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	<channel>
		<title><![CDATA[Forums - All Forums]]></title>
		<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/</link>
		<description>Forums - http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games</description>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:25:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<generator>MyBB</generator>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[welcome]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=34</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:38:29 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=34</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[A nice welcome to all the newbie of the site.How do you find the site?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[A nice welcome to all the newbie of the site.How do you find the site?]]></content:encoded>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[say hello]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=32</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:30:46 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=32</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[I start this thread for some greetings to everyone who's on the site right now.Enjoy posting your ideas and opinions for the games.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[I start this thread for some greetings to everyone who's on the site right now.Enjoy posting your ideas and opinions for the games.]]></content:encoded>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[need a new category?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=31</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:11:16 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=31</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[No separate category for Origins: How We Became Human?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[No separate category for Origins: How We Became Human?]]></content:encoded>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Origins expansion deck]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=30</link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:03:40 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=30</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Origins Era IV deck is currently in playtesting.&nbsp;&nbsp;I hope to release this expansion to the Origins game in the Spring of 2008.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Origins Era IV deck is currently in playtesting.&nbsp;&nbsp;I hope to release this expansion to the Origins game in the Spring of 2008.]]></content:encoded>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Origins Release]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=29</link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:34:45 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=29</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[For discussion and questions concerning the Origins game, join the group Originsgame@yahoogroup.com
Origins is now available in Europe. It is estimated that Origins will be available in America mid-December 2007.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[For discussion and questions concerning the Origins game, join the group Originsgame@yahoogroup.com
Origins is now available in Europe. It is estimated that Origins will be available in America mid-December 2007.]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[biome cards]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=28</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:22:01 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=28</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Hello, 


What's the difference between the cards with a "X" and a card with " none".

Thank you


Eric]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Hello, 


What's the difference between the cards with a "X" and a card with " none".

Thank you


Eric]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Origins - Play Examples]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=27</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 28 Oct 2007 03:26:07 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=27</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[I purchased Origins at Essen and we just tried it out today in a three player game. Although the rules seem clear enough, we seemed to get very bogged down. Markers tended to clog up Innovation and Population got to the point where we would regularly fail our Stabilization. Here are some specific questions:

1) In Era 1 - does stabilization ever apply? You are not yet on to the flipped brain card so you don't have dark ages and golden ages.

2) How soon should you move to Era II? I believe we moved too quickly and didn't have the resources to fare well there. We had a lot of "nothing" turns while we waited to cycle through some cards that finally gave us something we could do. (This was also somewhat true in Era I but was even more agonizing in Era II.

3) If you are in the dark ages can you still suffer the effects of missing the stability roll? You can easily get into a cycle where you have only 1 action (1 innovation) a turn usually with nothing you can do to improve your situation and eventually you miss your stability roll again which sets you back by lose of men on the board and cards suppressed. 

4) Can you gain face up cards while in the dark ages or does everything stay flipped over until you are in a golden age?

We have several more similar questions, but all this may be best answered with a detailed play by play example of several turns to clarify the flow of play and the consequences of various effects.

Thanks in advance for any help!]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[I purchased Origins at Essen and we just tried it out today in a three player game. Although the rules seem clear enough, we seemed to get very bogged down. Markers tended to clog up Innovation and Population got to the point where we would regularly fail our Stabilization. Here are some specific questions:

1) In Era 1 - does stabilization ever apply? You are not yet on to the flipped brain card so you don't have dark ages and golden ages.

2) How soon should you move to Era II? I believe we moved too quickly and didn't have the resources to fare well there. We had a lot of "nothing" turns while we waited to cycle through some cards that finally gave us something we could do. (This was also somewhat true in Era I but was even more agonizing in Era II.

3) If you are in the dark ages can you still suffer the effects of missing the stability roll? You can easily get into a cycle where you have only 1 action (1 innovation) a turn usually with nothing you can do to improve your situation and eventually you miss your stability roll again which sets you back by lose of men on the board and cards suppressed. 

4) Can you gain face up cards while in the dark ages or does everything stay flipped over until you are in a golden age?

We have several more similar questions, but all this may be best answered with a detailed play by play example of several turns to clarify the flow of play and the consequences of various effects.

Thanks in advance for any help!]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Questions &amp; Suggestions after a playing]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=26</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:59:50 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=26</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Say, five of us got through 5 turns this past weekend.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Player characters were
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice - Papal States
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Rodrigo Borgia - AragÃ³n 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Donato Acclajuoli - Ottoman Empire 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Jakob Fugger - Holy Roman Empire 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Louis XI, The Dauphin - France 

We did many rules lookups and had the following questions:

1. The starting characters need 4 stature-1 or -2 allies in order to be lifted to stature 3.&nbsp;&nbsp;What left us unsure was whether this stature 3 status is something that is achieved once and no further questions asked or whether these allies need to be maintained in order to keep the status.

We decided that it would work best if the rule was that the allies must be held in order to maintain the status, else it is lost.&nbsp;&nbsp;Otherwise, players could "loan" their allies to one another and it would be easy for everyone to quickly get to stature 3.

2. The assassin card.&nbsp;&nbsp;This card says that a player leader is assassinated on a die roll of 1 or an emperor is assassinated on a 1-3.&nbsp;&nbsp;But what if a player is an emperor?&nbsp;&nbsp;He meets both statuses.

We decided that this card is much too nasty to be used on any player character and disallowed it altogether.

3. If a player's forces are besieged inside a city and that city is a port, is the besieged player allowed to safely evacuate the trapped forces by sea?

We decided yes.

4. Can allied leaders be combined in attack?&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, one player has an emperor with 4 armies in a duchy and is attacked by another emperor plus 4 armies and another leader under the control of the same player and 2 armies.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do the 2 emperors fight first and then the second leader can attack?&nbsp;&nbsp;Or is it all in one?

We decided the former.

5. Again on siege. If a force is being besieged and another force under that player's control comes to relieve it, can the two forces attack together or are they two separate attacks?

We decided two separate attacks, but I would like to suggest that the inside force roll 1 die.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is the number of steps who are able to synchronize their attack with the outside relieving force.

6. Winter depletions and destruction.&nbsp;&nbsp;We are not clear whether armies outside in the weather or mountains are depleted or destroyed and also whether paying gold to prevent this leaves them at fully healthy or depleted status.

We played that the armies lose 1 step if not paid for and don't lose any if they are.

Suggestions:

a. The interleaving of the phases seems to make the game take longer than necessary.&nbsp;&nbsp;Much time is lost in the context switching.&nbsp;&nbsp;We suggest turning over 4 cards at the very beginning of the turn and auctioning them all off at that time.

b. The cards are what are really interesting in the game, so make that a bigger part of the game by not having so much movement in between auctions.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just have one movement/combat phase between auctions.

c. Too many late game cards come up early when they can't be used and so they're not worth bidding upon.&nbsp;&nbsp;We suggest dividing the deck into 2 or more sections so that one gets the more basic things early in the game and the ones that depend on them only later.

d. Try to get rid of some of the unnecessary special cases in the rules, e.g. the rule that 5 coins suddenly turn into an army when a city is attacked.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do the army construction right after receiving revenue and before movement/combat so that this doesn't become an issue.

e. Besides the assassin, some other cards are too draconian in their effects as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;A player who takes a hit should be knocked back and have trouble recovering, but not be knocked out of the game entirely.
 
There were other suggestions, but these are the main ones that come to mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;A bigger map would be very helpful, of course.&nbsp;&nbsp;Everyone thinks the game is very interesting, but just think more can be done in the areas of rules clarity and downtime/length.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Say, five of us got through 5 turns this past weekend.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Player characters were
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice - Papal States
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Rodrigo Borgia - AragÃ³n 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Donato Acclajuoli - Ottoman Empire 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Jakob Fugger - Holy Roman Empire 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;* Louis XI, The Dauphin - France 

We did many rules lookups and had the following questions:

1. The starting characters need 4 stature-1 or -2 allies in order to be lifted to stature 3.&nbsp;&nbsp;What left us unsure was whether this stature 3 status is something that is achieved once and no further questions asked or whether these allies need to be maintained in order to keep the status.

We decided that it would work best if the rule was that the allies must be held in order to maintain the status, else it is lost.&nbsp;&nbsp;Otherwise, players could "loan" their allies to one another and it would be easy for everyone to quickly get to stature 3.

2. The assassin card.&nbsp;&nbsp;This card says that a player leader is assassinated on a die roll of 1 or an emperor is assassinated on a 1-3.&nbsp;&nbsp;But what if a player is an emperor?&nbsp;&nbsp;He meets both statuses.

We decided that this card is much too nasty to be used on any player character and disallowed it altogether.

3. If a player's forces are besieged inside a city and that city is a port, is the besieged player allowed to safely evacuate the trapped forces by sea?

We decided yes.

4. Can allied leaders be combined in attack?&nbsp;&nbsp;For example, one player has an emperor with 4 armies in a duchy and is attacked by another emperor plus 4 armies and another leader under the control of the same player and 2 armies.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do the 2 emperors fight first and then the second leader can attack?&nbsp;&nbsp;Or is it all in one?

We decided the former.

5. Again on siege. If a force is being besieged and another force under that player's control comes to relieve it, can the two forces attack together or are they two separate attacks?

We decided two separate attacks, but I would like to suggest that the inside force roll 1 die.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is the number of steps who are able to synchronize their attack with the outside relieving force.

6. Winter depletions and destruction.&nbsp;&nbsp;We are not clear whether armies outside in the weather or mountains are depleted or destroyed and also whether paying gold to prevent this leaves them at fully healthy or depleted status.

We played that the armies lose 1 step if not paid for and don't lose any if they are.

Suggestions:

a. The interleaving of the phases seems to make the game take longer than necessary.&nbsp;&nbsp;Much time is lost in the context switching.&nbsp;&nbsp;We suggest turning over 4 cards at the very beginning of the turn and auctioning them all off at that time.

b. The cards are what are really interesting in the game, so make that a bigger part of the game by not having so much movement in between auctions.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just have one movement/combat phase between auctions.

c. Too many late game cards come up early when they can't be used and so they're not worth bidding upon.&nbsp;&nbsp;We suggest dividing the deck into 2 or more sections so that one gets the more basic things early in the game and the ones that depend on them only later.

d. Try to get rid of some of the unnecessary special cases in the rules, e.g. the rule that 5 coins suddenly turn into an army when a city is attacked.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do the army construction right after receiving revenue and before movement/combat so that this doesn't become an issue.

e. Besides the assassin, some other cards are too draconian in their effects as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;A player who takes a hit should be knocked back and have trouble recovering, but not be knocked out of the game entirely.
 
There were other suggestions, but these are the main ones that come to mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;A bigger map would be very helpful, of course.&nbsp;&nbsp;Everyone thinks the game is very interesting, but just think more can be done in the areas of rules clarity and downtime/length.]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[retreat rules question]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=25</link>
			<pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:08:40 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=25</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Under 5.8 the rules say

"The losing side is the side whose stature of the highest ranked leader multiplied by the number of armies and navies of his color is the smallest after the battle."

However, what if this number is tied?&nbsp;&nbsp;I don't see a rule that says what to do.&nbsp;&nbsp;Help, please?

I'm guessing that defender stays and attacker retreats?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Under 5.8 the rules say

"The losing side is the side whose stature of the highest ranked leader multiplied by the number of armies and navies of his color is the smallest after the battle."

However, what if this number is tied?&nbsp;&nbsp;I don't see a rule that says what to do.&nbsp;&nbsp;Help, please?

I'm guessing that defender stays and attacker retreats?]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Errata can be found here [LINK]]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=24</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:33:32 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=24</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[http://spotlightongames.com/errata/lotren.html]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[http://spotlightongames.com/errata/lotren.html]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Created suggested starting positions for beginners]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=23</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:56:12 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=23</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Covers 3-12 player situations.

Please see

http://spotlightongames.com/analysis/lotren.html

All comments/complaints welcome.

Rick]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Covers 3-12 player situations.

Please see

http://spotlightongames.com/analysis/lotren.html

All comments/complaints welcome.

Rick]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Editions and expansions]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=22</link>
			<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jul 2007 10:47:04 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=22</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Hi Gang!

I need some help from you. As far as I know there are two editions of this game, each one with its own expansions. I'd like to know the complete list of expansions for each edition and if they are compatible with the other one.
Thanks.

