From the General Volume 20, Number 3: September-October 1983
Published by the Avalon Hill Game Company

FOR GOD AND THE KING...
Expanding CONQUISTADOR's Repertoire
By Greg Costikyan

Originally published in 1976, CONQUISTADOR has proven to be one of the most enduring multi-player games. In its shiny-new Avalon Hill version, it is both graphically more appealing and easier to learn; this bodes well for its future popularity. The AH redevelopment streamlines the rules considerably, making learning the game easier, and play somewhat quicker; yet this is done without affecting the quality of that play or the enjoyment of the players. On the whole, the developer is to he congratulated for a job well done. Several changes were made, however, which I feel are to the detriment of this fine game. Therefore, I offer the following changes to CONQUISTADOR.

2.1	BLACK HEXES
The original edition included a rule, which stated that the islands of Tierra del Fuego, and those off the Aracuan coast, were uninhabitable and would not support colonists.  However the Caribbean islands which appear in black on the Avalon Hill version of the map were inhabitable. Indeed, these islands - the Lesser Antilles - were heavily settled, and were considered very valuable by the European powers because of their fertility and suitability for sugar production. At the end of the French and Indian Wars, the French were willing to sacrifice their possessions in Canada and Louisiana in order to preserve control of the French West Indies.
Therefore, it is suggested that the Caribbean Islands are open to settlement. They should be treated as clear terrain, and thus will have a modified land attrition level of 1.

12.	LAND ATTRITION
In the earlier version of the game, all the bad results on the Land Attrition Table were at the bottom of the table; the revised version places these at the top.   This would seem a trivial change to many, and it nominally is.  But, both versions of the game state that if the Spanish Player has a conquistador in a land hex, he may subtract one from the land attrition die roll for that hex.   In the original version of the game, this meant that Spanish losses to attrition were lower in hexes with conquistadors.  In the newer version, the presence of conquistadors has an adverse effect on attrition since a roll of “6” becomes “5”, “5” becomes “4” so forth.   Worse yet, being in rough terrain or in woods/jungle increases one’s chances of surviving attrition unscathed.  This is silly, and in direct opposition to the intention.  I suspect that this was an oversight – but a potentially disastrous one.
To solve this problem, I would suggest maintaining the rules and utilizing the following Modified Land Attrition Table instead of the one now on the mapboard.

			
LAND ATTRITION TABLE						
		Adjusted Area Attrition Level				
Die Roll	1	2	3	4	5	
1	---	---	---	---	---	
2	---	---	---	---	C*	
3	---	---	---	C*	S	
4	---	---	C	S	CS	
5	---	C	S	CS	2CS	
6	C	S	CS	2CS	All	

Note that, among other things, this means that in hexes with an attrition level of ''5'', the presence of a conquistador may prevent an "All'' result from occurring.   This makes it considerably more easy for the Spanish to exploit Cuzco and Tenochtitlin than the other nationalities.  This was certainly intended.

14.4	TRANSPORTATION OF GOLD AND TREASURE
The original rules were designed in such a manner that shipping Cuzco gold from Rio del Plate was specifically prohibited.  The current rules specifically allow this.   I believe this to be a great mistake;  the initial intention had been to force whoever looted Cuzco to build a Pacific fleet in order to get the gold out. I suggest changing Rule 14.4.4 to read as follows:

14.4	4 Players must ship Gold or Treasure from a friendly port that is in the Area in which the Gold or Treasure was produced if that Area has a coastline. If the Area does not have a coastline, the Gold may be shipped from a port in an adjacent Area.  Exceptions:  
I)   Gold from Gold mines in the Rockies must be shipped through a port on the Pacific Ocean, and 2) while Gold from the Pitosi Silver Mines (Hex 4213) may be shipped from ports in the Rio del Plate, Gold from Cuzco or the mine in hex 3618 may not be; this Gold must he shipped from the Incan Empire.  Note: Once Gold has been loaded at a legitimate port, it is considered "shipped", and may be unloaded at any other port and thence transported or reloaded on other ships.  For example, these rules require Gold from Cuzco to be shipped from Peru, but Gold may then be shipped to Panama, unloaded. loaded on Atlantic ships, and shipped from there to Europe.

In addition to the above modifications to the existing rules, I have a number of optional rules to propose. All have been thoroughly playtested and enhance the strategy and enjoyment.

