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| Issue 4 | October 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||
The contents for this issue are:
Well this is a completely different issue than I envisioned a month ago - goes to show a month is a long time in zinedom! This issue was initially going to be a "Turkey Special" containing several articles on playing the country - I could have squeezed it into 7 pages at point size 8 - though that would undoubtedly mean that the zine would have to carry a warning:
Warning: Reading GAME can seriously damage your eyesight.
though I guess some people would have thought this meant something else. I would have also accidentally put Wayne Read's Turkey logo on the cover (it's flags 'n stuff for those amongst you in less than perfect lighting conditions). A week or so after I had posted issue 3 (and had most of, the then, issue 4 ready) I stumbled on the Hundred Diplomacy web page. After some discussions with the game author, version 2.0 was developed (see elsewhere in the zine), and so in the final week of September I decided everything needed changing. One main reason was that the page count had reached 30! So this issue now has a history article on the real Hundred years war - thus you history fanatics can have a whale of a time.
You should find enclosed with this zine a copy of the 1996 Postal Zine Poll, so go and retrieve that envelope from the bin now (in the words of an oh so overly used phrase of this hobby). You can photocopy this form should you need it (I believe you, of course many people do let their granny and pet dog read their zines) and you can either send them directly to Ryk (address on the voting form) by the 8th of November, or to me by my next deadline, and I will forward them. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies is eligible for both polls.
For those who do not know, this years poll is far different from previous years - which used to allow "grudge" votes and was biased towards those, such as zine editors, who saw a lot of zines. This years version obviously favours those zines with a large readership (if all your readers vote for you, then you get at least one point from each. In the case of Spring Offensive with its 200+ readership that's a lot). There is also this anomaly of low points if you vote for less than five zines. Now I may well be just being sceptical, but if you only saw one or two zines, would you just put them down, so that they scored '4' and '2' points, or would you add another three so that your first choice gained the full ten! (hmm, lucky I did the Hobby Horse section this time then!!). We are after all talking about the "Diplomacy hobby", who readily tell fibs to each other in games!!!
The Gentle Art now has a readership of 40, which is brilliant news. I guess that this means I will get 400 points in the Zine Poll ;-). I would like to think of reaching forty as a milestone, the next is to have forty paying subscribers - that's about a readership of 55, so that I start approaching break even (excluding trades, free samples, etc.). So ends another outburst of, err, something or other - you know thingy m' jig.
Cheers
Nic Chilton
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Paul Hughes, Surrey
I've no objection at all to you printing any of the drivel I happen to forward to you. You encouraged us 'new subbers' to write so accordingly I do so, besides which putting pen to paper just now is proving to be a very effective evasive manoeuvre. I've managed for the thousandth time to antagonise to the point of violence, the subspecies of mankind known collectively as the "fishermen", who as normal are monopolising the conversation in our companies smoking bus shelter (Our loved hut was condemned by the H&S).
NC: Fishermen in a bus shelter? What type of vehicle goes by - a river bus?? Writing to a new chatty zine is probably your best chance of getting a letter printed - some of these games heavy zines will not include your letters.
To get to the actual point of this letter before I bore you to death, a few words on 'The Gentle Art'. Going twice bimonthly is an excellent idea. (It is incidentally a joy to watch your zine evolve.) I think making Zealot a full blown subzine for different games is a good move. Things might have got a little confusing, and their coexistence will enable a purist dip zine and a variety of games...
NC: Multi-game zines tend to have extended turnaround times since the games are done by hand, which is different to the purist dip hobby who often want quick turnarounds. I myself wanted a speedy zine - for the shallow principal of clocking up numbers, but initially thought there was a lot more to production! Many zines include non-dip games in the main zine, but if I did this then I would become one of the slower zines. By keeping things separately Zealot can have 5-week deadlines with a 4-week turnaround (at a guess), thus coming out alongside every other Gentle Art, and have plenty of time to incorporate external GM's (I want to play in the games - so I am not going to GM them). Before that I envisage the games running on flyers so that games can get under way. I will probably want to limit the number of external GM's (I am told that a lot can be a pain), so would want people who would run a few different games and send me the stuff on PC disk or by email.
Since one of the themes of your zine is spies/espionage what about a code-breaking game for Zealot? A few clues to break the code, answer a cryptic question to find the instructions to go to a province of the board, last player in the right place wins.... or something like that?
NC: Hmm, I saw a children's code book in a shop maybe I could use that! The problem is simple codes are nothing more than letter substitution - once you start into modern cryptography, you then exclude anyone without a big computer! Do you have any suggestions?
Any chance of you numbering anonymous 'press' such that all may be revealed at each game end?