Cheers,
Jordi]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Hi Gang!

I need some help from you. As far as I know there are two editions of this game, each one with its own expansions. I'd like to know the complete list of expansions for each edition and if they are compatible with the other one.
Thanks.

Cheers,
Jordi]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Ganga Zumba]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=21</link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jun 2007 05:19:59 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=21</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[How do you use the Ganga Zumba tent? Can this be used for a player character?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[How do you use the Ganga Zumba tent? Can this be used for a player character?]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[Questions from Gabe about Lords of the Spanish Main, answers from Rick Heli (site coo]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=20</link>
			<pubDate>Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:49:48 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=20</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Questions from Gabe about Lords of the Spanish Main, answers from Rick Heli (site coordinator) and Phil Eklund (designer)
1. Treasure flota: if it comprises multiple fleet cards, possibly from
multiple players, do the fleets sail together or separately?

(Rick Heli) I'm guessing they sail together -- the safety in numbers concept.
(Phil Eklund, esteemed designer) Historically, they sailed together as much as possible, but divided up in a manner described in endnote #35.&nbsp;&nbsp;During playtesting, we had them sail separately. (Although per the third bullet of C6, they all sailed during the treasure player's stage).&nbsp;&nbsp;Now when I play, I use the C4a optional rule for combining fleets listed in the errata, and the players generally take advantage of this for safety in numbers. So I agree with Rick.

2. Treasure flota: when does it sail? especially if there are
multiple players' fleets and given that the rules say it goes last
like the flota player does, yet the errata alter the turn order to
have him go first.

(Rick Heli) I'm guessing they all sail during the Flota player's turn, regardless
of who actually owns the fleets. It would be best I think if this came
at the end of the turn so that all the would be pirates have a chance
to plan and position on the same turn and don't have to worry about
doing it on the previous one.
(Phil Eklund) I agree with Rick. Per the third bullet of C6, the fleets designated as part of the treasure flota sail during the treasure player's C4b stage.

3. Treasure flota: when it is interdicted and attacked, does the
pirate attack a single fleet or all the fleets that sail together? If
the former, can it go on to attack other fleets if it survives the
first battle?

(Rick Heli)I'm guessing that they attack an individual fleet at a time because I
saw no rules for multi-fleet combat. And I suppose if they survive they
could go on to attack others since a turn represents a whole year.
(Phil Eklund) I agree with Rick.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rules for combining fleets allow fleets to combine and fight up to size three.&nbsp;&nbsp;And units are allowed multiple actions per turn (per C4b).

4. Treasure cities: each one can be attacked only once, but does that
refer to privateers only? Could a treasure city be "softened up" by
one or more heathen tribe attacks and then still attacked by a
privateer all in one turn?

(Rick Heli) I'm guessing that softening up is legal; otherwise heathen colonies tend to lose a lot of their interest/value/significance.
(Phil Eklund) I agree with Rick here.&nbsp;&nbsp;Although it should be added to the errata. The intention was that a pirate attack would alert the populace that the Spanish have defaulted on their anti-pirate duties, and would close down shop and hide the women and jewels accordingly. 

5. Treasure cites: who can attack it? The rules and play mat differ,
the former saying only in war while the latter say if at war or if a
pirate. If the latter are correct, must one hold a pirate flag
already *before* attacking the treasure city or is it okay to attack
the treasure city and thus acquire the status?

(Rick Heli) I'm guessing you don't have to be a pirate in advance, but making the attack surely turns you into one (except if at war, of course).
(Phil Eklund) Actually, per&nbsp;&nbsp;the E2 note, pirates are ever at war.&nbsp;&nbsp;So the two cases are the same. We play using the algorithm of E1: the player demands ransom, if refused, he can attack and become a pirate, or back down and go his way.

6. Treasure cites: can multiple fleets defend a single treasure city?

(Rick Heli) I suppose they can, and that they would have to be attacked one by one.
(Phil Eklund) For once I disagree with Rick.&nbsp;&nbsp;To locate a fleet at a treasure city, it has to be located using a treasure city location card.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rules allow but one fleet per location card (C4a note), although of course using the optional rule in the errata fleets can be combined (up to size three).

7. Treasure cites: can fleets not belonging to the treasure player
defend a treasure city? â€¦ According to the rules for 
basing, a non-treasure player may only base in one of the pirate 
havens, not in the treasure city. It seems to me the at according to 
the rules defense of treasure cities only occurs with the soldiers 
outfitted in that city, and the only sea encounters for treasure would 
be only between the treasure-player's controlled merchantman treasure 
fleet(s) and non-treasure player controlled privateers who interdict 
the treasure flota.

(Phil) Just as for treasure fleets, a player allied to the treasure 
player temporarily acts as though he were part of the treasure player's 
fleets. Perhaps I should say in the errata for the first bullet of C4a: 
"for the treasure player or those allied to him." to clarify this.

Gabe) So regarding this business about fleets defending treasure 
cities - how is it possible in the rules? The rules state that 
privateers interdict merchantmen per C4b bullet 2 and E1. Wouldn't 
defending a treasure city require the treasure player to base a 
privateer fleet in the treasure city and then interdict a raiding 
privateer?

(Phil) Hello Gabe. Raiding actions, both raiding pirate havens and 
besieging treasure cities, are allowed in the rules, and are listed on 
the playing mat (see under privateer actions). You are correct, that if 
a privateer is based in a location, either a pirate base or a treasure 
city, it defends the location. I do not consider this an interdiction.

8. Can a player helping the treasure fleet player to ship the treasure
also field privateers on the same turn? This would seem a bit of a
loophole whereby such a player could grab privateer locations and thus
help to secure a safe route.

(Rick Heli) Seems an interesting loophole to me. I wouldn't disallow it.
(Phil Eklund) I agree with Rick. The rules disallow the treasure player (see C4a note) to base in pirate havens, but not vice versa.&nbsp;&nbsp;So a player could base fleets in both pirate havens and treasure cities.

9. Is there such a thing as a "pirate merchant", i.e. can a fleet
carrying a pirate flag act as a merchant?

(Rick Heli) Seems fair to me, at a smuggling port, or to carry treasure.
(Phil Elund) I agree with Rick.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pirates are allowed to outfit as merchantmen or as privateers.&nbsp;&nbsp;As the former, they can carry treasure, smuggle at a smuggling port, or trade with colonies of their own nationality.

10. Do bribes paid to privateers go to the hold or to coffers?

(Rick Heli) I suspect coffers.
(Phil Elund) I agree with Rick. Per D1 (deals) players may exchange coffer gold.

11. Still feel a little uncertain about the turn order, even after the
errata. Are players rated on the height of their lowest card?

(Rick Heli) Seems like the Treasure Flota player should be at a disadvantage for bidding and take his individual turn last. Whatever system makes that
happen seems best. Because the Treasure Flota has a lot of power, especially
early in the game.
(Phil Eklund) Yes, players are rated on the height of their lowest card.&nbsp;&nbsp;You stated it more elegantly than my poor wording of the errata.

12. How many things can a single privateer do on a turn? Can he
potentially sail to every colony on the map and threaten it?

(Rick Heli) I believe so, yes.
(Phil Eklund) Yes. (per C4b).]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Questions from Gabe about Lords of the Spanish Main, answers from Rick Heli (site coordinator) and Phil Eklund (designer)
1. Treasure flota: if it comprises multiple fleet cards, possibly from
multiple players, do the fleets sail together or separately?

(Rick Heli) I'm guessing they sail together -- the safety in numbers concept.
(Phil Eklund, esteemed designer) Historically, they sailed together as much as possible, but divided up in a manner described in endnote #35.&nbsp;&nbsp;During playtesting, we had them sail separately. (Although per the third bullet of C6, they all sailed during the treasure player's stage).&nbsp;&nbsp;Now when I play, I use the C4a optional rule for combining fleets listed in the errata, and the players generally take advantage of this for safety in numbers. So I agree with Rick.

2. Treasure flota: when does it sail? especially if there are
multiple players' fleets and given that the rules say it goes last
like the flota player does, yet the errata alter the turn order to
have him go first.

(Rick Heli) I'm guessing they all sail during the Flota player's turn, regardless
of who actually owns the fleets. It would be best I think if this came
at the end of the turn so that all the would be pirates have a chance
to plan and position on the same turn and don't have to worry about
doing it on the previous one.
(Phil Eklund) I agree with Rick. Per the third bullet of C6, the fleets designated as part of the treasure flota sail during the treasure player's C4b stage.

3. Treasure flota: when it is interdicted and attacked, does the
pirate attack a single fleet or all the fleets that sail together? If
the former, can it go on to attack other fleets if it survives the
first battle?

(Rick Heli)I'm guessing that they attack an individual fleet at a time because I
saw no rules for multi-fleet combat. And I suppose if they survive they
could go on to attack others since a turn represents a whole year.
(Phil Eklund) I agree with Rick.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rules for combining fleets allow fleets to combine and fight up to size three.&nbsp;&nbsp;And units are allowed multiple actions per turn (per C4b).

4. Treasure cities: each one can be attacked only once, but does that
refer to privateers only? Could a treasure city be "softened up" by
one or more heathen tribe attacks and then still attacked by a
privateer all in one turn?

(Rick Heli) I'm guessing that softening up is legal; otherwise heathen colonies tend to lose a lot of their interest/value/significance.
(Phil Eklund) I agree with Rick here.&nbsp;&nbsp;Although it should be added to the errata. The intention was that a pirate attack would alert the populace that the Spanish have defaulted on their anti-pirate duties, and would close down shop and hide the women and jewels accordingly. 

5. Treasure cites: who can attack it? The rules and play mat differ,
the former saying only in war while the latter say if at war or if a
pirate. If the latter are correct, must one hold a pirate flag
already *before* attacking the treasure city or is it okay to attack
the treasure city and thus acquire the status?

(Rick Heli) I'm guessing you don't have to be a pirate in advance, but making the attack surely turns you into one (except if at war, of course).
(Phil Eklund) Actually, per&nbsp;&nbsp;the E2 note, pirates are ever at war.&nbsp;&nbsp;So the two cases are the same. We play using the algorithm of E1: the player demands ransom, if refused, he can attack and become a pirate, or back down and go his way.

6. Treasure cites: can multiple fleets defend a single treasure city?

(Rick Heli) I suppose they can, and that they would have to be attacked one by one.
(Phil Eklund) For once I disagree with Rick.&nbsp;&nbsp;To locate a fleet at a treasure city, it has to be located using a treasure city location card.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rules allow but one fleet per location card (C4a note), although of course using the optional rule in the errata fleets can be combined (up to size three).

7. Treasure cites: can fleets not belonging to the treasure player
defend a treasure city? â€¦ According to the rules for 
basing, a non-treasure player may only base in one of the pirate 
havens, not in the treasure city. It seems to me the at according to 
the rules defense of treasure cities only occurs with the soldiers 
outfitted in that city, and the only sea encounters for treasure would 
be only between the treasure-player's controlled merchantman treasure 
fleet(s) and non-treasure player controlled privateers who interdict 
the treasure flota.

(Phil) Just as for treasure fleets, a player allied to the treasure 
player temporarily acts as though he were part of the treasure player's 
fleets. Perhaps I should say in the errata for the first bullet of C4a: 
"for the treasure player or those allied to him." to clarify this.

Gabe) So regarding this business about fleets defending treasure 
cities - how is it possible in the rules? The rules state that 
privateers interdict merchantmen per C4b bullet 2 and E1. Wouldn't 
defending a treasure city require the treasure player to base a 
privateer fleet in the treasure city and then interdict a raiding 
privateer?

(Phil) Hello Gabe. Raiding actions, both raiding pirate havens and 
besieging treasure cities, are allowed in the rules, and are listed on 
the playing mat (see under privateer actions). You are correct, that if 
a privateer is based in a location, either a pirate base or a treasure 
city, it defends the location. I do not consider this an interdiction.

8. Can a player helping the treasure fleet player to ship the treasure
also field privateers on the same turn? This would seem a bit of a
loophole whereby such a player could grab privateer locations and thus
help to secure a safe route.

(Rick Heli) Seems an interesting loophole to me. I wouldn't disallow it.
(Phil Eklund) I agree with Rick. The rules disallow the treasure player (see C4a note) to base in pirate havens, but not vice versa.&nbsp;&nbsp;So a player could base fleets in both pirate havens and treasure cities.

