>American Revolution, S&T#43 SPI, 1972 "_American Revolution_ is a simulation of the campaigns waged in North America during the War for Independence, 1775-1783. The simulation treats land warfare primarily, but includes naval elements and a selection of basically political 'what-if' optional scenarios." The Game map is a 17.5 x 22" mapsheet depicting the eastern portion of North America. It is broken up by river drainage basins. The areas below show the Victory POint Value-Continental Strength Point Allowance-Militia Strength Point Allowance-Tory Strength Point Allowance. The Victory point allowance is obvious and the British player wins if he controls regions totalling at least 51 VPs at the end of any game turn. The point allowances are 1) How many Continental strength points are generated in that region if called for by the Continental Levy Chart. 2) The Militia strength points deployed if British forces enter an region they don't control. 3) The number of Tory (British sympathizers) that can be mustered in that region the first time British forces enter the region. Tory Forces are a one-time shot. Once taken, they never come back. Militia can come back full strength if the British controls stops at any time. The Continental points come about through the chart below if the regions are not British occupied. Continental Levy Chart ---------------------- Region Die Roll 1 2 3 4 5 6 Canada (Option L only) 2 Mass Bay Colony 6 Lower New England 3 Hudson Highlands 1 New York 3 New Jersey 3 Susquehanna 1 Potomac 7 Virginia 5 Roanoke Valley 1 North Carolina 2 South Carolina 2 Georgia 2 Potomac Valley [12-7-15-5] New York [10-3-5-5] Canada [10-0-0-0] Mass(achusetts) Bay Colonies [8-6-27-3] New Jersey [8-3-5-5] Virginia [8-5-9-3] Georgia [6-2-8-4] Lower New England [5-3-23-2] Roanoke Valley [4-1-2-1] North Carolina [4-2-3-2] Hudson Highlands [2-1-3-2] Susquehanna Valley [2-1-3-2] Nova Scotia (available by sea only) [1-0-0-0] Upper Mass(achusetts) [1-0-0-0] Green Mountains [1-0-0-0] Lake Champlain [1-0-0-0] Mohawk Valley [1-0-0-0] Cumberland Mountains [1-0-0-0] Delaware Highlands [1-0-0-0] Ohio Valley [1-0-0-0] Erie [0-0-0-0] Indian Lands [0-0-0-0] Creek Territory [0-0-0-0] South Carolina [0-0-0-0] Creek Territory, Indian Lands, Erie, Mohawk Valley, Cumberland Mountains, Ohio Valley, Delaware Highlands, Green Mountains, Upper Mass and Lake Champlain are the backwoods territory that Continental forces can go hide in when faced with overwhelming odds of British Redcoats. Georgia has five maneuver areas, South Carolina, Susquehanna Valley and Canada have three manuever areas North Carolina, Roanoke Valley Virbinia, Potomac Valley, New Jersey, New York, Hudson Highlands, Lower New England and Mass Bay Colonies have two maneuver areas and Nova Scotia is virtually an island. This last group and Canada have a coastal area where the British can drop off troops by ship and take over. The Continentals must hide for the first year or two to build up strength for attacks on the Brits. In these movement areas there are two types of terrain, Open and Wilderness. Open costs 1 movement points to enter, Wilderness costs Americans 3 and the British 5 Movement points to enter. All of the 0 and 1 Victory point areas are Wilderness and five other maneuver areas are also. This makes it easy for the Americans to hide. The game counters are prety neat with a three-quarter view graphic of marching soldiers. For a game in 1972, it was pretty good looking counters, much better than the blue and buff map with black writing. Sequence of Play A. American Player-Turn 1) American Movement Phase 2) American Overseas Reinfocement Phase (French if triggered) 3) American Combat Phase 4) American Fortification Phase B. British Player-Turn 1) British Movement Phase 2) British Overseas Reinforcement Phase 3) British Combat Phase 4) Gritish Fortification Phase C. Continental Levy Interphase D. Attrition Interphase E. Turn Record The game starts with 27 American Militia sieging 10 British and Three Tory Strength points in the eastern Massachusetts Bay Colony with the British fleet off-shore. Three British points are in Nova Scotia and one British point in Quebec. All land units have a movement allowance of five but he British can only move after a command and control die roll. A 1 or 2 indicates that a British force can't enter the next Area. A force can move through an enemy occupied Area if they leave enough points for a 1:1 odds combat action. When moving