NC: This would be a big task (I do not know of anyone who does this) since if a game goes to, say 1912, that's 24 turns - seven pieces of grey press a time, means.... coo it soon mounts up. I suppose if a game were to go along this lines, it would have to be stated before a game starts. This reminds me of an email colonisation game I played a while ago. The game consisted of about 26 players, each controlling a planet in the galaxy. There were numerous planets (400??) in a 2D space, each having a resource level and population capacity. You designed your own spaceships built them, colonised other planets and battled the other players. Anyway, the point was press was done globally along with the adjudication (a bit like postal gunboat), but you could direct it to just individuals. This was done without telling you who it was from, obviously relying on you identifying yourself. Having at the time played Diplomacy for a few months, this lit an extremely large light bulb in my head. I had two mid distance neighbours who had unique styles (this game was obviously inhabited by role players) - one were "cat-type" people, and I forget what the other was, but I sent a false press, supposedly from the cat people, to the other race saying they were offended by their military manoeuvres and declaring war on them. By watching their ship movements, and adding further mails from one to the other I saw these two powers relentlessly pour all their resources and effort in annihilating one another. Oh such fun - it is a pity then that I got wiped out from a three player alliance coming from the other direction :-(
Finally Nic, pay no heed to comparisons between yours & other zines. Its the personalities that make each zine different not just the layout.
NC: Thanks, I won't. My readership seems to be growing steadily, which is obviously a good sign - though I am still hungry for more, so tell everyone in the games you play about the zine. [end of commercial]
Mark Stretch, Kidlington.
There is no such thing as an ordered draw - a contradiction in terms. What you suggest as one, namely "I/F 1st, R 3rd" is clearly a two way Italy/France draw with Russia the last man eliminated. What else could it mean?
NC: Ah, the penny drops, seems I've made a boo boo. Oh well good job only 30 people saw it!
Rule 3 - let's put it like this: Given the chance, I'd certainly abuse it if I thought it was to my advantage. Ordering A(Edi)-NWG-Nwy is not legal. Nothing is written in the rule book about specifying the path of convoys.
NC: I have just looked at your House Rules, and they state you are using the 1983 rule book. The convoy rule in this version is the one where both fleets need to be dislodged to stop the convoy. So you have obviously not read them if you are still using the old way, tut tut! For information it was the 1971 & 1976 versions that include the "dislodge one" rule, which then changed in 1983.
Mark Sherratt, Romford.
I've just read your editorial for Game 3 ( who reads all the stuffing zine anyway ) and I was horrified over your stance to NMR's. Ring people up *@#!! OFF If they can't be bothered to put orders in then let them pay the price. There is no need to NMR if people put in preliminary orders. (foot stamping tamper tantrum over). Am I the only one to do this these days?
NC: Most people get there orders in on time, but I do not like 1901 NMR's, since they skew the game. If Russia NMR'd in Spr '01, its probable that that power may well drop out - which wouldn't please you as France. Stephen Agar mentions 1901 in the editorial of Spring Offensive (I may well take on his idea of provisional Au01 orders are to be included with Spr01). The idea is that if a Spr01 NMR occurred only France could guarantee to still get a build in 1901, and England would not be able to get any! An Au01 NMR can be far more dangerous as not only does it mean that no builds are ordered, but that most likely the players home centres are unoccupied. I would believe that a player is more likely to drop out after a 1901 NMR than an NMR at any other time in the game. If a standby was then brought in they would have a difficult time making up the lost ground. Bringing in a standby after the game has been held over because of an Spr01 NMR is less traumatic, as the new player can easy catch up on negotiations. After 1901 I will not be chasing up NMRs.
Kath Collman, Birmingham.
Thanks for issue 3 of GAME, it seems to be going very well so far, and I'm sure it won't be long before you get some new subscribers as your reputation grows.
NC: Lets hope so, it would be nice to have eight or so games of Dip up and running so that I can concentrate on good four page articles, without thinking there is another six blank ones left!
However, 'far be it from me to complain' as I have been known to say before, but why doesn't my name appear on your list of people who see GAME?? After all, if you can include "The Welsh Hussy" a.k.a. Susie Horton, why not my good self? After all, its one of my functions in life to tell Danny what zines he's received, and what was in them, not that he ever remembers.... Maybe I should sign up for a game of By Almost Popular Demand (also seen in Mick Haytack's Bloodstock). It seems like a very interesting variant.
NC: First many apologies for not including your name, but one of the reasons I included the list was to see if there were readers who I had not included on it. It is hard to see who should be included (just because someone who subscribes has a partner, it does not mean that their partner will regularly read it, even if they are part of the "hobby"). As far as the Hortons go, who is to say that it is not Susie who is the Subscriber? The list was alphabetical after all.