9. Is there such a thing as a "pirate merchant", i.e. can a fleet
carrying a pirate flag act as a merchant?

(Rick Heli) Seems fair to me, at a smuggling port, or to carry treasure.
(Phil Elund) I agree with Rick.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pirates are allowed to outfit as merchantmen or as privateers.&nbsp;&nbsp;As the former, they can carry treasure, smuggle at a smuggling port, or trade with colonies of their own nationality.

10. Do bribes paid to privateers go to the hold or to coffers?

(Rick Heli) I suspect coffers.
(Phil Elund) I agree with Rick. Per D1 (deals) players may exchange coffer gold.

11. Still feel a little uncertain about the turn order, even after the
errata. Are players rated on the height of their lowest card?

(Rick Heli) Seems like the Treasure Flota player should be at a disadvantage for bidding and take his individual turn last. Whatever system makes that
happen seems best. Because the Treasure Flota has a lot of power, especially
early in the game.
(Phil Eklund) Yes, players are rated on the height of their lowest card.&nbsp;&nbsp;You stated it more elegantly than my poor wording of the errata.

12. How many things can a single privateer do on a turn? Can he
potentially sail to every colony on the map and threaten it?

(Rick Heli) I believe so, yes.
(Phil Eklund) Yes. (per C4b).]]></content:encoded>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Mail beginning with a person who REALLY disliked my game &quot;Pancho Villa&quot;]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=19</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:42:08 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=19</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[YOU PEOPLE ARE SICK! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOUR DAMN GAME IS JUST WRONG AND IS A CLEAR SIGN OF THE DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA NOW A DAYS. YOU GUYS SHOULD TAKE THE TIME TO ACTUALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPEN DURING THE EXPEDITION. ALL THE CRAP IN THE HISTORY BOOKS HERE IS ALL A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT. THE NEVER EVEN CAUGHT FRANCISCO VILLA (DOROTEO ARANGO) AND THEY CALLED THE MISSION SUCCESFUL!!!! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? I'M GLAD THAT HE ATTACKED COLUMBUS, I'M BEGINNING TO SEE WHAT KIND OF SICK ASS PEOPLE WE HAVE HERE IN THE U.S.

P.S. "WHEN THE TRUE HISTORY OF THIS EXPEDITION IS WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE A VERY INSPIRING CHAPTER FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN, OF EVEN GROWN-UPS, TO 
CONTEMPLATE." -U.S. GENERAL JOHN JOSEPH "BLACK JACK" PERSHING.

************
 Just to second this post, I have this game and it has provided my group of gamers with lots of enjoyment (and laughs as well). My grandfather was with the US Army for this little soiree, so I took a personal interest in it.&nbsp;&nbsp; David Bolt&nbsp;&nbsp; 
***********
 I just got this great, must-have game, and I very rarely say that -- it's a&nbsp;&nbsp;real period piece, by Sierra Madre Games, on the manhunt for Pancho&nbsp;&nbsp;Villa by the US Punitive Expedition into Mexico in 1916 -- anybody play it&nbsp;&nbsp;-- I'd be interested in others' impressions. The components are pretty&nbsp;&nbsp;primitive, and the rules not for those who like them tightly edited -- but it&nbsp;&nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp;truly playable solitaire and by 2 and 3 players -- setup in about 10&nbsp;&nbsp;minutes and a little over 2 hours to play... I ran through this great little game solitaire last evening. What a hoot!&nbsp;&nbsp;Took me about 2 and 1/2 hours from opening to bag to "closure." 

As I've&nbsp;&nbsp;noted before, this game covers the US Punitive Expedition going after 
 Pancho Villa after his raid on Columbus, NM in 1916. There are four Villa Leaders -- and a neat optional rule that keeps you&nbsp;&nbsp;guessing about which one is Pancho -- so in true historical fashion, you race after the bandits not really knowing who is who. To win, Pancho must exit the bottom of the map with a varying number of friendly units or&nbsp;&nbsp;conversely, he must kill 2 policia units in one of the two cities on the map&nbsp;&nbsp;that causes the local collapse of the central govt. 

The Villistas start off the game together with about a 60-mile head start on their headlong run to the south on the Americans. The American cavalry units dogged stayed on their trail. Col. Tompkins flew off his aviation detachment to try to interdict (pin) the bandits. Unfortunately, the 
Jennys came down in the scrub way short of their goal. Tompkins,&nbsp;&nbsp;reluctant to abandon his wagon train of supplies & all-important water, would spend most of the game retrieving the near-useless airplanes in 
the vain hope of getting them airborne again. 

After halting briefly at a Mormon colony, Villa split his forces w/ 2 stacks of 2 Leaders (and their accompanying rifles, horses and bandits) a hex apart as they followed a river line (Rio Casa Grande) south. This proved 
a good stratagem, as the Americans double-marched, depleting their&nbsp;&nbsp;horses but catching the "rear-guard." In the ensuing battle, the Villa combat units were all depleted, but the all-important horses were not, allowing the bandits to break successfully away. Although their&nbsp;&nbsp;transport was depleted, the American cav. were unhurt and doggedly&nbsp;&nbsp;continued south. Col. Allen's forces were forced to halt in the small&nbsp;&nbsp;pueblo of San Buenaventura as their horses were destroyed by the hard-going. 

Meanwhile, the central govt. forces, ostensibly allied w/ the Americans, moved 
up the rail-line from Ciudad Chihuahua to block Villa. Pershing, with&nbsp;&nbsp;Patton, and the bulk of the American (truck-borne) forces had crossed&nbsp;&nbsp;from El Paso into Juarez, suffering some casualties to riots and embarked down the rail-line to Chihuahua. 
 

Villa split his forces in two directions to attempt to split the following troops and beat past the blocking forces. One stack headed off on a tangent into the brush to a small friendly hacienda (Rubio) where it was&nbsp;&nbsp;ambushed by the Amer. Apache Scouts unit. The other stack was&nbsp;&nbsp;caught by the Rangers and 7th Cav. but attacked unsuccessfully. The central govt. forces moved north to launch another attack on this stack&nbsp;&nbsp;near a small pueblo (Bachiniva) and both sides bloodied each other. Villa&nbsp;&nbsp;successfully scrounged some extra horses. 
The rest of the Amer. Cav. moved slowly toward the pinned Rubio 
 bandits, several units got lost on the way and ended up in Namiquipa 
 w.out any horses. 

Meanwhile Pershing was slowly moving from Chihuahua down the rail 
 line to near Bachiniva. Villa moved north up the line to try to side 
step these units and escape down the only road into the high mountains at the 
town of Temosachic. Here he was again caught and pinned by the 
 central govt. forces. In the ensuing battle, he lost all his troops save 
one but kept the extra horses. Having finally retrieved the planes and 
leaving his slow-moving wagons, Tompkins was attempting to move down the 
 rail line from the other direction. 

 Just as the door appeared to be closing on Villa, he successfully 
 retreated into the high mountains and I ended the game. Pershing's 
 mech. forces would find it nearly impossible to chase after Villa now -- 
 especially if he double marched twice, he would lose most of his horses 
 but get deep enough into the montane hexes to either hole up at a 
 friendly Indian camp or finally exit south. Viva Villa! 

 I may try this again tonight -- what great chrome -- you roll on an 
events table every time you move a stack and all kinds of interesting things can 
 happen... 

 Doug Murphy 
*********
Played this again last evening -- trying to come up with different&nbsp;&nbsp;stratagems -- the Villistas start the game in two small pueblos just&nbsp;&nbsp;beyond "normal" marching range of the border. The two forces joined up&nbsp;&nbsp;in a small hacienda just over a river, depleting a horse due to thieves but&nbsp;&nbsp;successfully night-raiding for a mule. But this time the Americans from&nbsp;&nbsp;Culberson's ranch double-marched furiously after them and everything&nbsp;&nbsp;went absolutely perfectly --&nbsp;&nbsp; First, Col. Tompkins flew off the airplane from Columbus, successfully&nbsp;&nbsp;rolled for range, interdicted (and Pinned) the bandidos and landed safely&nbsp;&nbsp;in a Mormon colony in the next hex. Tompkins left his wagons and&nbsp;&nbsp;machine guns behind and double-marched to join up with the other&nbsp;&nbsp;American forces. At the same time, two Carrancista leaders and their&nbsp;&nbsp;troops moved down the rail-line to wait to the south of the battle.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pershing crossed over from El Paso into Juarez without incident and&nbsp;&nbsp;entrained for the south as well.&nbsp;&nbsp; Catching up with Villa, a total of 13 American combat units assaulted the&nbsp;&nbsp;bandits who, due to the aeroplane, could only choose Pinned as a&nbsp;&nbsp;defensive tactic. The Villistas were slaughtered, leaving a few combat&nbsp;&nbsp;units but nearly all the transport to retreat into the llanos. Since Pins are&nbsp;&nbsp;removed after the movement phase, the Villistas were also caught in the&nbsp;&nbsp;bush without water and all their horses and mules were depleted.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Americans moved up, this time joined by the Carranista forces who&nbsp;&nbsp;swung out behind the bandits and also by Pershing's main force who&nbsp;&nbsp;railed down to a blocking hex and were able to join in the last battle. The&nbsp;&nbsp;train gun "El Nino" was unsuccessful in pinning the enemy, but Patton&nbsp;&nbsp;succeeded. Interestingly, this absolutely overwhelming force suffered&nbsp;&nbsp;from high rolls and Villa, a depleted horse and bodyguard still survived at&nbsp;&nbsp;turn end. The Carranista horses were depleted due to lack of water.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

Forced to retreat north, the end was in sight for Villa. The Americans&nbsp;&nbsp;deployed and surrounded him. The Carrancistas retreated back to the rail&nbsp;&nbsp;line. Even Col. Tompkins Machine Guns caught up. Villa was popped in&nbsp;&nbsp;the first few rolls. Hail Columbia.&nbsp;&nbsp; Next time, we're going to start the bandits with a double-march and see if&nbsp;&nbsp;they can get successfully away from the border, then raid enough&nbsp;&nbsp;horses/mules to keep ahead of the Americans.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

Doug Murphy&nbsp;&nbsp;