D.	THE GERMAN BANKERS
For players who wish to increase the scope and dimension of the game, and get involved in economic and diplomatic variations, this is a fairly abstract simulation of 16th Century fiscal realities. There should be at least three active countries in play-aside from the Bankers-if this option is to work well. The Bankers player represents the large German banking and mercantile houses-Fugger, Walser, and so forth. All rules of the standard game remain in force, except as noted below. Players should note that this option places a premium on economics and diplomacy, and that the German Bankers Player has quite a bit of control over the destinies of the player countries.

D.1 Mechanics

D.1.1  One player takes the role of the German Bankers. In essence, he occupies a "non-active" position, controlling destiny through finance. He may not send out Expeditions, nor make any other "active" move on the game map.

D.1.2. When exercising this option,
a)	Initial Treasury Levels are as follows:
France:	240 Ducats
England:	165 Ducats
Spain:	110 Ducats
Portugal:	100 Ducats

b)	The French Player does not get the following Explorers at any time during the game:
Villegagnon, Ribaut, and Personne. In addition, Gonneville is available during Game Turns 2-3, not 1-2.

c)	If there is an English Player, he receives the use of Sebastian Cabot only on Game Turns 6 and 11 (exclusive). If there is a Portuguese Player, he receives the use of  S. Cabot during Game Turns 7-10 (inclusive); if there is no Portuguese Player, Cabot is not available to any player during Game Turns 7-10.

D.1.3   The German Banker commences play with a Treasury of 260 Ducats.

D.1.4	When rolling for taxes, players other than the German Banker add one (+1) to the die roll, This modification does not affect availability of colonists or random events; the modification is made for taxation purposes only.

D.1.5   The German Banker has a permanent "Monarch" rating of "A". Although he does roll for taxes (no die roll modification is made), he does not receive colonists and ignores random events.

D.1.6 The German Bankers Player may loan money to other players at any rate that is agreed upon by the parties to the transaction. No other players may make loans or transfer funds in any manner to another player. If a player cannot or will not repay a loan in accordance with the agreed upon terms (date of repayment, accumulated interest, etc.), the German Banker may repossess any and all ships owned by the recalcitrant player that are located in Europe at any time after default at the following rates: each Carrack is worth 8 Ducats; each Caravel, 4 Ducats; each Galleon Fleet, 40 Ducats. Ships are repossessed complete with cargo. Such may not return to Europe and unload, then be repossessed; they are taken as soon as they reach Europe and their cargo impounded until satisfaction is made to the German Bankers.

D.1.7	Players in debt to the German Banker must pay off loans before maintenance fees. The Spanish Player still must pay his Missionaries' maintenance prior to any other costs-even those due to the German Bankers.

D.1.8 Should any player roll "Costly European War" (Event #4) on the Political Event Table, the German Banker must immediately deduct 40 Ducats from his own Treasury.

D.2	German Banker Explorers
The four German Explorers are controlled by the German Bankers Player. Although the German Banker may not himself outfit Expeditions, he may rent or lend his Explorers to any other player(s), under any mutually agreeable arrangement subject to the above penalties for default.

D.3  German Banker Control

The German Banker may demand as partial repayment of his loans a percentage of the profits of any Expedition(s) he helps to finance. (This was the normal manner of conducting such business at the time.) If a player has Political Control over an Area, but at least 50% of the profits from that Area (gold + resources) are going to the German Bankers, the German Bankers Player - not the actual "owning" player - is considered to be in control of that Area for Victory Point calculation.

D.4	German Banker Victory

The German Bankers Player receives 3 Victory Points for every Ducat in his Treasury at the end of the game. However, he may not receive credit for any Discovery. The German Banker is considered to be the winner if he has the most Victory Points at the end of the game. In addition, whatever his Victory Point total, if his Treasury Level is greater than any Iwo other country's Treasuries combined, the German Banker has scored a "technical" victory (i.e., while the monarchies receive the glory, the banking houses reap the more tangible benefits).