I think BAPD will be fun, since it requires more thought and involves a paradox: if you think of games beginning with the letter 'D', then you would think the most popular answer would be Diplomacy, so no one will pick it; which then means it will not be the most popular, so you should put it down; though if everyone thinks similarly then it will be the most common!
David Horton, Swansea.
I've just had a look at the rules for your Intimate Diplomacy Tournament and frankly they are BIZARRE.
NC: It's nice that my zine has such a scintillating content that it motivates people to write letters! You never see "I read your zine a couple of weeks ago, and decided to send you a letter now that the kids have gone back to school....". Actually I shouldn't mock it, I like letters, so keep them coming in. This powered wit (just add water) I keep dishing out, does come off in a warm wash.
At this rate GAME will win the Zine Poll subsection on "Most Peculiar Houserules".
NC: I cannot see that part on my form! Speaking of the Zine Poll, you all should find enclosed a copy of the Poll form, which has been photocopied from a photocopy included with a zine that was photocopied from a photocopy included with a zine that editor saw! Sounds like something you would hear at the bar of a gaming convention that was being propped up by several gamers! If anyone has friends who see their copy of the zine you can photocopy the poll and they can send it in too (this includes children and partners who have been bribed to fill it in!!). The Zine Poll has changed this year, but its layout makes me wonder if anyone will fill in less than 5 zines? If you only see two zines would you put these on only knowing that your first choice would get 4 points and your second 2, or would you put in a third, fourth, and fifth, so that your first choice got the full ten points!!
The rule in question is of course the infamous "Rule 7" on Treachery. (Eh? In Intimate?) Sooo - if one should capture a mercenary supply centre, the opponent can have the mercenary power for 1 point every game year from then on! This would mean that if the only retreat space available was a mercenary centre, it would be preferable to disband...
I await your comments, as Neil Duncan might say, with a regular and uninterrupted breathing pattern.
NC: ??????????? The only problem with printing the above part is, that I am going to have to print other peoples comments also on this subject, that I omitted last time. Damn, looks like a letter column war is starting up - hmmm "who needs hobby feuds when you can have a zine feud with itself" sort of springs to mind (No Stephen you cannot recycle that comment from your review of The Ides of March in one for GAME). Seems as fast as I run in the opposite direction......
The above isn't criticism at all it's just comment. (tee hee). (I still think the zine is great). Nearly forgot. In your reply to Neil Duncan's letter about running yourself through, you invoked "the Victorians" - always a trusty one. Why is it that if some old Victorian did it, that gives it credibility? I bet "the Victorians" used to cut their toenails in bed too - or some of them did.
NC: Poor illiterate fool, go and read issue 3 again. Neil said that he "was way ahead in the body piercing fashion", which was what the Victorian comment was about (okay so I put it before he said it, but that was so I could get the one line quip in). I was not on about its credibility but more that it was an old art form rather than just a whim of modern fashion. Next you will be saying you do not like the modern bible with its such all time classics like "don't diss your parents" (or something like that - don't ask me to quote it, since its from my distant memory (I read it in a paper, or saw it on TV, or was handed it on the back of a cigarette packet down some dingy alley). There's a topic, do you say "je-nal" (as in je-st) or "gi-nal" (as in gi-ve) for gennal? There is a line you can draw across the country which divides the two pronunciations.
Simon Langley-Evans, Southampton.
replying at the speed of light.
Just a short reply to the specific example given in Dave's letter as it isn't covered in my flyer...
NC: This is the flyer I haven't got yet because its coming by snail-mail, but what you all should have because I will be including it with the zine! I think? Where did I put that "Idiot's guide to the theory of relativity, and other physicsy things". Maybe it will also tell me how Simon can reply to something, when I didn't tell him about it - i.e. I skipped the specific example Dave gave!!!
It may seem odd that in the event of choosing between a retreat to a friendly mercenary s/c and disbanding a unit, the disband is better. This however is exactly the same as in a seven player game of Diplomacy. Picture This
NC: Picturing, Picturing.... damn how did Baywatch get into my head!! Sorry you will have to carry on.
Turkey and Russia are strong allies against Austria, have the upper hand and look like forging a winning position against the other powers. Austria manages to dislodge Turkish A(Rum) and it can only retreat to Sevestopol. Does Turkey order that retreat and risk offending his ally, or does he allow the unit to disband? This look exactly the same as your example, Dave, but nobody would ever quibble about the standard Diplomacy Rules.
NC: Hmm, is there an apology option? It is a bad diplomacy player who remains "anti" for the rest of the game after a mild stab.