***********
First impressions: it's a low-budget, DTP wargame. I think it costs &#36;12 or&nbsp;&nbsp;something. Counters are card stock, and must be cut out beforehand. (Since&nbsp;&nbsp;they're double-sided, you cannot easily mount them on to thicker stock,&nbsp;&nbsp;either.) All are white cardstock, with colored ink. Americans are blue,&nbsp;&nbsp;Mexican government (carrancistas) are red, and Villa's rebels are orange.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, orange and red, which are almost interchangeable. I used a green&nbsp;&nbsp;highlighter pen to give Villa's counters a green background (which matches&nbsp;&nbsp;the color of Villa-friendly settlements on the map anyway). Once you get&nbsp;&nbsp;past the Spartan presentation, however, you're in for a treat.&nbsp;&nbsp; Know your history? 1916...Villa was one of at least two prominent Mexicans&nbsp;&nbsp;vying for the government of Mexico. The Woodrow Wilson administration ended&nbsp;&nbsp;up recognizing Villa's opponent, Carranza, and even allowed Carranza's&nbsp;&nbsp;troops to use rail transport through the southwestern US to make strategic&nbsp;&nbsp;movements around Villa's troops, dealing them a severe blow. Some time&nbsp;&nbsp;later, Villista forces raided across the American border, shooting up the&nbsp;&nbsp;town of Columbus, New Mexico. Why? No one is sure. But now Villa was hunted&nbsp;&nbsp;by Carranza's government forces, mostly coming up from the south, and the&nbsp;&nbsp;US Army, streaming across the border from the north. This is where the game&nbsp;&nbsp;starts! Villa must survive to exit the southern edge of the map to affect a&nbsp;&nbsp;draw, and he wins if he can do so with at least one troop counter. (Or he&nbsp;&nbsp;can conquer one of the few large cities on the map, shifting the political&nbsp;&nbsp;allegiance of the Chihuahua state--that looked a lot more difficult to me,&nbsp;&nbsp;though you never know.) The Americans or Carrancistas win by riding Villa down.&nbsp;&nbsp; The number of counters is low, accentuated even more by the off-map&nbsp;&nbsp;displays: only the leaders (or leaderless, stationary garrisons) are&nbsp;&nbsp;actually on the hexmap. Movement is made hazardous, to represent the&nbsp;&nbsp;dangers of travel over this high desert. Supply mostly means water in this&nbsp;&nbsp;game--you must end your stack's movement in a water-supplying hex (stream,&nbsp;&nbsp;settlement, etc.), or else your units takes a step loss. Force-marching,&nbsp;&nbsp;often necessary to travel far enough to reach water in a turn, also&nbsp;&nbsp;requires a step loss to your transport (usually horses, though sometimes&nbsp;&nbsp;mules or your own marching troops). In short order you begin to see how you&nbsp;&nbsp;can drive your mounts to destruction, leaving you stranded. But, of course,&nbsp;&nbsp;the game is essentially a race, so you can't take it easy! There's also&nbsp;&nbsp;rail transport available to all, most effective to the Carrancistas and&nbsp;&nbsp;Americans. The Americans led by Pershing have trucks, but between the&nbsp;&nbsp;unreliability of these early vehicles and the dearth of roads on the map,&nbsp;&nbsp;it's not as dominating as it sounds. George S. Patton can be detached in a&nbsp;&nbsp;Dodge truck, as he really did! And never mind the Americans' airplane. You&nbsp;&nbsp;can't help but use it, but it takes a good string of die rolls for its&nbsp;&nbsp;forays to give Villa much trouble. It's fun trying, though. Even fun&nbsp;&nbsp;watching, or jeering. :)&nbsp;&nbsp; And if that weren't enough, there's self-described "lurid table" of events.&nbsp;&nbsp;You roll after each counter stack moves, with results read depending on the&nbsp;&nbsp;type of terrain in the final hex. (Separate column for the airplane.) Some&nbsp;&nbsp;of the results are good, generally finding extra forage or supplies of some&nbsp;&nbsp;sort that restore step losses to your weary troops. Many are bad, though.&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting lost was a frequent event, especially if your force-march. Time is&nbsp;&nbsp;marked in seasons (variable number of turns per), and some events vary with&nbsp;&nbsp;season. It all adds up to an astonishingly compelling and historically&nbsp;&nbsp;accurate narrative. I plan on solo'ing the game a couple more times before&nbsp;&nbsp;I flesh this out into a review for Strategist, and in one of those games&nbsp;&nbsp;I'll build that narrative from each event rolled throughout the game.&nbsp;&nbsp; Sounds like a lot of die rolling, doesn't it? Well, I guess it is, but&nbsp;&nbsp;considering how stripped down the rest of the game is (as Villa's forces, I&nbsp;&nbsp;was generally moving only one or two stacks per turn, and combat is a quick&nbsp;&nbsp;add-em-up-and-roll-once affair), it moves along well. Villa has only a&nbsp;&nbsp;handful of troops. The Carrancistas don't have even that many, once you&nbsp;&nbsp;discount the Policia garrisons in towns, though the action is necessarily&nbsp;&nbsp;driven toward them in the south. Most of the game has to do with the&nbsp;&nbsp;numerous Americans, who come roaring down out of New Mexico and El Paso,&nbsp;&nbsp;renewing their chase after stopping at American-friendly settlements along&nbsp;&nbsp;the way. I had no idea there were so many Mormon colonies and&nbsp;&nbsp;American-interest mines down there. Of course, Villa made use of those&nbsp;&nbsp;Mormon colonies, too. Only to get his fresh horses, he had to steal them!&nbsp;&nbsp; As I mentioned before, don't believe the 10-minute setup, 2-hour game&nbsp;&nbsp;length it says on the cover. Okay, it might take just 10 minutes if you&nbsp;&nbsp;already know the rules, and have already cut out the counters. But 2 hours&nbsp;&nbsp;isn't likely, not unless Villa is captured early. I drug it out to the&nbsp;&nbsp;bitter end, with Villa dying of thirst a couple hexes from victory in the&nbsp;&nbsp;southwest mountains. The Americans were on my tail, but largely decimated&nbsp;&nbsp;by the strain of the chase (even with little combat), and couldn't follow&nbsp;&nbsp;Villa into the desert without a similar fate. The Carrancistas got in the&nbsp;&nbsp;way of the Americans, and lost. Curiously, that meant our game ended in&nbsp;&nbsp;limbo: neither the Americans nor Carrancista forces captured/killed Villa,&nbsp;&nbsp;so they can't claim victory. But Villa didn't get away, either, and his&nbsp;&nbsp;troops were all gone. So he failed to achieve a draw, though that's what we&nbsp;&nbsp;called it. Maybe the Americans could then take enough time to bring water&nbsp;&nbsp;down for a desert expedition using their wagons, to claim Villa's body. Maybe.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Mark.E.Johnson & Greg J. Schloesser
***********
&nbsp;&nbsp; Pancho Villa-Dead or Alive! Fun like Mark said but it seems like the 1/6 chance of getting lost was a bit high for units unled by scouts in this game. Or were the Americans and Federales that incompetent in the chase?&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyhow, I'm wondering if Pancho Villa, instead of dying of thirst on the last turn, could have sat by some water, and rolled on the movement table anyway every turn to try to regain a step?&nbsp;&nbsp;...Fen Yan 12:49pm Feb 13, 2001 
*******
Bergâ€™s Review of Games, Christmas 1992
We chose the 1916 American expedition to punish Pancho Villa, and a good choice it was.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Villa player gets four â€œregimentsâ€ of bandidos and some vicious Yaquis to the south.&nbsp;&nbsp;The American gets a bunch of repeater armed cavalry, 3 troops of volunteers in flimsy trucks, a couple of machine guns, some mule-drawn cannon, a wackily unreliable aeroplane, and George Patton in a Dodge.&nbsp;&nbsp;He also starts with the help of some Carrancista federales, buts thatâ€™s liable to change the instant the gringos overstay their welcome (about three minutes, as far as most of Mexico is concerned).&nbsp;&nbsp;I mention how these folks are transported, because transport is almost as- if not more- important as what kind of firepower you have, as we shall see.

â€¦The heart of the game is that every time you move a unit or stack, you consult what is easily the most deliciously detailed and wackily-event filled Random Events Table yet devised!&nbsp;&nbsp;After two turns we immediately dubbed it the Yellow Brick Road Table, because of all the lions and tigers and bears it contained (literally).&nbsp;&nbsp;Travel in Northern Mexico is no easy task, believe me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Villaâ€™s Yaquis were doing fine until they tried to cut through the Sierra Madre range only to have half their horses eaten by grizzlies.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pershingâ€™s potentially devastating biplane â€“ the best way to bring Villa to ground â€“ takes off on a whim, canâ€™t find much and then, to my dismay, ran out of gas and pitched into the prairie ten miles from Villa, himself, who promptly dispatched it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two cavalry regiments got totally lost (which happens to almost anyone who wanders off the road and trails), wandering around for a few turns, dehydrated, until I mercifully refused to move them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Patton spent most of the game trying to catch up with his own forces in a Dodge that broke down almost as much as â€¦ well, as a Dodge.&nbsp;&nbsp;He did catch up to Pablo Lopez and hammer him into oblivion, and then Villa got a little too feisty and lost a third of his men to a well timed American assaultâ€¦ one of the few times I ventured away from water and survived!&nbsp;&nbsp;But then the Carrancistas got the word from Mexico City and transferred allegiance, throwing those two federales troops into the path of the dirt-weary Yankees.&nbsp;&nbsp;Gringo firepower was far too much, but its use diverted half of Pershing attack column.&nbsp;&nbsp;And when the truck-driven troopers ran out of gas, literally, just north of Ciudad Chihuahua, Villa, who had been flitting in and out of the dangerous Sierra Madre, just escaping a rurales lynch mob&nbsp;&nbsp;(I ainâ€™t kidding!!), grabbed the open road south and just barely managed to escape off the board.&nbsp;&nbsp;This all took, maybe, tow hours of play, and it was Major Fun.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was also exceptionally historical in both feel and result.

Richard Berg, BROG

***************
This one ranks as the strangest game I ever played in my gaming life and
it's definitely even one of the more fun!! This peculiar game tries to
capture at a very tactical level (almost an RPG for certain details, and
similar to a random exercise in wilderness survival for other aspects)
the US expedition to capture Pancho Villa during the spring of 1916. As
it stands, the game is a three players game masqued as a two player one:
in fact, in a two players game the American player move also part of the
Mexican forces, but it's severely hindered in his movements by the
Mexican policia units, so that it probably better to have them as
enemies anyway (and this may in effect be the case, if for a random
event Mexico and the United States go to war one against the other). 

The game is really peculiar in all its aspects: from movement
(differentiated in mechanized and no mechanized, but both are severely
limited by the rules for water/gasoline, that almost any movement is
forced from one settlement (and there are really several different
settlements from city to pueblos to Mormon missions to a few others) to
another or along rivers or railroads or the moving force suffers
depletion and possibly starvation. But the real innovative system in the
movement phase is the forced random event die roll that may give to the
units involved any kind of result, perhaps positive (like recovering
from depletion), more probably negative if the movement is too daring.
This mechanism makes such in theory unbalanced game really fun to play
also solitaire. 

Even the combat system is particular: each combat unit is armed with a
rifle counter (that may be depleted too) and each such unit (plus other
particular ones like machine gun, artillery and airplane) rolls a die
and confronts the result to the command factor of its leader (4 for the
Americans, 3 for the Mexicans and 2 for the Villistas - bar Villa
himself that is worth 3): if the result is equal or less than that
number an enemy unit is depleted (or eliminated if already depleted).
There are also rules for tactics (mounted, dismounted or pinned) and for
defensive counterattacks.

Victory is based on the capture of Villa for the American/Mexican and
Villa exiting the south border of the map for the Villista. 

After a few turns, necessary to take confidence with such a peculiar
system, play moves fast, based almost totally on manouver and daring
attempts for the Villista, while the American/Mexican player may force
march and risk more to get the damned revolutionary!!

All in all I rate this game 7 in a 1-10 scale, and the only negative
aspect may be perhaps the really poor graphics.

Roberto Chiavini]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[YOU PEOPLE ARE SICK! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOUR DAMN GAME IS JUST WRONG AND IS A CLEAR SIGN OF THE DISCRIMINATION IN AMERICA NOW A DAYS. YOU GUYS SHOULD TAKE THE TIME TO ACTUALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPEN DURING THE EXPEDITION. ALL THE CRAP IN THE HISTORY BOOKS HERE IS ALL A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT. THE NEVER EVEN CAUGHT FRANCISCO VILLA (DOROTEO ARANGO) AND THEY CALLED THE MISSION SUCCESFUL!!!! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? I'M GLAD THAT HE ATTACKED COLUMBUS, I'M BEGINNING TO SEE WHAT KIND OF SICK ASS PEOPLE WE HAVE HERE IN THE U.S.

P.S. "WHEN THE TRUE HISTORY OF THIS EXPEDITION IS WRITTEN, IT WILL NOT BE A VERY INSPIRING CHAPTER FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN, OF EVEN GROWN-UPS, TO 
CONTEMPLATE." -U.S. GENERAL JOHN JOSEPH "BLACK JACK" PERSHING.

************
 Just to second this post, I have this game and it has provided my group of gamers with lots of enjoyment (and laughs as well). My grandfather was with the US Army for this little soiree, so I took a personal interest in it.&nbsp;&nbsp; David Bolt&nbsp;&nbsp; 
***********
 I just got this great, must-have game, and I very rarely say that -- it's a&nbsp;&nbsp;real period piece, by Sierra Madre Games, on the manhunt for Pancho&nbsp;&nbsp;Villa by the US Punitive Expedition into Mexico in 1916 -- anybody play it&nbsp;&nbsp;-- I'd be interested in others' impressions. The components are pretty&nbsp;&nbsp;primitive, and the rules not for those who like them tightly edited -- but it&nbsp;&nbsp;is&nbsp;&nbsp;truly playable solitaire and by 2 and 3 players -- setup in about 10&nbsp;&nbsp;minutes and a little over 2 hours to play... I ran through this great little game solitaire last evening. What a hoot!&nbsp;&nbsp;Took me about 2 and 1/2 hours from opening to bag to "closure." 

As I've&nbsp;&nbsp;noted before, this game covers the US Punitive Expedition going after 
 Pancho Villa after his raid on Columbus, NM in 1916. There are four Villa Leaders -- and a neat optional rule that keeps you&nbsp;&nbsp;guessing about which one is Pancho -- so in true historical fashion, you race after the bandits not really knowing who is who. To win, Pancho must exit the bottom of the map with a varying number of friendly units or&nbsp;&nbsp;conversely, he must kill 2 policia units in one of the two cities on the map&nbsp;&nbsp;that causes the local collapse of the central govt. 

