Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996

The
BOARDGAMER

Dedicated To
The Competitive Play Of
Avalon Hill / Victory Games
Board, Sports and Card Games
Featuring: Avaloncon 1995, History of the World,
Panzer Blitz/Leader, 1776, AREA News & Ratings
 2 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996

Current Specific Game AREA Ratings

Advanced Squad Leader Across Five Aprils
February 1, 1996 700+ Active Players March 5, 1996 34 Active Players
1. Michael McGrath 2307 JN* 1. Mark Miklos 1673 CE-A5
2. Gary Fortenberry 2288 JNB 2. Mark Giddings 1632 BD-A5
3. Richard Summers 2083 HM* 3. Brian Conlon 1567 AC-A5
4. Omar Jeddaoui 2078 CF* 4. Mark Holly 1566 AB-A5
5. Perry Cocke 2063 KN* 5. Jim Falling 1560 BD-A5
6. Yves Tielemans 2055 CG* 6. Bruce Kernan 1539 AB-A5
7. Bob Bendis 2019 EI* 7. Chris Rice 1538 AB-A5
8. Louie Tokarz 2003 HN* 8. Andy Lewis 1535 AA-A5
9. Scott Drane 1994 KOJ 9. Michael Sincavage 1533 AC-A5
10. Raymond Woloszyn 1961 IOB 10. Jeff Lange Sr. 1532 AC-A5
11. Steven Pleva 1958 GJK 11. Earl Anderson 1528 AB-A5
12. Phil Petry 1930 QK* 12. Bill Place 1526 AB-A5
13. Bruce Rinehart 1920 JI* 13. Keith MacFarland 1509 AB-A5
14. Guy Chaney 1893 CG* 14. Ivan Lawson 1505 AB-A5
15. Brian Youse 1890 NM* 15. David Metzger 1503 AC-A5
16. Russ Gifford 1886 PQH 16. John Selders 1502 AB-A5
17. Andrew Robin 1877 EI* 17. Bill O’Neal 1500 AB-A5
18. Eric Givler 1875 HM*
19. James Crawley 1853 CE* War And Peace
20. Robert Banozic 1831 EI* March 5, 1996 9 Active Players
21. John Droesche 1817 CF*
1. Nick Frydas 1683 BC-A5
22. Dave Ginnard 1811 DH*
2. Robert Beyma 1605 AB-A4
23. Lawrence Halpern 1810 DFG
3. Marvin Rabin 1569 AB-A5
24. Dave Van Kan 1806 DG*
4. Bryan Jackson 1504 AB-A5
25. Robert Feinstein 1800 CG*
4. Matt Burkins 1504 AB-A5
New World
March 5, 1996 19 Active Players Panzerblitz
March 5, 1996 48 Active Players
1. John Quarto 1536 AB-A5
2. Frank Schmitt 1527 AD-A5 1. David Giordano 1964 FHIA5
2. Trevor Bender 1527 AD-A5 2. John Hasay 1766 EE-A5
4. James Fuqua 1524 AD-A5 3. Ken Oates 1710 BCEA5
4. Kirk Woller 1524 AD-A5 4. Mike Patterson 1695 BBB-4
6. Vanessa Sanabria 1524 AC-A5 5. Fred Wexler 1640 EGJ-5
6. Bret Mingo 1524 AC-A5 6. Jeff Wolff 1615 BB—4
8. Michael Anchors 1522 BB—6 7. Bruce Wright 1600 BB—4
8. Stephen Andriakos 1570 AA—5
Decathlon 9. Charles Leonard 1556 DEAA5
March 5, 1996 23 Active Players 10. Steven Sheftic 1546 BD-A5
11. Bruce MacConnell 1536 CC-A4
1. Bobby Laboon 1520 AL-A5 12. Leslie Geraty 1535 AAA-5
2. John Coussis 1510 AL-A5 13. Charles Braun 1534 AAA-4
3. Andrew Lewis 1505 AL-A5 13. Russ Woods 1534 AAA-4
13. Paul Reinert 1534 AAA-4
Diplomacy 16. Angelo Valeri 1533 AB-A5
March 5, 1996 12 Active Players
17. James Miller 1527 AB-A4
1. Steve Elliot 1535 ADA-6 18. Mike West 1514 ABB-5
2. Louie Tokarz 1528 AFB-6 19. Bill Thomson 1504 CFFA4
 The Boardgamer
Another issue out on time (assuming
nothing goes wrong at the printer’s).
Definitely a good sign. I’ll probably be
stuffing these into envelops as I’m sitting
at home, glued to the NCAA basketball
tournament and running my annual
tournament pool. I can never quite
decide whether my favorite week of the
year is the week before the NCAA
tournament (Championship Week), the
first week of the NCAA tournament, the
second week of the NCAA tournament
or Avaloncon week.
There has even been a fair amount of
material submitted recently, so the
BOARDGAMER appears to be alive and
well for the near future. If the amount of
material becomes great enough, I may
consider bumping up the issue size to 36
pages for the next issue (but no
promises).
Of course, the next issue is the one
which will be out for the summer
convention season. As Origins this year
is located in Columbus, OH, just a two
hour drive from our spacious (and 1/3
paid for, according to the bank)
headquarters in Minster, you can expect
to see me attend for the first time since
1989. Hopefully, you will be able to find
me running a War At Sea tournament for
Avalon Hill.
Speaking of Avalon Hill, I have been
informed that they are going to run some
tournaments at Origins this year. They
have tentatively planned to run History
Of The World, Republic Of Rome, We
The People, and new release London's
Burning on Friday and Britannia,
Maharaja, Machiavelli, and new release
Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage on
Saturday. Additionally, new release Air
Baron will be run as a demo tournament
at a time convenient to the designer;
Dune will be Friday night. They'll run an
"Inside Avalon Hill" session Thursday
night. On occasion, they'll run demo
games in the Exhibit Hall. If they can
gather a few volunteers (assistant GMs)
to help, they could even list more games
in the Friday and Saturday tournament
events, but they think they have reached
their current labor limit.
I have also found out that other Avalon
Hill games will be run at Origins,
including War At Sea, Circus Maximus,
Wooden Ships & Iron Men, Victory In
The Pacific and an Avalon Hill classics
event (or events, it was a little unclear).
Volume 1, Issue 2
From The Editor
As for Avaloncon, I’ll be there as usual,
and hopefully I will arrange for Avalon
Hill to give out a free issue of the
BOARDGAMER to the champion of
each event in addition to the plaque
(which is what we are all really after,
that piece of wood we hang on the wall
to embarrass our spouses). Hopefully,
I will also be organized enough to avoid
the duplication of effort in the
Avaloncon coverage between the
BOARDGAMER and the GENERAL
this year.
On another random topic, I’ve been
asked whether I can handle color in the
BOARDGAMER. The answer is that I
sure can, but I cannot afford to print it.
There is currently an incredible jump in
printing costs just to add a little color. I
would hope that the current rate of
im p r o v em en t i n co l or pr i nti n g
technology will continue in a way that
will m ak e it p ossi bl e f or th e
BOARDGAMER to include color in the
near future.
This issue also includes the premiere of
the ASL AREA News. This is a feature
that is uploaded on the GEnie AREA
News topic on a semi-regular basis,
and Russ Gifford has given his
permission for it to be reprinted here.
This article does a good job of
highlighting the regional ASL action
constantly going on all around the
country (and indeed, the world).
Stealing Russ’ ideas, I am trying to
make an effort to report on regional
action in all games. Next issue should
see a report on Glenn Petroski’s
Midwest Open Victory In The Pacific
tournament, and hopefully some word
on the action at NAVCON. If any of you
a r e i n v o l v ed wi t h a r eg i o n a l
tournament, send me a note and I will
see if I can provide some free issues of
the BOARDGAMER in exchange for
tournament reports and articles on
strategies used by the victors.
Well, that’s all for this issue. If the
submissions keep coming in, you will
even be spared from having to read any
more of my own articles. If not, I may
have to break out that old Third Reich,
4th Edition article I started a few years
back. I’m certain you are all hoping that
it never comes down to that.
Hopefully, I shall see you all at Origins
and/or Avaloncon this summer.
April 1996 3
The BOARDGAMER
The BOARDGAMER is published by Bruce
Monnin. The BOARDGAMER is intended to
be a compilation of quality articles on the
strategy, tactics, and variants for a variety of
board, sports and card games.
Articles from contributors are considered for
publication at the discretion of the editor.
Rejected articles will be returned whenever
possible. Potential authors should be
advised that all outside submissions may not
have previously been submitted to other
publications unless permission has been
granted and The BOARDGAMER has been
notified. Articles may be reprinted
elsewhere, although the editor’s permission
is requested (and will usually be freely
given).
Unless otherwise mentioned, all game titles
mentioned are trademark names of The
Avalon Hill Game Company/Victory Games,
as is the GENERAL and Avaloncon.
EDITOR: Bruce A. Monnin
ADDRESS: 177 South Lincoln Street
Minster, OH 45865-1240
E-MAIL:
Genie: B.MONNIN
Internet: B.MONNIN@GENIE.GEIS.COM
PHONE: (419) 628-3332
Subscriptions
To The
BOARDGAMER
The BOARDGAMER is to be
published quarterly with mailings
near the beginnings of January,
Ap r il, J ul y a nd Oc t ob er .
Individual issues are $3.50 each
and a one year (4 issue)
subscription is $13.00 ($12.00 for
members of AHIKS). Although
the first few issues may be sent
by First Class mail, eventually all
domestic subscriptions will be
sent via bulk permit. Overseas
and foreign deliveries require
additional postage charges.
Contact the BOARDGAMER for
details:
The BOARDGAMER
177 South Lincoln Street
Minster, OH 45865-1240
 4 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996

Inside This Issue

Avaloncon 1995 5
A First Timer’s Experience by James Pei

History Of The World Series Replay 8

One Player’s View of a GEnie PBEM Game by Bruce Monnin

History Of The World Series Replay 15

The Red Point of View by John B. Grant, Jr.

