PAGE 2

THE GENERAL

Avalon Hill Philosophy Part 56

ENERAL

e Game Players Magazine

Avalon Hill GENERAL is &drceted t o the presantaauthoritative artlcles o n the stralssv.

-. tactics, and
of Avslnn Hill games of s t r a t w . Historical articles
are lncluded onlv insomuch ar rhsy provide useful backound tnformation on current Avalon H i l l I ~ i l e r .THE
ENERAL IS p u b l l h e d by the Avaton H i l l Company solely
r the cultural edification of the Srlousgams aflcionado, l n
s hopes of improving the game ownm'coroflciency o t play
d oroviding servioes not othetuvise svallsble t o the Avalon

Publicatton ~ s b i - m o n t h l ywith r n a ~ l i n g s m a d e c l o s e t o
end of February. Aprrl. J u n e . August. October. and
ember A l l edllorral and general mail should b e s e n t to
Avalon H ~ l lGame Company. 4517 Harford Rd
ltrmore. MW 21214. One year subscrlptlons are $7.50
criplions of 4 issues for $5 00 are available A
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ders only. N o t r e s p o n s ~ b l e t o r c a s hlost mtranslt.
s sent vla bulk permit. A ~ r m a l and
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Ist
ass delivery musl he prean'rrrngedwith the stdbscrlpt~on
men1 at a d d ~ t ~ o ncost
a l Address chsnges m u s t be
ted t o tile subscrtpt~on d e p a n m e n t 6 weeks I n
ce to guarantee dellvery No paid advertising of any
s accepted. However, news of Importance lo t h e
argaming community IS p r l n t e d free of charge and is

Artides from subwlberc are consldnrnd f o r publicatLon a t

of w r editortal sfAIf. Articles should k
ypewritten, double-spaced, and ernbpace the rsnets of g o d
ngllrh usage. There 1% no limit to word length. Aacompanvg examples and diagrams should be neatly done in black or
d ink Photographs should have carrtlon and credit line
ritten on beck. Rejected artides w i l l be returnsd whenever
, I n any and all cases. Avslon Holl accepts n o
bility f o r unmlclted mterlal. Authors of published
which mceive fawrab[e reqonse from the rendership
i l l be remunerated with free merchandise of their ChONce.
he drscretron

DITOR: Donald J. Gieen@ood

APHICS: J l m Hamilton. Rodger MacGowan. Scott

oores, Steve Ollfl, Randall Raed, Charles Velr.
ITORiAL STAFF; J. A n g ~ o l ~ l l oR.. Beyma, W BuchanW hlurdick. B Comlto. J Connolly, J. Davis, 0 . D e W ~ l t ,
Easlon, G. G y ~ a xR, Hamblan. R. Harmon,T. Hazlett. T.
on, R . Lrvermore, M McGuire. D. M ~ l l e r T.
, Olesol>, G.
Il~es.L. P~nsky,R P l w k , J Pournelta
Qghs. B.
dgaglio, J. horna as, M ~ h l L, Z ~ :,--;
C C ~ !$"%%;
~ ~ ~ ~ - F

plATOQNISTS. T . Srnilev, S. Harchak

"A"A'AA'A"

To f x i l i r a r s correrpondsnae, we suggest that all envelopes

Avalon H i l l bo marked i n the lower left-haml corner as

A R.E A Technrcian. Ron La Porte

Purchases of rhe GENERAL: Subscu,irrtion Dept.- Gertrude

ORIGINS II has comB and gone but not

without firmly establishing the concept o f a
widely accepted national convention for the
simulation game industry. Never before have so
many hobby "names" congregated i n one place
for the promotion o f the hobby, nor have so
many of the faithful flocked t o one site to see
and talk t o the manufacturers o f the industry. An
estimated 2500 gaming enthusiasts from 44 states
and four different countries passed through the
halls of Johns Hopkins University which hosted a
wide variety of exhibits, demonstrations, ssminars, and tournaments. Dealers reported d e s
double and triple that o f ORIGINS I which itself
exceeded $25,000.Attending shows such as this
are expensive propositions and it is going m take
rhat k i r d of massed buying power i n the future
to attract all rhe manufacrurers o f o u r growing
hobby.
ORIGINS now leaves Baltimore t o tour the
nation at a number o f host cities i n future years.
SPI will be the very capabla sponsor o f ORIGINS
1 II and w i l l host it at Wagner College on Staten
Island i n New York. Avalon Hill wilt remain,
together with SPl, on the Steering Committee for
future ORIGINS conventions. As the theory now
stands Avalon Hill and SF1 will jointly decide on
a sponsor for ORIGINS I V from volunteer
companies among the rest of the industry. Thar
sponsor would then, assuming they d i d a cornpetent job, be admitred to the Steering Committea
t o help choose a sire for ORIGINS V and so on.
As for ORIGINS II . . . they say a picture is
worth a thousand words so follow along if you
will as we comprem 41,000 words into t w a pages
b y applying the captions below t o the numbered
photos found i n the center spread.
1. Three deep was usualfy an apt description for
~ , ~ ~ ~ : )
the scene around the Avalon Hill booth which
once again led the trade show i n sales thanks t o
three new releases hot o f f the presses. The ink
was still wet as w@carried the first boxes through
the door only t o discover our first b i t o f errata
- the primary and secondary ranges for the

ArcherISlinger Table i n CAESAR were rawrssd.