The Villistas start off the game together with about a 60-mile head start on their headlong run to the south on the Americans. The American cavalry units dogged stayed on their trail. Col. Tompkins flew off his aviation detachment to try to interdict (pin) the bandits. Unfortunately, the 
Jennys came down in the scrub way short of their goal. Tompkins,&nbsp;&nbsp;reluctant to abandon his wagon train of supplies & all-important water, would spend most of the game retrieving the near-useless airplanes in 
the vain hope of getting them airborne again. 

After halting briefly at a Mormon colony, Villa split his forces w/ 2 stacks of 2 Leaders (and their accompanying rifles, horses and bandits) a hex apart as they followed a river line (Rio Casa Grande) south. This proved 
a good stratagem, as the Americans double-marched, depleting their&nbsp;&nbsp;horses but catching the "rear-guard." In the ensuing battle, the Villa combat units were all depleted, but the all-important horses were not, allowing the bandits to break successfully away. Although their&nbsp;&nbsp;transport was depleted, the American cav. were unhurt and doggedly&nbsp;&nbsp;continued south. Col. Allen's forces were forced to halt in the small&nbsp;&nbsp;pueblo of San Buenaventura as their horses were destroyed by the hard-going. 

Meanwhile, the central govt. forces, ostensibly allied w/ the Americans, moved 
up the rail-line from Ciudad Chihuahua to block Villa. Pershing, with&nbsp;&nbsp;Patton, and the bulk of the American (truck-borne) forces had crossed&nbsp;&nbsp;from El Paso into Juarez, suffering some casualties to riots and embarked down the rail-line to Chihuahua. 
 

Villa split his forces in two directions to attempt to split the following troops and beat past the blocking forces. One stack headed off on a tangent into the brush to a small friendly hacienda (Rubio) where it was&nbsp;&nbsp;ambushed by the Amer. Apache Scouts unit. The other stack was&nbsp;&nbsp;caught by the Rangers and 7th Cav. but attacked unsuccessfully. The central govt. forces moved north to launch another attack on this stack&nbsp;&nbsp;near a small pueblo (Bachiniva) and both sides bloodied each other. Villa&nbsp;&nbsp;successfully scrounged some extra horses. 
The rest of the Amer. Cav. moved slowly toward the pinned Rubio 
 bandits, several units got lost on the way and ended up in Namiquipa 
 w.out any horses. 

Meanwhile Pershing was slowly moving from Chihuahua down the rail 
 line to near Bachiniva. Villa moved north up the line to try to side 
step these units and escape down the only road into the high mountains at the 
town of Temosachic. Here he was again caught and pinned by the 
 central govt. forces. In the ensuing battle, he lost all his troops save 
one but kept the extra horses. Having finally retrieved the planes and 
leaving his slow-moving wagons, Tompkins was attempting to move down the 
 rail line from the other direction. 

 Just as the door appeared to be closing on Villa, he successfully 
 retreated into the high mountains and I ended the game. Pershing's 
 mech. forces would find it nearly impossible to chase after Villa now -- 
 especially if he double marched twice, he would lose most of his horses 
 but get deep enough into the montane hexes to either hole up at a 
 friendly Indian camp or finally exit south. Viva Villa! 

 I may try this again tonight -- what great chrome -- you roll on an 
events table every time you move a stack and all kinds of interesting things can 
 happen... 

 Doug Murphy 
*********
Played this again last evening -- trying to come up with different&nbsp;&nbsp;stratagems -- the Villistas start the game in two small pueblos just&nbsp;&nbsp;beyond "normal" marching range of the border. The two forces joined up&nbsp;&nbsp;in a small hacienda just over a river, depleting a horse due to thieves but&nbsp;&nbsp;successfully night-raiding for a mule. But this time the Americans from&nbsp;&nbsp;Culberson's ranch double-marched furiously after them and everything&nbsp;&nbsp;went absolutely perfectly --&nbsp;&nbsp; First, Col. Tompkins flew off the airplane from Columbus, successfully&nbsp;&nbsp;rolled for range, interdicted (and Pinned) the bandidos and landed safely&nbsp;&nbsp;in a Mormon colony in the next hex. Tompkins left his wagons and&nbsp;&nbsp;machine guns behind and double-marched to join up with the other&nbsp;&nbsp;American forces. At the same time, two Carrancista leaders and their&nbsp;&nbsp;troops moved down the rail-line to wait to the south of the battle.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pershing crossed over from El Paso into Juarez without incident and&nbsp;&nbsp;entrained for the south as well.&nbsp;&nbsp; Catching up with Villa, a total of 13 American combat units assaulted the&nbsp;&nbsp;bandits who, due to the aeroplane, could only choose Pinned as a&nbsp;&nbsp;defensive tactic. The Villistas were slaughtered, leaving a few combat&nbsp;&nbsp;units but nearly all the transport to retreat into the llanos. Since Pins are&nbsp;&nbsp;removed after the movement phase, the Villistas were also caught in the&nbsp;&nbsp;bush without water and all their horses and mules were depleted.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Americans moved up, this time joined by the Carranista forces who&nbsp;&nbsp;swung out behind the bandits and also by Pershing's main force who&nbsp;&nbsp;railed down to a blocking hex and were able to join in the last battle. The&nbsp;&nbsp;train gun "El Nino" was unsuccessful in pinning the enemy, but Patton&nbsp;&nbsp;succeeded. Interestingly, this absolutely overwhelming force suffered&nbsp;&nbsp;from high rolls and Villa, a depleted horse and bodyguard still survived at&nbsp;&nbsp;turn end. The Carranista horses were depleted due to lack of water.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

Forced to retreat north, the end was in sight for Villa. The Americans&nbsp;&nbsp;deployed and surrounded him. The Carrancistas retreated back to the rail&nbsp;&nbsp;line. Even Col. Tompkins Machine Guns caught up. Villa was popped in&nbsp;&nbsp;the first few rolls. Hail Columbia.&nbsp;&nbsp; Next time, we're going to start the bandits with a double-march and see if&nbsp;&nbsp;they can get successfully away from the border, then raid enough&nbsp;&nbsp;horses/mules to keep ahead of the Americans.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

Doug Murphy&nbsp;&nbsp;

***********
First impressions: it's a low-budget, DTP wargame. I think it costs &#36;12 or&nbsp;&nbsp;something. Counters are card stock, and must be cut out beforehand. (Since&nbsp;&nbsp;they're double-sided, you cannot easily mount them on to thicker stock,&nbsp;&nbsp;either.) All are white cardstock, with colored ink. Americans are blue,&nbsp;&nbsp;Mexican government (carrancistas) are red, and Villa's rebels are orange.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, orange and red, which are almost interchangeable. I used a green&nbsp;&nbsp;highlighter pen to give Villa's counters a green background (which matches&nbsp;&nbsp;the color of Villa-friendly settlements on the map anyway). Once you get&nbsp;&nbsp;past the Spartan presentation, however, you're in for a treat.&nbsp;&nbsp; Know your history? 1916...Villa was one of at least two prominent Mexicans&nbsp;&nbsp;vying for the government of Mexico. The Woodrow Wilson administration ended&nbsp;&nbsp;up recognizing Villa's opponent, Carranza, and even allowed Carranza's&nbsp;&nbsp;troops to use rail transport through the southwestern US to make strategic&nbsp;&nbsp;movements around Villa's troops, dealing them a severe blow. Some time&nbsp;&nbsp;later, Villista forces raided across the American border, shooting up the&nbsp;&nbsp;town of Columbus, New Mexico. Why? No one is sure. But now Villa was hunted&nbsp;&nbsp;by Carranza's government forces, mostly coming up from the south, and the&nbsp;&nbsp;US Army, streaming across the border from the north. This is where the game&nbsp;&nbsp;starts! Villa must survive to exit the southern edge of the map to affect a&nbsp;&nbsp;draw, and he wins if he can do so with at least one troop counter. (Or he&nbsp;&nbsp;can conquer one of the few large cities on the map, shifting the political&nbsp;&nbsp;allegiance of the Chihuahua state--that looked a lot more difficult to me,&nbsp;&nbsp;though you never know.) The Americans or Carrancistas win by riding Villa down.&nbsp;&nbsp; The number of counters is low, accentuated even more by the off-map&nbsp;&nbsp;displays: only the leaders (or leaderless, stationary garrisons) are&nbsp;&nbsp;actually on the hexmap. Movement is made hazardous, to represent the&nbsp;&nbsp;dangers of travel over this high desert. Supply mostly means water in this&nbsp;&nbsp;game--you must end your stack's movement in a water-supplying hex (stream,&nbsp;&nbsp;settlement, etc.), or else your units takes a step loss. Force-marching,&nbsp;&nbsp;often necessary to travel far enough to reach water in a turn, also&nbsp;&nbsp;requires a step loss to your transport (usually horses, though sometimes&nbsp;&nbsp;mules or your own marching troops). In short order you begin to see how you&nbsp;&nbsp;can drive your mounts to destruction, leaving you stranded. But, of course,&nbsp;&nbsp;the game is essentially a race, so you can't take it easy! There's also&nbsp;&nbsp;rail transport available to all, most effective to the Carrancistas and&nbsp;&nbsp;Americans. The Americans led by Pershing have trucks, but between the&nbsp;&nbsp;unreliability of these early vehicles and the dearth of roads on the map,&nbsp;&nbsp;it's not as dominating as it sounds. George S. Patton can be detached in a&nbsp;&nbsp;Dodge truck, as he really did! And never mind the Americans' airplane. You&nbsp;&nbsp;can't help but use it, but it takes a good string of die rolls for its&nbsp;&nbsp;forays to give Villa much trouble. It's fun trying, though. Even fun&nbsp;&nbsp;watching, or jeering. :)&nbsp;&nbsp; And if that weren't enough, there's self-described "lurid table" of events.&nbsp;&nbsp;You roll after each counter stack moves, with results read depending on the&nbsp;&nbsp;type of terrain in the final hex. (Separate column for the airplane.) Some&nbsp;&nbsp;of the results are good, generally finding extra forage or supplies of some&nbsp;&nbsp;sort that restore step losses to your weary troops. Many are bad, though.&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting lost was a frequent event, especially if your force-march. Time is&nbsp;&nbsp;marked in seasons (variable number of turns per), and some events vary with&nbsp;&nbsp;season. It all adds up to an astonishingly compelling and historically&nbsp;&nbsp;accurate narrative. I plan on solo'ing the game a couple more times before&nbsp;&nbsp;I flesh this out into a review for Strategist, and in one of those games&nbsp;&nbsp;I'll build that narrative from each event rolled throughout the game.&nbsp;&nbsp; Sounds like a lot of die rolling, doesn't it? Well, I guess it is, but&nbsp;&nbsp;considering how stripped down the rest of the game is (as Villa's forces, I&nbsp;&nbsp;was generally moving only one or two stacks per turn, and combat is a quick&nbsp;&nbsp;add-em-up-and-roll-once affair), it moves along well. Villa has only a&nbsp;&nbsp;handful of troops. The Carrancistas don't have even that many, once you&nbsp;&nbsp;discount the Policia garrisons in towns, though the action is necessarily&nbsp;&nbsp;driven toward them in the south. Most of the game has to do with the&nbsp;&nbsp;numerous Americans, who come roaring down out of New Mexico and El Paso,&nbsp;&nbsp;renewing their chase after stopping at American-friendly settlements along&nbsp;&nbsp;the way. I had no idea there were so many Mormon colonies and&nbsp;&nbsp;American-interest mines down there. Of course, Villa made use of those&nbsp;&nbsp;Mormon colonies, too. Only to get his fresh horses, he had to steal them!&nbsp;&nbsp; As I mentioned before, don't believe the 10-minute setup, 2-hour game&nbsp;&nbsp;length it says on the cover. Okay, it might take just 10 minutes if you&nbsp;&nbsp;already know the rules, and have already cut out the counters. But 2 hours&nbsp;&nbsp;isn't likely, not unless Villa is captured early. I drug it out to the&nbsp;&nbsp;bitter end, with Villa dying of thirst a couple hexes from victory in the&nbsp;&nbsp;southwest mountains. The Americans were on my tail, but largely decimated&nbsp;&nbsp;by the strain of the chase (even with little combat), and couldn't follow&nbsp;&nbsp;Villa into the desert without a similar fate. The Carrancistas got in the&nbsp;&nbsp;way of the Americans, and lost. Curiously, that meant our game ended in&nbsp;&nbsp;limbo: neither the Americans nor Carrancista forces captured/killed Villa,&nbsp;&nbsp;so they can't claim victory. But Villa didn't get away, either, and his&nbsp;&nbsp;troops were all gone. So he failed to achieve a draw, though that's what we&nbsp;&nbsp;called it. Maybe the Americans could then take enough time to bring water&nbsp;&nbsp;down for a desert expedition using their wagons, to claim Villa's body. Maybe.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Mark.E.Johnson & Greg J. Schloesser
***********
&nbsp;&nbsp; Pancho Villa-Dead or Alive! Fun like Mark said but it seems like the 1/6 chance of getting lost was a bit high for units unled by scouts in this game. Or were the Americans and Federales that incompetent in the chase?&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyhow, I'm wondering if Pancho Villa, instead of dying of thirst on the last turn, could have sat by some water, and rolled on the movement table anyway every turn to try to regain a step?&nbsp;&nbsp;...Fen Yan 12:49pm Feb 13, 2001 
*******
Bergâ€™s Review of Games, Christmas 1992
We chose the 1916 American expedition to punish Pancho Villa, and a good choice it was.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Villa player gets four â€œregimentsâ€ of bandidos and some vicious Yaquis to the south.&nbsp;&nbsp;The American gets a bunch of repeater armed cavalry, 3 troops of volunteers in flimsy trucks, a couple of machine guns, some mule-drawn cannon, a wackily unreliable aeroplane, and George Patton in a Dodge.&nbsp;&nbsp;He also starts with the help of some Carrancista federales, buts thatâ€™s liable to change the instant the gringos overstay their welcome (about three minutes, as far as most of Mexico is concerned).&nbsp;&nbsp;I mention how these folks are transported, because transport is almost as- if not more- important as what kind of firepower you have, as we shall see.