History Of The World Series Replay 17

The Black Point of View by Jeffrey Miller

AREA News 18
For The Minority by Glenn Petroski

ASL AREA News 19

Excerpts From The ASL News - Electronic Edition by Russ Gifford

Revised Rules 20
Combining Panzerblitz and Panzer Leader by Bill Scott

Revised Panzerblitz and Panzer Leader Rules 25

Questions and Answers by Bill Scott

The British Dilemma 27

A 1776 Scenario by Jim Lawler

War At Sea Breakout: Normandy

March 5, 1996 44 Active Players March 5, 1996 50 Active Players
1. Bruce Monnin 1832 EHEA5 1. Bill Edwards 1644 BD-A5
2. Tim Hitchings 1790 DG-A5 1. Alan Applebaum 1644 BD-A5
3. Ray Freeman 1752 CF-A5 3. Ron Fedin 1636 BD-A6
4. Tom Scarborough 1707 CEBA5 4. Don Greenwood 1636 BD-A5
5. Phil Rennert 1691 CF-A5 5. Michael Lazar 1601 AC-A5
6. Jon Lockwood 1671 BD-A5 6. Rodney Robinson 1570 BD-A5
7. Michael Knautz 1662 CE-A5 6. Mark Gutfreund 1570 BD-A5
8. Glenn Petroski 1626 AC—5 8. Herbert Gratz 1570 AC-A5
9. Steve Packwood 1623 AC-A5 8. Steve Andriakos 1570 AC-A5
10. Joe Beard III 1560 AB-A5 10. Byron Stingley 1568 BD-A5
11. John Pack 1558 CE-A5 10. James Stenard 1568 BD-A5
12. Vince Meconi 1551 BE-A5 12. Dave Newport 1535 AC-A5
13. Chuck Stapp 1535 AC-A4 12. Dirk Naish 1535 AC-A5
14. Aaron Petroski 1535 AB—5 14. Jeff Czerniak 1535 AA-A5
15. Paul Sommers 1528 BE-A5 14. Brian Carr 1535 AA-A5
16. Daniel Henry 1522 BE-A5 16. Dennis Nicholson 1531 AB-A5
17. Mike Bailey 1513 AC-A5 17. Henry Jones 1527 AC-A5
18. Alan Applebaum 1509 AC-A5 18. Robert O’Conner 1526 AAA-5
19. Gabriel Crowl 1505 AC-A5 19. David Long 1525 ACAA5
20. John Welage 1505 AB-A5 20. Paul Fletcher 1500 BD-A5
 The Boardgamer
A First-Timer’s Experience
As a newcomer to Avaloncon (in fact, a
first-timer to any type of ‘con’), I was
both nervous and clueless to whatever
awaited me. But after several years of
time conflicts, unexpected delays and
stupid excused, I finally said the heck
with my other priorities and hauled my
butt from Texas to Avaloncon.
I arrived early Wednesday evening just
in time for my first game, a demo of
History Of The World with bidding. This
tournament was based on the concept
described in the General, Vol. 29-1, with
slight modification. I have played this
very popular game many, many times.
My biggest complaint is that players
often gang up on the perceived leader,
without regard to the mapboard
strategic positions of other contenders.
Hell, in my case, I was often attacked by
everybody even if I’m not the leader.
T h e t o u r n am en t wa s fu n a n d
ed u c ati o na l (l ik e m ys elf , m os t
participants had never played this
bidding variant). The bidding concepts
gave players more control over the
selection of their empires. In any event,
through a combination of luck and (dare
I say) skill, I managed to pull ahead by
the end of my sixth Epoch, in spite of
being the Incas/Aztecs. With good
presence in almost every area, I took a
ten-minute food break. Hey, my
stomach was growling and you know
what Napoleon said, “An army marches
on its stomach”.
When I returned with pizza and coke, I
almost choked. Not because of food in
my mouth, but because of what I saw on
the mapboard. I had over twenty
armies/fleets on the board when I left. I
had exactly two armies left when I
returned. Even my Inca monument and
the Sub-Saharan migrants were brutally
sacked and destroyed. How sad!
With the seventh and final Epoch up for
grabs, everybody was bidding huge
amounts for the good empires. The
high bids were like mid-40s for Britain,
low 30s for France, and low 20s for
Russia. Even though I had a
comfortable lead of over 20 points, I
knew the game would be a toss-up
Volume 1, Issue 2
Avaloncon ‘95
by James Pei
since my presence was almost wiped
out. Therefore, I bid conservatively and
wound up with the Dutch.
To make a long story short, I barely won
the game with only a few points
separating between the first, second and
third place winners. Since the
tournament was only a demo, there was
no championship final and of course, no
prize, either. However, being the first
group to finish early, the GM bought my
entire table a round of beer. Now, that’s
an incentive!
Thursday
I entered my first ‘real’ competition on
Thursday morning in War At Sea. I
played this simple naval game many
years ago, only recently did I rebrush up
on my strategies. I played the Allies in
the first round, using the Mediterranean
Strategy. My British sailors must have
not been fully awake yet because by
Turn 3, the despised Italian fleet had
actually sunk 4 of my battleships and
damaged 2 others. I only managed to
sink one and damage one Italian
battleship. Needless to say, my luck
(and skill) went downhill from there while
my opponent was just on a roll. Sadly, I
lost my first round by a big margin.
Determined to redeem myself (and
perhaps a little Allies-shy), I chose to
play the Germans. My die rolls were still
not that good, but then, my opponent’s
was nothing to brag about. By playing
carefully and conserving my U-boats, I
pulled this one out, barely winning by
only 3 POCs. Of course, a few lucky die
rolls on the convoys did contribute to the
Kriegsmarine ruling the waves.
After checking with the GM (your
humble editor) on the tournament format
and time schedule, I decided to drop out
before the third round since I found out
that this tournament will play past my
favorite wargame tournament, Russian
Front, later that night. One of my main
reasons for trekking all the way here
was to compete in Russian Front. By
bowing out early, I could grab something
to eat and maybe enter another short
tournament.
April 1996 5
Not to take away anything from War At
Sea, I enjoyed the competition. If time
schedule had allowed, I would have
played on until the end. Hell, if I have
my way, I would have liked to play in
many other tournaments. I’m sure other
Avaloncon attendees would agree with
me. We are like children in a candy
shop, wanting to grab and eat
everything.
My next tournament was Naval War, as
the time frame fitted nicely into my now
open schedule. As always, nobody
wanted to be perceived as the leader.
So it took several hands before some of
us reached the critical mass to grab for
the win. One player did just that, but
was stopped cold by the rest of us
before he could amass the 75 points for
the win. We sent his entire fleet to
shake hands with Neptune in a hurry.
Next, it was me who went for the gold as
I had a torpedo squadron card in my
hand. Of course, lady luck decided
otherwise. I rolled a ‘1’ which netted me
a total of 68 points at the end of the
deck. Naturally, being the new leader
entitled me to a wonderful display of
fireworks. My splendid fleet was sunk
so fast that I barely got off three salvos!
My mighty Bismarck was the last to go
down, her captain standing proudly at
the bridge (cursing and screaming).
My early defeat at yet another naval
wargame pretty much finished my
career as an admiral. With over an hour
to kill before my next scheduled event, I
cruised over to the Open Gaming areas.
There were so many interesting games
being played that I almost had the urge
to join in one. I think a lot of people
come to the Con just to play in open
gaming. I don’t blame them. It’s a great
way of playing different pick-up games
with players from everywhere. I only
wish I had more time.
At 8 PM, the competition I had been
waiting for kicked off. By bidding a
higher VP than me, my opponent took
the German side in Russian Front. He
is a seasoned panzer commander as I
can tell by his opening moves.
Unfortunately (or rather fortunately for
me), he rolled that dreaded triple ‘2’s on
 6 The Boardgamer
Avaloncon 1995 - A First Timer’s Experience (Cont.)
his initial Southern blitz attacks.
Basically, his Army Group South was
stuck and would not be going anywhere
in a hurry. Since the tournament format
was for four-turn game length, I could
afford to send a large number of
reinforcements from the southern front
to the central front. My Russians
d ef en d ed t h e Vi t eb s k c o rr id o r
tenaciously, delaying the panzers
whenever possible. So I managed to
win this first round of Russian Front
without any cold sweat.
Afterwards, I again wandered over to
Open Gaming, checking things out. By
the time I hit the sack, it was well past
three. I had a difficult time falling asleep
that night, with all the day’s excitement
swirling in my head. Hmmm, if I had
moved the elite 6-5-4 army to defend
Pskov, maybe ........
Friday
I was awaken by the hotel wake-up
phone call at 8 AM. I had planned to
drop by the Colonial Diplomacy
tournament a little earlier so I could
brush up on the rules before I actually
play. Well, I sat up on the bed, kind of
in a snooze mode. I told myself to rest
for a few minutes, allowing my brain to
awake slowly. The next thing I knew I
was abruptly awakened by a door
slamming in the next room. I turned my
head and saw the time was 10:30 AM.
Knowing that I just blew a tournament
session, I did the next best thing. I
promptly went back to sleep.
After a hearty lunch buffet, I leisurely
strolled over to the gaming areas. With
so many games in progress, both
tournament and open gaming, I
compiled a brief list of interesting new
games that I liked but had never seen
before. I looked, poked, and asked
questions, jotting down information that
would help in my decision on what
games to purchase later. Everyone I
talked to was very helpful, giving me
their honest opinion on the particular
game.
One thing was certain, We The People
is very popular and looks like a pretty
cool 2-player game to play in under two
hours. A lot of you gamers know that
it’s very difficult to complete a good
game in a Saturday afternoon. Games
like Advanced Third Reich and Flat Top
take days, if not weeks, to finish.
Volume 1, Issue 2
Anytime a good strategic wargame,
simple to learn and playable in two
hours, is produced, you can bet it is
going to be popular.
I entered the New World tournament
later in the afternoon. I had learned this
game about an hour earlier. One of the
nice touches about this Con was the
offer of an hour long learning session
before the start of a beginner’s level
tournament. This was a wonderful
opportunity for players like myself to
compete in games other than those
which are familiar to us.
New World is a multi-player exploration
game set in the days of conquistadors.
My table was mostly made up of
beginners like me. As a result, we were
very friendly to each other, not attacking
even when a juicy gold mine was up for
grabs. Learning the game only a short
while ago, I did not grasp the subtleties
of the game. My units soon succumbed
to severe weather and native uprisings.
Needless to say, I did not advance to
the second round.
The second round of Russian Front
jumped off at the usual 8 PM. I With my time slot open, I used the
commanded the Wehrmacht this time.
My opponent was the GM, a two-time
champion. He knows how to defend
Mother Russia. In fact he defended so
well that he virtually stopped my
panzers from exploiting behind enemy
lines. Maybe he was over-confident or
just forgot the #1 rule of defense,
always defend your rear cities from
probing panzers. He left the strategic
city of Kiev open. By using lots of air
interdiction, I was able to flank around
the Pripet Marshes with two of my
panzer corps, one occupying Kiev and
the other cutting the rail supply.
This maneuver ensured me of enough
VPs for the win. I felt sorry for my
opponent as I know from personal
experience how crucial a slipup like this
hurts. He being a true sport and
gentleman, took the error in stride
(although I can swear I saw a tiny drop
of sweat trickle down his face, or was it
a tear).
Saturday
My scheduled tournament on Saturday
morning was Merchant Of Venus. This
was another game that I was taught just
prior to play. It is a space trading game,
April 1996
going about the galaxy exploring and
building lucrative trade routes. It
reminds me of Monopoly and those
Railroad games rolled into one. The
outcome of the tournament was quite
close as only a few hundred dollars
separated the leader from the rest of us.
I did not make the cut for the semi-final
as I had lots of cash but few properties.
During the Merchant Of Venus
tournament all Con attendees were
briefly gathered together to give Mr. Don
Greenwood a well deserved round of
applause for organizing an outstanding
convention, one of the best I heard. He
was also nominated for the Avaloncon
Hall of Fame. A fitting tribute for the
tremendous efforts he has put into
Avaloncon and the gaming hobby as a
whole.
Later, I dropped by the Avalon Hill sales
booth to pick up some new games,
including We The People. Another cool
thing about the Con was the $10
purchase credit that a participant gets if
he registers early. Of course, I did just
that.
available time wisely by entering yet
another simple multi-player game.
Auction is just like what the name
implies, you bid for rare items to amass
money. Again, I had just learned the
game only twenty minutes earlier. I
thought I was doing okay when
suddenly one of the four players in my
table declared for the win. He had over
$7500 while I only managed $4000, and
the other two players had even less. I
learned later that he was a five-time
event champion. Boy, did he pull a
sleek one over our head (Bruce Reiff,
you should be ashamed of yourself).
Since I was knocked out early again, I
treated myself to a real delicious dinner
at the hotel restaurant. I stuffed myself
real good as I had been living off pizzas
and burgers for the past few days. I
could barely walk over to the Russian
Front tables for my third round of
competition.
I commanded the Red Army this time. I
used my cavalry units repeatedly to
blunt the spearhead advance of Army
Group Center. With his horse-drawn
infantry corps trying to race past his now
immobilized panzer units, my opponent
 The Boardgamer
Avaloncon 1995 - First Timer (Cont.)
had a difficult time pushing the German
Army forward. For a while, my Odessa
Di st r i ct uni t s wer e act ual l y
counterattacking into Romania. I rail line north of Lake Ladoga map
clinched my win to advance to the final
on Sunday morning. I was a happy
camper!
Sunday
I was very excited to play in my first
Avaloncon final. My opponent is
another combat-hardened veteran, the
defending champ no less. I chose to
play the Axis, feeling a little more
confident with Guderian and Manstein
on my side. I started off Operation
Barbarossa nicely, taking advantage of
a tactical error by my opponent. I was
able to slip past a small crack in his rear
defense line with some of my panzers.
With his forward lines somewhat
shattered, my opponent quickly formed
a new defensive line at the Vibetsk
corridor. Using the Luftwaffe as rolling
artillery, I blitz attacked his units
unm ercifully. The Soviets now
displayed their famous tenacity in
combat. As soon as the front line
crumpled, another line formed at the
rear. I had to work hard to flank around
the Soviet defense.
We both took our time in executing our
strategies. One reason was the
distractions around us. Spectators were
flocking around, commenting and asking
questions. At one point, a photographer
took both of our pictures as the
championship was still undecided. We
also took time out to check out of our
rooms by noon and make arrangements
for transportation home.
July 31, 1996
Volume 1, Issue 2
An interesting story occurred when I
wa s c om m en ti n g t o s ev er a l
spectators about whether the Finnish
edge is somehow connected to
Helsinki. A voice over my shoulder
shouted, “Yes, there was a rail line
over there during the war.” I asked
him how did he know. He answered
that he is from Finland and he knows
people who used to live in those
areas!
We finally finished the game by
around 3 PM. I took a calculated
gamble by sending every available
panzer unit through a 50-mile gap,
deep behind the Smolensk line. I
ordered the panzer troops to occupy
and hold onto every empty city. I
knew that some of the panzers would
be annihilated, but enough would
survive to give me a victory. Well, the
good news was that I captured my
first Avaloncon plaque. The bad
news was that I just missed my flight.
To sum up the experience, I loved it.
I was mentally and physically
fatigued. Like an army after a hard
fought battle, I needed a good meal
and a long sleep. But I was glad that
I came (regardless of my outcomes).
I got to know many players, though I
cannot remember all of their names.
My only regret was that Avaloncon is
so short, lasting only four days. I
wish you gamers out there would
lobby the GMs to extend future Cons
to a full week. Well, I can’t wait until
next year’s Con.
August 4, 1996
April 1996 7
AHIKS
International
Wargamer’s
Society
The AHIKS International Wargamer’s
Society was founded in 1966 to be a
self-policing, non-profit organization
devoted to supporting play-by-mail
wargaming among reliable members.
AHIKS is unaffiliated with any particular
wargame manufacturer and encourages
the play of games produced by all
manufacturers. AHIKS consists of a
wide variety of potential opponents with
its hundreds of members in both its
North American and its European
branches.
AHIKS main function is to serve as a
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open match request lists, gaming related
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available to resolve rules questions.
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one missing counter from your otherwise
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 8 The Boardgamer
History Of The World Series Replay
One Player’s View Of A GEnie PBEM Game
The replay you are about to see was
played on the GEnie network in the
Avalon Hill section of the Scorpia
Games Roundtable. There are currently
t w o such games going on
simultaneously with at least one of
them being part of the GEnie History Of
The World AREA ladder, where games
are played both for AREA ratings and to
acquire points in determining the top
GEnie HOTW players. Games are also
played there with both the standard
empire distribution (as is demonstrated
below) and using the bidding for
empires variant.
This game was played with all the
standard rules as well of the
Preservation of Culture (11.2) and the
Fortresses (11.3) optional rules. The
actual detailed play is shown in the
smaller font, followed by my comments
as the Blue player as the game
advances. There are also comments
from the Red player (John Grant, Jr.),
the Black player (Jeff Miller) and
statistics from other games played on
GEnie elsewhere in this issue.
The Players -
Red - John Grant, Jr.
Blue - Bruce Monnin
Black - Jeff Miller
Green - Robbie Robberson
Purple - Eric Kirchner
Orange - George Young
Epoch I
Sumeria -
1) White 1, Capital - Lower Tigris
2) White 1 - Lower Tigris
3) White 1 - Lower Tigris
4) Fort - Lower Tigris
Card Pass Phase -
Red keeps Minoans
Blue keeps Indus Valley
Black keeps Egypt
Green keeps Shang Dynasty
Purple keeps Babylonia
Orange stuck with Aryans
Everyone keeps their empire cards this
Epoch. I draw the Indus Valley and
decide it is better to keep it than to start
making enemies.
Egypt -
Egypt
1) Bla 1, Capital - Nile Delta
2) Bla 1 - Nubia
3) Bla 1 - Upper Nile
4) Bla Fleet - Red Sea
5) Bla 1 - Arabian Peninsula
Volume 1, Issue 2
by Bruce Monnin
Black dominates North Africa, then
takes the Red Sea and the Arabian
Peninsula for 7 VP. If he had taken the
Eastern Mediterranean Sea and Levant
he could have built a monument and
taken 9 VP. However, the move turned
out great in the long run, as the Arabian
Peninsula army survived the entire
game, thus accounting for 16 VP by
itself. Amazingly, the army at Nubia
also survived the entire game.
Minoans -
Hittites Minor Empire
1) Red 5, Capital - Eastern Anatolia
2) Fort - Eastern Anatolia
3) Red 5 - Western Anatolia
Minoans
1) Red 1, Capital - Crete
2) Fort - Crete
3) Red Fleet - Eastern Mediterranean
4) Red 1 - Palestine
Red played the Hittite minor empire
card, fortifying Eastern Anatolia and
occupying Western Anatolia. The
Minoans then took the Eastern
Mediterranean Sea and Palestine to
dominate the Middle East while fortifying
Crete. Again, a good move in retrospect
as Crete was not conquered until Epoch
VI.
Indus Valley -
Indus Valley
1) Blu 1, Capital - Lower Indus
2) Blu 1 - Western Deccan
3) Blu 1 - Eastern Deccan
4) Blu 1 - Persian Salt Desert
I took a presence in the Middle East and
expanded into Western and Eastern
Deccan to take advantage of the
defensive terrain, hoping for some
longevity. Instead, I should probably
have taken two resource areas and built
a monument since I would have scored
as high and all of my armies were
conquered by Epoch III anyway.
Babylonia -
Babylonia
1) Pur 1, Capital - Middle Tigris
2) Pur 1 - Upper Tigris
3) Pur 1 - Levant
4) Pur 1 - Zagros
Purple Monument - Middle Tigris
Purple goes for the first monument by
taking Levant and Zagros. He also
appears to have maximized his Epoch I
VP potential with 8 VP. However, being
in the center of the busy Middle East,
sitting on two resource areas and having
a capital with a monument is a recipe for
the early destruction of these forces.
April 1996
Shang Dynasty -
Shang Dynasty
1) Gre 1, Capital - Yellow River
2) Fort - Yellow River
3) Gre 1 - Great Plain of China
4) Gre 1 - Wei River
Green has not much to do except
establish dominance in China and then
fortify. Unfortunately, China is probably
the busiest area of the board and units
there tend not to last very long.
Aryans -
Aryans
1) Ora 1 - Turanian Plain
2) Ora 1 - Tarim Basin
3) Ora 1 - Hindu Kush
4) Ora 1 - Persian Plateau
5) Ora 1 - Upper Indus
Orange Monument - Tarim Basin
Orange starts in an area which doesn’t
score until Epoch V with no capital. He
does manage to grab 6 VP by
establishing a presence in China, India
and the Middle East, and also building a
monument. Being at the end of the
epoch could lead to a good score in
Epoch II.
End of Epoch I Status
Red 9 VP 4 SP
Purple 8 VP 4 SP
Black 7 VP 5 SP
Blue 6 VP 4 SP
Orange 6 VP 5 SP
Green 4 VP 4 SP
Epoch II
Card Pass Phase -
Red keeps Vedic City States
Purple keeps Persia
Blue passes Scythians to Black
Green keeps Chou Dynasty
Black passes Carthaginia to Blue
Orange stuck with Greek City States
Most everyone keeps there cards, with
the exception that I pass Scythians to
Black and he sends m e back
Carthaginia. We are both “thrilled” with
the results, although I believe I came out
a little better in the deal.
Assyria - Does not appear. This helps
to preserve the Middle East possessions
of many of the other players, but does
little for me.
Chou Dynasty -
Sub-Saharan Migrants
1) Gre 1 - Madagascar
2) Gre 1 - Central Africa
 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996 9

History of the World - Series Replay

Chou Dynasty
1) Gre 2, Capital - Wei River; Gre 1 retreat to Yellow River
Carthaginia - Epoch III
Carthaginia
2) Gre 2 - Tarim Basin; Defeat Ora 1
1) Blu 2, Capital - Shatts Plateau
3) Gre 2 - Yangtse Kian
2) Blu Fleet - Western Mediterranean; Lose
Card Pass Phase -
4) Gre 2 - Chekiang Red keeps Romans
3) Again; Defeat Ora Fleet
5) Gre 2 - Si-Kiang Green keeps Maurya
4) Blu 2 - Pyrenees
6) Gre 2 - Szechuan Blue passes Macedonia to Black
5) Blu 2 - Southern Iberia; Defeat Ora 2
Green Monument - Wei River Black passes Sassanids to Purple
6) Blu 2 - Libya; Defeat Ora 2
Orange passes Hsiung-nu to Blue
7) Blu 2 - Nile Delta; Defeat Bla 1; Capital to City
Green plays the Sub-Saharan migrants Purple must pass Han Dynasty to Orange
8) Blu 2 - Western Iberia
cars which only pays off 3 VP if Red and Green kept their card and I
unconquered throughout the game. My Blue armies achieved dominance of
Southern Europe and North Africa. This draw Macedonia, meaning there are not
Combining with units from Epoch I, many good empires left. I decide to
Green achieves dominance of China. seemed like a poor empire at first, but
the armies in Western Iberia and Nile pass it away anyway since I don’t want
One nice thing about this empire is that the 15 SP or the early VP which might
going early is not a large disadvantage Delta survived the entire game, making
Carthaginia a big scorer. make me a target. Everyone else
for next epoch since all the other passes their cards, and I end up with
empires would have to travel a long Hsiung-nu, not a great empire but
ways to get to China. Persia -
North American Migrants should allow me to keep a low profile.
1) Pur 1 - Central America
Vedic City States - 2) Pur 1 - West Indies
Upper Nile Kingdom
Persia Celts - Does not appear. This is the
1) Red 1, City, Fort - Upper Nile; Bla 1 retreat to Nubia
Play Elite Troops (3 Dice Until Loss) second straight epoch that the first
1) Pur 2, Capital - Persian Plateau; Retreat Ora 1 to Hindu
Vedic City States
1) Red 2, Capital - Upper Indus; Retreat Ora 1 to Hindu
Kush empire does not show. This is also
Kush
2) Pur 2 - Persian Salt Desert; Defeat Red 2 arguably the weakest empire in the
3) Pur 2 - Lower Indus; Defeat Red 2; Remove City
2) Red 2 - Lower Indus; Defeat Blu 1; Capital to City
4) Pur 2 - Zagros; Defeat Red 2 epoch, so all the players should have
3) Red 2 - Persian Salt Desert; Defeat Blu 1
4) Red 2 - Zagros; Defeat Pur 1
5) Pur 2 - Eastern Anatolia; Defeat Red 5; Remove Fort; decent empires to work with.
Capital to City
5) Red 2 - Ganges Valley
6) Pur Fleet - Black Sea
6) Fort - Upper Indus
Red Monument - Upper Indus
7) Pur Fleet - Eastern Mediterranean; Defeat Ora Fleet Macedonia -
8) Pur 2 - Turanian Plain; Defeat Ora 1 Macedonia
9) Pur 2 - Tarim Basin; Lose 1) Bla 3, Capital - Pindus; Retreat Ora 2 to Morea
Red plays the Upper Nile Kingdom card 10) Again; Defeat Gre 2 Play Allies
which pays off 17 VP if unconquered 11) Pur 2 - Balkans; Defeat Bla 2 A1) Bla 3 - Dalmatia
12) Pur 2 - Levant; Defeat Ora 2 A2) Bla 3 - Northern Appennines
throughout the game (which was the 13) Pur 2 - Western Deccan; Lose 2) Bla Fleet - Eastern Mediterranean; Defeat Pur Fleet
case). Red dominates India and 14) Fort - Persian Plateau 3) Black 3 - Levant; Lose
15 ) Fort - Eastern Anatolia 4) Again; Defeat Pur 3
combines with previous forces to Purple Monument - Persian Plateau 5) Bla 3 - Shatts Plateau; Lose
dominate Middle East. 6) Again; Defeat Blu 2; Capital to City
Purple plays the North American 7) Bla 3 - Libya; Defeat Blu 2
8) Bla 3 - Upper Tigris; Defeat Pur 1
Greek City States - migrants card which pays off 5 VP 9) Bla 3 - Middle Tigris; Defeat Pur 1; Capital to City
Greek City States through the end of the game, but make 10) Bla 3 - Zagros; Lose
1) Ora 2, Capital - Morea 11) Again; Lose
2) Ora 2 - Pindus
a mistake by placing one in Central 12) Again; Defeat Pur 2
3) Ora Fleet - Eastern Mediterranean; Defeat Red Fleet America without the other one adjacent. 13) Bla 3 - Persian Salt Desert; Defeat Pur 2
4) Ora Fleet - Western Mediterranean 14) Bla 3 - Lower Indus; Defeat Pur 2
5) Ora 2 - Southern Iberia
The army in Central America will thus be 15) Bla 3 - Central Massif
6) Ora 2 - Libya eliminated in Epoch III when the Mayans Black Monument - Pindus
7) Ora 2 - Levant; Lose
minors empire arrives. A better
8) Again; Defeat Pur 1
9) Fort - Morea placement may have been the Great Black plays the Allies card for extra
Orange Monument - Morea Lakes and the Great Plains as they troops, and expands to dominate
should last there at least until the arrival Southern Europe, North Africa and the
Orange achieved dominance of Middle East and establishing a presence
Southern Europe and established a of the United States.
in India. I am fairly happy since my
presence in North Africa. Scored well, f orc es to ok onl y a sli gh t hit .
but its armies are all right in the path of Persia plays Elite Troops and goes on
the attack, dominating the Middle East Southeastern Europe is now a treasure
Macedonia and the Romans next epoch. house of capitals and monuments, but
and establishing presences in China,
India, Southern Europe and Eurasia. also rough terrain and forts.
Scythians -
Scythians Although a high scoring empire, it is
1) Bla 2 - Caucasus possibly not worth the high strength and Maurya -
2) Bla 2 - Dnieper Mayan Minor Empire
3) Bla 2 - Danubia use of the Elite Troops card. 1) Gre 1, Capital - Central America; Remove Pur 1
4) Bla 2 - Balkans 2) Gre 1 - Guiana Highlands
5) Bla 2 - Central Europe Mauryans
6) Bla 2 - Northern Gaul End of Epoch II Status 1) Gre 3, Capital - Ganges Delta
7) Bla 2 - Albion Red 34 VP 10 SP 2) Gre 3 - Eastern Deccan; Defeat Blu 1
3) Gre 3 - Eastern Ghats
Black Monument - Albion
Purple 32 VP 19 SP 4) Gre 3 - Ceylon
Black achieved dominance of Northern Orange 23 VP 14 SP 5) Gre 3 - Irrawaddy
6) Gre 3 - Malayan Peninsula
Europe. Unfortunately it is worth no VP Blue 20 VP 12 SP 7) Gre 3 - Sumatra
this epoch. Maybe not the best of Black 19 VP 12 SP 8) Fort - Sumatra
9) Fort - Ceylon
moves, but the alternatives for the Green 17 VP 10 SP 10) Fort - Ganges Delta
Scythians are not appealing either. Green Monument - Ganges Delta
 10 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996