Aarghl
2. It was Maryland vs. Minnesota as Don
Greenwood (left) and Paul O'Neil o f the Baltimore Avalon Hill Football Strategy League . . .
3. met Pat McNevin (left) and John Strand of
the Mound, M N league i n the FOOTBALL
STRATEGY finals. Greenwood w o n with a 10-6
win over Strand and 13-10 overtime decision
against McNevin. Strand topped O'Neil 17-3 in
the consolation game to take third.
4. Avalon Hill V.P. Thomas Shaw i n the midst
o f his auction routine before a packed house.
Most valuable collector's item this year - a mint
copy of Rogw Cormier's TRAFALGAR which
went f o r $90.
5. Gary Gygax, creator of DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS led a group o f novice adventurers
through his demonstration game on Friday evening before a standing room only crowd.
6. Duke Siefried (center) led the Custom Cast
contingent which wpn show honors for best
booth and most helpful axhibitor. It is hoped
more miniatures companies will follow the lead
of GHQ and Custom Cast and exhibit i n future
ORIGINS.
7. Randall Reed presided over the Presentation
of Awards and is seen here warming up the
audience before presenring the PANZERFAUST
awards t o Avalon Hill f o r best game of 1975
(THIRD RElCHl and GDW for best game o f all
time (ORANG NACH OSTENI.
8. Virginia Lingle of Harrisburg became the first
woman t o w i n an ORIGINS tournament when
she took top honors i n the NUCLEAR WAR
event. Stephanie Greenwood placed third i n the
same event. A l l of which says a lot f o r keeping
women out o f the White House.
9. Robert Mandell of New York proved to be
the most adept at slaying monsters i n the
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS campetition.
Coniinued on Page 32, Column I

Purchegeg of Games, play-by-mail Kilr, and (lams parts: Order

Wept. Christy Shaw

Oueaions Conaernrng Play Research & D e i g n Departmsnt.

all Questions r h w l t bs throughly diagrammed, N o
-ens will be o n w a r d that are not w c o r n p a n l d by a
md. = I f - a d d l e ~ denvelope. Only questions regarding'
le clarificatienr (not historical or design subjects) can bo

O R l G l M S II CHAMPIONS
EVENT

PARTlCl PANTS

CHAMPlOM

ORIGIN

2nd Place

Durham. NC
icatron, Lmtters to the Edltor, Requests lor
ures, and Readers Response Page ~uumiscrons: Edrtorlal
- Donald Greenwood.
photograph Credits: Phoro File, Avaton, California
perarring- Colonlsl Composition
nting Monerch Otftce Ssw~ces,Inc
S l V E AGENTS: ENGLANt) Michael Hoftge. 646
d . N Frnchley. Lo~'~don,AUSTRALIAN. Jedko
l 1 1 Beatr~ceSt Cheltenham 31 92 Vlctol la,
NAVlAM P 0 Box 329.13103 Nacka 3. Sweden,
NY
Plan Commerz. Planungs-undHandecs8 M u n c h e n 2. Sch~llerstrassa40
U PLAN O N M O V I N G
you are c e r t a ~ n l free
y
to
o so w ~ t h o u asklng
t
our permission WE do ask thar y o u
otify our Mrs. Zombru ASAP Please state yorlr o l d

AIR FORCE.

24

Gary Brennan

O R I G I N S OF Wll

fin

Gradu Hanrlril

4517 Harford Road,

San Antonio, TX

Baltimore, R,
Joseph Kurta

J. Hsndry

II

PAGE 3

FIGHTING SAILS

,yS.Crai~Tayl~r.Jr.

TACTICS OF THE AGE OF SAIL AS APPLIED TO WOODEN SHIPS & IRON MEN
The rra~tsiliu?~
from ihe more "tradilionaP'
sirurt.ir. und operationu/lev~I/and
hoardgames fro a
lac.rir.al 1e1~0t.l
naval gome such as WSWlM leaves
.YOIIIPu,urxarner.s"1111 at ~ e a "
regarding rhe zaclirs
u r ~ d . s r ~ ~(tia rapplv
e ~ ~ in such an alim environmeni.
There lrre ntunj prinripab ~ ~ h i rcan
h be used
cquall!~sur~res.~/u/I~~
horlr ashore and ufloat, hut
rhese sit~tilaririr.~
are ofwn uverlooked as pla,l~ers
tend ru runrrnrrare i h ~ i rar!ertfiom on the difJerrntmes.I! i ~ the
. purpose of rhis arricle ro draw
arrenriun 10 rhese xirniluritirs and, I I Z Ihe same rime.
l o atso consider the dfl>reni'esbj' l,overiry:some of
ihc ra~.ric~ul/inr
poinu qfl'lhe game for $hebenefit of
!hose ~ i i l rl r ~ ~rui gait)
l ~ ~their "seo legs.''
The first point is that. at sea as on land, there is
absolutely nu lbolproof formula for victory. Bad
luck, adverse conditions, or unforeseen circumstances can ruin the most brilliant maneuvers and
tactical combinations. There are. however, factors
to be kept i n mind that, when given proper
conhideration, will yield a victory more often than
not.
To mass superior forces at the enemy's weak
poinl ia as important in a naval action as in a land
campaign. For the WS&IM game this is best
explained by the statement, "When superior t o the
enemy get as close as possible; when inferior stay as
far away from the enemy as possible." Basically. the
closer an infcrior force is engaged. the more hits will
be inllicted in a given time, the faster i t will be
defeated. the less time the superior forces will be tied
up. and the less time the opposition will have t o
maneuver in attempts to overcome this inferiority.
T h e reverse, when inferior in force, is also true. At
longer ranges the number of hits per turn is smaller,