â€¦The heart of the game is that every time you move a unit or stack, you consult what is easily the most deliciously detailed and wackily-event filled Random Events Table yet devised!&nbsp;&nbsp;After two turns we immediately dubbed it the Yellow Brick Road Table, because of all the lions and tigers and bears it contained (literally).&nbsp;&nbsp;Travel in Northern Mexico is no easy task, believe me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Villaâ€™s Yaquis were doing fine until they tried to cut through the Sierra Madre range only to have half their horses eaten by grizzlies.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pershingâ€™s potentially devastating biplane â€“ the best way to bring Villa to ground â€“ takes off on a whim, canâ€™t find much and then, to my dismay, ran out of gas and pitched into the prairie ten miles from Villa, himself, who promptly dispatched it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two cavalry regiments got totally lost (which happens to almost anyone who wanders off the road and trails), wandering around for a few turns, dehydrated, until I mercifully refused to move them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Patton spent most of the game trying to catch up with his own forces in a Dodge that broke down almost as much as â€¦ well, as a Dodge.&nbsp;&nbsp;He did catch up to Pablo Lopez and hammer him into oblivion, and then Villa got a little too feisty and lost a third of his men to a well timed American assaultâ€¦ one of the few times I ventured away from water and survived!&nbsp;&nbsp;But then the Carrancistas got the word from Mexico City and transferred allegiance, throwing those two federales troops into the path of the dirt-weary Yankees.&nbsp;&nbsp;Gringo firepower was far too much, but its use diverted half of Pershing attack column.&nbsp;&nbsp;And when the truck-driven troopers ran out of gas, literally, just north of Ciudad Chihuahua, Villa, who had been flitting in and out of the dangerous Sierra Madre, just escaping a rurales lynch mob&nbsp;&nbsp;(I ainâ€™t kidding!!), grabbed the open road south and just barely managed to escape off the board.&nbsp;&nbsp;This all took, maybe, tow hours of play, and it was Major Fun.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was also exceptionally historical in both feel and result.

Richard Berg, BROG

***************
This one ranks as the strangest game I ever played in my gaming life and
it's definitely even one of the more fun!! This peculiar game tries to
capture at a very tactical level (almost an RPG for certain details, and
similar to a random exercise in wilderness survival for other aspects)
the US expedition to capture Pancho Villa during the spring of 1916. As
it stands, the game is a three players game masqued as a two player one:
in fact, in a two players game the American player move also part of the
Mexican forces, but it's severely hindered in his movements by the
Mexican policia units, so that it probably better to have them as
enemies anyway (and this may in effect be the case, if for a random
event Mexico and the United States go to war one against the other). 

The game is really peculiar in all its aspects: from movement
(differentiated in mechanized and no mechanized, but both are severely
limited by the rules for water/gasoline, that almost any movement is
forced from one settlement (and there are really several different
settlements from city to pueblos to Mormon missions to a few others) to
another or along rivers or railroads or the moving force suffers
depletion and possibly starvation. But the real innovative system in the
movement phase is the forced random event die roll that may give to the
units involved any kind of result, perhaps positive (like recovering
from depletion), more probably negative if the movement is too daring.
This mechanism makes such in theory unbalanced game really fun to play
also solitaire. 

Even the combat system is particular: each combat unit is armed with a
rifle counter (that may be depleted too) and each such unit (plus other
particular ones like machine gun, artillery and airplane) rolls a die
and confronts the result to the command factor of its leader (4 for the
Americans, 3 for the Mexicans and 2 for the Villistas - bar Villa
himself that is worth 3): if the result is equal or less than that
number an enemy unit is depleted (or eliminated if already depleted).
There are also rules for tactics (mounted, dismounted or pinned) and for
defensive counterattacks.

Victory is based on the capture of Villa for the American/Mexican and
Villa exiting the south border of the map for the Villista. 

After a few turns, necessary to take confidence with such a peculiar
system, play moves fast, based almost totally on manouver and daring
attempts for the Villista, while the American/Mexican player may force
march and risk more to get the damned revolutionary!!

All in all I rate this game 7 in a 1-10 scale, and the only negative
aspect may be perhaps the really poor graphics.

Roberto Chiavini]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Review of Pancho Villa, by the author of &quot;Punitive Expedition into Mexico (1916-1917)]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=18</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:31:04 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=18</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Pancho Villa, Dead or Alive !



"The 1916 expedition to punish Pancho Villa.&nbsp;&nbsp;Chase the wily bandit leader throughout the Sierra Madre, while trying not to get lost, destroy your horses, or get into trouble with the local Carranzistas."



The game presents a chance to relive the pursuit of "Pancho" Villa by

"Blackjack" Pershing after the raid of Columbus, New Mexico on 9 March 1916. The U.S. Cavalry chases the Villistas through the Sierra Madre with the objective of cornering them or capturing Villa before the miscreants can escape out the south of Chihuahua, Mexico. 



The game is a strategy board game with physical limits on the logistics and maneuver of the opponents. The game board is a hex grid laid over a map of Chihuahua.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dice govern the movement of the pieces with an element of chance.&nbsp;&nbsp;Villa is one of four (4) Villista pieces, whose object is to flee south to safety in southern Chihuahua.&nbsp;&nbsp;The piece, which is actually Villa,
is kept a secret until capture or escape.



The pursuing units of the U.S. Cavalry are named for the major participants in the actual event (i.e. Pershing / Patton, Tompkins, Allen, etc.). Auxiliary units (i.e., the 1st Aero Squadron, Machine Gun Troops, and "Apache Scouts") join in the pursuit.&nbsp;&nbsp;The "Carranzista" (the "de facto" Mexican government) troops are also represented, and act as "allies" to the U.S. Cavalry by blocking and pursuing the Villistas.&nbsp;&nbsp;Villa also has an ally in the Yaqui Indians of southern Chihuahua.&nbsp;&nbsp;The combatants are conveyed in the chase by horses, mules, railroads, and in the case of Pershing, truck transport.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Random Events Table adds authenticity to the pursuit by depleting your water, livestock, and equipment or declaring a player lost.&nbsp;&nbsp;The game does neglect the political, and diplomatic limits placed on BG Pershing, which contributed so much to his inability to trap Villa or draw him into an open fight.



The game starts with the Villistas given a head start, and the U. S. Cavalry "jumping off" from along the U.S.-Mexican Border.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Carranzistas "move out" from the Mexican towns in Chihuahua.&nbsp;&nbsp;The object of the game is to corner, capture, or destroy the unknown Villa piece, or for Villa to escape out the southern end of Chihuahua (the game board).&nbsp;&nbsp;



The game can be played by 2 or 3 individuals and requires about two (2)

hours to complete.&nbsp;&nbsp;The reviews on the Internet were all positive.&nbsp;&nbsp;Many

expressed, the game was fun to play, because the chance table had some "wacky" consequences for wrong decisions and moves.&nbsp;&nbsp;The game is not a direct representation of all the historic events of the "Great Pursuit", but it is well researched, and demonstrates the possibilities had the "whims of
chance" gone one way or the other.





The game is available from:



Sierra Madre Games

2525 E. Prince, No. 72

Tucson, Arizona USA 85716



 Don Brehm]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Pancho Villa, Dead or Alive !



"The 1916 expedition to punish Pancho Villa.&nbsp;&nbsp;Chase the wily bandit leader throughout the Sierra Madre, while trying not to get lost, destroy your horses, or get into trouble with the local Carranzistas."



The game presents a chance to relive the pursuit of "Pancho" Villa by

"Blackjack" Pershing after the raid of Columbus, New Mexico on 9 March 1916. The U.S. Cavalry chases the Villistas through the Sierra Madre with the objective of cornering them or capturing Villa before the miscreants can escape out the south of Chihuahua, Mexico. 



The game is a strategy board game with physical limits on the logistics and maneuver of the opponents. The game board is a hex grid laid over a map of Chihuahua.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dice govern the movement of the pieces with an element of chance.&nbsp;&nbsp;Villa is one of four (4) Villista pieces, whose object is to flee south to safety in southern Chihuahua.&nbsp;&nbsp;The piece, which is actually Villa,
is kept a secret until capture or escape.



The pursuing units of the U.S. Cavalry are named for the major participants in the actual event (i.e. Pershing / Patton, Tompkins, Allen, etc.). Auxiliary units (i.e., the 1st Aero Squadron, Machine Gun Troops, and "Apache Scouts") join in the pursuit.&nbsp;&nbsp;The "Carranzista" (the "de facto" Mexican government) troops are also represented, and act as "allies" to the U.S. Cavalry by blocking and pursuing the Villistas.&nbsp;&nbsp;Villa also has an ally in the Yaqui Indians of southern Chihuahua.&nbsp;&nbsp;The combatants are conveyed in the chase by horses, mules, railroads, and in the case of Pershing, truck transport.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Random Events Table adds authenticity to the pursuit by depleting your water, livestock, and equipment or declaring a player lost.&nbsp;&nbsp;The game does neglect the political, and diplomatic limits placed on BG Pershing, which contributed so much to his inability to trap Villa or draw him into an open fight.



The game starts with the Villistas given a head start, and the U. S. Cavalry "jumping off" from along the U.S.-Mexican Border.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Carranzistas "move out" from the Mexican towns in Chihuahua.&nbsp;&nbsp;The object of the game is to corner, capture, or destroy the unknown Villa piece, or for Villa to escape out the southern end of Chihuahua (the game board).&nbsp;&nbsp;



The game can be played by 2 or 3 individuals and requires about two (2)

hours to complete.&nbsp;&nbsp;The reviews on the Internet were all positive.&nbsp;&nbsp;Many

expressed, the game was fun to play, because the chance table had some "wacky" consequences for wrong decisions and moves.&nbsp;&nbsp;The game is not a direct representation of all the historic events of the "Great Pursuit", but it is well researched, and demonstrates the possibilities had the "whims of
chance" gone one way or the other.





The game is available from:



Sierra Madre Games

2525 E. Prince, No. 72

Tucson, Arizona USA 85716



 Don Brehm]]></content:encoded>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[The Assessment of Zeppelin Combat operations by Allen Nugent]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=17</link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:20:20 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=17</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Dear Phil
 
Thank you for the prompt delivery of your thoroughly comprehensive board game Airships At War 1914-1941.&nbsp;&nbsp;My thesis research argues for a new assessment of the Zeppelin's contribution during the Great War. 
 