I'm a bit fed up that the rules have caused such a flurry of protest. The idea was to run a variant to Standard Dip and have some fun. I've dared to be different and gone so far as to produce a variant of a variant and all I've got is complaints. I wish people would get stuck in, try the game out and give me grief later on if things don't work out. Please!
NC: Well I had all this debacle over unsupported convoys, so maybe this is the new letter column space consumer (that is nothing to do with the Tories astronaut charter). It is amazing that it is the same sticklers who always grumble about zines. Maybe we should have a poll for the biggest grouch :-).
Mark Stretch, Kidlington.
Oh why's Simon Langley-Evans giving me so much grief at the moment. What have you told him about me?
NC: Me! Not a veggie sausage gov'nor.
Simon Langley-Evans, Southampton.
As far as the Intimate Dip goes I've hit a snag. I sent out gamestart notices to John Langley and Mark Stretch, but then Mark wrote back refusing to play unless I agreed to change the rules. He objects very strongly to the non-standard approach to the variant. Judging from your last letter column he makes a habit of this.
Naturally I'm not changing the rules - a GM has the right to do as he pleases. I've offered Mark's place to Paul Hughes.
NC: If players are aware of the rules before they play then a GM has the right, yes, - even afterwards so long as they are not biased, well, maybe.
Paul Hughes, Sutton.
'Gentle Art' subber warily approaches post box. Gingerly he deposits orders. Yelling "BRACE!... INCOMING!" he hits the deck....
When I posted my last letter to your letter column, on deadline day, I sort of expected to read it a week or so later. I didn't expect your letter column cloaked in issue 3 to have already been on its merry way to me. Far out. Brilliant. Zine Warp.
NC: Issue 3 was positively slooow, I did not complete it until two days after the deadline!! You should have seen issue 2 which was in envelopes - addressed, stamped, and ready for posting within six hours of the deadline falling! This is not one of your slow zines you know. Although I will not always be able to do a 24hour turnaround, it is my aim to have the zine ready for printing by the Monday after the main deadline. This is done by completing the zine early. Take this issue, for example, it was over 50% complete by a week after I had sent out the last issue. This then all changed because I was helping on the Hundred Diplomacy variant, and so wanted to include some stuff on that - I actually toyed with sending out a forty page issue, but I suspect Pete Duxon would have complained that my 16 page zine with 20 pages of "space filler" was a bad issue :-). [a note to the uninitiated old Pete isn't very good at counting, so if you have any old calculators you can send him....] He seems to think that an 18 page zine with a MidCon flyer, orders form and map is "three pages of space filler" as opposed to 18 - 3 = 15, meaning a flyer included in the normal zine with a freebie two "extra" pages of orders form and map because I was feeling generous. Well everyone should watch for the December issue, which includes a useful freebie, you will use time and time again [no its not a diplomacy map stencil to help you draw your own maps!!].
Three queries for the Q & A box you haven't got: What does CMOT stand for? How is a game rating calculated? Where did you get the opening move names from?
NC: Okay Chokey, the answers in approximately correct sequence are.... CMOT stands for Cut My Own Throat - it is a character out of the Discworld novels (eek, next people will be comparing my zine to the likes of One Man's Rhubarb). The game rating is calculated with a chalk pentangle, a live chicken, and some blood soaked dice - no seriously it is done by Richard Sharp the resident hobby statistician based on players ratings (I will print how its done once I find out) - any chance of an explanation Richard? The opening moves come from the "opening library", which lists openings, and frequency based on Internet games - the names and such originated from "older" members of the hobby. The version I have is from the 1980's, but I doubt the names have changed.
Wayne Read, Ongar.
Just a quick line, thanks for publishing the map I did in your last issue, I was pleased and surprised to see it on the back cover. I have complete a full colour version that makes quite good wallpaper for a PC. If anyone would like it they can send me an empty disk and SAE and I'll copy one off for them. Members of Bletchley need only send a disk.
NC: I think most people were pleased, well most apart from Pete Duxon - next he will be asking why I am using maps in the games adjudication! You can contact Wayne at 39 Turners Close, Ongar, Essex CM5 9HH.
Mick Dunnett, Essex.
Thanks for sending me the copy of GAME which is a good read. I'm always a bit dubious about subscribing to new zines as more often than not the early enthusiasm of 'New' editors tends to wane after a while until the zine finally grinds to a halt, I'm sure that yours won't be one of them but who knows. Be that as it may you caught me at a point where most of my games are running out so I would like to subscribe to GAME please and can you put me on the waiting list for standard diplomacy please.