superior forces count for less. and an inferior force

can hold on for much longer. This iseasy to see, and
t o understand. in theory. What isdifficult t o decide,
considering the conflicting factors of comparative
numbers of shlps, crew quality. and position is how
to determine the superiority or inferiority of a force
in any particular situation. A large number of
factors must be evaluated in making this critical
decision.
The most obvious single factor is the comparative numbers of ships on both sides. This is
complicated by the often great differences in the
strengths of the various ships, so thatjust counting
the number of hulls available may not be an
accurate indicator of comparative strengths. A
comparison of the point values of the ships available
is usually a more accurate reflection of the power of
t w o opposing forces. A numerical superiority is
useful as this permitsenemy forces to be overlapped,
doubled, or raked, but is not always a decisive
advantage. Superiority in crew quality and/ or the
power of individual ships can often more than
compensate for inferiority in numbers.
l'he relative maneuverability and mobility of the
ships is another important consideration. A force of
well-handled twodeckers should be able t o handily
outmaneuver a squadron of three-deckers. A
squadron with intact sails should be able to
outmaneuver a squadron that has considerable
rigging damage. Superior mobility should enable a
force t o fight on at least equal terms with aforce that
is more powerfui, but less maneuverable.
Superiority in tactics must be taken into
account. An honest evaluation of one's own tactical
skill, as compared to the tactical skill of the
opposition is the key t o evaluating this factor. What

margin of material superiority do you need t o win?

Are you so tactically superior t o your opponents
that you can win even when inferior in the factors
discussed earlier? Or, are you so inferior in tactics to
the enemy that you will require a greater than
normal superiority in every respect before you wish
to close t o decisive ranges? As in any boardgame,
good, sound tactics can be learned by experience, by
the application of common sense, and by learning
from your own and other's mistakes. Some of the
more important tactical practices, or "tricks of the
game," as many wargarners prefer t o call them, are
covered below.
I) When vastly superior to a portion of the
opponent's force, do not hesitate, but rush upon him
before he has a chance to realize his danger, and
make a n escape. If, in rushing boldly forward, a few
ships lose some rigging, the enemy is too weak to
capture them, and repairs can be made later. Enemy
ships that fail to escapeare out of the game for good.
2) Generally speaking, it is a waste of time t o
completely dismast a ship. Once one rigging section
has been destroyed, the ship loses full sails
capabilities, and its battle sail speed is reduced. Thus
crippled, the ship is not much harder to catch or t o
run from than if it were totally dismasted. If it is
desired to hinder the ship's movement, therefore,
just take down one rigging section, then switch to
firing at the hull. If possible, it is usually a good idea
to destroy a rigging section on a ship in thecenter of
an enemy line, as this will greatly embarrass the
maneuvering of the entire line.
3) Ships with high quality crews can cause damage
at ranges where a lower quality enemy cannot reply.
This ability to hit anenemy when he cannot hit back
is very useful in "softening-up" an enemy. or in
carrying out a delaying action against an otherwise

PAGE 4
superior foe. However, such firing will produce a
relatively low number o f hits per turn, as it is
necessarily from a fairly long range. Thisadvantage
should not blind o n e to the even greater advantages
of moving in t o closer, more decisive ranges if a real
superiority to the enemy does exist.
4) Keep the enemy guessing a s to your intended
maneuvers. An opponent can often be fooled by
ships switching to full mils, then making a move that
could have been done under battle sails, etc.
5) In squadron o r fleet actions. keep line formation
a s long as possible. as breaking it leads to exposure
to defeat in detail. D o not, however, keep t h e line
formation when the situation ( a n d a realsuperiority
a t some point) calls for wading in after having
gained all advantages possible from the line.
6) If the crew quality of the ships varies, lead the line
with o n e of the lower quality ships. T h a t way, if any
ship gets raked and dismasted, it will be this weaker
one. thus giving the more valuable higher quality
ships a better chance of reaching decisive ranges in
good condition.
7) Ships should be used in the roles for which they
are best equipped. Ships of t h e line should be used
against enemy liners. Frigates and small vessels
should be used against vessels of their own rates.
and for the attack and defense of merchant convoys.
These points will now be covered in more depth
in a discussion of the operations of the various
classes of ships a s they relate to o n e another. Much
of the discussion assumes that both frigates and
ships of the line, plus possibly some merchantmen,
are present in the same battle. This can vary, as for
instance in a game where only frigates were
involved: the factors applying t o ships of t h e line
would then apply t o frigates, as they are the most
powerful units present.
IN HARM'S WAY-THE
HANDLING OF FRlGATES
A ship of the line was built t o carry a s many, and
a s heavy. guns as possible, and to engage anything
atloat. It was expected to beable t o stand i n a line of
battleand trade blowswithanything that might pull
alongside. Being relatively slow and unmaneuverable. battleships operated in squadrons to support
and cover one another. A frigate was not expected
t o fight anyting that came its way, only ships of its
own class o r lighter; indeed, taking o n a ship of the
line with a frigate is usually poor tactical usage for
the frigate.
There are a number o f g o o d reasons why frigates
should not be placed in a line of battle with the ships
of the line. First, a frigate keeping station in a
battleline cannot make full use of its superior speed
and maneuverability without disrupting the Iine.
Second, the space a frigate occupies in the line could
be taken by a larger ship capable of dishing out more
punishment. Third. a frigate represents a weak link
in the unbreakable chain of the line. Its vulnerability
will invite a concentration of enemy fire that will
swiftly destroy it. A stricken ship in the midst of the
battleline causes great problems in reforming the
line, and in sailing around the obstacle.
A better case can be made f o r the use of frigates
o n the fringes of the main battle. Frigates can be
useful for moving on the ends o l a line for raking
broadsides to aid the liners, or for keeping enemy
frigales Iron1 doing the same. However, extreme
care must bc cxcrciscd iinytirne frigates are moving
within gun range of the hat!lcuhips. as a miscalculation can be fatal!

