Steve Viltoft - 09:26pm Oct 19, 1997 PST (#5 of 6) Currently Playing: DAK and WIF I feel compelled to speak up on this game. Purchased it last Friday at my local shop for a staggering SRP of $66.95. I can categorically say this is the most disappointing waste of time and money I have ever spent in 25 years of gaming. The components are nice looking--and that is all the kind words I can bestow. The rules are so simplistic it should be rated for those under 14 years of age. The map is a glorified RISK map with no terrain, no cities, no nothing. The territories are merely chunks of Africa outlined in black with some pretty colors. The game has been compared to Diplomacy, which is an insult to that classic game. Game play gives 4 options: Explore from an existing territory to an adjacent one; Develop a colony; Do nothing; Land from the sea (this option is irrelevant after the second turn as all coastal areas are soon occupied and you cannot land on an occupied area.) If more than one country has a marker in a territory, the person who has the most hostile other nations against him/her is booted out. You now know the entire game. It was boring after the first 30 minutes. We started backstabbing half-heartedly, we muddled through, we tried again, we couldn't maintain any further interest. I have enjoyed many COA games. This is an import from France. They should send it back. Steve Viltoft Richard H. Berg - 05:15am Oct 25, 1997 PST (#6 of 6) While I think Steve V is being rather harsh . . .A/80 was never intended to be an in depth search of the situation, and it is just as 'simple" as any Diplomacy-style game (except maybe for Machiavelli) . . .I do think it has 2 problems (altho we enjoyed it for what it intended to be [its reviewed in the latest BROG]). 1. The elimination of the 'support' rule, so endemic to Dipgames, removes the military aspect ofthe situation, and throws the frocus away from alliances of power. What you end up with are alliances of convenience. 2. The game, even for Diplomacy, is far too "generic"; while the map says Africa, it could be Secaucus, for all the African flavor it has. This also has ramifications in that the problems every colonial power encountered in Africa are not present in any form; the result is that players tend to do what the want, ignoring the locals (well, for the most part, they did . . .but they WERE there), and the most unusual and harsh conditions. You can look long and hard for an event such as the Boer War to intrude . . .and not find it. However, it plays fast, its quite colorful (literally), and it is most accessible. Not for in-depth analysis, but can be a good two hours fun. RHB