Steve Carey - 11:42pm May 5, 2001 PST (#728 of 739)
"Weck up to thees!"

Picked up DARK CONTINENT (Schutze Games) based on a recommendation from
Rob Markham. Only played solo so far, but it's certainly fun. Some
questions did pop up (and I emailed Peter to please reply here): 

PS: An interesting set of questions. Most could be resolved by assuming
the rules are correct as written so if something is not prohibited in
the rules, it is allowed. 

1) Rule 7 Events, each player rolls a d20, but there are 21 areas on the
map (making area #21 'safe'?). 

A: Correct 

2) Rule 7 Events Earthquake, has Fortress listed twice in the removal
priority in the rules; I assume the play aid has the correct sequence
(Mine, Town, Fort, Port)? 

A: The rule and chart both say: Mine, Fortress, Town, Fort, Port. A few
early copies apparently had print problems. 

3) Rule 12 Infrastructure, no requirements are given for a player's
Native army placement - can they deploy anywhere on the map, or must
they deploy in a friendly controlled area? 

A:Infrastructure (including all types of armies) can only be placed in
friendly areas. Colonial and European armies are under the additional
restrictions listed. 

4) Rule 14.3 Moving by Ship, can all your armies that start in a
friendly controlled coastal area with a port sea move (I like limiting
it to the printed population)? And can a player's Native armies sea
move? 

A: Unless prevented by other rules (eg presence of enemy armies), all
armies in the territory can move. There is no restriction on player
native army units. While an interesting house rule, there is no
historical reason to link port capacity to population, especially
considering the relative sizes of armies (small) to territories (huge).
It also misrepresents the purpose of ports which is to represent a
developed infrastructure and fishing industry. 

5) Rule 16.1 Terrain Modifiers, does a solo Fortress (no other friendly
units present) get the terrain bonus when it rolls their 1d6 in combat
(I understand a Fortress itself doesn't receive its +2 printed bonus,
but not sure about the Terrain modifier)? 

A: Yes. Since the fortress started in the area it gets the terrain
bonus. You are correct that it does not benefit from its own +2 modifier
because the rule states "all of the owners other units". 

6) Rule 16.1 Terrain Modifiers, do White Native armies who appear in the
Diplomacy phase (step 10) get the terrain bonus since they did not
"start the movement phase (step 9) in the area"? (I think that White
Natives who appear in the Rebellion Event, step 2, do get the bonus). 

A: The white natives should get the terrain in both cases since white
natives (as opposed to player owned native armies) do not move around
the map. In this case, they do not appear on the map until the diplomacy
phase but they are there. 

7) Rule 16.2 Arranging Battle Lines, if the defender outnumbers the
attacker and therefore is able to double-up, would both his units each
get the terrain modifier in the combat? In other words, 2 defending
White Natives are in a +2 Terrain area and they double-up on 1
attacker...would the Natives then get a +4 (2+2) Terrain modifier to
their roll, or just a +2? 

A: As per the second sentence of 16.1, all bonuses apply to each unit.
Each would be 1d6+2 (total 2d6+4) in your example. 

8) Rule 17.1 Admin Phase, when all the Event markers are removed, do
White Native armies stay on the board, or are they removed also? 

A: Remain, they are not "event markers" but the result of the event.
White armies as a result of a successful rebellion also remain. 

9) Rule 17.2 Admin Phase, states to remove enemy fort or fortress in an
area that you gain control of. Wouldn't this only apply to forts since a
fortress fights (roll 1d6) and thus dies in battle (which must continue
until all enemy units are eliminated)? 

A: Catch-22. This was added at the last minute because a playtester
asked the question the other way around. The Fortress would indeed be
killed in combat. 

Despite these questions, I enjoyed the game quite a bit. Looking forward
to a multi-player session with my regular group next week. This DTP is
an incredible bargain. 

PS: Multiplayer sessions can be very entertaining to watch, especially
when things start to heat up. I have never had a dull game ,although
I've been last more often than first! At $9 it certainly is a bargain, I
wish I could have done it as a boxed game with little pieces.