History of the World - Series Replay

Green plays the Mayan minor empire, Romans - End of Epoch III Status
establishing a presence in both North Romans
Play Fanaticism (Wins all ties)
Red 80 VP 35 SP
and South America. The Mayans can 1) Red 3, Capital - Southern Appennines Purple 53 VP 28 SP
provide as many as 19 VP if they 2) Red Fleet - Western Mediterranean; Defeat Blu Fleet
3) Red 3 - Northern Appennines; Defeat Bla 3
Black 51 VP 27 SP
survive until game’s end (in this game 4) Red 3 - Dalmatia; Defeat Bla 3 Orange 50 VP 26 SP
they are conquered in Epochs Vi and 5) Red 3 - Pindus; Defeat Bla 3; Capital to City Green 43 VP 20 SP
Play Siegecraft
VII). The Mauryans esta blish 6) Red 3 - Morea; Defeat (2) Ora 2; Remove Fort; Capital Blue 42 VP 19 SP
dominance of India and South East to City
7) Red Fleet - Eastern Mediterranean; Defeat Bla Fleet
Asia, then fortify Ganges Delta, Ceylon 8) Red 3 - Levant; Defeat Bla 3 Epoch IV
and Sumatra. As it turns out, the two 9) Red 3 - Upper Tigris; Defeat Bla 3