What then, is the optimum use of frigates'? l ' h e

answer is to engage other frigates. lighter vessels.
and transports;merchantmen. Frigates are most
usefully employed singly. o r in small flexible

THE GENERAL
groups. Full use of a frigate's mobility also entails
remaining under full sails a s much as possible. D o
not d r o p to battle sails and close for a gunnery duel
unless the odds are highly favorable. If the odds
appear t o be even. or unfavorable, continue at full
sails. maneuver to avoid combat, and wait for a
favorable opportunity tu pounce.
Frigate-to-frigate engagements fall roughly into
t w o categories. In the first, a decisive action is not
sought. T h e wish is to quickly cripple a n enemy
frigate to prevent interference with more important
tasks. In this case, chainshot is employed from close
range (preferably in a rake) t o destroy a rigging
section. Then full sails a r e used to avoid the cripple,
leaving the foe far behind. In the second category.
Ihe actual defeat of the enemy lrigate is the
objectivc. 'I-his type o i action should be avoided
without a large superiority in size. grade. a n d l o r
numbcrs. A smaller superiority makes a victory
possible. but leavcs a crippled victor a s effectively
o u t of the game a s its prize. '['his type o l action
should also be avoided In the close proximity of
s the line: victory is futile if a n enemy
enemy s h ~ p of
ragwagon can easlly move up to recover the prize.
and (to add injury tu insult) capture the crippled
victor.

By far the most interesting scenarios involving

frigates revolve a r o u n d the protection a n d / o r
attack of merchant men. T h e escorting frigates have
several advantages in games o r this type. F o r one.
they knowexactly where themerchantmen will b e a t
the end of the turn; therefore, they know where the
vulnerable spots will be, and can maneuver to cover
these gaps. Second, the escorting frigates need only
to cripple a n opponent, not necessarily to defeat ita frigate missing a rigging section is slower than a
merchantman. Defense of a slow-moving convoy
requires or.ly the occasional use of full sails, s o that
the escorts are ordinarily less vulnerable to being
crippled than the attackers.
T h e attacker, of course, has the initiative, and is
not restricted to any particular pattern of sailing.
Maximum use should be made of feints, that is,
moving into a threatening attack position t o force
the commitment of the defenders, then veering off
abruptly a t a new angle for a m o r e promisingattack
with the defenders o u t of position. Pincer attacks,
presenting many possible avenues of attack, are very
dillicult to defend against, so split the ettackers to
threaten the convoy from a s many directions a s
nossible.
Smaller ships, although n o match for a full size
frigate, can be useful Ibr defending merchantmen; if
nothing else, they can get in the way, delay until
larger ships arrive. etc. When attacking, these ships
should definitely keep their distance until a clear
opening appears. They can be very useful in pinccrs
maneuvers, especially those with f o r e a n d aft rigging
a s they can maneuver to leeward of the convoy,and
catch merchantmen while beating upwind.

advantage o f a n y mlstakes by the foe. T h e tactics of

handling a line of battleships are far more precise.
Ships of the line maneuvered in tight, wellordered line formations. The advantage of this
formation is that it is very dilficult t o approach
without taking at least as much damage as is caused.
The line formation develops the maximum
possible firepower as all ships haveclear lines of fire,
and are mutually supporting. To maintain this line
formation through periods of complicated maneuvering calls for a bit of planning ahead, and an
overall plan of action. The decision to break up a
line is often the critical decision that determines
victory or defeat in actions between contending
battle fleets. Novice players often try opportunity
maneuvers such as detaching a ship to obtain a rake
on a n enemy ship. This maneuver usually results in
the detached ship being left far behind, and out of
the action. u r in its being overwhelmed by a much
larger force ofenemy ships. Single ship detachments
should normally not be made in a fleet o r squadron
size action; if the reasons for making a detachment
are important enough. several ships should be sent,
lorming their own line of battle and acting for
mutual support. If the reason f o r the detachment is
not important enough to warrant sending several
ships, the detachment should not be made.
The essence of fighting a battle with ships o f t h e
line is the establishment of a superiority over some
portion of the enemy's line. There are two main
methods of doing this:
1 ) DOUBLE THE ENEMY LINE: In this maneuver, a portion of the Iine engages a portion o l the
enemy's line, whileanother portion of the line passes
into the rear of the engaged section of the enemy's
line. This can be a difficult maneuver to make, but
when done the results are devastating (as a t the
Battle of the Nile). This can be accomplished if the
enemy is at anchor, if a portion of the enemy line is
too slow t o avoid the maneuver (as with uncoppered
ships of the American Revolution, o r ships slowed
by some well-placed rigging hits), o r by moving
t h r o u g h a g a p in theenemy line, thendoublingback.
A section of a line that is t o o closely engaged t o risk
the use of full sails can be doubled by some
undamaged ships under full sail.
2) MASS AGAINST O N L SECTION OF THE
ENEMY Llh'E: This car) he done if your ships are
sailing at c l o ~ e rintervals than the ships they are
opposed to. o r by taking advantage of a superiority
in ship si7,e a n d / o r crew quality in ship-to-ship
duels.-lt can also be accomplished by advancing
obliquely o n the enemy line so that all ships deliver
their fire into the same part o f t h e enemy line as they
pass, while another section of the enemy line can
make only long-range shots a t best. An example of
how this can be done is illustrated below:

HANDLING OF SHIPS OF THE LINE

As important a s the smaller ships were in the
great age of sail, if the situation called for any
serious fighting. the ships of the line were sent ior.
T h e dashing, racy frigates may have been thc
"glamour" ships of the period, but, in most cases,
their commanders were the most junior olficers.
T h ~ r came
e
a time in the careers of most competent
captains when their skill and seniority placed them
or1 ;he quarterdeck nf a line nf battle ship. T h e fate
of nations and empires often rested with these ships.
and n o govei-nmrnt could aflurd tu trust them to
any but the best available officers.
T h e tactics of frigates are largely the tactics of
opportunity; maneuvering to cause or t o take

PHASE ONE: The preeil Win cnyagca Ihc rcd Kcir hquad~un.