NC: One of the problems of new zines is getting established and accruing the required readership to keep the zine buoyant. That said, some people do launch zine without much thought, and then fold an issue or two later. Some people know I have been in the "starting a zine" mood prior to Christmas 95, and it wasn't until June '96 that I decided to take the plunge. Now most readers only know me through being the editor of GAME, which is great. I am also getting a lot of very nice letters of encouragement, and so long as people carry on subscribing and writing in I will continue to edit (unforeseen circumstances withstanding). I am still sending out cold samples to people (that is to people who haven't asked), mainly because I want to get a lot more subbers and some more games started. This should then allow me to do other things, though it is amazing how quick a contents can change (see editorial).
John Langley, Nottingham.
In defence of Treachery. (Rule 7 of Intimate Diplomacy, that is). I think that the Treachery Rule is an important part of the game and it's the way I've always played it. For those who aren't yet involved - you ought to try it! Intimate Diplomacy is a game for 2 players, with all the standard movement rules, but additional rules to simulate the process of winning allies to your side, and losing them when you stab.
ID is a great game to play when you want another game, but don't want to take on a lot more letter writing. What makes it such a good game are the rules about bidding for Mercenaries (simulating negotiating with the Great Powers to gain Allies), and the rule about Treachery (simulating losing Allies when you stab them). Without these rules the game would be nothing more than a race to get the most Supply Centres, with virtually no strategic element in the play.
NC: The point, as I mentioned earlier, that needs addressing is should allies turn against you for the rest of the game? There is a difference between a full blown stab and a grab on one centre. It is a bad diplomacy player that never forgives once stabbed, and so if this rule is supposed to simulate this then it needs redefining.
In the GAME ID Tournament (which I hope you will join soon), the Treachery rule forbids a player from ever bidding again for the services of a Mercenary whom she/he has attacked. This rule has apparently been criticised on the grounds that where the only retreat for a Home piece is to a Mercenary s/c it's better to order a disband than lose that ally for the rest of the game. Is this really a criticism that should concern us too much? I'd say not:
NC: It can never be truly like the seven player, since you do not have a negotiation.
I suppose it might be argued that the Mercenary should only be unavailable for a limited number of seasons, but I think that's a minor matter, and when you've played you'll see why.
NC: Ah, but that is one of the useful results from these in-house discussions. Also it tends to be the small points that get latched onto in peoples letters. Maybe the rule should have two stages? First a limited number of seasons when the other player gets the power for one point, then the other player gets a decreasing bonus in bids. For example if it is four turns for the first part, the other player gets a bonus of plus half the number of points bid on the fifth turn, then bid plus a third on
the sixth, and bid plus a quarter on the seventh - and so on. If ID is a kind of cut-down Dip for two people, then it attempts to simulate the most interesting problem that a Dip player has: When To Stab. I think the Treachery Rule is not only successful in this, but is also integral to the enjoyment of the game. Join us and try it out!
NC: This sounds more like a recruitment for some semi secret sect - next you will be telling me we are only here because of an ancient race of aliens!!
This discussion has obviously brought me valuable insight into the minds of Mark Stretch and Dave Horton. How so? Well both of them obviously believe there is nothing wrong with retreating into an allies supply centre, if dislodged! Does "well I had no where else to go" really wash? The secret's out guys!
Ian Willey, Alfreton.
What can I say, but that I am really sorry, I have meant to write this letter for some time but with recent events I have never managed to get round to it. This zine editing lark is all right but occasionally things get in the way, not normally a problem but this time round they all came at once, but whilst some of the zine is printing I thought I would get this off to you. Enclosed is a copy of the last issue of TMWNN, you have the previous one which was at ManorCon, the next one is due out very soon, and I will send that one to you if you would like to trade.
NC: This is strange indeed. How so, let me explain. You sent me some sample copies of The Mag With No Name, at the bequest at one of the Horntons (don't they just get everywhere!!) when I was just starting GAME. I sent you a sample in return, not offering to sub or trade (at least I think not - I was not starting any new subs and already had enough trades), and then our conversation at ManorCon was along the lines of neither of us were looking for more trades. I do like TMWNN very much, and so yes please to the trade. I am now more willing to increase the number of zines I trade with, so long as they are reliable, and that this number increases along with my paying subscribers.
How is the editing going, still finding it fun, fun, FUN. I hope so. So you think Kim and me are trying to race each other on pages do you? It's funny because both of us manage to hit within 4 pages of each other every issue, not bad for an A5 zine running 70+ pages on average! I think our zines are similar on outlook as well, in that we really don't represent the hobbies normal zine but are in fact totally different zines.
NC: Oh I do not know, I just peeled off the cover of TMWNN 21 using a scalpel, and what do I find underneath - an LRP cover! So your zine is Kim's in disguise. I also did this to the last LRP only to find a TMWNN underneath - no wonder they seem so thick, they are just 12 page zines with successive layers of each others covers on!!!