fortified islands survived out the game,

rolling up 20 VP in the last four epochs,
even if Green forces had never entered
this area again.
Han Dynasty -
Han Dynasty
1) Ora 3, Capital - Great Plain of China; Retreat Gre 1 to
Yellow River
2) Ora 3 - Wei River; Lose
3) Again; Defeat Gre 2; Capital to City
4) Ora 3 - Tarim Basin; Defeat Pur 2
5) Ora 3 - Chekiang; Defeat Gre 2
6) Ora 3 - Si-Kiang; Defeat Gre 2
7) Ora Fleet - South China Sea
8) Ora 3 - Mekong
9) Ora 3 - East Indies
10) Ora 3 - Irrawaddy; Lose
11) Again; Lose
12) Again; Defeat Gre 3
Play Engineering
E1) Fort - Great Plain of China
E2) Fort - Tarim Basin
Orange Monument - Great Plain of China
Orange establishes dominance of China
and South East Asia, then played a
fortification card to add forts to its
Orange monument lands of Tarim Basin
and Great Plain of China. As if China
had not been busy enough, my Hsiung-
nu empire is next up to deal with these
new fortifications.
Hsiung-nu -
Jewish Revolt
1) Blu 2 - Palestine (3 dice); Lose
Rebellion
1) Blu 2 - Wei River; Defeat Ora 3; Remove City
Hsiung-nu
1) Blu 3 - Mongolia
2) Blu 3 - Wei River; Remove Blu 2
3) Blu 3 - Great Plain of China; Lose
4) Again; Defeat Ora 3; Remove Fort; Capital to City
5) Blu 3 - Chekiang; Defeat Ora 3
6) Blu 3 Tarim Basin; Lose
7) Again; Ora 3; Remove Fort
Blue Monument - Chekiang
I start by playing the Jewish Revolt to
establish a presence in the Middle East.
However, even with 3 dice on the attack
I manage to lose, costing me 4 VP this
epoch and who knows how many in the
future. I then play a Rebellion on the
Wei River to provide a hole in the Great
Wall of China for the Hsiung-nu to enter
China through. My Blue troops barely
manage to dominate China and build a
monument. Only a small gain in VP, but
my conquests should survive until the
middle of Epoch IV.
10) Red 3 - Zagros; Defeat Bla 3
11) Red 3 - Eastern Anatolia; Lose
12) Again; Defeat Pur 2; Remove Fort, City
13) Red 3 - Persian Plateau; Defeat Pur 2; Remove Fort;
Capital to City
14) Red 3 - Turanian Plain; Defeat Pur 2
15) Red 3 - Tarim Basin; Lose
16) Again; Lose
17) Again; Lose
18) Red 3 - Persian Salt Desert; Defeat Bla 3
19) Red 3 - Lower Indus; Lose
20) Again; Defeat Bla 3
21) Red 3 - Western Deccan; Defeat Blu 1
22) Red 3 - Eastern Ghats; Defeat Gre 3
23) Red 3 - Tarim Basin; Defeat Blu 3
24) Red 3 - Danubia; Defeat Bla 2
25) Fort - Southern Appennines
Red Monument - Southern Appennines
Red Monument - Levant
Red plays Fanaticism to help the
Roman legions and proceeds to
dominate Southern Europe, Middle East
and India while establishing a presence
in Northern Europe, Eurasia and China.
I am not certain I agree with the strategy
of pushing all the Romans east where
the Sassanids can whittle them down
before the end of the epoch. It would
seem that occupying some of western
Europe would have led to longer lasting
gains (at the expense of losing some VP
short term). The Romans also use a
Siegecraft card to help take the fort at
Morea.
Sassanids -
Disaster (Adjacent to Sea)
1) Southern Appennines - Remove Red monument;
Capital to City
Rebellion
1) Pur 1 - Albion; Defeat Bla 2
Sassanids
1) Pur 3, Capital - Zagros; Retreat Red 3 to Persian
Plateau
2) Pur 3 - Persian Plateau; Defeat Red 3; Lose
3) Again; Defeat Red 3; Remove City
4) Pur 3 - Middle Tigris; Defeat Bla 3; Remove City
5) Pur 3 - Persian Salt Desert; Defeat Red 3
6) Pur 3 - Lower Indus; Lose
7) Again; Lose
8) Again; Defeat Red 3
9) Pur 3 - Eastern Anatolia; Defeat Red 3
Purple plays a Disaster on the Roman
capital in the Southern Appennines and
a Rebellion takes Albion. The
Sassanids then expand to dominate the
Middle East and establish a presence in
India, capturing 2 Purple monuments on
the way. A tough empire to have, as the
Guptas, Huns, Byzantines and Arabs
are all likely to nibble at these modest
gains next epoch.
Card Pass Phase -
Blue keeps T’ang Dynasty
Green keeps Byzantines
Orange keeps Huns
Black keeps Goths
Purple passes Khmers to Red
Red must pass Guptas to Purple
I was dealt the T’ang Dynasty, which I
kept because my holdings seem fairly
secure and the T’angs go late in the
epoch. The first four players keep their
card, then Purple passes the Khmers to
Red, forcing Red to return the Guptas to
Purple. If Red could have kept the
Guptas which move first after having the
Romans last epoch, his VP would have
gone through the roof.
Guptas -
Guptas
Play Civil Service (2 additional armies)
1) Pur 4, Capital - Eastern Deccan; Retreat Gre 3 to
Ganges Delta
2) Pur 4 - Eastern Ghats; Defeat Red 3
3) Pur 4 - Western Deccan; Defeat Red 3
4) Pur Fleet - Bay of Bengal
5) Pur 4 - Upper Indus; Lose
6) Again; Defeat Red 3; Capital to City
7) Put 4 - Malayan Peninsula; Lose
8) Again; Defeat Gre 3
CS1) Pur 4 - Ganges Valley; Defeat Red 2
CS2) Fort - Eastern Deccan
Purple Monument - Eastern Deccan
Purple expands throughout much of
India, establishing dominance of India
and the Middle East, and invades the
Malayan Peninsula to get a presence in
South East Asia along with his previous
presences in Northern Europe and
North America. This is enough for
Purple to temporarily forge into the lead.
Goths -
Anglo-Saxons Minor Empire
1) Bla 2 - Baltic Seaboard
2) Bla Fleet - North Sea
3) Bla 2 - Albion; Defeat Pur 1
Goths
1) Bla 4 - Danubia; Retreat Red 3 to Dalmatia
2) Bla 4 - Dnieper; Remove Bla 2
3) Bla 4 - Western Steppe
4) Bla 4 - Turanian Plain; Lose
5) Again; Defeat Red 3
6) Bla 4 - Tarim Basin; Defeat Red 3
7) Bla 4 - Persian Plateau; Lose
8) Again; Defeat Pur 3
9) Bla 4 - Zagros; Lose
10) Again; Defeat Pur 3; Capital to City
Black Monument - Zagros
Black plays the Anglo-Saxon minor
empire to reclaim his monument at
Albion, then plays Empires Fortify and
 The Boardgamer
History of the World - Series Replay
adds forts to Central Massif, Nubia and
Shatts Plateau, which in effect protects
my Blue holdings in southern Europe.
The Goths then expand east to
dominate Northern Europe, North Africa
and Eurasia and gain a presence in
Southern Europe, Middle East and
China. Despite these gains, the Goths
are not my favorite empire since they
are right in the path of the Huns and the
Byzantines.
Huns -
Malayan Peninsula Kingdom
1) Ora 1, City, Fort - Malayan Peninsula; Remove Pur 4
Civil War
1) Ora 1 - Northern Appennines; Defeat Red 3
2) Ora 1 - Southern Appennines; Defeat Red 3; Remove
City
3) Ora 1 - Morea; Defeat Red 3; Remove City
Huns
1) Ora 4 - Western Steppe; Retreat Bla 4 to Turanian Plain
2) Ora 4 - North European Plain
3) Ora 4 - Baltic Seaboard; Defeat Bla 2
4) Ora 4 - Central Europe; Defeat Bla 2
5) Ora 4 - Dnieper; Defeat Bla 4
6) Ora 4 - Danubia; Defeat Bla 4
7) Ora 4 - Balkans; Lose
8) Again; Defeat Pur 2
9) Ora 4 - Western Anatolia; Lose
10) Again; Lose
11) Again; Lose
12) Again; Defeat Red 4
13) Ora 4 - Eastern Steppe
14) Ora 4 - Tarim Basin; Defeat Bla 3
Orange Monument - Central Europe
Orange plays Malayan Peninsula
kingdom, then plays Civil War to take
the Northern Appennines, Southern
Appennines and Morea from Red. The
Huns spread in multiple directions to
grab presences in Northern Europe,
Southern Europe, Middle East and
China. This gives Orange dominance of
Southern Europe as well as Eurasia.
Byzantines -
Byzantines
Play Jihad (3 Dice Until Loss; Always Wins All Ties)
1) Gre 4, Capital - Balkans; Retreat Ora 4 to Danubia
2) Gre 4 - Danubia; Defeat (2) Ora 4
3) Gre Fleet - Black Sea; Defeat Pur Fleet
4) Gre 4 - Pindus; Defeat Red 3; Remove City
5) Gre 4 - Morea; Defeat Ora 1
6) Gre 4 - Dalmatia; Defeat Red 3; Lose (Jihad now just
wins ties)
7) Gre 4 - Dalmatia; Defeat Red 3
8) Gre 4 - Central Europe; Defeat Ora 4
9) Gre 4 - Lower Rhine
Play Shipbuilding
S1) Green Fleet - Eastern Mediterranean; Defeat Red
Fleet; Remove Red Fleet - Western
Mediterranean
S2) Green Fleet - Western Mediterranean
10) Gre 4 - Levant; Defeat Red 3
11) Gre 4 - Libya; Defeat Bla 3
12) Fort - Balkans
Green Monument - Balkans
Green plays Jihad and uses it to
ram page through Northern and
Southern Europe. The Shipbuilding
card secures the Mediterranean seas
and leads to invasions of Libya and
Levant. In all, Green captures four
Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996 11
monuments, secures dominance of Epoch V
Northern and Southern Europe and has
a presence in North Africa, Middle East, Card Pass Phase -
Blue passes Franks to Red
India, China and South East Asia. Green passes Sung Dynasty to Black
Purple passes Chola to Orange
Black passes Mongols to Blue
T’ang Dynasty - Red passes Seljuk Turks to Green
Famine - Yellow River
Remove (2) Gre 1
Orange must pass Holy Romans to Purple
Gold Coast Kingdom
Everyone passes their cards. I was
1) Blu 3, City, Fort - Gold Coast
T’ang Dynasty dealt the Franks, which I should have
1) Blu 4, Capital - Yangtse Kian; Retreat Gre 2 to Szechuan kept to keep my strength point total
2) Blu 4 - Wei River; Remove Blue 3
down, yet still score high by moving first
3) Blu 4 - Yellow River; Defeat Gre 1; Remove Fort; Capital
to City in the epoch. I was hoping to get back
4) Blu 4 - Tarim Basin; Defeat Ora 4
5) Blu 4 - Szechuan; Lose the Holy Romans or the Chola, which
6) Again; Lose
7) Again; Lose
would have had the same advantages
8) Again; Defeat (2) Gre 2 along with moving later in the epoch.
9) Blu 4 - Si-Kyang; Defeat Ora 3 Instead I received the mighty (and end
10) Blu Fleet - South China Sea; Defeat Ora Fleet
11) Blu 4 - Chekiang; Remove Blu 3 of epoch moving) Mongols. The Franks
Blue Monument - Yangtse Kian go to Red since he has little on the
I start by playing a kingdom on the Gold board (the “curse of the Romans” strikes
Coast card and then play a Famine to again).
soften up the Yellow River. The T’angs
take control of China, but three combat Franks -
Civil War
losses along the way prevent my 1) Red 3 - Levant; Defeat Gre 4
2) Red 3 - Morea; Defeat Gre 4
planned invasion of South East Asia. 3) Red 3 - Balkans; Defeat Gre 4; Remove Fort; Capital to
Along with the control of China, my Blue City
Franks
armies maintain presences in Southern 1) Red 5, Capital - Northern Gaul; Retreat Bla 2 to Albion
Europe and North Africa. 2) Red 5 - Central Massif; Lose
3) Again; Defeat Bla 3; Remove Fort
4) Red Fleet - Western Mediterranean; Defeat Gre Fleet
Arabs - Does not appear. One of my 5) Red 5 - Southern Iberia; Lose
favorite empires since the area it is likely 6) Again; Lose
Play Treachery
to take will not be contested again until 7) Red 5 - Albion; Defeat (2) Bla 2; Remove Bla Fleet -
the middle of Epoch VI. North Sea
8) Red 5 - Highlands
9) Red 5 - Ireland
Khmers - 10) Red 5 - Southern Iberia; Lose
Play Population Explosion (Add 2 armies)
1) Red 4, Capital - Mekong; Retreat Ora 3 to Irrawaddy Red plays Civil War and captures
2) Red Fleet - South China Sea; Defeat Blu Fleet
3) 4 - Malayan Peninsula; Lose
monuments in Levant, Morea and
4) Again; Lose Balkans. Red plays Treachery to
5) Again; Lose c a p t u r e Al b i o n , a n d a c h i e v e s
PE1) Red 4 - Chekiang; Lose
PE2) Red 4 - Si-Kiang; Lose dominance of Northern and Southern
Europe to go along with previous
Red plays Population Explosion, but
presences in North Africa, Middle East
loses 5 out of 6 attacks to gain only a and South East Asia.
presence in South East Asia to go along
with previous presences in Southern Vikings - Does not appear. This would
Europe, North Africa and Middle East. have made keeping the Franks an even
The Khmers are often the “curse of the better idea.
Romans” as many of the Roman
conquests are wiped out before the Holy Romans -
Khmers arrive on the seen. A failure of Fujiwaras Minor Empire
the Khmers to arrive could have led to a 1) Pur 3, Capital - Hokaido
2) Pre Fleet - Sea of Japan
huge Red gain in VP this turn. 3) Pur 3 - Great Plain of China; Lose
Barbarians (Alps)
1) vs. Dalmatia; Lose
End of Epoch IV Status Holy Romans
Red 96 VP 40 SP 1) Pur 5, Capital - Central Europe; Retreat Gre 4 to
Dalmatia
Purple 87 VP 36 SP 2) Pur 5 - Northern Gaul; Defeat Red 5; Capital to City
Green 85 VP 32 SP 3) Pur 5 - Central Massif; Defeat Red 5; Remove Red Fleet
- Western Mediterranean
Orange 81 VP 40 SP 4) Pur 5 - Albion; Lose
Black 78 VP 37 SP 5) Again; Defeat Red 5
6) Pur 5 - Northern Appennines; Lose
Blue 70 VP 30 SP 7) Again; Lose
8) Again; Defeat Ora 1
9) Pur 5 - Pyrenees; Defeat Blu 2
10) Pur 5 - Southern Appennines; Defeat Ora 1
Purple Monument - Northern Gaul
 12 The Boardgamer
History of the World - Series Replay
Purple plays Fujiwaras minor empire,
who are repulsed attempting to invade
China. Barbarians from the Alps are
also defeated in Dalmatia. The Holy
Romans then dominate Northern and
Southern Europe to go along with
previous domination of India and
presences in North America, Middle
East and Nippon.
Chola -
Disaster (Mountains)
1) Balkans - Remove Green Monument, City
Empire Fortifies
1) Fort - Baltic Seaboard
2) Fort - Dnieper
Chola
1) Ora 5, Capital - Eastern Ghats; Retreat Pur 4 to Eastern
Deccan
2) Ora 5 - Western Deccan; Defeat Pur 4
3) Ora 5 - Upper Indus; Defeat Pur 4; Remove City
4) Ora 5 - Eastern Deccan; Lose
5) Again; Defeat (2) Pur 4; Capital to City; Remove Pur
Fleet - Bay of Bengal
6) Ora Fleet - Bay of Bengal
7) Fort - Eastern Ghats
8) Ora 5 - Western Ghats
Orange Monument - Eastern Ghats
Orange plays a Disaster on the Green
monument in the Balkans and plays
Empire Fortifies to add forts to Baltic
Seaboard and Dnieper (and throwing a
wall in front of any advancing Mongols).
The Chola then dominate India to go
along with previous holdings in South
East Asia, Eurasia and Middle East.
Not a big impression left, but the next
Indian empire does not arrive until last in
Epoch VI.
Sung Dynasty -
Empire Revives
1) Zagros - Add Fort, (2) Bla 4
Southern Iberia Kingdom
1) Bla 3, City, Fort - Southern Iberia; Retreat Blu 2 to
Western Iberia
Sung Dynasty
1) Bla 5, Capital - Szechuan; Retreat Blu 4 to Yangtse Kian
2) Bla 5 - Yangtse Kian; Lose
3) Again; Lose
4) Again; Defeat (2) Blu 4; Capital to City
5) Bla 5 - Great Plain of China; Defeat Blu 3; Remove City
6) Bla 5 - Chekiang; Lose
7) Again; Defeat Blu 4
8) Bla Fleet - South China Sea; Defeat Red Fleet
9) Bla 5 - Mekong; Defeat Red 4; Capital to City
Black plays Empire Revives to add two
armies and a fort in Zagros, then plays
Southern Iberia kingdom to establish a
presence in Southern Europe. Black
marches across China and invades
South East Asia, but fails to dominate
China after losing three battles, thus
leaving only presences in China, South
East Asia, Eurasia, Middle East, North
Africa and Southern Europe.
Seljuk Turks -
Barbarians (Tibet)
1) vs. Tarim Basin; Defeat Blu 4
2) vs. Szechuan; Defeat Bla 5; Capital to City
3) vs. Upper Indus; Lose
Volume 1, Issue 2
Seljuk Turks
1) Gre 5 - Turanian Plain; Retreat (2) Bla 4 to Persian
Plateau
2) Gre 5 - Tarim Basin
3) Gre 5 - Szechuan
4) Gre 5 - Wei River; Lose
5) Again; Defeat Blu 4
6) Gre 5 - Yangtse Kian; Defeat Bla 5; Remove City
Play Treachery
7) Gre 5 - Hindu Kush; Defeat (3) Ora 1
8) Gre 5 - Upper Indus; Defeat Ora 5
9) Gre 5 - Ganges Valley; Defeat Pur 4
10) Gre 5 - Lower Indus; Defeat Pur 3
11) Gre 5 - Persian Salt Desert; Defeat Pur 3
12) Fort - Hindu Kush
Green Monument - Szechuan
An empire bordering China, India and
the Middle East and with the strength to
do something about it. Green plays
Barbarians to clear out the Tarim Basin
and Szechuan, then proceeds to
dominate China and India (playing
Treachery to clear Hindu Kush) and
establish a presence in Eurasia and the
Middle East. When combined with
previous presences in North Africa,
Southern and Northern Europe, South
East Asia and North America, Green
piles up enough VP to tie for the lead.
The Mongols will reduce Green some,
but some will survive into Epoch VI
when Green is first in the card pass
order.
Mongols -
Mongols
Play Weaponry (+1 To All Die Rolls)
1) Blu 5 - Mongolia; Remove Blu 3
2) Blu 5 - Wei River; Lose
3) Again; Lose
4) Again; Defeat Gre 5
5) Blu 5 - Yangtse Kian; Defeat Gre 5
6) Blu 5 - Great Plain of China; Defeat Bla 5
7) Blu 5 - Chekiang; Defeat Bla 5
8) Blu 5 - Tarim Basin; Defeat Gre 5
9) Blu 5 - Szechuan; Defeat Gre 5; Remove City
10) Blu Fleet - Sea of Japan; Defeat Pur Fleet
11) Blu 5 - Hokaido; Defeat Bla 5; Capital to City
12) Blu 5 - Mekong; Defeat Bla 5; Remove City; Remove Bla
Fleet - South China Sea
13) Blu 5 - Malayan Peninsula; Lose
14) Again; Defeat Ora 1; Remove City, Fort
Play Pirates
P1) Blu Fleet - Bay of Bengal; Lose
15) Blu 5 - Ganges Delta; Defeat (2) Gre 3; Remove Fort
16) Blu 5 - Ganges Valley; Defeat Gre 5
17) Blu 5 - Upper Indus; Defeat Gre 5
18) Blu 5 - Eastern Deccan; Defeat Ora 5; Remove City
19) Blu 5 - Irrawaddy; Lose
20) Again; Defeat (2) Ora 3
Blue Monument - Hokaido
Blue Monument - Malayan Peninsula
The Mongols can go either west towards
Europe or south through China. With
lots of monuments available in China, I
decide to head south. Weaponry is
played to add one to all of the die rolls.
The Mongols then proceed to control all
of China, dominate South East Asia and
India and establish a presence in
Eurasia to go along with previous
presences in Southern Europe and
North Africa. A slight setback was
suffered when the Pirate fleet was
defeated in the Bay of Bengal, thus
forcing a land invasion of India.
April 1996
However, good die rolls made the
invasion a success. If the Ming Dynasty
sits out Epoch VI, I should be in great
shape. In fact, I might prefer to get the
Incas and Aztecs next epoch in order to
get my strength down and then get
something decent in Epoch VII.
However, I will have little choice as to
my empire as I will be second last in the
card pass phase and will be a definite
target as I now control 11 monuments
on the eastern half of the board.
End of Epoch V Status
Green 127 VP 44 SP
Red 127 VP 50 SP
Purple 125 VP 46 SP
Blue 116 VP 50 SP
Black 106 VP 46 SP
Orange 106 VP 48 SP
Epoch VI
Card Pass Phase -
Green passes Incas and Aztecs to Purple
Purple passes Timurid Emirates to Red
Black passes Mughals to Green
Orange passes Ming Dynasty to Blue
Red passes Ottoman Turks to Black
Blue must pass Spain to Orange
Everyone passes their cards again. I
am dealt Spain, which excited me as the
first few players do not pass to me, but
when Orange passed me his card I was
forced to pass him back Spain as a
reward. In return, I receive the Ming
Dynasty, which is a mixed blessing.
Going first will allow me to collect all the
Mongol’s VP once again, but will also
keep me from expanding much since I
already control China and will also
ensure that most of my troops will be
conquered before Epoch VII.
Ming Dynasty -
Disaster (Anywhere)
1) Northern Gaul - Remove City, Purple Monument
Safavids Minor Empire
1) Blu 4, Capital - Persian Salt Desert; Retreat Gre 5 to
Hindu Kush
2) Blu 4 - Lower Indus; Lose
3) Fort - Persian Salt Desert
Ming Dynasty
1) Blu 6, Capital - Chekiang; Retreat Blu 5 to Yangtse Kian
2) Blu Fleet - South China Sea
3) Blu 6 - Great Plain of China; Remove Blu 5
4) Blu 6 - Wei River; Remove Blu 5
5) Blu 6 - Eastern Steppe; Defeat Ora 4
6) Blu 6 - North European Plain; Defeat Ora 4
7) Blu 6 - Baltic Seaboard; Lose
8) Again; Defeat Ora 4; Remove Fort
9) Blu 6 - Central Europe; Lose
10) Fort - Chekiang
First I play a Disaster to remove the
monument in Northern Gaul since I
cannot reach there this epoch, then play
the Safavids minor empire and establish
a presence in the Middle East. I could
choose to just fortify a couple of lands
 The Boardgamer
History of the World - Series Replay
heavily, but instead I advance on
Europe. Considering that I only gained
6 more VPs than if I hadn’t even played
the Ming Dynasty at all, I believe I made
the wrong choice. Anyway, the Mings
dominate Eurasia and establish a
presence in Northern Europe to go
along with my prior possessions and
gain me a whopping 57 VPs, but now I
get to sit back and watch my empire
destroyed bit by bit until I get to use the
United States (or another weak empire)
in Epoch VII.
Timurid Emirates -
Pestilence (Hindu Kush)
1) Turanian Plain - Remove Gre 5
2) Upper Indus - Remove Blu 5
Disaster (Mountains)
1) Hindu Kush - Remove Fort
Timurid Emirates
1) Red 6, Capital - Turanian Plain
2) Red 6 - Hindu Kush; Defeat Gre 5; Lose
3) Again; Defeat Gre 5
4) Red 6 - Upper Indus
5) Red 6 - Ganges Valley; Defeat Blu 5
6) Red 6 - Ganges Delta; Lose
7) Again; Defeat Blu 5; Remove City
8) Red 6 - Malayan Peninsula; Defeat Blu 5
Red Monument - Turanian Plain
Red plays Pestilence in Hindu Kush in
an attempt to open a path for his coming
empire, but only manages to clear
Turanian Plain and Upper Indus. Red
then plays a Disaster to destroy the fort
in Hindu Kush (even though there is no
monument there, we could find no rule
prohibiting play of a Disaster just to
destroy a fort). Red then dominates
India and established presences in
Eurasia and South East Asia to give a
good overall mix of presences across
the board.
Incas and Aztecs -
Incas and Aztecs
I1) Pur 6, Capital - Northern Andes
I2) Pur 6 - Guiana Highlands; Defeat Gre 1
A1) Pur 6, Capital - Mexican Valley
A2) Pur 6 - Pacific Seaboard
Purple Monument - Mexican Valley
Purple kicks Green out of South
America to establish a presence there,
and dominates North America. This
doesn’t leave him in bad shape as he is
only 22 VP off the lead and will go first
in the card pass order for Epoch VII.
Ottoman Turks -
Plague
1) Crete - Remove Red 1, Fort
Ottoman Turks
Play Leader (3 Dice On Attacks Until Roll Triples)
1) Bla 6, Capital - Western Anatolia; Remove Ora 4
2) Bla Fleet - Black Sea; Defeat Gre Fleet
3) Bla Fleet - Eastern Mediterranean; Defeat Gre Fleet
4) Bla 6 - Crete
5) Bla 6 - Morea; Defeat Red 3
6) Bla 6 - Pindus; Defeat Gre 4
7) Bla 6 - Dalmatia; Defeat (2) Gre 4
8) Bla 6 - Central Europe; Defeat Pur 5; Capital to City
9) Bla 6 - Northern Gaul; Defeat Pur 6
Volume 1, Issue 2
10) Bla 6 - Albion; Defeat Pur 5
11) Bla 6 - Dnieper; Lose
12) Again; Defeat Gre 4; Remove Fort
13) Bla 6 - Western Steppe; Defeat Ora 4
14) Bla 6 - Turanian Plain; Lose
15) Again; Lose
Black Monument - Western Anatolia
Black plays a Plague against Crete to
eliminate the Red unit and the fort there.
Black then plays a Leader to help the
attacks. The Turks dominate the Middle
East, Southern and Northern Europe,
recapturing two Black monuments along
the way. However, when the turn is
over he is still 41 VP off the lead and will
go near last in the final card pass phase.
Not an enviable position. (Given the
final outcome of the game, it looks like I
severely misjudged Black’s chances.)
Portugal - Does not appear. Obviously,
knowing from the card pass phase that
Spain was active, I was hoping that the
Mughals were sitting out instead of
Portugal. Portugal sitting out will keep a
few less troops in the New World.
Spain -
Black Death (Middle East, Southern Europe)
1) Western Iberia - Remove Blu 2
2) Pyrenees - Remove Pur 5
3) Northern Appennines - Remove Pur 5
4) Central Massif - Remove Pur 5
5) Morea - Remove Bla 6
6) Middle Tigris - Remove Pur 3
7) Lower Tigris - Remove (1) Sumerian
8) Persian Salt Desert - Remove Blu 4, Fort
9) Persian Plateau - Remove Bla 4
Spain
Play Leader (3 Dice On Attack Until Roll Triples)
1) Ora 6, Capital - Pyrenees
2) Ora Fleet - Atlantic Ocean
3) Ora Fleet - Indian Ocean
4) Ora Fleet - Western Mediterranean
5) Ora Fleet - Eastern Mediterranean; Defeat Bla Fleet
6) Ora 6 - Patagonia
7) Ora 6 - Persian Salt Desert; Capital to City
8) Ora 6 - Hindu Kush; Defeat Red 6
9) Ora Fleet - North Sea
10) Ora 6 - Scandinavia
11) Ora 6 - Baltic Seaboard; Defeat Blu 6
12) Ora 6 - Central Europe; Defeat Blu 6
13) Ora 6 - Morea
14) Ora 6 - Congo
15) Ora 6 - Deep South
Orange Monument - Pyrenees
Orange plays Black Death on the Middle
East and Southern Europe, clearing
Pyrenees, Central Massif, Northern
Appennines, Morea, Middle Tigris and
Persian Salt Desert of all armies.
Orange then plays a Leader, although
only four attacks were actually
launched. Spain places six fleets,
dominates Northern Europe and India,
and establishes presences in North and
South America, Southern Europe, Sub-
Saharan Africa and the Middle East.
However, being 30 VP behind the leader
and having the most strength points is
not an optimistic combination.
April 1996 13
Mughals -
Disaster (Anywhere)
1) Chekiang - Remove Fort; Blue Monument; Capital to City
Mughals
1) Gre 6, Capital - Ganges Valley; Retreat Red 6 to Upper
Indus
2) Gre 6 - Ganges Delta; Lose
3) Again; Defeat Red 6
4) Gre Fleet - Bay of Bengal; Defeat Ora Fleet
5) Gre 6 - Upper Indus; Defeat (1) Red 6; Lose
6) Again; Defeat Red 6
7) Gre 6 - Irrawaddy; Defeat Blu 5
8) Gre 6 - Malayan Peninsula; Defeat Red 6
9) Gre 6 - Szechuan; Defeat Blu 5
10) Gre 6 - Wei River; Lose
11) Again; Defeat Blu 5
12) Fort - Ganges Valley
Green Monument - Ganges Valley
Green plays a Disaster card on Blue in
Chekiang, then dominates India and
South East Asia, establishes a presence
in China and recaptures three Green
monuments. Due to a combination of
moving last this epoch, having
presences in seven areas, being only 12
VP out of the lead and being second in
the Epoch VII card pass phase makes
Green my pick to win it all. Not that
many others will agree as I am sure they
will pass me a weak empire and then
pound my surviving Blue troops. History
of the World is similar to most other
multi-player games in that it punishes
those who dare to grab the lead before
the very end.
End of Epoch VI Status
Blue 173 VP 60 SP
Green 161 VP 56 SP
Red 158 VP 56 SP
Purple 151 VP 50 SP
Orange 143 VP 63 SP
Black 142 VP 61 SP
Epoch VII
Card Pass Phase -
Purple keeps France
Green keeps Russia
Red passes Germany to Blue
Blue passes Britain to Black
Black passes United States to Red
Orange stuck with Netherlands
I draw Britain, which would thrill me if
there was a chance I could keep it.
Purple and Green keep their cards
(Green doing so being especially
ominous) so now I just have to hope
Red does not pass to me and I’ll win
easily with the British. Unfortunately,
Red passes me Germany, a weak
empire which moves last. It will be
interesting to see if I still have a chance
to win when Germany finally arrives.
 14 The Boardgamer
History of the World - Series Replay
Russia -
Russia
1) Gre 7, Capital - North European Plain; Retreat Blu 6
to Eastern Steppe
2) Gre 7 - Baltic Seaboard; Defeat Ora 6
3) Gre 7 - Central Europe; Defeat Ora 6
4) Gre 7 - Eastern Steppe; Lose
5) Again; Defeat (2) Blu 6
6) Gre 7 - Mongolia; Defeat Blu 5
Play Surprise Attack
7) Gre 7 - Yellow River; Defeat Blu 4; Remove City
8) Gre 7 - Great Plain of China; Lose
9) Again; Defeat Blu 4
10) Gre Fleet - Sea of Japan; Defeat Blu Fleet
11) Gre 7 - Chekiang; Lose
12) Again; Defeat Blu 6; Remove City
Green Monument - North European Plain
The Green Russians start west to
dominate Northern Europe, then turn
east to establish a presence in Eurasia
and dominance of China. In doing so,
Green also managed to take a bite out
of my Blue occupied territories. This
puts Green 42 VP into the lead, which
will be tough to overcome.
Manchu Dynasty - Does not appear.
This should help keep some of my
Chinese possessions alive until
Germany arrives.
Netherlands -
Japan Minor Empire
1) Ora 4, Capital - Honshu
2) Ora Fleet - Sea of Japan; Defeat Gre Fleet
3) Ora 4 - Hokaido; Defeat Blu 5; Remove City
4) Ora 4 - Korea
5) Ora 4 - Manchurian Plain
Empires Revive
1) Ora 6 - Pyrenees
2) Ora 6 - Deep South
3) Ora 5 - Eastern Ghats
4) Ora 5 - Western Deccan
Netherlands
1) Ora 7, Capital - Lower Rhine; Remove Gre 4
2) Ora 7 - Central Europe; Defeat Gre 7
3) Ora Fleet - North Sea (now 2 fleets)
4) Ora 7 - Lower Indus; Lose
5) Again; Defeat Gre 5
6) Ora Fleet - Pacific Ocean
7) Ora 7 - Great Plain of China; Defeat Gre 7
8) Ora 7 - Mexican Valley; Lose
Orange plays the Japan minor empire to
control Nippon and establish a presence
in Eurasia. The Dutch then dominate
Northern Europe, take a land in India to
achieve dominance and grab a
presence in China. All told, a whopping
61 VP for the epoch, but 11 VP short of
Green.
France -
France
Play Fanaticism (Wins All Ties)
1) Pur 7, Capital - Western Gaul
2) Pur Fleet - Atlantic Ocean
3) Pur 7 - Southern Andes
4) Pur 7 - Northern Gaul; Defeat Bla 6
5) Pur 7 - Central Europe; Defeat Ora 7
6) Pur Fleet - Pacific Ocean
7) Pur 7 - Malayan Peninsula; Defeat Gre 6
8) Pur Fleet - Bay of Bengal
9) Pur 7 - Eastern Deccan; Defeat Blu 5
10) Pur 7 - Honshu; Lose
11) Again; Defeat Ora 4; Capital to City
Play Surprise Attack
12) Pur 7 - Gold Coast; Lose
Volume 1, Issue 2
13) Again; Defeat Blu 3; Remove City, Fort
14) Pur 7 - Chekiang; Defeat Gre 7
15) Pur 7 - Australia
Purple Monument - Western Gaul
Purple Monument - Honshu
Purple plays Fanaticism to help with its
attacks, then proceeds to grab
dominance of Northern Europe and
South America, and presences in Sub-
Saharan Africa, India, South East Asia,
China and Nippon. Unfortunately, there
just were not enough Purple units
already on the board, as Purple end up
in 3rd place for the moment, 13 VP
behind Green.
Britain -
Disaster (Anywhere)
1) Tarim Basin - Remove Orange Monument
Britain
Play Elite Troops (3 Dice Until Lose)
1) Bla 7, Capital - Albion; Remove Bla 6
2) Bla Fleet - North Sea; Defeat (2) Ora Fleets
3) Bla Fleet - Atlantic Ocean
4) Bla Fleet - Pacific Ocean
5) Bla 7 - Southern Africa
6) Bla Fleet - Bay of Bengal; Defeat Pur Fleet
7) Bla 7 - Eastern Deccan; Defeat Pur 7
8) Bla 7 - Australia; Defeat Pur 7
9) Bla 7 - Malayan Peninsula; Defeat Pur 7
10) Bla 7 - Chekiang; Defeat Pur 7
11) Bla 7 - Honshu; Defeat Pur 7; Remove City
12) Bla 7 - North European Plain; Defeat Gre 7; Capital to
City
13) Bla 7 - Northern Andes; Defeat Pur 6; Capital to City
14) Bla 7 - Mexican Valley; Defeat Pur 6; Capital to City
15) Bla 7 - Western Gaul; Defeat Pur 7; Capital to City
16) Bla 7 - Lower Rhine; Defeat Ora 7; Capital to City
17) Bla 7 - Yangtse Kian; Lose
18) Again; Defeat (2) Blu 5
19) Bla 7 - Central America; Defeat Gre 1; Capital to City
20) Bla 7 - Pacific Seaboard; Defeat Pur 6
Black Monument - Northern Andes
Black Monument - Central America
Black Monument - Lower Rhine
Black plays Elite Troops and goes on an
incredible rampage, succeeding in 11
consecutive seaborne invasions, losing
once and then winning three more
attacks. Along with a good base of
Black units already on the board, Britain
rolls up a whopping 82 VP, propelling
Black into the lead by 9 VP. Enough
damage was also done to ruin any
chances Red and Blue may have still
had.
United States -
United States
1) Red 7, Capital - Appalachia
2) Red 7 - Deep South; Defeat (2) Ora 6
3) Red Fleet - Caribbean Sea
4) Red 7 - Pacific Seaboard; Lose
5) Again; Defeat Bla 7
6) Red 7 - Guiana Highlands; Defeat Pur 6
7) Red 7 - Northern Andes; Defeat Bla 7; Remove City
8) Red 7 - Brazil
9) Red 7 - Mexican Valley; Defeat Bla 7; Remove City
10) Fort - Appalachia
Red Monument - Appalachia
Red does what the United States can do
and dominates North and South
America. Totaled up, Red drops into
last place, 33 VP behind Black.
April 1996
Germany -
Germany
1) Blu 7, Capital - Baltic Seaboard; Remove Gre 7
2) Blu 7 - Central Europe; Defeat Pur 3
3) Blu Fleet - North Sea; Defeat Bla Fleet
4) Blu 7 - Albion; Defeat Bla 7; Capital to City
5) Blu Fleet - Atlantic Ocean
6) Blu 7 - Appalachia; Lose
7) Again; Lose
8) Again; Lose
9) Blu 7 - Southern Africa; Lose
10) Again; Lose
Blue Monument - Baltic Seaboard
Being in deep trouble, I take some
gambles but lose on 5 consecutive
seaborne invasions to end up in 5th
place, 27 VP behind Black. Germany
does dominate Northern Europe, but
that’s about it.
End of Epoch VII Status
Black 224 VP 81 SP
Green 215 VP 68 SP
Red 206 VP 68 SP
Purple 202 VP 65 SP
Blue 197 VP 70 SP
Orange 191 VP 71 SP
Final Notes - This was a close game,
with only 33 VP separating 1st and 6th
places. The eventual winner, Black,
received 10 more strength points than
anyone else in the game.
As far as the minor empires go, Green
came out the best as its Mayans rolled
up 15 VP, followed by Red’s Hittites
and Orange’s Japanese with 12 VP.
Black’s Anglo-Saxons scored only 5 VP,
Blue’s Safavids only 4 VP and Purple’s
Fujiwaras just 3 VP.
The kingdoms also divided into the have
and the have nots. Red’s Upper Nile
Kingdom rolled up 17 VP and Black’s
Southern Iberia Kingdom scored 10 VP.
Orange’s Malay Peninsula Kingdom
scored just 6 VP, Purple’s North
American Migrants 5 VP, Blue’s Gold
Coast Kingdom 4 VP and Green’s Sub-
Saharan Migrants just 3 VP.
China turned out to be a busy place, as
the Tarim Basin changed hands 10
times during the game. Chekiang won
the distinction of having the most
counters there during the game,
changing hands 9 times and also having
a Capital, a City, a Fort and a Blue
monument there. Central Europe made
a late run at the busiest land title,
changing hands 4 times during Epoch
VII alone.
 The Boardgamer
History Of The
World Series
Replay (Cont.)
The Sumerians won the ultimate
longevity prize, with 2 of their 3 armies,
along with their fort and capital lasted
until the game’s end. Of the lands
claimed by the players, Nubia takes the
prize as the Black unit which was placed
there by the first empire of Epoch I,
Egypt, survived the entire game.
As far as strategy, I think I learned a few
new things. During Epoch VI, it is a
good idea to take interior areas, as they
are more likely to survive the myriad
seaborne invasions during Epoch VII.
Also, during Epochs V and VI. it may not
be a bad idea to “kick somebody while
they’re down” in order to have a safe
place to dump Britain if necessary
during the Epoch VII card pass
phase.
Pro Golf Scramble
Plans are currently in the works to
demonstrate a scramble Pro Golf
tournament at Avaloncon 1996. The
format is for 4-man teams to compete
against each other over four newly
created courses from western Ohio.
The scramble format is quite simple and
quick. Each player takes a shot, then
the team decides which of the four
shots to keep. The entire four member
team then takes their next shot from
that spot and repeats the process until
the ball is holed. Preliminary playtests
show that the teams should average a
birdie (one under par) for each hole.
The demonstration will be played
immediately after the standard Pro Golf
tournament (looks to be at midnight
Thursday night). Course booklets will
be made available to each team at the
convention, but those wishing to
preview them can obtain them from the
BOARDGAMER for $0.50 each.
For those looking to maximize your
game playing time at Avaloncon, the
late night sports games are an
enjoyable and easily learned way to go.
Come and enjoy the fun of the less than
intense competition and all around late
night enjoyment.
Volume 1, Issue 2
HOTW Series Replay
The Red Point Of View
by John Grant, Jr.
John wants it to be known that these are
just his notes from the game and not
necessarily his best attempt at proper
grammar.
This was my second game. Learned
the value of finding and fortifying out of
the way places during my first game. I
plan to play conservatively as the game
rewards empires spread as far as
possible.
Rolled to be the first player and as such
get to place Sumeria. In my first game I
was Babylon and lost armies in
attacking Sumeria. There is only a 1/6
chance of drawing Sumeria, and I can
always pass it. So, I’ll play Sumeria so
that whoever does get Babylon can’t
easily get the city there. Group all three
Sumerian armies and place a fort in
Lower Tigris.
Epoch I. Drew Minoa and kept it.
Since I had the Hittites minor empire this
Epoch, which would provide the strength
to dominate the Middle East, keeping
this empire was easy. Crete is out of
the way, can be fortified and should last
at least 3 or 4 epochs.
Epoch II. Was 1st in the card draw
order. Drew Vedic City States and kept
it. I’ve learned that spreading around
the map in out of the way places
maximizes points. I’m playing a long
range game this time (unlike my first
game). Mostly that means placing forts
and foregoing a victory point where the
payoff would be an area garnering
points for several epochs.
Vedic City States goes 3rd in the turn
order, preceded by Assyria and Chou
Dynasty. Although Assyria will probably
reduce some of my units in the Middle
East, I should have some presence still
there by the Vedic turn. India is an area
I’d like a presence, and the strength
points are low which will keep me in 1st
or 2nd place for card draws for Epoch
III. A keeper.
Assyria fails to show. Good news since
only the Chou Dynasty moves before
m y turn, which m eans all my
possessions in the Middle East and
Southern Europe will be intact. The
plan is to dominate India by occupying
three areas there, dominate the Middle
April 1996 15
East by taking the Persian Salt Desert
and Zagros, and establish a presence in
North Africa by playing the Upper Nile
kingdom card. The potential problem
with playing this kingdom now is that the
Carthaginians start this turn, but they
may expand north and east instead. If I
can survive the Carthaginians, the
presence should be there for several
epochs. Note that the retreat of Black
from Upper Nile will strengthen the
defense by putting two units in Nubia,
the only land route to the Upper Nile.
Epoch III. Drew the Romans. Since I
was out of town, the GM decided to
keep it for me. Probably would have
chosen to keep it anyway. Prepare to
play Siegecraft and Fanaticism to
magnify the effect of the Romans.
The Romans expand to dominate
Southern Europe, the Middle East and
India, while establishing presences in
Northern Europe and China, thus getting
to place two monuments.
Not a strong move. Should have left fort
in Eastern Anatolia alone, wasted
strength attacking it.
Epoch IV. Drew Guptas. I’m now last
in the card pass order, so I’m at the
mercy of the other players. Keeping this
card would be perfect, since I would
then go first in Epoch IV and reap the
benefits of still having lots of Romans on
the board. However, I am probably
destined to get the Khmers - moving last
and weak to boot.
Yep, received the Khmers from the last
player to pass. Now for the damage
(fortunately, the Arabs failed to appear -
a few more Romans should survive than
otherwise).
Red plays Population Explosion with the
Khmers, but loses 5 out of 6 attacks to
end up with only the capital in Mekong
and the fleet in the South China Sea.
Aaarggh!
Epoch V. Received Seljuk Turks. Very
late in the turn, but otherwise not bad.
However, Blue - bless his soul - passed
his card to me (I aim to please). What’s
happening is the curse of the Romans.
 16 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996