P1IASETWO:Thcgrccn Center and ;I porticln u i thc V;~ncngdge:ctu

red Rear squadr~ln

1I

PAGE 5

'

PHASE THREE: Thc g m n R w r anda porlionof the Center engag the red Rear squadron.
THE RED REARSQUADRON HAS NOW BEEN ENGAGED BY
THREE FRESH GREEN SQUADRONS. A N D IS BADLY
DAMAGED. THE GREEN SHIPS ARE MUCH LESSSERIOUSLY DAMAGED.

Of course, combinations of the two methods

could be used together. For instance, if the enemy
Rear were initially massed against, it could then be
doubled by the Van squadron (the enemy Rear now
being too slowed by damage to escape). This
is illustrated below:

PHASE ONE: The red Van engage&the g a n Rear squadron.

UAAAAAAAAAAAvA

'

PHASE TWO: The red Center engages the green Rcar eguadron
whilc Ihc Van doublcb il.The red Rear squadron hang back to rake
any shipsol the green Center andvan that maylry to turn back loaid
their Rcar squadron.
THIS MANEUVER WOULD ALSO WORK IF BOTH FLEETS
WERE MOVING I N THE S A M E DIRECTION. THE VAN
WOULD ENGAGE THE ENEMY REAR. THEN MOVE INTO
POSITION TO RAKE ANY SHIPS ATTEMPTING T O T U R N
BACK. THE CENTER WOULD T H E N ENGAGE THE ENEMY
REAR. W H I L E THE REAR WOULD DOUBLE IT.

If possible, get and keep the wind gauge. This

gives the initiative, and the ability t o engage when
and where the situation is deemed t o be favorable.
The wind gauge is the single most important tactical
factor t o consider when trying t o determine or
create a superiority t o the opposition. The wind
gauge, if properly used, can compensate for many
other factors of inferiority.
A fleet that cannot get the wind gauge is by
definition on the defensive. The best way t o fight a
defensive battle is by maintaining a respectable
distance between the fleets. Maintain freedom of
maneuver by not allowing the attackers to close.
Keep firing roundshot at the rigging, especially
whenever a raking shot presents itself. Any
attacking ship that loses a rigging section will fall far
behind. When enough of the attackers are thus
disabled, they may hz permitted t o close with the
now greatly superior defenders. Not all attackers are
crazy enough t o fall into this trap, and that explains
why the often elaborate maneuvers of two fleets of
ships of the line sometimes lasted for days.

There are a few tactical 'tricks" that can prove

very useful in otherwise equal battles. In a broadside

I
'

to broadside battle, assuming equal numbers of

ships, concentrate maximum firepower on the
weakest ship in the enemy line. When it has been
disposed of, two ships wiIl beavailable t o engage the
next adjoining enemy ship, etc. When parallel to an
enemy line, move the line no further than it can
move without causing a collision should a n enemy
ship turn and ram-this can lead to a n entire line of
ships all hopelessly fouled together. When boarding, try t o support the action with the raking fire of

grape f;om supporting ships. This will help reduce

the shiperippling losses that can occur in a melee.
Also, try not to have too many ships tied up in
boarding actions at any one time; this destroys their
mobility, and all ability to react to enemy maneuvers.
Psychological factors seem to play a larger part
in simultaneous move games than in sequential
move games, probably because there is more
uncertainty. Study your opponents. What are their
weak points and their strong points? What types of
maneuvers do they like t o use? What are their
favorite tactics? Judging from their maneuvers,
what are they trying t o accomplish? What do they
expect t o do? What d o you think they expect youto
do? What can you do t o mess u p their minds?
To summarize: When superior, get in close and
exploit that superiority t o thefullest. When inferior,
keep 'em guessing, and keep your distance. Be like
the judo expert who uses his opponent's strength
against him by concentrating on his opponent's
weaknesses. Evaluate carefully how you are
superior, and how you are inferior. Then plan the
battle to maximize the effects of your superiorities,
and t o minimize your inferiorities. Hopefully, this
article will be helpful in finding ways to accomplish
this, and will also prove helpful in determining what
the "other guy" is trying t o do.

OF BROTHERS?
MULTI-PLAYER GAMES

A BAND

What many people fail t o realize about this game

is that it is possible t o play it a thousand times, and
still fail t o really have played THE GAME.THE
GAME, of course, being the multi-player version
with timed moves and the multi-player communication rule. An experienced player can take a
squadron of ships, and swiftly form more intricate
formations than a band at a half-timeshow. This is a
much simpler task than getting three players t o all
sail in a straight line at the same time. No "idiocy"
rule ever devised can match the effects of n group of
wargamers just doing what comes naturally.
1 consider six (three on each side) people to be
the ideal size group for a multi-player game of
WS&IM. With a larger group there is a problem in
seating everyone close enough t o the mapboard t o
see it, and with a smaller group there is not enough
interplay between the various personalities present
t o be really interesting. Besides, any group of six
wargamers is bound to include at least two genuine
yo-yo's (one for each side), and these are the people
who will really make the game interesting.
An evening spent playinga multi-player game of

WSBf M can be a n enlightening experience, and can

enable you t o learn more about the other players on
your side than you ever cared to know. If you hold
the chief command, among other things you will
learn that:
1) Your subordinates cannot read your handwriting.
2) Your subordinates cannot tellleft from right.
3) Your subordinates cannot grasp the simplest
concepts of maneuver.
4) Threats of physical violence are often
necessary to secure compliance with your
orden.
If you hold a subordinate command, you will learn
that:

I ) You cannot read the commander's handwriti ng.