E.	SPANISH & PORTUGUESE ASIAN EMPIRES

In addition to the four European port boxes, there are two off-board Asian port boxes: the Philippines, owned by Spain, and the Spice Islands, owned by Portugal. Both boxes are twelve (12) Bounds from Europe and twelve (12) Bounds from any Pacific coastal port. (To determine the distance from an Atlantic coast port, count the Bounds from the port to the Cape and add 12 to this total; or, alternatively, add 12 to the number of Bounds between the port and Europe). Spanish ships only may move to and/or from the Philippines; Portuguese ships only to and/or from the Spice Islands. On Game Turn 8 and later, the Spanish and Portuguese players may build ships in their Asian colonies; a maximum of one ship per turn may be built in each. No colonists may be received in Asia, and no soldier detachments may be created there. Once per game, the appropriate player may build a Galleon Fleet in his Asian possession.
Any Gold shipped man Asian port box is added immediately to the owning player's Treasury. This represents the fact that treasure shipped to Asia from the New World was used to pay the cost of supporting the country's Asian holdings, thus reducing the drain to the central Treasury at home. In fact, the Spanish institutionalized this policy; there was a yearly Manila galleon from Peru to the Philippines.

F.	FRENCH MISSIONARIES
To use this option, the players will have to provide their own French Missionary counters. The counter mix of French Missionaries is the same as that of the Spanish (i.e., one  -3, two  -2,  two -1, one  +1, three  +2, and two +3).
French Missionaries operate in the same manner as Spanish Missionaries, except as outlined below (i.e., the French must maintain at least one missionary in each province where natives remain; must maintain missionaries at the cost of one Ducat each per turn; the presence of a positive missionary reduces any Combat Against Natives die roll by one; the missionary rating is added to the chance of Native Revolt; etc.).
If a French Missionary is present in a province which contains natives, the French Player may, if he so wishes, attempt to convert the natives rather than attack them. This he does by the same procedure he would follow if he did attack the natives; however, any result from the Combat Against Natives Table indicates the number of native points converted, rather than destroyed. (The players should keep track of the number of converted native points on the Expedition Log.)
Converted natives never revolt against the French, although they may revolt against other nationalities in their province. If a province contains both converted and unconverted natives, only the unconverted native points are used when calculating the chance of Revolt against the French Player; the totals are combined when calculating the chance of Revolt against another player's forces.
Whenever land combat between the French Player and another occurs in a hex in an area which contains converted natives, the Combat Strength total of the French Player's forces is increased by as many Combat Strength Points as the number of converted native points. (For example: the French have converted three native points in the Great Lakes; a stack of two soldier detachments-normal Combat Strength of eight-would have its Combat Strength total increased – to 11 - if attacked or attacking in the Great Lakes Area.) French losses must be satisfied with French units.
Converted natives may be attacked by any player other than France according to the normal procedure. lf both converted and unconverted natives exist in a province, the attacking player may determine which type of natives are killed in the event of a successful attack.

G.	ALTERNATE RULE FORVARIABLE TREASURE CITIES

This rule requires the players to make their own counters. The following counters are required:

Name			Treasure Value
Chichen Itza			40
Cuzco		100
El Dorado		150
Hy Brasil		25
Seven Cities of Cibola		52
Tenochtitlan		75

and twelve blank counters. The following hexes are considered "Treasure City Hexes": 1232, 1522, 1529, 2127, 2222, 2915, 3413, 3814 and 4915.
At the beginning of the game, the players take the treasure city counters and the twelve blank counters, invert these and mix them together. One inverted counter is then placed in each of the nine Treasure City Hexes.
During the Gold Phase, a player who has one or more soldier detachments in a Treasure City Hex may flip the Treasure City counter occupying that hex right side up, displaying it to all players.  If the counter is blank, it is discard, if it bears the name of one of the above Treasure Cities, that city is considered to have been discovered in that hex and the player may, if he has destroyed all natives in the appropriate Area, begin to “loot” it.
{On average, this procedure will result in the discovery of three cities per game.  Historically, only two were really discovered as “Chichen Itza” is more a product of Berg’s enthusiasm for the Mayans than a historical reality.}
Note that the rules for shipment of Gold still apply; thus, any treasure from a city in California or Aracua must be shipped from a Pacific port in the Area, while any Gold from the Amazon must be shipped from the port in hex 3309.  Political Events #14 and #15 still affect any player who rolls them, notwithstanding the identity of names between some of the Treasure City counters and those named in the event descriptions.

Transcribed by Brad Fallon
			Malton, Ontario, Canada
			February 19, 2001