From: Doug Murphy Subject: Quickie Review: TSR's Rememer the Alamo This Minigame is a golden oldie, dating from 1982. Produced in a hard, clear plastic shell which serves as both display set and storage tray. Contains 1 16-page rule book, 1 12x14 map of the Alamo, one sheet of 84 thin but double-sided and multi-color die cut counters, and 2 dice. This is a fast and simple game on a subject I've been interested in, ever since watching John Wayne blow up the powder magazine many moons ago. Map is full color glossy stock (rare in my other games from this time) but uses squares in stead of hexes. Counters represent individual (albeit abstracted) Tennesseans and Texans, four rebel leaders, Crockett, Travis, Bowie and someone else whom I'm blanking on who stays with the cannons atop the chapel, individual cannons, and two flavors of Mexican infantry (elite and regular), along with some ladders. The game sets up swiftly. Mexican units have a color stripe which corresponds to a 4 or 5 box map edge area of the same color. Rebel units are set up at designated locations on the map. The map works much better IMHO than the SPI design with these squares as it's easy to show the Alamo fort yet abstracted enough to resolve LOS and other conundrums. Pretty standard rules and SOP: Tex/ Mex move / Melee / Tex/Mex fire / Detroy ladders / Check Mex morale. Unlimited turns until one side wins. Counters contain a silhouette and drm for melee and fire. All units move 3 squares (and can move diagonal). This is more of a nailbiter than the SPI game IMHO. Mex wins by killing all the rebels without losing 35+ units. Rebels win by killing 24 or more and having the Mex fail morale three times...Rebels also win a "victory of honor" if 35+ Mex are killed before all the Tex. Basically, the Mex units rush for the walls with the Tex firing like mad. Mex units are two step and are reduced first then killed. And you can't fire at a just-reduced unit in the same turn. So the Mex units are reduced as they near the walls. But the Mex checks morale every time 8 units are killed. And the balance of Tex to Mex units is such that in the first two turns given decent-to-good die rolling luck, this threshold can be reached. Morale check is easy: if a multiple of 8 units are dead and there are not 3 Mex units within the Alamo proper, morale fails and all Mex units are retreated 3 squares. So the Tex fire madly to kill 8 Mex units...the wave of Mex units lap the walls, then morale collapses and they retreat. The rebels get a brief breather, rearrange the cannon and run around redeploying a bit, then the onrush begins anew... the Mex units may get to raise a few ladders, but again break...Then it's the "final" rush. There are few quibbles ( not surprising for a minigame with 16 pages of rules) mostly about Rebel moving from wall to buildings, but nothing that couldn't be amiably resolved prior to play. Optional rules give a nice free setup arrangement for both sides, blowing up the magazine and a healthy Bowie...In several solitaire games, the Mex and rebels have both won the same number of times. Well balanced, simple to play. Literally a game you can carry in your pocket and play anywhere... Doug Murphy