2) T h e commander keeps issuing orders to turn
left when the situation obviously calls for
turning t o the right.
3) The commander must think you can read his
mind to even attempt such complex maneuvers.
4) The commander has a nasty temper.
All this and more has happened during multiplayer games that I have participated in. 1 have had
three Elite 74's lined up to fire into a single enemy
ship, only to have their shots blocked by the
interposition of one of our resident yo-yo's Green
ships(which was dismasted in the exchange, so that
it could no1 even be moved out of the way on the
following turn). 1 have seen large squadrons never
get into action because they were hopelessly
entangled and fouled with another friendly squadron. 1 have seen a player get so disgusted with the
lack of support he received from another playerthat
he disengaged his squadron, and sailed off of the
mapboard and out of the game, leaving the rest of
the fleet to its fate. These things can and will occur
during a "pick-up" multi-player game. They can be
avoided to some extent if some time for planning is
available, and if the individual players are willing t o
modify their individual habits somewhat to conform to the realities of participating in a multiplayer game.
Successfully playing a one-on-one game of
WS&IM calls for a n understanding of the various
rules of combat and their impact on various aspects
of the game, combined with skill in maneuvering a
ship or ships. The successful play 01-a multi-player
game calls for a n equal grasp of the effects of the
multi-player rules on various aspects of the game.
The multi-player rules are deceptively simple-the
Movement Notation Phase is timed, and all
communications must be writien during this timed
period. The effects of these rules on the play o l the
game can be startling.
During this timed period all messages must be
written, and all ship's movements (usually determined by these messages) must be noted. This does
not allow time for lengthy discussions about the
current situation, or for the outlining of erratic and
complex maneuvers. Messages must be short,
complete, and precise. The maneuvers covered must
be simple with a capital "S." You may beable to sail
a squadron through a "figure 8" with the greatest of
ease, but that is a far cry fromattemptingtodoso in
a tight formation with two other people. A little
extra time spent t o ensure that your messages are
clearly written and easily readable is usually time
well spent. AHof this will handicap your movements
somewhat. but the other side is equally embarrassed, a point that should be kept in mind. Simple
plans that would be easily countered in a two-player
game will often succeed beautifully in these encounters.
Appoint a commander-in-chief belore the game
begins. This person should be regarded as a true
commander, not merely the "first arnongequals." A
committee system of command will not work with
these rules. The commander should usually be the
best, most experienced player available, as he is the
most likely t o be respected and have his orders
followed. Sometimes a less skillful player makes an
equally good commander if he has tact and is a good
organizer (an Eisenhower type). The other players
should make up their minds t o be good, loyal
subordinates. even if they disagree with the manner
in whlch the battle is being conducted. lntelligent
initiativeis fine, but it is foolhardy to follow aplan of
battle independent of the rest of the fleet.

Conrinued on Page 14. Column 2

THE GENERAL

PAGE 6

WOODEN SHIPS VS. EUROPE

by Robert D. Harmon

Additional Scenarios for

WOODEN SHIPS & IRON MEN
Prior to its development by Avalon Hill. the
game WOODEN SHIPS & IRON MEN was
devoted primarily to the naval engagements of the
Napoleonic Wars (Scenarios 8-23 are from the
original game). A H added several scenarios from
the Wars of the American Revolution, t o round out
"the nreat aee of sail." 1776-18 14.

However, the period of the Wars of the French

Revolution--the 1790's-has
inexplicably been
omitted. except for some single-ship actions. It was
during this period that Revolutionary France
dominated its seafaring neighbors-and England,
its fleet shaken by mutiny. round itself facing the
combined navies of Europe.

SCENARIO 25
PELLEW VS. DROITS DE L'HOMME
16 January 1797

I. INTRODUCTION
Due t o the laxity of the Channel Squadron, a
French force was able to slip out of Brwt, carrying
20,000 troops and the Irish rebel leader, Wolfe
Tone. Seeking to land and turn discontent into
revolution, the French stood off Bantry Bay in
Ireland for several days. The landing prevented by
bad weather, the fleet returned t o Brest, scattered by
storms. One ship of the line had the misfortune t o
face Capt. Sir Edward Pellew (see Scenario 9) after
losing its fore and main topmasts. The Frenchman
was heavily damaged by the action. After a n allnight chase, all three ships wound up caught in
Audierne Bay; Droits de PHomme and Amazon
were wrecked, with Pellew's ship the sole survivor.
11. PREVAILING WEATHER CONDITIONS
Wind Direction: 4
Wind Change: 5
Wind Velocity: 5 - gale.
111. SPECIAL RULES
A. No land hexes-no anchoring.
B. French gun factors (not carronades)
HALVED at wind velocities of5+. (Lowergun deck
was awash in the heavy seas.)
C. The French player must designate on his
logsheet which gun squares constitute the half of his
original total that are unusable due t o bad weather.
These may be used t o absorb Gun hits, regardless of
weather conditions.

There followed the most fateful and dramatic

battles fought under sail-of which Trafalgar and
the Nile were but the last.
The scenarios below cover this crucial periodand some other notable omissions.