HOTW Series Replay - The Red Point Of View

Too many strength points puts me at the
end of the card pass, while too many
points makes me the front runner.
Everybody gangs up ... Whine.
My choice as to whether Green or
Purple received the Seljuk Turks.
Purple went after Romans last Epoch,
but the question is who can be helped
most by this empire. Purple is strong in
India and the Middle East. Give the
Turks to Green.
I was passed the Franks - goes first,
which will enable me to make extra
points this Epoch at the expense of the
next.
The decision now is whether to use Civil
War to obtain points in India and China.
I decide not to - Blue is low on points
and I can only attack Blue in China and
can’t get dominance. Can attack Purple
in India but again will not achieve
dominance. However, can attack Green
in Southern Europe and the Levant to
retake a Red monument and set up Red
dominance in Southern Europe.
Below is the average VPs gained by the empires in HOTW after four games on the GEnie online service. This chart gives three VP numbers:
1st, the amount of VP remaining on the board when the empire starts, 2nd the total VP gained during the turn by the empire and 3rd, the
additional VP this empire gained over and above what it started the turn with.
VP From Total VP
Previous This
Empire Empires Epoch
Epoch VI. Ottoman Turks are drawn.
I’m tied for first, but laboring under the
very great disadvantage of being 5th in
the card draw. I’m likely to be passed
the Incas and Aztecs. Instead, I was
passed the Timurid Emirates. Could
have been worse.
Blue seems to be the biggest threat -
has many monuments. Disaster played
against one of his areas would be nice,
but I need to clear the way into India
and hopefully open up the Middle East.
Play Pestilence in Hindu Kush, but only
remove a Green unit in Turanian Plain
and a Blue in Upper Indus. The
Pestilence was played to pass through
Hindu Kush, so play Disaster in Hindu
Kush. Fort is destroyed.
The Timurid Emirates take dominance in
India and in a last unit gamble launch a
successful amphibious assault on the
Malayan Peninsula for a monument and
presence in South East Asia.
When I got to the end of this turn, I
forgot China and went into South East
Asia. I could have accomplished an
VP Gained VP From
By This Previous
Empire Empire Empires
extra point by taking the Tarim Basin
with its resources and monument. Oh
well, when playing with the Aide de
Camp set, I just can’t see the entire
board at once (but at least your cat
doesn’t jump on the world and try to eat
Roman legions).
Epoch VII. I improved my turn order for
card pass to #3. I received Germany - a
very bad card given its turn order - and
passed it to Blue, which should put him
out of the running (thanks a lot).
Unfortunately, Green had the #2 card
pass, and turned out to have the
Russians. With a first move in the
Epoch, Green amassed 54 points,
putting the game on ice.
And then Black passed me an even
worse Empire than the Germans. Yes
folks, the United States. No way to win
now.
In retrospect, I should have passed the
Romans in Epoch III. Early leadership
with high strength points (thus poor
card pass order) is a killer.
Total VP VP Gained
This By This
Epoch Empire

Epoch I Epoch IV (Cont.)

Egypt 0 8 8 T’ang Dynasty 14 33 19
Minoans 1 7 6 Arabs 8 34 26
Indus Valley 0 7 7 Khmers 13 19 6
Babylonia 2 9 7
Shang Dynasty 1 6 5 Epoch V
Aryans 1 7 6 Franks 31 46 15
Vikings 7 21 14
Epoch II Holy Roman Empire 19 34 15
Assyria 10 19 9 Chola 18 30 12
Chou Dynasty 8 17 9 Sung Dynasty 15 29 14
Vedic City States 10 21 11 Seljuk Turks 15 36 21
Greek City States 5 19 14 Mongols 13 44 31
Scythians 8 12 4
Carhtaginia 4 17 13 Epoch VI
Persia 5 28 23 Ming Dynasty 28 41 13
Timurid Emirates 20 36 16
Epoch III Incas & Aztecs 13 22 9
Celts 6 21 15 Ottoman Turks 19 42 23
Macedonia 11 32 21 Portugal 13 33 20
Maurya 15 30 15 Spain 16 41 25
Han Dynasty 14 31 17 Mughals 14 35 21
Hsiung-nu 13 23 10
Romans 9 40 31 Epoch VII
Sassanids 9 21 12 Russia 34 49 15
Manchu Dynasty 27 46 19
Epoch IV Netherlands 36 53 17
Guptas 16 30 14 France 23 55 32
Goths 19 30 11 Britain 19 63 44
Huns 23 38 15 United States 23 39 16
Byzantines 14 35 21 Germany 8 26 18
 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996 17

HOTW Series Replay

The Black Point Of View
Epoch I. I like Egypt, for some reason
its my favorite card to start with. Of
course there really aren't any bad cards
in Epoch I. I usually play Egypt for long
term points. While you can take Levant
for a Monument and an extra 2 points,
your fleet in the E. Med. is doomed and
your army in Levant as well. By going
for the Red Sea and an army in the
Arabian Peninsula you may well pickup
more points in the long term (this
certainly proved true in this case).
Epoch II. Hummm..... got passed the
S c y t h i a n s b y Bl u e, d r e w t h e
Carthaginians so I return the 'favor'.
Well, might as well go north into Europe,
not too much to be gained going south
into the victory point bearing areas.
Hopefully they will survive up there and
pick up a few points in the long run.
Epoch III. Blue gives me the
Mac edonians which is a great
improvement over the Sassanids which
go to Purple since Red already has a
card. I guess I'll forgive Blue for the
Scythians. Playing Allies gives me
enough armies to spread out, striking
into Africa, through the Middle East and
into India. With any luck Rome will not
follow me to the ends of my empire, but
wi ll concent r at e ar ound t he
by Jeffrey D. Miller
Mediterranean (however, Rome does
follow where the Greeks led).
Epoch IV. The Goths spread out, tied
into the Anglo-Saxons. 27 VP didn't
seem bad, but I slip to 5th place by the
end of the Epoch.
Epoch V. I would have liked to keep
the Mongols, however a card pass from
Green eliminated that option. In
retrospective it might not have been a
good idea anyway due to the jump in
SP's. Albion falls to treachery by Red,
I'd kind of hoped to have it last until
Britain arrived. Southern Iberia
Kingdom gets me back into Southern
Europe, however my Sung Dynasty fails
to prove its worth in battle and I fail to
dominate China. Tied for last.
Epoch VI. Even with a leader the
Ottoman Turks manage to drop me into
last place by 1 VP. This looks like a
very poor position. At this point I'd
basically given up...... my best approach
was to try and get out of last place.
Epoch VII. Blue passes me Britain.
Yep, guess I'll really forgive him now for
the Scythians back in Epoch II. :-)
Used the disaster to take out the
monument in Tarim Basin only because
I hate to leave a card unused & there is
no way my troops will get that far inland.
Indeed, I have no plans of leaving the
coastlines. Also used Elite Troops,
although I kind of wish I'd used them last
Epoch and saved the leader for this one.
Basically this turn was my most planned
out..... passed solely on Naval Strikes
at coastal areas where I could pick up
points without having to go inland & at
the same time I could do damage to
Red and Blue.
The dice turned hot (can't remember if I
had my 7 year old son rolling for the
other side or not in this game - most
likely not as he usually rolls better than I
do) and coupled with the Elite Troops
plus the large number of armies I had on
the board already, rolled up enough
points to spring from last to first.
Guess this just goes to prove that one is
never out of it in HOTW, a streak of hot
dice and everyone concentrating on the
leaders can indeed give one an opening
to come from behind. Of course now
Bruce will stomp the last place player in
all future games to give him a place
to dump Britain. :-)

Below is the average victory points gained by the various minor empires, kingdoms and migrants in HOTW after four games on the Genie online
service. This chart gives both the average number of victory points earned each epoch as well as the average total victory points earned during
the game. The number of victory points awarded to these minor empires is calculated as if they were the only units of that color on the board
that turn (in other words, if a presence in an area could be credited either to the minor empire or to units a some major empire of the same color,
they were credited to the minor empire). The chart shows that there is a wide discrepancy between the value of the various kingdoms and
migrants, and a lesser discrepancy between the minor empires (Note that if any totals are slightly off, this is due to rounding errors).
Minor Epoch I Epoch II Epoch III Epoch IV Epoch V Epoch VI Epoch VII Total
Empire VP VP VP VP VP VP VP VP

Hittites 5 4 2 1 0 0 0 12
Phoenicia - 6 0 0 0 0 0 6
Mayans - - 2 2 3 4 6 16
Anglo-Saxons - - - 4 2 2 1 8
Fujiwaras - - - - 3 1 1 5
Safavids - - - - - 6 0 6
Japan - - - - - - 9 9

Kingdoms Epoch I Epoch II Epoch III Epoch IV Epoch V Epoch VI Epoch VII Total
& Migrants VP VP VP VP VP VP VP VP

Upper Nile Kingdom - 2 2 2 2 2 1 10

Southern Iberia Kingdom - - 1 1 3 2 2 9
Malay Peninsula Kingdom - - - 2 3 1 1 8
Gold Coast Kingdom - - - 1 1 2 2 6
Highlands Kingdom - - - 2 3 3 5 13
North American Migrants - - - - 1 1 3 5
Sub-Saharan Migrants - - - - - 1 2 3
 18 The Boardgamer
There has certainly been a lot of
confusion concerning AREA, in all
quarters. Rather than clean it up, this
article will probably add to that
confusion.
Russ Gifford and I are working on some
definitive statements about what AREA
is, what it proposes to do, and how it
exactly works in this new life. There are
some issues not entirely settled, and
details still need some polish. I will not
promise it for the next issue of the
BOARDGAMER, but it will appear here
within the near future.
The issue of the GENERAL preceding
Avaloncon 1995, and the program for
AC itself, mentioned that any GM could
submit his entire roster for AREA
ratings. Both of these were rather small
blurbs, which a lot of people missed.
They did not do much to clear up the
mass confusion that is still so prevalent.
Many people regard AREA as an ego
trip of some sort. As though that
number rating is everything! All there is
to it! Even AREA’s most ardent
supporters tend to look at it with that
kind of view, although they don’t word it
that way. If this was all that Russ or I
could see, we would not be doing what
we are.
That rating is a drawing card. Yes, a bit
of an ego trip. However, AREA is more
than that, and should be used for more,
a lot more.
As a GameMaster, how do you set up
your tournament? Do you seat your
players by random draw? By how good
they each claim they are? By your own
perception of their skill? Here is the
greatest value of that rating. GMs can
have a reliable piece of information that
will tell how his players stand in relation
to each other. How to actually run a
tournament is still up to the individual
GM. However, AREA can provide
information that will assist setting up the
format and pairing of the players.
Obviously, this will make for a better
tournament overall.
That is why we have turned to the GMs
for assistance. It is a more reliable
method of getting information, and the
GMs have the most to gain.
Volume 1, Issue 2
AREA NEWS
For The Minority
by Glenn E.L. Petroski
The generic ratings are gone. There is
no longer any reason for a player not to
rate a game. He has nothing to protect.
What someone does in one game will
not affect any rating in any other game.
A game title in which a player is weak,
or inexperienced, simply shows up with
that kind of rating. This means that
when a GM sets up a tournament, the
information will be an accurate
representation of players’ skill in that
particular game. Now the GM is able to
give the players better matches. It will
also enable any two players to honestly
size up each other for one on one
competition. In the end it is actually
more fair for all of the players.
No one is being cheated or treated
unfairly by saying that this is an AREA
tournament, and all competitors will be
rated in every game. If players don’t
care, or don’t want, to use their ratings
elsewhere, that is fine. If they do, so
much the better. A player gains every
time he uses his rating, even when he
loses a game, since that lines him up
with a more equal opponent for the next
time. By not using his rating, he loses
nothing.
That is just the ratings, only the
beginning of AREA. With an extensive
and ever growing database, AREA can
also supply information throughout our
hobby. AREA can help each of us find
opponents in particular games, or
particular geographic areas, or whatever
search criteria may be useful to you.
Windy City Wargamers, a.k.a. “The
Chicago Mob”, has just finished a
Victory In The Pacific tournament. This
has been done in the Chicago area
before. The usual calling has been
about a dozen players. Using the AREA
database, information was sent directly
to everyone who has shown an interest
in VITP. Another mailing list was also
created. This included every gamer, in
any title, in the database who was within
a weekend drive of the tournament
location.
The result? Two weeks before the
tournament we held the money in hand
for twenty-five preregistered players. If
no one else showed up, we would have
doubled past performance, and paid
expenses. Final count came to 29
April 1996
players. Outside of Avaloncon, this
became the largest VITP tournament
ever held. For the nominal cost of
$1.00, and a stamp to mail a request,
the same is available to anyone for the
asking. This is just one example of what
AREA can do.
Do you want to find local ftf opponents?
AREA can supply you with a listing of all
opponents in your state, or your zip
code block, or any other area or location
that you can clearly define.
Is your company sending you out of
town for a month? Every evening and
weekend you will have time on your
hands. AREA can give you names,
addresses and phone numbers of
potential opponents.
Would you like to play Blitzkrieg by
mail? Guess how you can locate other
interested parties?
Have you ever thought of organizing a
PBM competition of your favorite game?
Do you have some other hobby project
that you want help with?
Have you had a problem with a PBM
opponent?
Have you lost track of an old friend? Do
you need an address check for him?
As game companies have cut back on
services, do you need questions
answered? Help with a game difficulty?
There are probably a lot of other
possibilities that no one has thought of
yet. AREA is here to help the hobby in
whatever way it can. Players, GMs,
interested parties. Simply ask, and
AREA will see what it can do.
AREA can never do it all. However, with
time and growth, AREA will be able to
perform an increasing measure of these
services, and more.
The primary restraint on AREA is the
limit of the database. Information which
AREA does not have it cannot provide.
For instance, there are 240 players
known to be interested in VITP. Anyone
who wants information about VITP
players can have it by the mail bag full.
 The Boardgamer
AREA News (Cont)
On the other hand, AREA knows of only
three players for Anzio. Unless
someone informs AREA otherwise, that
is the best we can do. Should there
happen to be Anzio players not listed,
and a potential GM wants to put
together a competition, a number of
things will happen. Potential players,
who would really like to know, will never
hear of it. The hopeful GM will conclude
that while he loves the game, there is
not enough general interest to make his
efforts worth while. The result is no
tournament.
That is not the end of the matter, either.
Other gamers, more passive about
Anzio, will not have their curiosity
aroused. There is no increase in
interest generated inside or outside our
hobby. Fewer games sold. No trophies
awarded. Fewer hamburgers sold
somewhere. Everyone loses. Our
hobby is poorer for it.
Like any other human endeavor, the
system is not perfect. It cannot be all
thing to all people. We all realize this.
Yet, it will be a lot of things for the
majority of our hobby. Yes, I do mean
the majority. The pile of paper on my
desk, in my mailbox, overflowing my
bookshelves, tells me the majority of
those active in our hobby are interested
in AREA.
I have received some negative mail
since taking the helm. The objections
always focus on some perceived short
comings of the ratings. The complaints
always ignore the possibility that AREA
has any other potential. The nay-sayers
and opponents of AREA are short
sighted, at best.
No one can force anyone to support
AREA against their will. No one
attempts to try. This is a hobby. If you
feel that you enjoy it more outside
AREA, that is fine with us on the inside.
My observation is that you might miss
something. That is your prerogative.
The obvious benefits of AREA are
available to whomever asks. There will
be unforeseen side benefits as well.
Many of these side benefits will come
even to those who cheered during that
brief moment when it looked as if AREA
were gone. To this minority the perks
and services are still cheerfully
offered, at no charge.
Volume 1, Issue 2
ASL AREA NEWS
by Russ Gifford
Chits and Bits
Co l d wea th er or p os t h ol id a y
weariness? Only 70 ASL games were
reported in January, the first decrease
since the system switched to my hands
last May.
While 70 which is a significant decrease
from the games posted in October,
November and December of 1995, it is
still well over three times the average
before the change. I expect cold
weather and the East Coast blizzard
added to the holiday rush contributed
more than a little to the slow down.
In the frigid days of January, however,
most of the Echit submitters got a
surprise when they received a return
Email confirmation of their rating
results. This was a test to see if I could
"keep up" with the Email submissions
and return a form letter to the players.
The test appeared to work well, and I'll
try it again this month -- but it is MUCH
easier for me to do this AND TRACK
THE RESULTS if you submit the chits
t o t h e SHANG RI@ PIO NET. NET
address. (While it was reported I'd do
"instant" responses, the truth is the
response is anywhere from 24 hours to
a week, depending on my work
schedule. I also like to PLAY ASL, too!)
Tournament Results
Nathan Summerside of LeMars, IA won
his second Omaha ASL Open title in
January, topping a field of 12 players.
In an interesting twist, the last two
rounds paired all the previous Omaha
tourney winners! Lee Conner of
Auburn, NE, the 1993 Omaha title
winner, was matched with Russ Gifford,
1992 champ, while Summerside, the
1991 winner defeated potential spoiler
Mike Reed of KC to throw the tourney in
a 4th round playoff. Gifford, who lost
the 1993 championship match with Lee
Conner, reversed those results in the
third round this year, but came up short
against Summerside! Congratulations
to Nathan Summerside, and to all the
players at the reborn Omaha tourney.
The tourney was the first step toward
re-establishing monthly ASL gatherings
in Omaha, which should start in
February.
April 1996 19
Reported Games
The only regular ASL club to post
January results is the New England
ASLers. Action included Ralph
McDonald, Avaloncon '95 Class C
runner-up, continue his reign of terror
on the "big boys" in Mass, taking
another win from Kiri Naiman! Vic
Provost, Tom Morin and Alan Loiselle
continued their winning ways, too. The
New England group is organized, with
weekly meetings, a club league, and lots
of energy. If you want a good game
and are in the Boston area, look these
guys up!
Overseas AREA usage is still growing. I
realized in a single night in January I
sent AREA replies to SIX separate
countries! Patrick Manlig of Sweden
posted a series of wins over his country
men, while England and even Japan
weighted in this month! James Crawley
of Alberta Canada took two wins from
Jay Howlett, while closer to home "Top
25" player Bruce Rinehart traded wins
with Burnie Hegdahl of South Dakota,
and then blasted fellow top 25er Russ
Gifford. Phil Pomerantz and Bob
O'Connor continue their "world tour" of
ASL (playing all the ASL scenarios in
chronological order -- by PBEM!) They
traded wins, with Pomerantz pocketing
a win in A61, while O'Connor took the
prize in A61.
In other regular opponent matches,
Michael Pierzchala took a measure of
revenge with a victory in CH14 from
Scott (Mr. Errata) Romanowski, while
Dave Dally took two of three from Mike
Ziementz. Larry Halpern traded wins
with Mike Evans, and picked up a chit
from Dave Mugmon along the way.
SCENARIO NEWS
In January, of the 70 reported games,
42 were AH scenarios, 6 CH, 5 BB, 5
Rout Report, 4 ASLUGs. 3 TOT (Issue
1 , BTW ) 3 T a ct iq u es , a n d 2
indecipherable scrawls....
This is a much closer spread than usual;
In 1995, AH stayed first, but CH was
normally about twice the plays of their
closest competitor. Is this a trend? We
shall see....
 20 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996
Advanced Squad Leader 2-Player Game
AREA Victory Claim Chit AREA Victory Claim Chit
_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
(winner’s name) (winner’s name)