Thanks also for the information on Mayfair's copy of Settlers. I have had further information that true to form they are taking an excellent product and making a reasonable one out of it! There seems to be some sort of graphics cock up that causes confusion between two of the commodities and of course the production standard is not as high as the excellent Kosmos edition. Add to that, you can't really use the upgrade with it and there is no expansion for the Mayfair edition as yet, why not include it in the game in the first place?
NC: Hopefully my reputation as getting hold of such news before most people will increase my readership. You will find elsewhere a review of the card game version of Die Siedler von Catan - done by Kosmos and so will be of excellent quality. So it is another first for GAME. Thank you for acknowledging GAME as the source of your announcement of the Mayfair edition. Mark Stretch announced it One Man's Rubbish that arrived just before the deadline (on 2nd October), with no such quote - it is a pity he got the info wrong! The Mayfair version is not "shortly to be published", but is out! At the end of July it was already in production - hence why I could get a picture for the August edition of GAME. I saw a copy of the Mayfair edition in The Travelling Man, a games shop in Leeds, towards the end of August.
The Mayfair edition has photographs instead of illustrations: the wood hexagons / ports / resource cards are a photo of a dark green forest; and the wool / sheep hexagons / ports / resource cards are of a slightly lighter green field. These two resources get confused, though I do not think it is that bad, and after a fair few games I am told you can easily tell them apart. The Mayfair set has different size pieces so you cannot use the Kosmos expansion set, true. I agree that they should have included the expansion set, since they use the "all build" rule of the expansion set. I find this really strange because in the 4 player Kosmos version you could have seven cards in your hand by the time it was your turn, and so fall foul of the "Robber" if you threw a seven. In the Mayfair edition, I doubt that anybody ever has seven cards without trading them immediately to the number held down. There is also an optional rule, where you can use a Knight card to deflect a Robber! So if someone rolls a seven and moves the Robber on one of your high yielding hexagons, or plays a Knight to do so - you can immediately play a Knight card to relocate it somewhere else instead!! These two rules have caused a lot of confusion in the US - such as whether you can "win" outside your turn. The example given was if it was player A's turn and player B built a village (to get his/her tenth point), but it cuts the longest road of player C and so player D now has the longest road and the two victory points card causes player D to have 11 points. This and other ones have been sited - and the Mayfair rules are very vague on these points.
It leaves me with the question 'Why buy Mayfair when the original is still widely available' Not that the Mayfair edition is really for the UK market, some time earlier this year Mayfair had the idea of getting the license for production for the US market and as such any copies sold in this country is a bonus.
NC: I think the Mayfair edition will appeal to different game players - not everyone is prepared to buy a game in a foreign language. I also think the Mayfair version will be in different shops too. Personally I prefer the Kosmos edition.
Another new(ish) re-release is Top Race by A.S.S. which in reality is a rerun of Nicki Launders Formula 1 but with a betting system added, nice rule addition, nice production, lovely board for about 20 well worth adding to your collection, oh and as A.S.S. are reputed to be in difficulty the game won't be around long, I'm getting a copy!
NC: Well I will have to have a look out for it. So ends another letter column, I think. Any letters arriving in the next day or so will have to wait. In the meantime have a look at....
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The Card Game for 2 players. reviewed by Knut-Michael Wolf
The game is played with 110 cards, which are used by each player to build up his own country. Each card shows either a road, settlement, city, terrain (and the corresponding raw materials), developments, actions and incidents.
The game starts with the same situation for both players. Each one has his own country with two settlements, connected by a road (this special road card contains additional information). Each settlement is surrounded by four terrain cards. (See the pictures on the next page).
On his turn a player throws two dice. A special die determines, what incident happens (for both players). A normal 6-sided die determines the production of raw materials (for both players). After this, it's up to the player's choice: He may play any number of cards from his hand, he may trade raw materials with the other player, he may build roads, settlements, cities or developments.
The countries expand to the left and to the right. You must place a road beside a settlement and a settlement beside a road. The building costs are printed on the backside of the cards. The raw materials you have are printed on the bottom edge of the terrain cards. If you "pay" materials, you turn the terrain card so that the lower value is at the bottom edge. If you produce, you turn them to the higher value. The maximum number of raw materials is three on each terrain card.
Gold has been added to the raw materials. You can only use it to buy other raw materials (3 gold for 1 other unit). Of course you can use any other material at 3:1 to buy materials you need. If you build harbours (in the card game they are called fleets), you can lower the rate to 2:1.