PAGE 7

THE GENERAL
Bow

f;um C r W

Crw Set

Dir

FRENCH

eptune

74

SOL

**

2
-

-14-

AV
.-.

tn

in

7 ~ 2

76

110

SOL

a**

18

CR

13

13

9x3

36

7x3

29

7x3

27

b e t i

Republican

a <y%

rough

74

?y&ypJV>+p+".f+
- jG:y$
~ ~ 4 ^ - ' < ' **3
14
CR
._- ;T-_ .::--g~
,,..- -=-2,
--::g.. ;. : MY
SOL
2
QQ$~-'- - 3
14
CR

74

SO

-w
n
e
impregnable

98

SOL

>

-than

'

I110

4A14

Queen

98

Alfred

74

So1

6
w

14

CR

2
-

2
-

7. x--3

27

16

CR

10

10

8x3

30

16

CR

10

10

8x3

30

14

CR

II

11

7x3

77

"

"

"

z@
320

224

17

CR

11

11

8x3

32

16

CR

TO

10

1 8 x 3

30

m.
326
52%

m
n
d
l
*
-

** in straight line-ahm
'

CAMPERDOWN

7 October 1797

a. INTRODUCTION
4

The defeat of the S ~ a n l s hat

Vincent
'pelled the end of
One French threat to
,E?ghd. Another* ntw*w-awIutsd

* '*

hpuia
(Hdland). which had a &.awe h t with goed
crews. A combined Dutch-French invasion of

England itself was planned, c l t h the Dutch playing

a key role. In early October, Adm. de Wynter's fleet

failing to find him. de Wynter returned to the Dutch

coast-where Duncan found him. The Dutch found
Duncan's crews eager to prove their loyalty againand they in turnwereto learn that Dutch crews were
a match for them. The Dutch were defeated, and
posed a threat to Enggland-but the
British suffered over 1,000 dead in the three-hour

s*.
8 . PREVAILING WEATHER CONDlnONS
Wind Direction: 5
breeze
Wind
Wind Change: 6

printed. The darker shoals running dong it are to

ignored; however. British ships may not be moved
within 8 hexes of any land. (Dutch ships had
shaIlower draft.) Dutch may not be moved within 2
hexes of any land.
B. NO Anchoring allowed.
ly. SPECIAL VICTORY CONDITIONS
None
V. DEPLOYMENT
A. Deploy Dutch as shown on Scenario
chart

B. Deploy Venerableand Monarch as shown I

THEGENERAL

PAGE 8
SCENARIO 26

Guns C m d e

'@me
BRITISH
Culloden
Bbnheim

Guns

Class

90

SOL

Nr.

~ r .

Hull

Qua1

13

GR
GR

18
13
14
20
15
14

I ""I,"

Value

SOL

SOL
SOL
74

Colossus

SOL

SOL

Victo~y
Rarfleiir
-- - - - -Goliath
Egmont
Britannia
Narnur

98

So1

SOL

SOL

SOL
90

SOL

74
112
74

SOL

captain
Diadem
Excellent
SPANISH (use ~ r e n c hc

Conquistadorc
San Juan
. . Nepucr
San Genar
Meximno

TerriblOrienl
Santis

74

San .N

San Ysidro
Salvador d

unda

San Josef
San Ildefo
Conte de Reglr
San<Firnliri
Principe de Asturia
San Antonio
San Francisco
de Poulo

SOL
SO

136

SGL

84

SOL

74
112

SOL
SOL

SOL
SOT

112
4

SO

2
74,

,SOL.

GR

GR
GP
GI

GR

7x3
7x3

31
2 4 .
20

PAGE 9

THl3 GENERAL
CAMPERDOWN

BRITISH
&&ra~e
Monarch

Bow

Dir

Cnv Sct

Guns

Claw

Nr.

Hex

Nr.

74

SOL

2
2

KK16
AA8

5
5

14
14

EL
EL

14

CR

SOL

SOL
SOL
SOL
SOL
SOL

Powerful

64

SOL
SOL
SOL
SOL
SOL

SOL
Adamant

64
63

SOL

Isis

50

SOL

&jh&x

SOL

D U M I (use FrencR counters)

E&$J@

LL24

3 w
i

CR

SOL
SOL

BB17

SOL
SOL
SOL
SOL

216
X15
V12
TI1

3
3!'!!?a
3

CR
CR

SOL

RIO

SOL
SOL

P9

3
3
3

14
11
8
14
11
11
11

SOL
SOL

L5

J4

SOL

H3

3
3
3

SOL

SOL
SOL
Adm. de Vries

' Wi&~1:a

Staten-S;eneraa
maigegena
-64
r

64
94
74

B~tavier

g'i@~"S
Leyde

WS
A

Cexberus

I1;"&,
Harlem

a
h
Delft
~yhdiiendam
*see

64
64

64

94
64
56
50

44

scenario deployment rubs.

SOL

L8

3
3

15

%@

fl
10
8

CR

AV
CR

CR
CR
CR
CR
EL

CR
EL*

Guns

*nde

Ri&&

T@$

vdua

\"* '

THJ3 GENERAL

PAGE 10

DANISH

BRITISH

Polyphemus

50

SOL

CR

6x3

17

74

14

CR

7x3

27

64

SOL

11

CR

7x3

20

Rendsborg, Nyborg have FS speed ofo5, turning ability of 1.

all FB (floating battery) units fire 60 to each side, like regular vessels; full factors may fire within that arc. Use Gunboat counters for FBs.
off-board;see scenario rules.
**** off-board; enter in line - in order - behind Edgar.
NOTES: Danish: use French counters; also American and Spanish counters for Wr. 4-7 ships and merchantmen. "El" ship is an East Indiarnan.
British: Russell and Bellow ran aground short of the Danish fleet; never saw action. Players may optionally delete both ships from OB to refIeP
this and/or to foster play-balance.

phase- of atzy turn Bkish

This scenario portrays the si

mz attacked when the S p n i l

PREVAtLINC
Wind Direction:

gk X sf* in form,

AND SBWiAL RULES

Same as &emria 29A.

be uwd is any way.

