6 Heavy (armored)Flying Dragon 6 Heavy (armored)Spider 4 HeavyTroll 6 Heavy (armored)Serpent 6 Heavy (armored)Giant Bat 4 HeavyGhost I MediumImp 2 Medium

, Goblin I Medium

Wolf I MediumViper 2 Medium armored)Ogre I Medium

RoguesSoldiersOrderGuard

Garrisonarning DwellingCounter Ghosts

DWELLINGS AN D GHOSTS

STINK VI INNSMOKE VI HOUSEDANK VI CHAPELRUINS VI GUARD POSTBONES VI two ghostsSTINK W 2 L CAMPFIRESMOKE W 2 S CAMPFIRE

Dwellings and ghosts are always placed in the highest numberedClearing that connects back to the BORDERLAND.Notes:1 These counters are turned up a t t he s ta rt of the game.2 These countersare left down until they are turned up during play.

H IT S A N D MISSESTo see whether an attack hits, compare the weapon and

FIGHT counter played by the attacker to t he M OV Ecounter (or horse) played by his target. 2 Cross-indexthe colu mn nam in g th e FIGHT s direction with t he ro w thatnames the MOVE s direction and that describes how theirtimes compare to see if the at tack hits or misses.

Whichcounter Direction of FIGHThas the lowest

time Directionnumber?3 of MOVE Thrust Swing Smash

TRANSFORMATIONSThis chart indicates what colors of magic are created

when MAGIC c ou nt er s a re transformed

MAGIC When Transformed MAGIC/color neededtype: it becomes: to enchant an r tile:I WHIT I an d wmII GR Y II and GR Y

III GOL III and GOL

IV PURPL IV and PURPL

V L CK V and L CK

VI not allowed) not allowed)VII not allowed) not allowed)VIII no t allowed) not allowed)

Each at tack that is a MISS is removed and its weapon is

turned ready side up . Each a tt a ck that is a HI T is left to beresolved later; i ts weapon will be turned unready side up atth e en d of the Round.1 the attacker is a monster or native his attack time and red boxdetermine the time and direction of his attack.2 If the target is a monster or nat ive his move t ime and r ed boxdetermine the time and direction of his maneuver. a target nat ivep la ys a h or se t he horse s time and r ed b ox a re use d i ns te ad of thenative s.3 the at tacking weapon shows a t ime number use the weapon stime number instead of the FIGHT counter s number. (Use only ifWeapon Times rule is being used.)

CampaignCounters:OUEST PILLAGE RAID WAR REVOLT CONQUEST

COSTS: 20 Not. 5 FAME 1 FAME 1 FAME 40 Not . 40 Not.1 Not.

ALLIES: ORDER BASHKARS LANCERS SOLDIERS LANCERS SOLDIERSWOODFOLK GUARD WOODFOLK GUARD

PATROL BASHKARS PATROLROGUES COMPANY

ENEMIES: Dragons PATROL BASHKARS COMPANY SOLDIERS LANCERSSOLDIERS ROGUES BASHKARS GUARD WOODFOLK

ROGUES PATROL BASHKARSROGUES COMPANY

CAMPAIGNSThis chart lists the cost, allies and enemies for each campaign counter.

Pays 20gold for : Pays 50 gold for :All artifacts All Spell BooksG li mm er in g R in g S cr ol l of NatureBeast Pipes Black B ookEnchanter s Skull Book of Lore, Scroll of

Alchemy

ScholarShamanCroneWarlock

VISITORSThis chart indicates the i tems for which th e visitors will

pay extra gold.

Visitorcounter:

00 MissionZ counter: Clearing where picked up: Destinations:

00 Escort Party At Chapel Guard post00 Anywhere except Chapel Chapel

Food/ Ale At Inn HouseAnywhere exceptInn Inn

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TH E G E N E R L

T LES OF SE SONS

Heat Wavenormalfatigue I-day Woods Cleanngs

Ripening7 days5 phases/ day

Beautiful7 days5 phases/ day

S o ft G r o u n dnormalcannut HIDE

SPE I L

Fr igId Airnormalfalif ,ue 4-/day

Rain7 days3 phases/ day

Rain6 days4 phases/ day

Rain5 days5 phases/day

Snowstorm4 days3 phases/ day 2 bonus phases incaves, Dwellings

Snowstorm4 days3 phases/ day 2 bonus phases incaves, Dwellings

WE THER

STORM

Showersnormal

Cold Showers7 days

Showersnormal

Showers6 days5 phases/day

Showers5 days4 phases/ day I b o n us p h as e incaves, Dwellings

Ice Storm4 days4 phases/ day 2 b o n us p h as e s incaves, Dwellings

Warm7 days5 phases/day

Warmnormal

Warmnormal

Coolnormal

Coldnormal

rUEIU;S:<5S o

LOCA TlONS:ENCHANTER at CRAG-I

2. ICE: Ice-crusted snow underfoot and sull, fngid air7 th Day: Black MagicMountains: 4 p h as e s t o e n te r

8. H I G H S U M M ER : Hot, c lear days7 t h D a y: GOLD MagicMountains: 2 phases 10 enter

4. EASTER: Melling s n ow s a n d late blizzards7 t h D a y: WHITE MagicMountains: 3 p h as e s t o e n te r

6. SPRING: Sprouts and blossoms bloom milder weather7 t h D a y: GOLD MagicMountains: 2 phases to enter

12. HALLOWEEN: Dead leaves blowing long, cold nights7 th D ay : Al l colors

MONTHLY SE SONS

10. HARVEST: Golden fields ripening crops7 t h D a y: GREY MagicMountains: 2 phases 10 enter

Vol16i4

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