Developments are placed above or below a settlement or city. Settlements can have up to 2 developments, cities up to 4. Some developments can only be placed at cities, not at settlements. All developments have to be paid for with raw materials. Some of them show victory points, some have trade points (which may earn more raw materials in certain situations), some raise the production rate of the terrain at their side, some protect against robbery. Each player has three cards in his hand (sometimes more, if you've build specific developments). At the end of your turn, you fill up your hand. There are five stacks of cards. Either you draw cards. Or you pay 2 raw materials, look at one of the stacks and take the card of your choice. The cards in the stacks may never be shuffled.
The object of the card game is the same as in the original game: You must gather a certain number of victory points to win. You get them from the building of settlements, cities, developments or by having most trade points or knight strength.
Though the story is the same as in the original game, the card game is completely different. There is more luck in the game-play. At the start of your turn, you throw the die and something happens. The result may be a robbery or a special production or an event card or something else. But this happens to both players! Then there are the action and development cards you draw from the stacks and play from your hand. But you can pay for the right to choose special cards you need from a stack. The element of luck co-operates very well with the rest of the game.
The graphics were done by Franz Vohwinkel. It's one of the best works he has done!
Next year in February additional material will be released for the Tournament game. Each player will need his own basic card game. From that and the tournament game, each one will put together his own deck of cards. There will be additional types of cards. But it still will be a 2-player-game.
The Settlers of Catan - The Card Game by Klaus Teuber, 2 players, Kosmos-Spieleverlag
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You may have wondered where last Issues HH had gone, well its now back. Last issue I printed the flyer for MidCon only to find that a week or so later a new flyer comes through the door with a different address (that's three addresses in three issues I have done!!!). Oh well, check the convention section.
Spiel '96 takes place on 17th-20th October at Essen, Germany and is 'the biggest games event in Europe'. Now where did I put that contact number.....
MidCon '96 that includes the National Diplomacy Championship finals and much more, now has a new contact address, that of SFCP who are helping organise it this time. It is still over 8th-10th November, and takes place in the Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham. Single and twin/double rooms in the hotel can be booked in advance (paying when you check out) the convention fee of ten pounds should be sent (payable to MidCon) with request for rooms to:
MidCon, SFCP, 42 Wynndale Road, London E18 1DX
StabCon '97 should still be in Manchester 3rd-5th January. I will include the flyer, when I get it. In the meantime for more information or to book a place (the convention fee is five pounds) contact :
StabCon '97, 17 Davenport Park Road, Stockport SK2 6JU.
MasterCon '97 moves to the County Hotel, Bedford this year. Tournaments include the UK Masters Diplomacy Championship, Colonial Diplomacy, and others. For more details contact:
Shaun Derrick, 313 Woodway Lane, Walsgrave, Coventry CV2 2AP.
Dolchstob seems to be getting more in tune with the age of Information Technology. I kid you not, the letter column of issue 213 was full of references to computer data file formats and different methods of getting online to surf the web! This front Richard puts on about not liking electronic communication is a ploy, forgetting your Compuserve address does not fool me either Richard - I've heard that you often hang around the computer section of W.H.Smiths scanning through the magazines, so come on admit it you're not the right-wing old fuddy duddy you make out. Issue 213 was 24 A5 sides (5 of letters, 13 of Diplomacy), costs 75p, and has opening lists for Standard Diplomacy. Richard Sharp, Norton House, Whielden St, Amersham, Bucks HP7 0HU.
Backstabbers United Monthly 82 finally includes me as a trader (I found out that I had not received issue 81 only from reading a review of it in another zine!!), although my surname is mispelt, and thus my email is incorrectly given. Malcolm is another CompuServe user, though a more positive advocator of e-mail. It is a very reliable multi-games zine, one pound for 48 A5 sides (4 of letters, 40 of games, including those of 7 external GM's). The circulation is over 100, and expect the letter column to include such gems as "BUM is not a Diplomacy zine" (with 15 or so games of Diplomacy or Variants in play you can only agree ;-). Opening lists include Diplomacy, Stab!, Columbus, Game of Clans II, Bourse, Railway Rivals, and others. Malcolm Cornelius, 3 Greton Close, Longsight, Manchester, M13 0YR.
Ode 179 has another wonderful cartoon on the cover (I shall have to renew my subscription to the Lib Dem News sometime) and is a very good source of news happening around the hobby, though the letter column seems to be dwindling slightly (must get my scribing tools out!). It costs 65-75p an issue (depending on size) with waiting lists for Diplomacy, Vain Star, Mercator (a global variant), Machiavelli, and Railway Rivals. Issue 179 is 28 A5 sides (3 of Editorial and News, 1 of letters, 18 of games). John Marsden, 33 Weston Road, Strood, Kent, ME2 3HA.
