From: Steven Wesley Bucey Subject: Re: Byzantium NDanger666@aol.com wrote: > > > I am only familiar with the game through this Board - can you supply some > details? I've been saying alot, but I guess I've not really detailed the game. Well, first it uses a similair system to 30 Years War and 100 years war, both published in S&T *receintly* (I still need to find 30 Years War). It is multi-player 2-4, though four is best IMHO. It uses area movement to cover the lands from Italy to Persia, North Africa to Romainia. There are several scenarios covering specific periods of history from about 700 AD to 1200 AD (I think, I've lent out my copy). Each turn is 1 year, and most games range from 10 to 30 turns. I'd estimate about 30-60 minutes play per turn for experienced players. The sequence of play is: 1) Diplomacy, 2) Each Player turn a) Colect treasury - each area on the map (and your home area) are worth treasury points. The best is Trace, home of Byzantium. b) Spend it - build/maintain troops and coloneys or buy stratigim markers c) Move stacks and attack. Each stack (no stacking limits, though it is foolish to have to many in one stack) must roll one die for 'operations points'. Normally, moving or attacking cost 1 OP. You can have any number of stacks in one area; there is no good reason to have a stack larger than 8 and a lot of good reasons to have several smaller ones. Combat is very simple - add up the number of units you have, select a combat table (see below), find your strength column and roll the die. The size of the defending force has no (immediate) affect on the CRT dir roll. However, the results range from no-effect, Marginal Victory (defender loses as many units as you attacked with), Desicive vitory (defender loses everything), or even Counter-Attack (defender attacks you). There are three tables to choose from, Engagement (which everybody can do), Raid (must have at least 50% 'nomads' - horse raiders or field armies) and Assualt (must have 50% warriors or field armies). Two small armies (1-2 units each), both forced to use the Engagement table, can result in a lot of die rolls since you need a 6 to win and Counter Attacks results are the norm. During movement, if you move into an area the defender has a 50% chance to intercept you and attack, making moving into well held areas problamatic. However, one stack per area each turn only can attempt to intercept, so a good tactic is to send one or two units in which threaten to pillage and make the other guy use his one interception attempt. Fortresses (actually walled cities) slightly mitigate combat, but don't count on much from them and you can't defend a provence from one very well, specificly you can't stop another from plundering it because you can't intercept from one. Strategim markers add flavor and variety. They are always selected randomly, and some must be played immediately upon selecting them (and are often bad news, such as civil-wars). You can buy them during your treasury phase. If you get a desisive vitory you get a free strategim marker. If somebody plunders a provence everybody else gets one. Of course, you can always trade them during the diplomacy phase. Strategims range from controling rebel units for a turn, civil wars (making rebel units), Frankish Crusades, Religious Conversions, Subversions, to bonuses to combat and Operations points. They provide a lot of fun and uncertainty, though a neutral Franksih force which suddenly comes under Byzantium control will give the Khazar player heartburn. Colonies (an optional rule which I recomend), represent lasting populations in provences. Though they don't control a provence for tax purposes (you must have an army in one to control it and colect taxes), each lets you maintain a single militia unit for free in that provence, which *does* control it. They also increase you VP colected if you control that provence *and* it is your coloney. The only way to get rid of another's coloney (so you can build your won) is to plunder the provence (which gives you twice the tax value of the provence, though everybody else gets strategims for your atrocity), clean up the plunder marker next turn (which cost twice the tax value of the province, easy come, easy go), and build a coloney. You can plunder any province, not just those with coloneys, but such provinces are worthless as Tax colection and require more to maintain armies stacked in them. Units which are not maintained usually rebel rather than simply go away. Motto: don't build units you can't aford to keep, unless you can stick them someplace interesting. They prevent anybody from controling are area for taxation and VP. You can attempt to squeeze more taxes from a province sometimes, but this also sometimes results in a provence which rebels. There is a little more, but that is the basics. It is a relatively simple game. Steve -- --------------------------------------- By the time he was my age, Alexander the Great had been dead nearly three years.