To-date historians have narrowly focused their inquires to the physical damage & deaths/injuries inflicted during the 305 (20%) zeppelin strategic aerial bombardment sorties Germany launch against England.&nbsp;&nbsp;There is a consensus among academics today that the Zeppelin was Germany's least cost efficient strategic aerial platform and failed to produce significant results.
 
My thesis documents the extent of the psychological and physical impact of the other 80% of Zeppelin combat sorties.&nbsp;&nbsp;As your game clearly demonstrates:
 
1. Zeppelin strategic aerial bombardment sorties were also launched against France, Italy and Russia which required them to divert significant assets.
 
2. And I argue more importantly that the Zeppelin's long-range maritime reconnaissance capability had a dramatic psychological effect upon the key commanders of the Royal Navy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Specifically Jellicoe/Seuter who both had flown aboard a Zeppelin prior to the war, as well as Fisher, Bacon, Scott and later after Jutland Beatty.
 
Their perception, as opposed the to reality, of the effectiveness of its long-range maritime recon capability caused them to falsely conclude that the Zeppelin denied the Grand Fleet the ability to ever achieving strategic as well as tactical surprise on the High Sea Fleet.
 
Their arguments convinced the Admiralty to divert massive amounts of critically limited resources to counter this threat
 
1. 18 rigid airships were ordered with sheds and logistical support facilities at a cost of 8,066,000 pounds.
 
2. 88 naval aviation vessels were constructed or modified to accommodate 322 land scouts, recon aircraft, flying boats and seaplanes.
 
3. 365&nbsp;&nbsp;3inch. 20-cwt. High Angle Quick Firing anti-Zeppelin guns were deployed with the Fleet as opposed to 271 in Great Britain and 106 with the B.E.F.
 
Additionally the U.S. Navy deployed 863 3-inch.guns to its Fleet.&nbsp;&nbsp;The U.S Army responding to the perceived threat of long-range strategic aerial bombardment of the Continental U.S ordered 166 3-inch Seacoast Guns converted to 3-inch.
M 1917 guns and the conversion of 612 3-inch Seacoast M 1889 guns to mobile 3-inch M1918.
 
Philip please forgive my excessive exuberance but I rarely have the opportunity to converse with someone as knowledgeable as you are.
 
Would you be kind enough to sent me the add-on module mentioned above. You can charge it to the same Master Charge or I'll be happy send you cash.

Thank you for your kind interest in my thesis research which also encompasses the planning and execution of the strategic aerial operations by the French, RNAS, RFC, RAF, Italians and Americans:
1. 1915 Re-enforcing the Royal Navy's External Maritime Blockade with a joint Anglo-French-Russian Aerial Internal Blockade by Bio-Chemical Aerial Bombardment of German/Austrian food crops just prior to their various harvests. 
2. 1915 & 1917 Fire bombing of the Black Forest.
3. 1915 Anglo-French manned free balloon strategic bombing of Germany.
4. Russian Seaplane Carrier Operations.
5. 1914-1918 Allied Strategic Aerial Dissemination of Propaganda Leaflets.
6. 1917 Towed sled RNAS raid against German submarine assemble plant on the 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Adriatic.
7. 1918/19 American Unmanned Flying-Bomb Campaign.
8. 1918/19 Allied Chemical Bombing of German Industrial Targets.
9. 1918/19 Zeppelin raids against North America.
10.1916-19 British 'Super-Zeppelin' Operations. 
.S. I forgot to also include French and Italian semi-rigid airship operations.
 
CHEERS!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Allen Nugent
 
anugentii@yahoo.com]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Dear Phil
 
Thank you for the prompt delivery of your thoroughly comprehensive board game Airships At War 1914-1941.&nbsp;&nbsp;My thesis research argues for a new assessment of the Zeppelin's contribution during the Great War. 
 
To-date historians have narrowly focused their inquires to the physical damage & deaths/injuries inflicted during the 305 (20%) zeppelin strategic aerial bombardment sorties Germany launch against England.&nbsp;&nbsp;There is a consensus among academics today that the Zeppelin was Germany's least cost efficient strategic aerial platform and failed to produce significant results.
 
My thesis documents the extent of the psychological and physical impact of the other 80% of Zeppelin combat sorties.&nbsp;&nbsp;As your game clearly demonstrates:
 
1. Zeppelin strategic aerial bombardment sorties were also launched against France, Italy and Russia which required them to divert significant assets.
 
2. And I argue more importantly that the Zeppelin's long-range maritime reconnaissance capability had a dramatic psychological effect upon the key commanders of the Royal Navy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Specifically Jellicoe/Seuter who both had flown aboard a Zeppelin prior to the war, as well as Fisher, Bacon, Scott and later after Jutland Beatty.
 
Their perception, as opposed the to reality, of the effectiveness of its long-range maritime recon capability caused them to falsely conclude that the Zeppelin denied the Grand Fleet the ability to ever achieving strategic as well as tactical surprise on the High Sea Fleet.
 
Their arguments convinced the Admiralty to divert massive amounts of critically limited resources to counter this threat
 
1. 18 rigid airships were ordered with sheds and logistical support facilities at a cost of 8,066,000 pounds.
 
2. 88 naval aviation vessels were constructed or modified to accommodate 322 land scouts, recon aircraft, flying boats and seaplanes.
 
3. 365&nbsp;&nbsp;3inch. 20-cwt. High Angle Quick Firing anti-Zeppelin guns were deployed with the Fleet as opposed to 271 in Great Britain and 106 with the B.E.F.
 
Additionally the U.S. Navy deployed 863 3-inch.guns to its Fleet.&nbsp;&nbsp;The U.S Army responding to the perceived threat of long-range strategic aerial bombardment of the Continental U.S ordered 166 3-inch Seacoast Guns converted to 3-inch.
M 1917 guns and the conversion of 612 3-inch Seacoast M 1889 guns to mobile 3-inch M1918.
 
Philip please forgive my excessive exuberance but I rarely have the opportunity to converse with someone as knowledgeable as you are.
 
Would you be kind enough to sent me the add-on module mentioned above. You can charge it to the same Master Charge or I'll be happy send you cash.

Thank you for your kind interest in my thesis research which also encompasses the planning and execution of the strategic aerial operations by the French, RNAS, RFC, RAF, Italians and Americans:
1. 1915 Re-enforcing the Royal Navy's External Maritime Blockade with a joint Anglo-French-Russian Aerial Internal Blockade by Bio-Chemical Aerial Bombardment of German/Austrian food crops just prior to their various harvests. 
2. 1915 & 1917 Fire bombing of the Black Forest.
3. 1915 Anglo-French manned free balloon strategic bombing of Germany.
4. Russian Seaplane Carrier Operations.
5. 1914-1918 Allied Strategic Aerial Dissemination of Propaganda Leaflets.
6. 1917 Towed sled RNAS raid against German submarine assemble plant on the 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Adriatic.
7. 1918/19 American Unmanned Flying-Bomb Campaign.
8. 1918/19 Allied Chemical Bombing of German Industrial Targets.
9. 1918/19 Zeppelin raids against North America.
10.1916-19 British 'Super-Zeppelin' Operations. 
.S. I forgot to also include French and Italian semi-rigid airship operations.
 
CHEERS!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Allen Nugent
 
anugentii@yahoo.com]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[New Rescue Rule for Airships At War.]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=16</link>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Mar 2007 17:49:50 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=16</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[M3 RESCUE (additional rule) If a Zeppelin on a British raid makes a safe maritime landing per D14, and still has its radio, it can call for a German torpedo boat to tow it back to port. Roll 1d6 each segment C1, a â€œ5â€ or â€œ6â€ will enter a rescuing German torpedo boat on the map. The German torpedo boat may travel at a speed of four (if not towing), or one (if towing).&nbsp;&nbsp;It is armed with two machine guns. After docking, it tows the Zeppelin, and the German player may attempt to finish up the remaining maritime situation cards at altitude zero.

This rule is inspired by the following history (My thanks to Bruce Dawson, for lending me the Raymond Laurence Rimell book on Zeppelins, from whence this information was taken.)

In August 1916, the Navy L12 (type p) while returning from a air raid over England was struck by the Dover 3 inch naval guns.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ship jettisoned everything available, and tried to stay aloft dynamically, but at 02:40 hours came down in the English Channel. A German torpedo boat was summoned by radio, and by sunrise the Zeppelin was being towed back to Ostend.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, the 2nd Wing of the RNAS stationed at Dunkirk had also been informed, and sent several waves of aircraft to bomb the foundered Zeppelin.&nbsp;&nbsp;A BE2c dropped two Hale bombs and several grenades, but was struck in the fuselage and propellor by machine gun fire from the boat and was driven off.&nbsp;&nbsp;A second RNAS raider, in a Henry Farman bomber, was shot down by the Ostend shore battery. A Bristol Scout also dropped four bombs and a dozen explosive darts from an altitude of 300 meters, but missed in the morning mist. He too was driven off by AA fire. Five more pilots made the attempt over the next two hours, in Scouts, Avroes, and Nieuports, but several of them were hit by flak, and none were able to press the attack upon the Zeppelin at the pier, which was dismantled and salvaged.

While returning from a January 31, 1916 raid over Birmingham, the Navy Airship L19 (type p) came under fire from Dutch guns over Ameland and suffered three engines out and cell damage during the afternoon of the following day. The German commander was able to get his position radioed out before his wireless broke down. Both the Germans and British sent destroyer flotillas to find the airship, but without success. On February 2, however, the British fishing trawler King Stephen stumbled across the L19, now floating in the North Sea 100 miles off the British coast.&nbsp;&nbsp;The German Luftschiff crew had cut off the gondolas to lighten the ship, and from their makeshift encampment on top of the envelope, pleaded for rescue. The trawler captain weighed his options. The Germans outnumbered his crew of eight by two to one, and he was fishing in a prohibited area and was afraid of retribution by the authorities. He left the Germans to their fate, and did not make a report until the next day. By this time, the Zeppelin had sunk, and the only traces of the crew ever recovered were several forlorn messages in bottles.&nbsp;&nbsp;News of this incident leaked to the German Naval Airship Division, who were naturally enraged. On the 25th of April, 1916, the King Stephen was torpedoed by the lead ship of the German 6th torpedo-boat flotilla, and her crew were carried back to Germany as POWs, despite protestations that they were civilians.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[M3 RESCUE (additional rule) If a Zeppelin on a British raid makes a safe maritime landing per D14, and still has its radio, it can call for a German torpedo boat to tow it back to port. Roll 1d6 each segment C1, a â€œ5â€ or â€œ6â€ will enter a rescuing German torpedo boat on the map. The German torpedo boat may travel at a speed of four (if not towing), or one (if towing).&nbsp;&nbsp;It is armed with two machine guns. After docking, it tows the Zeppelin, and the German player may attempt to finish up the remaining maritime situation cards at altitude zero.

This rule is inspired by the following history (My thanks to Bruce Dawson, for lending me the Raymond Laurence Rimell book on Zeppelins, from whence this information was taken.)

In August 1916, the Navy L12 (type p) while returning from a air raid over England was struck by the Dover 3 inch naval guns.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ship jettisoned everything available, and tried to stay aloft dynamically, but at 02:40 hours came down in the English Channel. A German torpedo boat was summoned by radio, and by sunrise the Zeppelin was being towed back to Ostend.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, the 2nd Wing of the RNAS stationed at Dunkirk had also been informed, and sent several waves of aircraft to bomb the foundered Zeppelin.&nbsp;&nbsp;A BE2c dropped two Hale bombs and several grenades, but was struck in the fuselage and propellor by machine gun fire from the boat and was driven off.&nbsp;&nbsp;A second RNAS raider, in a Henry Farman bomber, was shot down by the Ostend shore battery. A Bristol Scout also dropped four bombs and a dozen explosive darts from an altitude of 300 meters, but missed in the morning mist. He too was driven off by AA fire. Five more pilots made the attempt over the next two hours, in Scouts, Avroes, and Nieuports, but several of them were hit by flak, and none were able to press the attack upon the Zeppelin at the pier, which was dismantled and salvaged.