The Ides of March 17 announces that it is not folding! Someone had apparently been spreading rumours around ManorCon, though obviously not widely since there were a few people there who play in TIM and none of them mentioned this. I guess that this is just more of TIM vs the rest of the hobby (or at least part of it?). The reading material in this and the last issue has changed from the usual. Last time Brenda took the editorial role and included articles on their family history, this time its various space fillers, such as the supposed goings on in an IT support section - photocopying computer disks as back-ups and the like. If I didn't know better I would think Chris has been 'surfing the web'. You get alot of stuff like that their, such as "if Operating Systems were beers", that someone emailed me a couple of weeks ago. Each issue costs one pound plus postage. This issue was 36 A4 sides (1 of editorial, 4 of letters, 16 of games). Chris Palm, 45 Cecil Avenue, Ardleigh Green, Hornchurch, Essex RM11 2NA.
The Cunning Plan (alternatively known as Dettol) now up to issue 45, overtaking the editors age! This issue has a larger than usual page count after taking a plunge down to 12 last issue! This is a zine that I like reading and is fairly regular, with the turnaround being about a week. The zine is one of the "cut and paste" models with sections of typed text pasted neatly on master copies, just close enough to slightly obscure an important last digit on the telephone number underneath. The letter column is a good read and it usually includes a few "borrowed" cartoons, and an all-reader game. Some of the games are run on flyers and the games offered include such variants as Airforce (std dip with aeroplanes as extra units) and Risky Dip (a cross between Diplomacy and Risk). Issue 45 was 20 A4 pages (5 of letters, 6 of games), costs 80p incl p&p, and opening lists for Diplomacy and other variants. Neil Duncan, 25 Sarum Hill, Basingstoke, Hants RG21 8SS.
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History of the Hundred Years' War from the French National Library
On the strength of his claim to the French throne as a direct descendant of Philip IV the Fair through his mother, Isabella of France, in 1337 Edward III of England refused to do homage for Guienne to King Philip VI, the first ruler of the Valois branch whose legitimacy Edward contested. The hostilities that erupted shortly afterward between France and England would continue, with periodic truces, until 1451, hence the name : The Hundred Years' War. The early phase of the conflict was marked by crushing setbacks for the French at the hands of their more mobile and aggressive adversary (the Battle of Cricy in 1346 and the especially disastrous Battle of Poitiers in 1356, which resulted in the capture of King John the Good by the Black Prince). Before long, however, major military operations gave way to a war of attrition under Charles V. In Bertrand du Guesclin, a future high constable, Charles found an able leader who rid the kingdom of the marauding Free Companies, bands of mercenaries who were pillaging the realm. By the time Charles V died in 1380 the situation had stabilized, and the conciliatory policies of England's Richard II, at century's end, fostered hopes for a lasting peace. But the madness of Charles VI and bitter feuding among the princes of the blood seriously weakened the kingdom : in 1407 John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, engineered the murder of the king's brother, Louis of Orleans, leaving France torn between warring the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. Henry V of England seized the opportunity in October 1415 to inflict a devastating defeat on France at Agincourt, abetted by the active neutrality of John the Fearless. France emerged from the debacle divided into three parts : master of Normandy, Henry secured Paris and had Charles VI acknowledge him as the legitimate heir to the French throne ; John the Fearless and his son, Philip the Good, defended the independence from France of the powerful duchy of Burgundy and its Flemish dominions. The dauphin, Charles, youngest son of Charles VI and Isabella of Bavaria, had retreated to Bourges, where he held the provinces of central and southwestern France, save for Guienne. From that base, supported by Yolande of Anjou and galvanized by Joan of Arc, the future Charles VII gradually shifted the balance of power to his own advantage. Crowned at Reims, he recaptured Paris, recovered Normandy in 1450, and took back Guienne in 1453 after the victory of Castillon, the final military exploit of a long and painful war that, among its many lasting consequences, forged the idea of a nation. One of the best sources of information on the origins of the Hundred Years' War, its evolution up to the end of the fourteenth century, and its repercussions in Europe, is the chronicle written by Jean Froissart of Valenciennes.
The rules for version two of this variant are included later, along with a map of the board. I have adapted the adjudication software so that I can offer this variant as a permanent open list. At first glance you may think this is just like the first part of a standard diplomacy game with its triangle battles (what is the puzzled look for Mr. Italy?), but this is not wholly true. Whilst a 2 verses 1 battle will most likely be how the game starts there are some points to note. The number of centres needed for a single draw mean that it can be won after a couple of adjustment phases. So an all out two onto one will be in close contact with keeping an eye on your ally so that they do not quickly grab a win.
This variant is a lot shorter than standard diplomacy, but I for one will be watching the games closely (and I don't just mean because I am the GM!!).
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