From: Shaper Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 03:49:10 GMT Subject: Pax Britannia Pax Britannia. This game is set in the years leading up to the great War, with several major Powers competing to retain their global power, or increase it. Foremost among these nations is Britain, with her empire already in place. Nations such as Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and those upstart yanks across the pond are striving to increase their power through colonizing the world. As the game develops on conflicts arise between nations, tensions can build, culminating in the Great War. Meanwhile, smaller conflicts can arise over a variety of things. The United States, with its Monroe Doctrine, gets very angry if anyone tries to force it's way to power in her hemisphere. Japan considers China and the surrounding provinces her exclusive territory. France gains bonus points for have defensive treaties against Germany. etc. China (a non-player) will revolt (and is generally crushed at that point) once too many Powers start building their influence within her borders. The Turks another non-player) will go on a jihad against anyone who takes control of their territories. Various minor powers, such as Belgium and Spain, nonplayers all, also add to the ruckus of international politics. The game is designed to simulate the global conflicts of the late 1800's. Game mechanics are interesting. There are various degrees of control and influence which you can develop n a territory. Interest is the lowest form of control. It implies a mere presence, and produces only minimal income. Several nations may have an interest in the same territory. Influence is a step up. It produces more income, but also requires a maintenance cost. It also may be shared. Protectorates begin a new stage of colonizing. You must conquor the natives, and maintain a constant military force in that territory. It is then your exclusive property, and other nations are kicked out. They may retain only a small interest in your teritory. This action will give previously influential nations Cause For War - "Cassus Belli" against your nation. Finally, possessions are completely yours. Nobody else may even hold an interest in it. Upgrading a territory to a possession will also give any influential countries cassus belli. Occasionally, through random events, a possession may demand to be made a Dominion or a State. Cassus Belli can be resolved in two ways - first, a Congess of Europe may be called to mediate the dispute. All European powers are given a vote, and may propose solutions. Once a proposal passes, the nations in question must decide whether or not to abide by the decision. Failure to do so means cassus belli agianst him by all powers present in the Congress. Whether or not the war is pursued is another question entirely. However, if more than five powers become involved, it is called the Great War and the game ends. The first player to have declared war is then subjected to a massive penalty, as well as the fifth player. Other participants in the war recieve lesser penalties. America and Japan, the two non-european powers may be invited to the Congress of Europe. However, the invitation must be unanimous - if any European Power is opposed to their presence, then they are not invited to the Congress (unless they are party to the dispute). War itself is interesting. Armies and fleets are represented by tokens, with a number printed on them declaring how many fleets or armies are there. CHANGE IS NOT MADE. That means that if you attack with a "10" counter and your opponent kills only one army, your entire ten units are destroyed. Success or failure is determined by the ratio of atticking to defending forces. Vastly outnumbered forces are generally wiped out, inflicting only minimal damages. (This is one of the strongest points of the game, IMO. The dice rolling is weighted so that a single defender won't get very lucky and keep rolling 1's (or whatever), thus eliminating half the opponent's fleet of battleships with a single transport (to draw an analogy with another wargame). At best, that single transport will flee to other waters. Treaties in this game are binding, and create tension and Cassus Belli if broken. THey are written out on paper and signed by the players involved. They need not be made public knowledge, however. The other very strong point of the game is the victory conditions. The winner is determined by a point system. However, given the varying degrees of influence each nation started with, some coutries have an advantage. To offset this, the strongest coutries initially are given large divisors. Britain must divide her total points at the end of the game by 10 to determine her winning conditions. France divides by 7, America by 5 or so, and Italy by merely 2. This make the game much more even, and adds a lot of strategy to the game. Italy does well to gain only a little territory, whereas Britain, with her vast influence, must maintain everything and increase vastly. Thus, Italy wants the game to last, whereas Britain's best bet is to cause the Great War to happen as quickly as possible, while she has her advantage - but she must do it without letting the other nations declare war upon her and cut her up into little pieces. I enjoyed the game greatly. it was a nice change from Diplomacy and Civ, giving our gaming group something new to eperiment with (along with Republic of Rome and similar games). It's not perfect - Russia seems to be at the greatest disadvantage despite her low divisor, and there are a few bugs in it - but it is definitely an enjoying game, and well worth looking into. As with any game, I recommend trying it with a gaming club, if at all possible, beforehand. MB