_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
(player number) (player number)

_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
(signature) (signature)
HAS DEFEATED HAS DEFEATED

_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
(defeated player’s name) (defeated player’s name)

_________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
(player number) (player number)

_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
(signature) (signature)

in a rated live pbm game of Advanced Squad Leader: in a rated live pbm game of:

_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
(Scenario Name and/or Number) (Name of Game)

_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
(Side of Winner) (Game Company Published By)

_____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
(Date) (Date)

_____________________________________________________________________
(Play Balance Used - If Any) Return this chit to: 1st Subsequent
Glenn Petroski game vs. this opponent
Return this chit to: 1st Subsequent
210 W. Hunt
Russ Gifford game vs. this opponent
Twin Lakes, WI 53181-9786
320 E. 27th Street
South Sioux, NE 68776

Multi-Player Game AREA Victory Claim Chit

________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________
(Name of Winner #1) (Name of Defeated Player #1) (Name of Defeated Player #4)

________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________

(Player Number) (Player Number) (Player Number)

________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________

(Signature) (Signature) (Signature)

________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________

(Name of Winner #2) (Name of Defeated Player #2) (Name of Defeated Player #5)

________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________

(Player Number) (Player Number) (Player Number)

________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________

(Signature) (Signature) (Signature)

in a rated live pbm game of:

________________________________________ ________________________________________
(Name of Defeated Player #3) (Name of Defeated Player #6)
________________________________________
(Name of Game)
________________________________________ ________________________________________
(Player Number) (Player Number)
________________________________________
(Game Company Published By)
________________________________________ ________________________________________
(Signature) (Signature)
________________________________________
(Date)

If more than 2 winners or 6 defeated Return this chit to:

players, continue listing on another chit Glenn Petroski Check here if continued
and mark box in lower right corner. 210 W. Hunt on another chit.
Twin Lakes, WI 53181-9786
 The Boardgamer
Combining Panzer Blitz & Panzer Leader
Introduction
Most of the difficulties in Panzer Blitz
involve the rules covering Spotting,
Defending in Town hexes, Indirect Fire,
Cavalry and Engineer units, Road
Movement, Stacking, and of course
“Panzer Bush” Syndrome. In Panzer
Leader some of these problems have
been solved, at least in part, with new
rules of Opportunity Fire, Indirect Fire,
Stacking and Engineer procedures.
Panzer Leader, while generally an
improvement over Panzer Blitz, has its
own unique difficulties. Questions
concerning Bridges and Streams are
legion. Other problems involve
Spotting, Town Hexes, Stacking,
Indirect Fire and Transporting.
In designing PL, many innovative
improvements over PB were included in
the game but there was a failure to
integrate some of these improved rules
with other rules which remained
unchanged. For example, the Town
Hex Defense system of requiring all
defenders to be attacked as one unit
often conflicts with the spotting rules
which require units in Woods or Town
hexes to be spotted before being
attacked. Some Questions and
Answers published in the General for
both PL and PB have been unclear,
poorly explained, or defy logic in a major
way.
The following revised rules combine the
PB and PL rule systems into one set of
unified rules that ease (if not eliminate)
the problems currently existing with the
original games, yet also preserve as
many of the original components and
concepts as practical.
Each of the original PB game situations
was examined and many were
redesigned for better play balance with
the new PBL rules. Perhaps in the
future there will be as many PBL boards
and Situations as in Advanced Squad
Leader (Somehow, I doubt that). There
just won’t be so many rules.
Hopefully, veteran PB and PL players
will find these rules easy to master and
fun to apply. What wasn’t “broken”,
wasn’t “fixed”.
Volume 1, Issue 2
Revised Rules
by Bill Scott
Summary of Revisions to or
Clarifications of Panzer Blitz and
Panzer Leader.
Use Panzer Leader rules except as
changed or clarified in the following
notes:
1) TRANSPORTING UNITS: New &
Clarification - Vehicular units that are
Transporting Infantry or Artillery (under
88 mm) may move both before and/or
after loading or unloading their
passenger as long as the Vehicular unit
expends only 1/2 of its Movement Point
(MP) allowance or less doing movement
during the turn. For example, (assume
all movement is done in clear terrain) a
Halftrack (not loaded) with a movement
allowance of 10 could move 2 hexes
(the 2nd hex contains a Rifle unit) where
it is then stacked with Rifle unit which it
loads (loading costs 5 MP). Then the
Halftrack moves 3 more hexes
Transporting the Rifle unit too. Russian
Tanks, Tank Destroyers, and Assault
Guns may Transport Infantry.
Transporting unit and its Passenger still
only count as 1 unit for Stacking limits.
2) STACKING: Clarification - Stacking
limits apply at most times (exception -
Overruns) including during movement.
German and Non-Russian Allied unit
may stack up to 4 units per hex
maximum. Russian units may stack
only 2 units per hex maximum.
3) WRECKS: New & Clarification -
Wrecks do not count for Stacking. Only
2 Wrecks (1 per side) maximum, are
ever placed in a given hex. A Wreck in
a hex prevents Overrun attacks against
units Stacked with it. Defending units
Stacked with Wreck(s) in Clear terrain
(not any other terrain type) gain a die
roll modifier of +1 against Indirect and
Direct Fire attacks. Wrecks do not
effect Road movement.
4) ROAD MOVEMENT: New &
Clarification - For Non-Russian units to
use Road movement (to exit one hex
and enter an adjacent one), including
across a green hex side, neither the hex
exited nor the hex entered may contain
more than two other units or any Block.
For Russian units, to use road
movement, both the exited hex and the
April 1996 21
adjacent hex may have only 1 other unit
AND that other unit must be a Non-
vehicular one. Blocks also prohibit
Russian Road movement.
5) MOVEMENT INTO TOWN HEXES:
Clarification - Units moving into Town
hexes may do so at the Town hex
movement rate of 1/2 Movement Point
(MP) per hex even if such movement
would result in units stacking to the limit.
The Road movement rate (1/2 MP per
hex) and the Town movement rate (1/2
MP per hex) are two different situations.
6) TOWN DEFENSE ADJUSTMENTS:
New - Non-armored Target units in town
hexes are no longer treated as armored
targets. Treat them normally - as non-
armored. Armored targets are also
treated normally - as Armored Targets.
For Direct Fire, Stacked defenders in
Towns can be attacked individually or in
combinations of the attacking player’s
choice (same as for Direct Fire attacks
against units in any other type terrain).
A Add “+2” or “+1” to the die roll
(depending on Spotting situation - see
note #8 “SPOTTING...”) for all attacks
made against units in a town hex. For
CAT and Air attacks against units in
Towns, the die roll modifier is always
just “+1”.
7) SPOTTING RANGE: New &
Clarification - All (Undispersed) units
(EXCEPT Wagon and Truck units) may
Spot enemy units for Direct Fire (DF).
The same is true for Indirect Fire (IF)
Spotting EXCEPT for Russian IF only,
just CP, and Guards units may spot.
Maximum L.O.S. range for combat units
(including air) to Spot or to DF attack is
12 hexes to Woods or Town hexes and
30 hexes to all other hexes.
8) SPOTTING DEFENCE
ADJUSTMENTS: New - For IF and DF
attacks, defending units in Woods and
Town hexes get a “+2” die roll modifier if
there are no undispersed adjacent
enemy spotting ground units, and they
get a “+1” die roll modifier if there any (1
or more) adjacent undispersed enemy
spotting ground units.
9) INDIRECT FIRE SPOTTING:
Clarification - When (IF) attacks a town
or woods hex containing both spotted
 22 The Boardgamer
Panzer Blitz / Leader (Cont.)
and unspotted units, treat the defenders
as if they were all spotted. Therefore,
the IF is divided by the total number of
both spotted and unspotted units in the
target hex. Combat odds and results of
the IF are then calculated as usual.
Note, if all the originally spotted units
leave the hex by movement or combat
between the time the IF fire is
designated and the time it is executed,
the IF attack is not allowed to be
executed (even if unspotted defenders
remain). (Exception: see notes #10 &
#11)
10) BLIND EXECUTION INDIRECT
FIRE: New Optional Rule - Allow IF to
be executed into Spotted hexes where
no spotted defenders exist on the turn
after the target hex was targeted. The
Scatter Chart must be applied (no die
roll modifier) to the attack execution.
11) BLIND TARGET INDIRECT FIRE:
New Optional Rule - Allow IF to be
targeted into hexes that are not currently
Spotted but that are in the L.O.S. of any
undispersed (not Truck or Wagon)
friendly unit. On the turn of execution if
the Target is Spotted, IF may be
executed using the Scatter Chart with a
+1 die roll modifier to determine location
of attack. If the Target hex is still not
spotted on the turn of execution the
attack may still be made but the Scatter
die roll modifier increases to +2.
12) ENGINEER VEHICLES: New
Optional Rule - The requirement that a
vehicle be assigned to each engineer
and be adjacent to its Engineer unit to
enable the Engineer to destroy bridges,
create blocks or remove blocks is now a
Optional rule.
13) AUTOMATIC VICTORY OVERRUN
(AVO): New Optional Rule - Wagon and
or Truck units and their passengers,
stacked alone, or only with each other
can be eliminated (in any terrain,
including across green hex sides via
Road movement) by an enemy Armored
Vehicular or Cavalry unit with sufficient
movement. If the Overrunning unit is
able to enter their hex during movement
and have enough MPs available to
spend “1” additional MP (this executes
the AVO) then the defending Truck and/
or Wagon units are destroyed. The
Overrunning unit may then stop or
continue moving normally.
Volume 1, Issue 2
Any Passenger of an Overrun (by AVO)
Wagon or Truck is also eliminated. But,
an Infantry Passenger of a unit about to
be Overrun by AVO may unload first
(only if stacking limits are not violated)
and so the AVO is not then possible. In
such a case the defender would be
dispersed as if by DF or IF. This
unloading before AVO is an exception to
the rule that a player may not move
(unload being considered movement)
during an opponent’s turn.
14) OVERRUN ATTACKS: New
Optional Rule - Units making Overrun
(OR) attacks use normal movement
rates (see TEC) but they must expend
“3” additional (additional to the normal
MP expenditure) MP to execute the OR
attack. If the attacker is not able to
expend this extra “3” MP then the OR
attack is not allowed to happen. All
other standard Overrun rules still apply.
15) TERRAIN EFFECTS CHART:
Clarification - When moving units on
Mapboards 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 use the Panzer
Blitz TEC to calculate MP costs. When
moving units on Mapboards A, B, C, & E
use the Panzer Leader TEC to calculate
MP costs. (Note Mapboards “4”, “5” and
“E” are currently unpublished.)
16) BRIDGES & STREAMS (B&S):
Clarification - For Mapboards A, B, C, D
& E disregard the idea of units in bridge
hexes as being either under or on top of
a bridge. A unit in a Bridge hex is
always on the bridge. BRIDGES are
CLEAR terrain for all purposes -
EXCEPT - when moving from one
bridge hex DIRECTLY to an adjacent
bridge hex. In this exceptional case
(which Non-vehicular units only, are
allowed to perform) movement is always
treated as if into a regular stream hex.
Non-vehicular units may move from one
bridge hex directly to another (example:
AV7 to AV8), but vehicular units may
not. Non-vehicular direct bridge to
bridge movement is subject to the die
roll test rule (VII.K.2). Units in a stream
hex may move directly to an adjacent
hex which contains a bridge with a
movement cost of 1, only (no other
penalty or cost). The reverse move is
subject to the die roll test rule.
Note that Infantry units on one bridge
hex may CAT attack enemy unit(s) on
an adjacent bridge hex as if the bridge
hexes were clear.
April 1996
17) GULLIES AND STREAMBEDS
(G&S): Clarification - For Mapboards 1,
2, 3, 4 & 5 Panzer Blitz rules pertaining
attacks to and from G&S are retained.
Units in G&S may attack (and be
attacked by) enemy units in any
adjacent ground level hex (CAT or DF).
Units with IF capability located in G&S
may make IF attacks (and may be
attacked by IF). Units in G&S may not
DF attack (nor be DF attacked by) non-
adjacent enemy units unless those units
are on Slope or Hilltop hexes and have
a Line Of Sight (L.O.S.). There is no
L.O.S. between units in non-adjacent
G&S hexes of the same of different
Gully and Streambed.
18) COMBAT RESULTS TABLE (CRT):
Clarification - Use the Panzer Leader
CRT to resolve ALL attacks.
19) INFANTRY AND CAVALRY
RANGE: Clarification - When using
counters originally intended for Panzer
Blitz, ADJUSTMENTS to the RANGES
for the same unit types need to be
made. Rifle, Guards, and German
Halftrack units CHANGE to a range of
2*. German Engineer, Security and
Cavalry units CHANGE to a Range of 2.
G erm an Subm achi negun unit s
CHANGE to a Range of 1.
20) CAVALRY UNITS: Clarification -
Cavalry units are Vehicular units, with a
special ability to move through green
hex-side symbols with no penalty or
additional cost (they ignore green
hexsides for movement calculations).
Cavalry can make CAT attacks as if
they were an Infantry unit. Cavalry can
move their full movement allowance (3
MP) and make a CAT attack in the
same turn.
Panzer Blitz - Situations Revised
Only the changes from the Panzer Blitz
Situation Cards are listed here, plus
Optional Rule suggestions and play
balance analysis.
Situation 1
No changes. Optional set up
suggestion - require each German Fort
to contain (at least) 1 CP unit.
Commentary: Germans have a
noticeable edge unless the Optional CP
placement is used, in which case the
balance is closer.
 The Boardgamer
Panzer Blitz / Leader (Cont.)
Adding the Opportunity Fire Optional
rule adds flavor but favors the Germans.
Situation 2
Add (1) Wespe unit to the German
Forces. Count Truck and Wagon units
for Victory Conditions.
Increase the distance for a Russian
Marginal win to 9 hexes from the North
edge.
Decrease the minimum number of units
the German must destroy to 9 units for a
Marginal, 12 units for a Tactical, and 15
units for a Decisive win.
Commentary: The Russians have a
large edge in this situation. Spring 1944
is late in the war so it should be hard for
the Germans. Use of the Opportunity
Fire Optional rule is recommended.
Situation 3
Add (1) Rifle, (1) SMG, (1) 45mm Anti-
tank Gun, (1) 82mm Mortar, (1) Block,
and (2) CP units to the Russian Force.
Subtract (2) Guards units from the
Russian Force. Add (1) Pz-III (6-A-2-6-
8), (2) Pz-38 (5-A-2-5-9), (4) Pz-III (8-A-
3-6-8), (1) Pz-II (2-A-2-5-10), (2) Pz-IV
(5-H-8-7-8), (2) 105mm Howitzer (40-
(H)-32-2-0), (1) 75mm Howitzer (20-(H)-
28-2-0), and (2) Truck units to the
German Force. Subtract (1) 75mm
Infantry Gun, and (5) Pz-IV units from
the German Force. Use counters from
Panzer Leader and The General Vols.
13-3, 15-2, and 28-3 or make your own.
Commentary: Play balance is close to
even. The addition of the German IF
guns maintains this scenario’s balance
(given the changes to the Town defense
rules). The use of the expanded
(German AFV) counters adds spice.
Use of the Opportunity Fire Optional rule
is recommended.
Situation 4
Shorten the game to 8 turns. Russians
Add (6) Guards units. Subtract (6) Rifle
units.
Change the Victory Conditions for the
German to: Destroy 15 to 19 Russian
units earns a Tactical, and have no (0)
Russian units on Board Number 1 earns
a Decisive win.
Volume 1, Issue 2
Change the Victory Conditions for the
Russian to: Destroy 5 to 9 German
units and have 10 to 14 Russian units
on Board Number 1 earns a Marginal,
Destroy 10 or more German units and
have 15 or more Russian units on Board
Number 1 earns a Tactical, and have 30
or more Russian units on Board Number
1 earns a Decisive win.
Count Truck units for Victory Conditions.
Commentary: Play balance is close but
all types of outcomes are possible.
Opportunity Fire and Quick-Time Speed
are both recommended. Several quite
different lines of successful play are
available to both sides. This is a close,
active and interesting situation even for
solitaire play. Using time limits can
produce surprising results.
Situation 5
Russians add (2) CP units. Germans
add (3) Rifle units. Germans subtract
(3) CP units. Shorten game length to 10
turns.
Change the Victory Conditions for the
Russian to: Destroy 2 or 3 German
units earns a Marginal, Destroy 4 or 5
German units earns a Tactical, and
Destroy 6 or more German units earns a
Decisive win.
Change the Victory Conditions for the
German to: Controlling and 2 or 3 Town
hexes on Board Number 2 earns a
Marginal, Controlling 4 or 5 Town hexes
on Board Number 2 earns a Tactical,
and Controlling all 6 Town hexes on
Board Number 2 earns a Decisive win.
Commentary: Use of all Optional rules
is recommended. Balance is close.
Situation 6
Subtract (1) German CP unit. Add (1)
German Engineer unit. Count Truck
units for Victory Conditions.
Commentary: The Russians have a
slight edge in play balance.
Situation 7
Russians set up first anywhere on Board
Number 3. Germans set up second
anywhere on Board Number 1.
April 1996 23
Germans still move first, neither side
has special movement restrictions. The
game length is extended to 12 turns.
Change the Victory Conditions for the
Russian to: Occupy any 1-3 Town
hexes on Board Number 2 earns a
Marginal, Occupy 4-5 Town hexes on
Board Number 2 earns a Tactical, and
Occupy all 6 Town hexes on Board 2
PLUS Destroy at least 15 German units
earns a Decisive win.
Change the Victory Conditions for the
German to: Destroy at least one
Russian unit more than the number of
German units lost earns a Marginal,
Destroy 15 or more Russian units and
lose 10 or fewer German units earns a
Tactical, and Destroy 30 Russian units
and lose 15 or fewer German units
earns a Decisive win.
Count Truck units for Victory Conditions.
Commentary: The Germans have a
very slight advantage, at least if the
Opportunity Fire rule is used.
Situation 8
Russians set up on Board Number 1
first. Russian units may set up on the
half hex board edge. Russian Guards
and CP units may Spot for IF for any
Mortar unit with no special restrictions
(no 4 hex limit). Game length is
extended to 12 turns. Change the
Victory Conditions for the Russian to:
German failure to attain at least a
Marginal win earns a Marginal, Destroy
15-29 German units earns a Tactical,
and Destroy 30 or more German units
earns a Decisive win. Add (2)
Submachinegun units to the German
Force. Subtract (2) CP units from the
German forces. Change the Victory
Conditions for the German to: Exit 15
units off the West Board (Number 3)
edge earns a Marginal, Exit 30 units off
the West Board edge earns a Tactical,
and Exit 45 units off the West Board
edge earns a Decisive win. Count Truck
units for Victory Conditions.
Commentary: The Russians have the
advantage but even a small defensive
lapse can allow the Germans to win.
Use of both the Optional Rules of Blind
Execution IF and Blind Target IF is
recommended.
 24 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996

Panzer Blitz / Leader (Cont.)

