Wealth of Nations - A DTP Effort from ISG Publishing
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Wray Ferrell - 09:02am May 6, 1999 PST (#8 of 9) [ Mark ]

Finally got my game yesterday. Been meaning to send off the check for quite
a while... Anyway reading the rules I had a couple of questions. I played
the game at AvalonCon so I think alot of this is that the game has changed
while my understanding has not.

1) 3.6 - I assume that the player has a choice of what area to start in
thier region.

2) 4.1 - Domination and Control is never defined. I assume that domination
is the 1st number beside a region, control the 2nd number.

3) 4.11 - Turn order. This can change each round? So technically one person
could not be allowed to use thier firm card for the first six turns

4) 4.11 - Firm Cards. On the 7th and later rounds all players can use thier
firm cards?

5) 4.2 - Industrial Expansion. After each turn does everyone's holdings in
the industries reset to zero or do they carry over from turn to turn? Do
your holdings increase only when you play a card or anyone plays a card? Do
only you get paid or does everyone who has some level of holdings in that
industry get paid? Rules state "The first level payment is also the die roll
result"??? I am not sure what that is telling me. I assume you have to
accquire M1 before obtaining holdings in any industry. Finally, the markets
on the board have no coorolation between industry holdings and what you
control. ie I could only control the HQ and yet play all five cards as
industry payouts. The advantage to markets on the map board is more strategy
cards and possible profit?

6) 5.0 Operations - Just curious. What was the design rationale for early
players being able to generate large amounts of profit, while later players
can take over markets easier. It seems going first in a very nice advantage
as the 5 extra dice on profit seems big. While the market takeover advantage
helps, it does not guarantee you anything.

6) 5.3 Expertise: Do the credits kick in immediately after purchase? ie if I
purchase M1, can I then purchase M2 for $5?

7) 9.0 Loans: What happens if a player cannot pay the interest on his loan?

Thanks, Wray
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Mike Welker - 01:13pm May 6, 1999 PST (#9 of 9) [ Mark ]
Just moved, playing BKN, FTP, and HRC via email; playing Saratoga Solo, and
Samurai now punching!

Wealth of Nations Q & A

1) 3.6 - I assume that the player has a choice of what area to start in
thier region. YES

2) 4.1 - Domination and Control is never defined. I assume that domination
is the 1st number beside a region, control the 2nd number. YES

3) 4.11 - Turn order. This can change each round? So technically one person
could not be allowed to use thier firm card for the first six turns CORRECT

4) 4.11 - Firm Cards. On the 7th and later rounds all players can use their
firm cards? YES

5) 4.2 - Industrial Expansion. After each turn does everyone's holdings in
the industries reset to zero or do they carry over from turn to turn?
Industry holdings carry over from turn to turn.

6) 4.2 - Do your holdings increase only when you play a card or anyone plays
a card? When anyone plays a card as an industrial expansion, all players’
holdings rise to the next level.

7) 4.2 - Do only you get paid or does everyone who has some level of
holdings in that industry get paid? Every player with holdings gets paid.

8) 4.2 - Rules state "The first level payment is also the die roll
result"??? I am not sure what that is telling me. The “first level” value is
a die result from “1” to “10” for certain event cards that impact
industries.

9) 4.2 - I assume you have to accquire M1 before obtaining holdings in any
industry. CORRECT

10) 4.2 - Finally, the markets on the board have no correlation between
industry holdings and what you control. ie I could only control the HQ and
yet play all five cards as industry payouts. The advantage to markets on the
map board is more strategy cards and possible profit? This is because in
modern global markets, location is not correlated with ownership of critical
industries. This made the industry system a bit abstract, but the cards
helped govern opportunity costs of expansions via lost operations and
events. Controlling map locations implies strong presence in consumer
markets, and yes, more profits and strategy cards. Also, remember that every
3 areas gives 1 VP.

11) 5.0 Operations - Just curious. What was the design rationale for early
players being able to generate large amounts of profit, while later players
can take over markets easier. It seems going first in a very nice advantage
as the 5 extra dice on profit seems big. While the market takeover advantage
helps, it does not guarantee you anything. The idea was that in most
markets, profits decline when competitors react; however, reaction takes
time. Going “later” in the turn implies this disadvantage, again in an
abstract way. Note that 5 profit dice are good, but not a guarantee, since
“0” pays zero and “1 through 4” are negative. Market takeovers are easier
going later due to the intensified competition, distraction, etc. Again,
it's a mechanic that seemed to work well in all playtests.

12) 5.3 Expertise: Do the credits kick in immediately after purchase? i.e.
if I purchase M1, can I then purchase M2 for $5? Credits kick in at the next
card play.

13) 9.0 Loans: What happens if a player cannot pay the interest on his loan?
The Banker should record the interest owed and require payment as soon as
the player has funds available.

Hope you get to play. If you post any replays, let me know. I am curious to
see the game in action outside of the 100 playings we had in playtests.

/s/ Mike