from Area to Area the British player can break up a force into no more than two groups for moving or garrisons. These groups may not subdivide or pick up units during that turn. Tories are allowed to leave their original Area but are converted to Regular British units. British land units may not move in the Winter turn and the American units have only two movement points. Units that are besieged may not move out of that Area without either destroying the besieging units or be in a Coastal Area and pull out by sea. The British fleet can transport 40 strenght points and the French fleet can transport 20 but they can not be in the same sea Area. Fleets do not battle each other. The first combat loss in any battle must be a Tory or Militia strength point and any second point must be Continental or Regular British. Any losses after that are up to the players. Defense strength in forts are tripled and units besieging the forts are doubled if attacked by the units in the besieged fort. Americans may only place five strength points in forts and must have at least a 1:1 ratio of Continental to Milita. British overseas reinforcements do not count against the British fleet capacity. The British player controls a Region if they have destroyed the Region's Militia and maintain British strength points equal to the total of the region's Victory Points + combat strength of any American Continental or French forces in that region that are not fortified or besieged. Americans control any area if there are no fortified British in the Region except Canada where the mostest wins. American Militia return in full strength at the end of a turn if the British lose control even if the British are still there. British units must trace supply to Coastal Areas. Forts disappear if abandoned. The Americans achieve a Major Success when the British lose five Regular Strength Points in a single combat as a result of a DE or 1/2 DE. The Americans force a British Partial Withdrawal the first time they eliminate fifteen or more Regulars in a single combat as a result of a DE or 1/2 DE. After the first American Major Success the French arrival is triggered. AFter the secon American Major Success the Briths need to control Regions totalling 25 or more Victory POints in order to continue the game. If so, the American Player rolls twice on the Continental Levy Table each turn. After the third American Major Success they win. The Partial Withdrawal requires the British player to remove 1/6th of all Regular strength points within two Game-Turns or forfeit. All future British reinforcements are also reduced by 1/6th. They are going to the West Indies. Six turns after the first American Major Success brings 12 strength points of permenant French. Two turns or the first spring turn, whichever is last,after the first American Major Success brings 6 strength points of French seasonal forces. The seasonal forces arrive in spring and leave in fall. All French losses are permenant. For the British to win they must control 51 Victory Points at the end of any Game-Turn. Anything else is an American win. There are Variable Force Options. A. Additional British Mercenaries (+11) B. No British Mercenaries (-14) C. Prussia Attacks Hanover (-7) D. Increased British Effort in N America(+9) E. Increased French Effort in N America (-6) F. Stonger American Central Government (-21) G. Less Efficient Militia (+4) H. Better British Politics (+3) I. Irish Rebelion (-2) J. British Militia Holds Ireland (+5) K. Invasion Threat of England (-11) L Canadian Participation (-15) The numbers in (brackets) modify the Victory Points required by the British player to win however no more than a maximum of 21 victory Points may be added or subtracted from the total required to win and the options must be compatible. For instance is that Option F is incompatible with G and H. A is incompatible with B, C and D. Area movement games are not for everybody but the movement areas make sense with the river basins. Rivers were very important back then. The game plays quickly and has little chrome. The game rules pass the "transparent" test. Once you know the rules they become transparent to the game and you can concentrate on winning instead of rule 5.6f exeption 2. The rules are on a eight page folded piece of paper. Printed 1972 Game Design: James Dunnigan Graphics: Redmond Simonsen Production: John Young & Ken Hoffman Skip Franklin skip@ionet.net Skip's Wargame Connection http://www.ionet.net/~skip/