Situation 9
No changes. Count Truck and Wagon
units for Victory Conditions.
Commentary: Neither side has a certain
advantage. Much depends on the
German opening setup and which
Optional rules are used. Use of the
Automatic Victory Overrun Optional rule
is recommended.
Situation 10
Change set up conditions and force
make up for both sides. Russian 18th
Tank Corps still sets up first on Board
Number 2, but add (2) KV-85, (1) KV-2
(50-H-10-10-B), (6) BT-5 (5-A-3-5-13),
and (3) KV-1 (12-A-6-13-7). Subtract
(6) T-34-C. The Russian 26th AT Bgde
sets up on Board Number 3, Unstacked,
in any hex in rows “Y” through “FF”
inclusive, add (1) M-13 (40-H-24-2-12),
(2) BA-32a (5-A-3-2-12), (4) 45mm Anti-
Tank Gun, and (3) T-70 (5-A-3-5-9).
Subtract (6) Truck. Russian Trucks
must all be loaded with either Infantry or
Mortars to start. All German units must
be set up second on Board Number 1.
German Halftracks and Trucks must
also start loaded with Infantry, Mortars,
or Anti-Tank Guns. German adds (1)
20mm Quad Anti-Aircraft Gun, (2)
88mm Anti-Tank Gun, (3) Elefant (20-A-
12-14-4), (1) PzKpfw-IV, and (1)
PANTH. Victory Conditions are
unchanged. Germans still move first.
Game length is reduced to 10 turns.
Count Truck units for Victory Conditions.
Commentary: The game is closely
balanced but the Germans may have an
advantage due to the new Spotting
rules. Use of Opportunity Fire is
recommended. This Situation is truly
the “Mother” of all Tank battles, and
players may need to make extra Wreck
counters.
Situation 11
No changes except do not count Truck
units for Victory Conditions unless the
Optional AVO rule is used.
Commentary: The German certainly
has Tank strength. The new Spotting
rules help the offense. Use of Optional
rules can greatly change the balance.
Automatic Victory Overrun will help the
German greatly. Time is the key factor.
Situation 12
Add (1) 152mm Howitzer (60-(H)-25-1-
0), (6) Truck, (2) Engineer, (1) KV-2 (50-
H-10-10-8), (1) M-13 (40-H-24-2-12),
and (2) Halftrk units to the Russian
force. To the German force add (1)
Hetzer, (3) 105mm Howitzer (40-(H)-32-
2-0), (4) Submachinegun, and (2)
150mm Howitzer (60-(H)-36-2-0) units.
Subtract (1) SG-III-75, (2) Hummel, (3)
Wespe, and (3) CP units from the
German force. Units may set up on the
half hex board edge. Set up is not
changed.
Change the Victory Conditions for the
Russian to 30 units on Board Number 1
earns a Decisive win.
Change the Victory Conditions for the
German to 30 units Destroyed earns a
Tactical and 40 units Destroyed earns a
Decisive win. Truck and Wagon units
count for Victory Conditions.
Commentary: Appropriate use of the
Blind Execution Indirect Fire, Blind
Target Indirect Fire, and Opportunity
Fire Optional rules may help
balance this Situation.

Avaloncon 1995 Overall Champion?

Top Individual Scorers
I know, I know. There is no fair way to determine an overall champion at Avaloncon due to the varying number of entrants,
varying amount of time each tournament takes and the varying amount of skill/luck involved in the various tournaments.
Obviously, someone who plays ASL all weekend is not going to place high on this list. However, using the team tournament
point scale, an idea can be had as to who were the most prolific placers at the 1995 Avaloncon tournament. So, call it what you
will, here is a list of those 56 attendees who would have gathered the most points if they were playing as a one person team:
Rank Name Points Rank Name Points Rank Name Points

1 Bruce Reiff 26 14 Brett Mingo 10 33 Herbert Gratz 8

2 Greg Mayer 19 Michael Neal 10 Dan Henry 8
3 Ken Gutermuth 17 John Pack 10 Bobby Laboon 8
Steve Koleszar 17 23 Michael Ehlers 9 Sylvain Larose 8
5 Steve Cameron 16 Chuck Foster 9 Ken Lee 8
6 Mark Giddings 16 Tim Johnson 9 Steve Packwood 8
7 Rob Beyma 14 John Kilbride 9 Jack Reid 8
Sean Cousins 14 Andy Lewis 9 Phil Rennert 8
9 Jack Morrell 12 Dennis Nicholson 9 Jim Reynolds 8
Paul Risner 12 Pantaleano, Mike 9 George Seary 8
Peter Staab 12 Randy Schilb 9 John Souders 8
12 Dave Terry 11 Heikki Thoen 9 Peter Stein 8
Bruce Wigdot 11 Bruno Wolff 9 Gregory Stroud 8
14 Joe Bellas 10 33 Richard Curtin 8 Roger Taylor 8
Trevor Bender 10 William Edwards III 8 Phil Thomas 8
Beth Bernard 10 John Ellsworth 8 Kevin Welsh 8
Gary Fortenberry 10 Phil Evans 8 Jim Yerkey 8
Michele Giannobile 10 Ray Freeman 8 Bruce Young 8
Charles Hickok 10 David Gantt 8
 The Boardgamer
Revised Panzerblitz & Panzer Leader Rules
Questions and Answers
1) Q: May a Fighter-bomber unit attack
an enemy unit that has already been
attacked by indirect fire or direct fire
during the turn?
A: Yes. Rule XII.C.2. simply refers to
the method of resolving the air attack,
not to the timing in the turn. Note #4 in
the CRT is correct. Also note: Air
attacks and Ground unit attacks take
place in different phases and therefore
can not be combined.
2) Q: May a unit which expends 1/4 (or
more) of its movement factors by
loading, unloading, attempting to enter a
stream (but failing), or using the turreted
AFV rule, but does not actually move
(leave one hex and enter another), be
immediately fired on by an enemy unit
using Opportunity Fire?
A: No, in all these cases! If a unit has
not changed position from one hex to
another, then it may not be attacked by
Opportunity Fire.
3) Q: Rule XV.B.7. states that
passenger units that are unloaded may
be attacked by opportunity fire after
unloading. Is this true for all passenger
units which unload or only for ones
which unload after having been moved
(transported) to the unloading hex from
some other hex?
A: The rule applies only to passenger
units which were moved (exited one hex
and entered a different hex) before
being unloaded.
4) Q: May infantry units moving into
beach hexes from sea hexes use
“Quick-time speed” movement?
A: Yes.
5) Q: Rule XIV.B.4. states that the
player that “sets-up last ... must initially
place units ... out of LOS/LOF of ...
enemy units ...”. If it is impossible to
set-up out of LOS/LOF because the first
player to set-up has placed his units in
positions such that there are not enough
unspotted hexes for the second player,
may the second player set-up some
units in the LOS/LOF of enemy units?
Volume 1, Issue 2
by Bill Scott
A: Yes, but as many units as physically
possible must be set-up in unspotted
hexes before any are allowed in spotted
hexes. The choice of which units are
set-up in spotted hexes is under the
control of the second player (the
“controlling or owning” player).
6) Q: Assume a spotted unit, in a town
or woods hex with no enemy unit
adjacent, moves out of its “spotted” hex
into some other hex and then continues
moving (making no overrun attack) until
it returns to the woods or town hex in
started the turn in. Is this unit still
spotted by enemy unit(s)?
A: Yes! Rule VII.L.1.b. can be
misleading since it makes no mention of
units which exit a hex and then return to
the same hex - all in the same phase.
The rule states, “The markers (spotted
counter) remain until ... the firing unit
moves out of its initial firing hex into an
unspotted town or woods hex.” What
should be understood and added to the
rule statement, is the phrase, “and
remains there at the end of the
movement phase”.
7) Q: If an infantry unit located in a
woods or town hex makes a CAT attack
and no undispersed enemy units are
adjacent after the CAT attack, but
another non-adjacent enemy unit can
trace a LOS to the infantry unit, is that
infantry unit spotted?
A: No! CAT attacks are the only type of
attacks which allow the attacking units
(in woods or town) to remain unspotted
from non-adjacent enemy units with
LOS to the attacker’s hex. This rule
may not be realistic at first analysis but
it is traditional and provides an end
result consistent with reality.
8) Q: Rule XIV.B.4. states that “the
side that sets up last ... must initially
place units ... out of LOS/LOF of, or
unspotted by, enemy units unless
otherwise specifically indicated.” Which
s i t u a t i o n s a r e t h e e x c ep t i o n s
“specifically indicated”?
A: Only situations Nos. 2 and 3 which
involve invasion set up rules. Note that
situation 13 may also involve a few units
in violation of XIV.B.4. (see S17).
April 1996 25
Players may choose to ignore this rule
for play balance reasons but all players
in the game must agree or else the rule
is enforced.
9) Q: Can an infantry or artillery unit
that starts a turn loaded on a vehicular
unit, be unloaded, and then be loaded
on to a different vehicular unit in that
same hex all in the same turn?
A: Yes.
10) Q: Does the use of more than 1
Engineer unit speed up the process of
any Engineering task?
A: No, the time sequence remains the
same, but probability of success
increases when more than 1 Engineer is
assigned to the same task.
11) Q: What is the movement cost to
move a unit that is stacked on top of a
Fortification directly to a position of
being inside that fortification?
A: The cost is 0. During a player’s
movement phase any friendly units
(even units with 0 movement) may be
“repositioned” to be either in or on top of
a Fortification. Note also that such
“repositioning” would not provide a
chance for Opportunity Fire to be used.
Units which make D.F. or I.F. attacks
may not be “repositioned” in the same
turn as the attack in executed.
12) Q: May Cavalry units use the
“Quick-Time Speed” optional rule?
A: No.
13) Q: May a Russian unit use Road
movement to enter (or exit) a hex
through a green hex-side if that hex
contains 1 Wreck?
A: Yes.
14) Q: May a Cavalry unit be
transported?
A: No.
15) Q: For Opportunity Fire
calculations, when a defender leaves a
Gully and Streambed hex which hex is
the 3 or 5 M.F. penalty expended, the
 26 The Boardgamer
Panzer Blitz / Leader Question & Answers (Cont.)
Gully and Streambed hex exited or the
adjacent hex entered?
A: The adjacent hex entered is the hex
where the Opportunity Fire could first be
applied.
16) Q: Do Gray hex sides block L.O.S.
on Panzer Blitz boards or does the
whole hex block as in Panzer Leader
when playing Panzer Blitz Leader?
A: When using a PB board in Panzer
Blitz Leader, only the gray hex side
blocks L.O.S., not the whole hex as on
PL boards. (Russian Towns are smaller
in size!)
17) Q: On PB Board Number 1 may a
vehicular unit moving along the Road
through Swamp, for example from 1CC9
to 1BB10, then move directly from
1BB10 to 1BB11 or 1AA10?
A: No, it may not. Vehicular movement
on Roads through Swamp hexes is
narrowly restricted to exiting the Swamp
hex ALONG the Road.
18) Q: In PBL rules, may a player set
up units to start on a board edge half
hex?
A: Set up is allowed only on half hexes
which are not part of a hex on an
adjacent Board, unless the Situation
Inform ation on “Set Up” limits
specifically says “Units may set up on
the half hex board edge”.
19) Q: When calculating odds for IF
against 3 defending units stacked on a
Block, is the IF total divided by 3 or 4?
A: The total IF is divided by 3. If the
Block were an unoccupied Fort the total
IF would also be divided by 3. If the
Fort was occupied the total would be
divided by 4.
20) Q: If an Infantry unit being
Transported by a Tank is Dispersed by
Opportunity Fire does the Infantry
become unloaded and if so what if
Stacking limits are exceeded? Can the
Tank keep moving?
A: The Infantry unit is unloaded
automatically (no MP expended by the
Tank or Infantry), if Stacking limits are
exceeded the Infantry unit is eliminated.
The Tank can keep moving if it has MP
remaining or remain in the hex.
Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996
21) Q: May a player “A” use Opportunity 26) Q: What restrictions are there on
Fire against player “B” when it is the last which units may use the temporary
turn of the game, and “A” has already Truck Bridge and do these Bridges
had his last turn? count for stacking?
A: Yes. A: Any Truck, Wagon or Non-vehicular
unit may use a Truck Bridge. Any unit
22) Q: Do the Russian M 13 (40-H-24- may use a Tank Bridge. Bridges never
2-12), and the BA-32a (5-A-3-2-12) count for Stacking.
move like Trucks?
For more information, or to make
A: Yes, their movement is 2 MP into comments contact:
Clear, 4 or 5 MP into Slope, and +5 MP
leaving Gully and Streambed hexes. Bill Scott
Other Vehicles with similar cross 2317 Barracks Rd.
country movement are the German 221 Charlottesville, VA 22901
and 231-6 Armored Cars, and the British
Morris Armored Car.
23) Q: May friendly Infantry units
Stacked on top of an enemy occupied
1996 Midwest Open
Fortification CAT that Fortification? May Victory In The
the friendly units attack other enemy
units instead? Can friendly units both Pacific Tournament
on top of and adjacent to a Fortification
29 hard-core Victory In The Pacific
join together to CAT or DF attack that
players representing 12 different states
Fortification and are the units stacked
gathered at the Days Inn in Kenosha,
on top of the Fortification subject to any
Wisconsin on March 2nd and 3rd for a
consequences such as being attacked
two day, five round Swiss style Victory
by their own DF or CAT attack?
In The Pacific competition.
A: Yes. Yes. Yes and there are no
Tim Proksch of Muskego, Wisconsin
consequences from CAT attacks but
won the championship by posting a 5-0
consequences of a DF attack are that all
overall record. The victorious weekend
DF attack factors are applied twice -
improved Tim to third place in the
once against the Fortification and once
nationwide AREA rankings, as well as
against the friendly units on the
providing him with the championship
Fortification. The odds are calculated,
plaque, $100 in prize money and a
the die is rolled, and the results applied -
year long subscription to the
separately for each of the two attacks.
BOARDGAMER.
24) Q: What happens when IF Scatters
Alan Applebaum of Massachusetts,
into a hex that has already been
Tom Johnston of Indiana and Chuck
attacked by IF earlier in the turn?
Kaplan of Illinois all finished with 4-1
records. Based on tie breakers,
A: Any IF which hits into a hex (through
Applebaum finished in second place
Scatter or not) which has already been
and received a $50 prize and a
attacked by other IF during the current
BOARDGAMER subscription. The
turn is considered to “Miss” the Target
weekend also solidified Alan’s hold on
automatically.
the #1 spot in the AREA rankings.
25) Q: When using the Blind Target IF
Rich Wiet of Illinois received the Halsey
Optional rule may any Russian combat
award for outstanding American play,
unit, not just CP or Guards units, be
while Alan Tomaszewski of Illinois
used to meet the requirement that
received the Nagumo award for
Target hexes must be in the L.O.S. of a
outstanding Japanese play.
friendly unit to be Targeted for Blind IF?
Next year’s tournament will be March 1
A: Yes, any Russian (not Wagon or
& 2, 1997. Due to time and space
Truck) unit will do to fulfill L.O.S.
limitations, a full report on the
requirement for Blind Target Indirect
tournament will have to wait until the
Fire.
July issue of the BOARDGAMER.
 The Boardgamer
The British Dilemma
The concept behind this scenario is to
offer to the players of 1776 a scenario
that can be played in a couple of hours
or through the mail and still retain some
of the flavor of the Campaign game.
What this scenario attempts is to put the
British player in the same position that
the British High Command found
themselves in during the 1777-1778
winter. The previous year had been a
disaster for the British. It had started full
of promise when the British High
Command devised a plan to divide the
rebellious colonies and bring an end to
the war that was becoming both costly
and embarrassing for the British Empire.
The plan called for a three pronged
attack to divide New York in half and
separate the troublesome New England
colonies from the others. The first prong
called for General John Burgoyne to
march down from Canada, capture the
American forts at Fort Ticonderoga and
Crown Point and meet General Howe in
the vicinity of Albany.
Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger
(temporary brigadier general) was to
lead the second prong of the attack, a
force of 700 British Regulars. They
were to be augmented with as many
Canadian and Indian allies as possible.
The force was to start at Oswego and
march through the Mohawk Valley
toward the rendezvous at Albany. This
force was to draw off militia that would
be needed to stop Burgoyne or Howe.
The third and major prong of the attack
was supposed to have been led by
General Howe. He was to lead a force
of 15,000 men from New York up the
Hudson Valley to Albany.
The plan, which looked so good on
paper, fell apart almost immediately.
General St. Leger failed miserably in his
march down the Mohawk Valley. St.
Leger collected a force of about 1750
men, composed of 750 whites made up
of Regulars and militia and 1000
Iroquois Indians under the Mohawk
Chief Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant).
St. Leger marched as far as Fort
Stanwix, which he invested. He
defeated one relief force under General
Herkerman. When it looked as if Fort
Stanwix would fall, St. Leger lost control
Volume 1, Issue 2
A 1776 Scenario
by Jim Lawler
o f t h e
situation. The
Am ericans
st ar t ed a
rumor that
Benedi ct
Arnold was
approaching
with a large
force. The
news panicked
the Iroquois
and they fled.
St. Leger felt
he could not
continue with
only the small
force he had
and retreated back to Oswego.
The second prong was to be General
Howe marching up the Hudson Valley
from New York. Howe decided against
the plan and decided to capture the
American capital of Philadelphia. He
accomplished this but in so doing sealed
Burgoyne’s fate.. Burgoyne always
assumed he would be meeting Howe in
New York and acted accordingly.
Howe’s decision effectively destroyed
the plan. (Actually, General Howe was
never sent a copy of Burgoyne’s plan.
In an unbelievable oversight, Lord
George Germain, Secretary of State for
the American Colonies, failed to forward
the dispatch containing the orders for
Burgoyne’s plan to General Howe.
However, it seems very unlikely that
Howe did not hear of the plan through
unofficial channels, as it was very well
known even to the Americans).
General Burgoyne proceeded towards
his date with destiny. Everything started
according to plan. The British marched
from Montreal in the spring of 1777.
They captured Forts Ticonderoga and
Independence, and reached the Hudson
River on July 29th only to find out they
were on their own.
General Burgoyne was defeated in the
historic battle of Saratoga. The victory
had a number of far reaching
consequences that even outweighed the
military importance of the victory. The
victory gave the Americans a much
needed boost in confidence. It proved
that the American Army could defeat an
army of British Regulars in a pitched
April 1996 27
bat t l e. The most im portant
consequence was that it encouraged
France, and later Spain and Holland, to
declare war on England.
In the winter of 1778, the British were
faced with some difficult decisions.
They still had numerous advantages
over the rebellious Americans but were
no closer to ending the struggle than
they were in 1775 when they marched
on Lexington and Concord.
The British still had a large experienced
army of British Regulars and German
mercenaries. Their navy still had control
of the seas and they still had the loyalty
of a substantial percentage of the
population. Another significant factor in
their favor was the fact they didn’t
believe the Americans could defeat
them in open battle, Saratoga not
withstanding.
The British High Command had to
decide on how and where they wished
to conduct the war in the future. Their
two basic alternatives were to follow a
plan similar to the previous year and
split the northern colonies in two, a
basically sound plan that should have
worked the previous year had not
General Howe abandoned it in the
middle and left General Burgoyne to his
fate. The second alternative was to
open up a new front in the Southern
colonies. The British chose the second
choice and opened up a southern front.
This decision has been described in my
first Scenario - Lincoln’s Southern
Campaign (see Volume 19, #3 of the
GENERAL).
 28 The Boardgamer
The British Dilemma (Cont.)
The British almost didn’t get the chance
to enact their new plan. They came
close to being defeated on the plains of
New Jersey. General Clinton, who had
replaced General Howe as commander
of the British forces, decided to return to
New York. He sent his fleet and half of
his forces there by sea and planned to
march the remainder through New
Jersey to New York.
Clinton started his troops for New York
in the late spring of 1778. General
Washington and his American Army
were waiting for him and were anxious
for a fight. The Americans had just
spent a long and difficult winter at Valley
Forge, but had come out of it a much
better trained force due primarily to the
work of the Prussian, General Steuben.
Steuben had instituted a standard of drill
that greatly improved the quality of
training the Continentals. General
Washington had at the beginning of
June an army of about 14,500 men,
about 12, 000 of which wer e
Continentals. General Clinton left
Philadelphia with approximately 17,000
men.
Washington laid his plans for the coming
engagement but was forced, due to the
protocol of the times, to assign General
Charles Lee, a person he had no faith
in, to lead the critical advance guard.
General Lee had 6,000 men at his
command and was supposed to pursue
the stretched out British forces which
were strung out on two roads between
Monmouth Courthouse and Sandyhook.
Lee was ordered to attack vigorously but
refused to do so. After some
uncoordinated attacks from individual
American units, the entire Continental
Army found themselves in a very
dangerous situation.
General Clinton, seeing the confusion in
the American ranks which was caused
by the lack of coordination of their
attacks, ordered General Cornwallis to
turn his troops around and attack the
disorganized Americans. While most of
the Americans fell back in confusion, the
American position was saved by
Anthony Wayne’s brigade which fell
back in god order. Fighting from one
delaying position to another, Wayne
prevented disaster by slowing the British
until Washington could reorganize his
forces.
Volume 1, Issue 2
Washington was so infuriated with the
performance of Charles Lee that he
replaced him on the spot with General
Nathaniel Greene.
The Americans were forced to draw
back as the main units of the British
were hurrying into position. Generals
Clinton and Cornwallis were pushing the
Americans hard. It was becoming clear
to them that the discipline of their
American foes had improved greatly
over the winter as their retreat was
surprisingly organized. Then the British
came upon the reorganized American
line of Sterling and Greene’s division.
The British launched two determined
attacks only to be thrown back. After
one last charge and a successful
counterattack led by Wayne, General
Clinton realized he could not drive the
Americans from their defensive position.
That night, Clinton ordered his men to
leave their bivouac and retreat to New
York. While the battle on Monmouth
was in itself inconclusive, Washington
was jubilant about the performance of
his troops. The British, on the other
hand, were shocked over their failure to
win a victory in an open field battle
against American forces. They were so
impressed by the improvement in quality
and discipline of the Americans that
General Clinton never risked a full scale
battle with Washington after that day.
In this scenario, the British player
dictates the action of the game. As the
aggressor, he must formulate a plan of
action but he has certain options that
allow him some flexibility.
By not having to reveal his strategy until
turn 4, he has some time to bluff an
advance or force a combat and see
what the American player’s reaction is.
An early victory in combat may
encourage the British player to risk
everything on a northern strategy. The
positioning of the American forces can
also effect which option he will choose.
If the American player rushes all his
forces north, the southern strategy could
be very effective. If the American player
keeps the bulk of his forces in the south,
the northern plan should be open. The
best possible event for the British is for
an overly aggressive American player to
risk major combat early in the game, as
a lost battle early in the game can
virtually finish an American player.
Rem em b er , W as hi n gt o n ’s ch i ef
achievement as a general was not
April 1996
winning major battles, but keeping a
viable army in the field against great
odds.
The French appear in June on the
eastern most water hex. They will be
gone after the August turn, so you must
use them quickly and deceivingly. The
French can give the American player a
short term advantage in a given area but
the advantage will be lost without
prompt action.
The American strategy has to include
keeping at least two separate forces in
the field powerful enough to at least
threaten New York. If the British push
north with too much force, the American
player should be able to attack in the
south.
The second important part of the
American player’s strategy is how is he
going to make effective use of his
French allies.
The last thing that the British player has
to remember is that if he plays the
southern strategy, he must have an
ample supply of troops near New York
to adequately defend it and still be able
to remove the required troops. The
shifting of troops from the northern
theater of the war down to the southern
colonies or to the West Indies
severely limited Clinton’s offensive
options.
LEADERS (Optional)
If using the optional Leaders rules from
Volume 25, Issue #4 of the GENERAL,
use the following leaders for The British
Dilemma scenario:
British:
Montreal - Carleton, Leader A;
Oswego - Leader B;
New York - Grey, Von Heister &
Ferguson;
Newport - Leader C;
Philadelphia - Clinton, Cornwallis,
Knyphausen, Leslie, Tarleton,
Philips & Leader D
Americans:
2 Hexes of Philadelphia - Washington,
Lee, Lafayette, Sterling,
Green, Morgan & Wayne;
Providence - Sullivan;
Wilmington - Arnold;
Fort Stanwix - Leader A;
Fort Ticonderoga - Schuyler;
West Point - Leader B;
With French - D’Estrang
 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996 29