While returning from a January 31, 1916 raid over Birmingham, the Navy Airship L19 (type p) came under fire from Dutch guns over Ameland and suffered three engines out and cell damage during the afternoon of the following day. The German commander was able to get his position radioed out before his wireless broke down. Both the Germans and British sent destroyer flotillas to find the airship, but without success. On February 2, however, the British fishing trawler King Stephen stumbled across the L19, now floating in the North Sea 100 miles off the British coast.&nbsp;&nbsp;The German Luftschiff crew had cut off the gondolas to lighten the ship, and from their makeshift encampment on top of the envelope, pleaded for rescue. The trawler captain weighed his options. The Germans outnumbered his crew of eight by two to one, and he was fishing in a prohibited area and was afraid of retribution by the authorities. He left the Germans to their fate, and did not make a report until the next day. By this time, the Zeppelin had sunk, and the only traces of the crew ever recovered were several forlorn messages in bottles.&nbsp;&nbsp;News of this incident leaked to the German Naval Airship Division, who were naturally enraged. On the 25th of April, 1916, the King Stephen was torpedoed by the lead ship of the German 6th torpedo-boat flotilla, and her crew were carried back to Germany as POWs, despite protestations that they were civilians.]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[What is new about the 12th anniversary edition?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=15</link>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Mar 2007 15:11:07 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=15</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[Many of you have asked me what is the difference between Airships At War (basically the classic 1995 "Luftschiff" release with many upgrades), and the Airships At War 12 Anniversary edition. Well, there is no difference in price, I offer the new edition for the same price as the old. In fact, for those of you who certify that you own the old edition, I offer Airships At War for &#36;20, postage included (in the U.S.).&nbsp;&nbsp;Add three dollars if you want the new AAW 12th anniversary expansion.&nbsp;&nbsp;Send a Paypal payment to phileklund@aol.com, along with your request and address.
SCENARIOS There are a lot of new scenarios. My favorite is the Fortress of Przemysl in 1914, where you must rescue the besieged German commander in Poland. I had to leave two crew counters behind in the fortress to do it...
GRAPHICS.&nbsp;&nbsp;The cards, ballast sheets, aeroplane sheets, maps, and scenario sheets have been redone for higher resolution graphics. Also, there are new counters, done as punch-out "tents".&nbsp;&nbsp;The cards are redone in monochrome on punch-out stock. Crew counters have little guys on them. Aeroplane tents include images of all the British and German aircraft. Extra long tents for various airships, airship sheds, and airship tenders (U.S.S. Pakota) have been included. The ballast sheets are now more "user friendly", and have sequence of play and situation card chart on them. Optional equipment is now clearly delineated in black.
RULES INTEGRATION The rules are basically the same, but the rules for the Pacific and European theatres have been integrated into one book.&nbsp;&nbsp;
WEATHER FRONTS The weather rules and cards have been enhanced to include fronts, gusts, and other effects.&nbsp;&nbsp;The concept of fronts is to give some context and continuity to the weather, i.e., the weather does not instantly turn sour, but is heralded first by clouds and winds.&nbsp;&nbsp;This gives a chance for the commander to take corrective action, such as rising above the weather, slowing down to avoid gust damage overstress, or even turning around and backing the weather front card off the map.
AEROPLANE MANEUVERS Have been modified to include slips, wingovers, plummets, immelmanns, hammerhead stalls.
COMBAT Some minor modifications to the critical hit tables, rescue (but see the forum for another resuce rule).&nbsp;&nbsp;Ammunition supply and reloading of flexible guns have been added for all aeroplanes. 
NEW AIRCRAFT In the expansion, such aircraft such as the DFW C5, Hansa Brandenburg CC,&nbsp;&nbsp;Fokker D7f, and North American B-25b Mitchell have been included.
UEBERCOMMANDER RULES This rule allows a Mathy-like supercommander to use a phase to "sniff the wind" and anticipate the next card to be drawn.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Many of you have asked me what is the difference between Airships At War (basically the classic 1995 "Luftschiff" release with many upgrades), and the Airships At War 12 Anniversary edition. Well, there is no difference in price, I offer the new edition for the same price as the old. In fact, for those of you who certify that you own the old edition, I offer Airships At War for &#36;20, postage included (in the U.S.).&nbsp;&nbsp;Add three dollars if you want the new AAW 12th anniversary expansion.&nbsp;&nbsp;Send a Paypal payment to phileklund@aol.com, along with your request and address.
SCENARIOS There are a lot of new scenarios. My favorite is the Fortress of Przemysl in 1914, where you must rescue the besieged German commander in Poland. I had to leave two crew counters behind in the fortress to do it...
GRAPHICS.&nbsp;&nbsp;The cards, ballast sheets, aeroplane sheets, maps, and scenario sheets have been redone for higher resolution graphics. Also, there are new counters, done as punch-out "tents".&nbsp;&nbsp;The cards are redone in monochrome on punch-out stock. Crew counters have little guys on them. Aeroplane tents include images of all the British and German aircraft. Extra long tents for various airships, airship sheds, and airship tenders (U.S.S. Pakota) have been included. The ballast sheets are now more "user friendly", and have sequence of play and situation card chart on them. Optional equipment is now clearly delineated in black.
RULES INTEGRATION The rules are basically the same, but the rules for the Pacific and European theatres have been integrated into one book.&nbsp;&nbsp;
WEATHER FRONTS The weather rules and cards have been enhanced to include fronts, gusts, and other effects.&nbsp;&nbsp;The concept of fronts is to give some context and continuity to the weather, i.e., the weather does not instantly turn sour, but is heralded first by clouds and winds.&nbsp;&nbsp;This gives a chance for the commander to take corrective action, such as rising above the weather, slowing down to avoid gust damage overstress, or even turning around and backing the weather front card off the map.
AEROPLANE MANEUVERS Have been modified to include slips, wingovers, plummets, immelmanns, hammerhead stalls.
COMBAT Some minor modifications to the critical hit tables, rescue (but see the forum for another resuce rule).&nbsp;&nbsp;Ammunition supply and reloading of flexible guns have been added for all aeroplanes. 
NEW AIRCRAFT In the expansion, such aircraft such as the DFW C5, Hansa Brandenburg CC,&nbsp;&nbsp;Fokker D7f, and North American B-25b Mitchell have been included.
UEBERCOMMANDER RULES This rule allows a Mathy-like supercommander to use a phase to "sniff the wind" and anticipate the next card to be drawn.]]></content:encoded>
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			<title><![CDATA[AMERICAN MEGAFAUNA ERRATA FOR THE 2nd EDITION]]></title>
			<link>http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=14</link>
			<pubDate>Sat, 24 Feb 2007 15:16:05 +0000</pubDate>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.sierra-madre-games.com/sierra_madre/simulation_games/showthread.php?tid=14</guid>
			<description><![CDATA[American Megafauna errata for the second edition. 
(As published in the Expansion Game for the 2nd Ed.)
Solitaire Game (correction to Setup Part C). this should read: â€œStart at size one, and with five genes. Forty-one cards are placed on the Timeline per Setup S2a.â€ 

Solitaire Game (correction to the Victory Conditions): A player wins by surviving 41 turns, not 51. 

Solitaire Game (clarification to Biome Placement): â€œNew cards enter at biomass two. If ever a biome card goes to biomass zero, it is removed, activating the card beneath.â€

Final Predator Size Adjust (clarification to G2): â€œDue to the omnivore rules, a genotype of the dog-faced cynodont player may have both carnivore and herbivore representatives. However, a dog-faced genotype may change size during Phase G only if all its members are carnivores (no herbivores).â€ 

Migration Limitations (clarification on page 11): â€œDisplacement arrows are used for biome displacement, and for all movement in and out of borderlands. Animal migrations from one hex to another are NOT limited by displacement arrows.â€

Recess DNA (clarification to Part C): â€œThrough inheritance, a single DNA card may be shared by multiple genotypes. If a genotype has its shared DNA recessed, it loses the DNA tent, and the DNA card is moved to any other legal genotype that is still using it. All genotypes using that DNA retain their tents.â€

Immigrants (clarification to A4d): â€œImmigrants blocked from entering the map because of a flooded bridge are stacked so that the most recent is on the top. When the bridge clears, find biomes for them from top to bottom.â€ (This will tend to place the oldest immigrants farthest from the bridge, simulating the progressive radiation out from the bridge.) 

Immigrants (clarification to A4g): â€œAn immigrant herbivore following its biome that was displaced into a borderland will automatically select that biome if the immigrant is the first herbivore to arrive there. Since movement is in order of â€œrâ€ dentition, an immigrant with six reptile teeth will arrive before any player genotypes get a chance to do so.â€ â€œIf an immigrant carnivore loses its prey (through suitability, migration, etc.), it goes extinct unless suitable prey is available in an adjacent hex (check north to south, west to east).â€

Continental Drift (clarification to page 5): â€œIf the Africa or Spain orogeny biomes are shifted due to continental drift, any population tents living there shift automatically as well.â€ 

Note: A flooded bridge does not stop continental drift.

Greenhouse (clarification to page 4): â€œShould a change in greenhouse result in multiple effects, apply them in this order: Bridges and hexes flood or clear, biomes displace north or south, and biomes swell to fill the hex capacity. If the game ends as a result of greenhouse, that occurs after culling.â€

Note (plant growth clarification): A biome swelling due to a 600 ppm greenhouse only expands to fill unused hex capacity. It does not drive its neighboring biome extinct.

Optional rules: For bidding variants, see Steffan O'Sullivanâ€™s page at: http://www.panix.com/~sos/bc/amf.html or Rick Heli/Fablo Rocco variants at: http://spotlightongames.com/variant/amf.html]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[American Megafauna errata for the second edition. 
(As published in the Expansion Game for the 2nd Ed.)
Solitaire Game (correction to Setup Part C). this should read: â€œStart at size one, and with five genes. Forty-one cards are placed on the Timeline per Setup S2a.â€ 

Solitaire Game (correction to the Victory Conditions): A player wins by surviving 41 turns, not 51. 

Solitaire Game (clarification to Biome Placement): â€œNew cards enter at biomass two. If ever a biome card goes to biomass zero, it is removed, activating the card beneath.â€

Final Predator Size Adjust (clarification to G2): â€œDue to the omnivore rules, a genotype of the dog-faced cynodont player may have both carnivore and herbivore representatives. However, a dog-faced genotype may change size during Phase G only if all its members are carnivores (no herbivores).â€ 

Migration Limitations (clarification on page 11): â€œDisplacement arrows are used for biome displacement, and for all movement in and out of borderlands. Animal migrations from one hex to another are NOT limited by displacement arrows.â€

Recess DNA (clarification to Part C): â€œThrough inheritance, a single DNA card may be shared by multiple genotypes. If a genotype has its shared DNA recessed, it loses the DNA tent, and the DNA card is moved to any other legal genotype that is still using it. All genotypes using that DNA retain their tents.â€

Immigrants (clarification to A4d): â€œImmigrants blocked from entering the map because of a flooded bridge are stacked so that the most recent is on the top. When the bridge clears, find biomes for them from top to bottom.â€ (This will tend to place the oldest immigrants farthest from the bridge, simulating the progressive radiation out from the bridge.) 

Immigrants (clarification to A4g): â€œAn immigrant herbivore following its biome that was displaced into a borderland will automatically select that biome if the immigrant is the first herbivore to arrive there. Since movement is in order of â€œrâ€ dentition, an immigrant with six reptile teeth will arrive before any player genotypes get a chance to do so.â€ â€œIf an immigrant carnivore loses its prey (through suitability, migration, etc.), it goes extinct unless suitable prey is available in an adjacent hex (check north to south, west to east).â€

Continental Drift (clarification to page 5): â€œIf the Africa or Spain orogeny biomes are shifted due to continental drift, any population tents living there shift automatically as well.â€ 

Note: A flooded bridge does not stop continental drift.

Greenhouse (clarification to page 4): â€œShould a change in greenhouse result in multiple effects, apply them in this order: Bridges and hexes flood or clear, biomes displace north or south, and biomes swell to fill the hex capacity. If the game ends as a result of greenhouse, that occurs after culling.â€

Note (plant growth clarification): A biome swelling due to a 600 ppm greenhouse only expands to fill unused hex capacity. It does not drive its neighboring biome extinct.

Optional rules: For bidding variants, see Steffan O'Sullivanâ€™s page at: http://www.panix.com/~sos/bc/amf.html or Rick Heli/Fablo Rocco variants at: http://spotlightongames.com/variant/amf.html]]></content:encoded>
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