THE BRITISH DILEMMA - 1778

AT START: MARCH, 1778
BRITISH: AMERICAN:
36/BR, 2/TM, 2/A, 2/S (E); Philadelphia 18/CA, 6/RM, 2/S, 1/A (E); 2 hexes of Philadelphia
14/BR, 6/TM, 1/A, 1/M, (E), 1/BF., 1/BT.; New York 2/CA, 1/RM (E); Wilmington
5/BR, 1/TM, 1/S (E); Newport 2/CA, 2/RM; 1/A, 1/S, Fort; West Point
1/BR, 1/TM, Fort; Oswego 2/RM, 1/S; Boston
3/BR, 3/TM, 1/S, 1/I, Fort; Montreal 1/CA, 3/RM; Providence
1/BR, 2/TM, Fort, 1/S, 1/A; Quebec 1/RM; Albany
2/BR, Fort; St. John 1/RM (Fort); Fort Stanwix
2/RM, 1/S (Fort); Fort Ticonderoga

REINFORCEMENT / TIME RECORD TRACK

1/RM:
1/CA: Ft. Stanwix 3/RM: 4/RM:
AMERICAN 2/RM: Boston 2/CA, 1/S: Boston Albany
Albany 1/RM: Albany 2/RM:
Ft. Stanwix 1 FrF, Albany Withdraw:
Move First 5 Fr-1/A-1/S All French

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEP OCT
1778 1778 1778 1778 1778 1778 1778 1778

2/TM: 2/BR, 1/S:

BRITISH 2/BR: 1/TM, 1/S, 2/I: Albany New York Withdraw: Withdraw: Withdraw:
New York Oswego *(see Special 2/BR * 6/BR * 2BR *
Rules) Withdraw:
2/BR *

WITHDRAWALS
All French Forces are withdrawn from the map at the start of the SEP 1778 turn
British withdraw from New York at Start of Turn: 2/BR in JULY, 2/BR in AUG, 6/BR in SEP, and 2/BR in OCT
* British withdrawals only occur if they are using the Southern strategy
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Any other result is a draw. The strategy being used by
Northern Strategy: the British player is determined at the end of the June
1) The British player wins if he fulfills all three of the following 1778 turn. If the British player controls West Point,
conditions: Albany and either Fort Stanwix or Fort Ticonderoga he
a) Control New York and either Philadelphia or Newport uses the Northern Strategy. If these conditions are not
b) Control West Point, Albany, Fort Ticonderoga, Montreal and met, he must follow the Southern Strategy.
Quebec
c) Control any two other major cities on the Northern Map AREA OF PLAY
2) The American player wins if he fulfills both of the following North Section of the mapboard in its entirety.
conditions:
a) Control two of three cities - Newport, Boston and Philadelphia SPECIAL RULES
b) Avoid British victory conditions 1. Winter restrictions in March turn.
3) Automatic American victory if the Americans control of New York 2. Forced March rule in effect.
3. Strategy of British player is determined solely by his
Southern Strategy: control of West Point, Albany and either Fort
1) The British player wins if he fulfills all three of the following Stanwix or Fort Ticonderoga at the end of the
conditions: June 1998 turn.
a) Control New York, West Point and either Philadelphia or 4. Bateau rules are in effect.
Newport 5. French Fleet appears on any water hex marked East.
b) Control Boston or any two other major cities on the Northern 6. Reinforcements that are due in a city controlled by
Map enemy forces appear in the closest town not
c) Control Montreal or Quebec occupied or surrounded by the enemy.
2) The American player wins if he fulfills the following condition: * Exception: The British must control Albany to
a) Control three of the four cities - Newport, Boston, West Point receive the June 1778 Tory reinforcements.
and Philadelphia 7. Remember Rules about Defender Initiated
Combat - Advanced Combat Rules.
3) Automatic American victory if the Americans control New York
 30 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996

Current Specific Game AREA Ratings

Victory In The Pacific The Russian Campaign
March 5, 1996 101 Active Players March 5, 1996 45 Active Players
1. Alan Applebaum 2047 HKAA6 1. Ed O’Conner 2081 GIPA4
2. Michael Crowe 1950 CDG-5 2. Patrick Flory 2006 DCG-4
3. Timothy Proksch 1929 EH-A6 3. James Bjorum 1997 DFIA4
4. Dave Targonski 1922 IK-A5 4. Alan Frappier 1995 EHE-4
5. Ray Freeman 1910 EHBA4 5. Robert Shurdt 1992 GHN-5
6. Ed O’Conner 1819 BD-A4 6. Charles Sorbello 1959 BCGA6
7. Tom Gregorio 1796 FIBA5 7. Tim Greene 1912 GIKA5
8. Glenn Petroski 1786 LMEA6 8. Thomas Gregario 1876 GIIA5
9. Tom Johnston 1783 DG-A6 9. Jeffrey Martin 1875 IMK-6
10. Neil Moran 1775 AA-A5 10. Larry Earhart, Jr. 1827 EEKA4
11. Bruce Kernan 1770 AB-A5 11. Craig Clemens 1800 CEHA4
12. Steve Packwood 1734 GJ-A6 12. John Laney 1750 ABDA4
13. Greg Smith 1697 AC-A5 13. Dan Barker 1720 ACDA4
14. Greg Hanson 1694 IK-A5 14. Charles Jehlen 1695 BBB-4
15. Mike Knautz 1688 EH-A5 15. Ed Drukman 1682 BBA-5
16. Mike Kaye 1688 BD-A5 16. Jim Eliason 1681 BEEA6
17. Dan Henry 1687 ILCA6 17. Henry Lowood 1666 ABCA6
18. Ken Nied 1676 GJ-A6 18. Paul Siragusa 1590 BEB-4
19. Bill Thomson 1669 BDDA5 19. Dave Ketchum 1579 AAB-5
20. Kevin Kinsel 1667 ACC-5 20. Mark Figge 1573 AAB-5
21. Mike Ussery 1636 GJCA6 21. John Cooper 1570 AAAA4
22. Lance Ottman 1618 ABB-5 22. G. Makis 1566 AAB-4
23. Casey Adams 1617 AC-A6 23. Gary Dickson 1565 AAAA4
24. Steve Resman 1614 ABC-5 24. Alan Kaplan 1544 AA-A5
25. Max Zavanelli 1602 BE-A6 25. Randy Schilb 1540 AAAA4
Gettysburg ‘88 Fortress Europa
March 5, 1996 20 Active Players March 5, 1996 11 Active Players
1. Mike Uhrich 1855 CF-A5 1. Jim Eliason 1759 CECA5
2. David Zimmerman 1715 AC-A4 2. Charles Jehlen 1606 AAD-5
3. John Poniske 1701 AC-A4 3. Tom Scarborough 1582 AADA4
4. Vince Meconi 1687 BDAA5 4. Michael Newman 1551 AA-A5
5. Allen Kaplan 1671 BD-A4 5. Marvin Rabin 1547 AAA-4
6. Charles Hamm 1663 BD-A4
7. Steve Scott 1535 AA-A4 Turning Point: Stalingrad
8. John Scvolette 1511 BC—4 March 5, 1996 17 Active Players
1. Jim Doughan 1870 AC-A5
Stalingrad 2. Ron Fedin 1775 AB-A5
March 5, 1996 15 Active Players
3. Marvin Birnbaum 1674 AA-A5
1. Scott Goehring 2007 IJR-5 4. Bryon Stingley 1673 AA-A5
2. Joe Beard 1630 BCE-5 5. Henry Jones 1656 AB-A5
3. John Grant, Jr. 1601 ABB-4 6. Christopher Bodkin 1599 AC-A5
4. Ed Menzel 1598 ABB-4 7. Tom Johnston 1574 AA-A5
5. Johnny Hasay 1565 ABB-5 8. Tom Oleson 1570 AB-A5
6. Greg Smith 1535 ABC-4 9. Hank Burkhalter 1535 AAA-5
7. Thomas Delaney 1535 AAB-5 10. Michael Kaye 1533 AB-A5
8. Daniel Leader 1535 AAA-5 11. Rodney Robinson 1513 AA-A5
 The Boardgamer Volume 1, Issue 2 April 1996 31

Current Specific Game AREA Ratings

Up Front Main Battle Tank
March 5, 1996 114 Active Players March 5, 1996 16 Active Players
1. Dave Laufle 2048 FH-B4 1. Bruce Young 1622 BC-A5
2. Herbert Gratz 2028 DHAA5 2. Robert Schoenen 1601 BC-A5
3. Jeff Paull 1917 GKEA6 3. Jon Cleaves 1588 AC-A5
4. Don Hawthorne 1862 GI-B5 4. Chuck Yingling 1559 AB-A5
5. Nick Cascone 1823 GI-B5 5. Kevin Schoenen 1542 AA—5
6. Stephen Buchholz 1781 BCC-5 6. John Emery 1537 AA-A5
7. Larry Davidson 1777 EF-B5
8. Jim Murphy 1749 IK-B5 Russian Front
9. William Edwards III 1690 FKDA5 March 5, 1996 14 Active Players
10. Paul Lebowitz 1680 BE-A5 1. Michael Mitchell 2024 GJP-4
11. Richard Mello 1669 BD-A5 2. Patrick Flory 2006 DCG-4
12. Bruce Young 1662 BD-A5 3. Charles Sorbello 2000 BCG-4
13. Craig Tenhoff 1649 KK-B5 4. James Bjorum 1997 DFI-4
14. Mike Fitzgerald 1645 AC—4 5. Alan Frappier 1995 EHE-4
15. John Emery 1631 BD-A5 6. Tim Greene 1885 FGM-4
16. Ray Stakenas Sr. 1623 BD-A5 7. Thomas Gregorio 1883 EHG-4
17. Andrew Maly 1621 BEAA5 8. James Falling 1835 BC—5
18. Ray Stakenas Jr. 1612 BD-A5 9. Larry Earhart, Jr. 1827 EEK-4
19. Bill Conner 1611 CF-A5 10. Craig Clemens 1800 CEH-4
20. Philip Coveney 1610 BB—4 11. John Laney 1750 ABD-4
21. Jim Vroom 1607 AC-A5 12. Jim Eliason 1620 ADF-4
22. John Hart 1606 EH-A3 13. Bruce Kernan 1527 AAA-4
23. Michael Rodgers 1585 AA—5
24. Steve Huskey 1580 BE-A5 Superstar Baseball
25. Bill Henderson 1577 AC-A5 March 5, 1996 15 Active Players
1. Michael Ellsworth 1695 BC-A4
Afrika Korps 2. David Baumgardner 1590 AB-A4
March 5, 1996 33 Active Players 3. Michael Garton 1581 AB-A4
1. Bruno Sinigaglio 2189 GIJA4 4. Timothy Sullivan 1555 AA-A4
2. Randy Heller 1939 FFKA5 5. Bobby Laboon 1535 AB-A5
3. Vincent Meconi 1867 DHEA5 6. Randy Cox 1521 AA-A4
4. Michael Crowe 1812 BDCA5 7. Jared Scarborough 1518 AA-A4
5. Joseph Beard III 1719 BCDA5
6. Phil Evans 1668 AC-A5 Battle of the Bulge ‘81
March 5, 1996 13 Active Players
7. Thomas Delaney 1643 DFJA5
8. Gregory Smith 1629 BEBA5 1. Randy Heller 1848 DFBA6
9. Scott Goehring 1628 BEAA4 2. John Grant, Jr. 1720 AB-A5
10. Michael Reffue 1625 BCDA5 3. Bruno Sinigaglio 1560 AC-A5
11. Barry Smith 1617 BDAA5 4. Forest Pafenberg 1535 AB-A5
12. Roger Eastep 1600 ABEA4 5. Alan Libuszowski 1535 AAA-6
13. Frank Piercel 1600 AA—5 6. Phil Evans 1511 AB-A5
14. John Grant Jr. 1599 ACC-4
15. Mark Gutfreund 1543 BCBA5 Other Games
16. Michael Matthews 1538 AB-A5 The ratings for 1776; Panzer Leader; Waterloo; Third
17. Robert Hahn 1535 AA-A5 Reich, 4th Edition; Peloponnesian Wars; D-Day ‘91 and
18. Scott Sianno 1505 AB-A5 Richthofen’s War are unchanged from when they were
last published in Volume 1, Issue 1.
 Authors
Needed!
The BOARDGAMER is always in
need of authors to pen quality
articles. Although there are no set
restrictions as far as article content,
the BOARDGAMER will always
concentrate on the play of Avalon
Hill/Victory Games board, sports
and card games. Thus strategy
articles, series replays and variants
for these games are always good
material for submission. Game
reviews of some of the older titles
which may not be quite as familiar
to some of the newer members of
the hobby as they are to the old
grognards would also be welcome
material. History articles, game
reviews, game previews and
articles dealing with games from
other companies will be considered
on a case by case basis.

Pay for authors is currently in the

form of one free issue of the
BOARDGAMER for each page the
article occupies. Although nobody
will ever get rich this way, hopefully
there is enough perceived value in
this publication to make the effort
worthwhile.

Articles submitted will not be

printed with any significant
changes without first receiving the
approval of the original author. It is
requested that articles submitted to
the BOARDGAMER not also be
submitted elsewhere without first
informing the BOARDGAMER.