IY. ORDER OF BATTLE
Add abt Spanish s h i p to the French lineup

ships may fire at hull or rigging.

C. Spanish ships may reload both broadsides
es

D. Each time hull hits are inflicted on Spanish

&ips the foIlowing happens:

THEGENERAL

PAGE 11

BRITISH

s
_E-F L Y ??
A

>

SOL'

"-

~4

Venerable

-.

FREMU '

SPANISH (n

SOL
)--I

* Initial Positions:

29A, B - British: enter on edge 23.

FrenchISpanish:place on any shallow-water hexes.
29C - British: enter on edge hexes YY 1-15, in line-aheador fine abreast, dir. 5.
Franw-Spanish: enter on edge hexes CC35-W35,any formation, dir. 6.

,
,

ranges of 4-i0 hexes the rigging tibles are t

b. If another Spanish ship takes hull
a result, rt will immediately execute rule a
Additional Spanish ships so hit will
nauseum.
c. All ships involved will reload a
both broadsides again the following turn,
the whole cycle over again if and
inflicted. Remember that each ship fires r,
turn. Spanish ships are t o fire last in each
phase. and fire involuntarily if hit that turn.
ships still able to fire voluntarily in a given
only after all involun~uryfiring is complete

S@kCIAL,RULES
A. a s scenario is p b y d in tKi order:
;Fic~aahs'Z9A,
2$8,29q. Scemria2% op'2gB&y
&skipped at the Btitish player's apt&
D Ttx orders of hattic ate wntinued throm
&d?me0;wia. French or &a&h ship saptued ar
sfrhck in tlre pork of Mgmiras are p g m r m *
k W @ {ram play, prior to the nexf &e&.
Faptyred ~ritiihships ere retained in the F~rmch

ith the war in Europe ended, Britain was at)

on the offensive in North America. Reinforc

flm.

C. Repairs and replacements: {bcmeen scenar-

w.

,a- -The ,Brirl& may re

&ratE.&

a%

h e crew-squares at
tho ~osad%cprevkussEenaip;~

T b $ ? a a ' ~ y y w pa ih~, fig#% amIm

' d a m w at
~&s&ne.r&e, mat theratesf WD%iYone s&n$riok
$$W <cy each s&ip suwLn"ng),.
b. Tb F i - e ' f i c h h a @ . 5 ~ i s 4 ~ f i ~ 1mew
ace
l~k$.bet~k@-cach
smath, at $he rate of %1!6
&$t?$, $~~w~(.cumu~atiw),
&cli Ship m y rqdr
pa ~~pnw*
i$%
huh ~ P &%
P
bits a af!i&~aje
d %%,ax 50% If a wwarro is skipped. Captured
6%

may ly repaiced Likewise.

-. I;, ,E@?A^fIeetm y disidsgte rx<w-s~tiunsas

dbireg bemem+e&&s. If Spanisb drew an:
p b c f l an French VMS& mrate~xrrrtfmt ship p
tc1: US. Feln6l-1
d ~ yhi.$&
s
an S$(ln'ish&& h
t
homid:h:b~ch&. Motale M &pawed *ps is
<A#+bivI$if the&cqs 'am aokly Frenih.
n.?& side fhat haLdestrayd ar m p t d &9
"

+it
n~qbet
r .shi* thoughoul the campaign
1.sp e V~CFOP.
~hikirds marked by the French player in
Wmn"oD29Aremaln unchanged in 29B.

1. PREVAILING WIND CONDITIO

Wind Direction: 5
Wind Velocrty: 3 - No
Wind Changt: 6
11. SPECIAL RULES
. Land consists of the area containing the!
's name and wind-guage; the adjoining gr
is shallow water, and ships may anch
here therein. No ships may enter the h
hexes. of course.
I
V. SPEClAL VICTORY CONDl
A. British lose automatically if:
1 . The Confiance strikes.
2. The British fail to strike.
ntire American fleet.
Victory points do not apply in this m n a r
The British win if they el~minatethe ent
ican fleet; the Americans win if they fail,
. The game ends when the Confince or t
merican slup =trikes.

THE GENERAL

PAGE 12

use French munters)

FRENCH:

* Enter in l i n ~ h e a don board-edge 5-6 in order shown, beginning with HMS Asia.
F THE PRESIDENT
irreparable and it was broken up in 1817. But, th
British had been so impressed by its design that
After the early successes of American frigates,
the British devoted most of 1814 to locating the
small U.S. fleet and blockading it in i t s ports. This
was not entirely successful: Constirutionleft Boston
in December and slipped past a ship-of-the-line and
several frigates during a snowstorm, going on to
defeat Cyme and Levant two months later.
USS President, the fastest of America's three
449, attempted the same u n h r Stephen Decatur.
With the British squadron blown off station in a
snowstorm. the President put out from New York
on 14 January 1815, only to run aground in heavy
weather. The British seuadron returned the following morning; the damaged President evaded them
for most of the day--and pounded Endymion into a
two other
Ik-before being overwhelf17pd
fates.

Presidettr uas taken inra British service; its

magc from the grounding and battle proved

11. PREVAILING WIND CONDIT~ONS

Wind Direction: 4

111+

IV.

RULE
no a

No land -

CONDfT1ONS
The first player to inflict a strike or capture
the enemy is the victor (the game endsat that point
victory points are not awarded in this scenario; n
additional credit is niven for capture as opposed t

B1

THIE GENERAL

PAGE 13

MASTER SCENARIO CHART

-0

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rn

25

ens

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see speuat rures tor t h l ~soew10.

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TWE GENERAL

PAGE 14
DESIGNER'S NOTES:
The actions depicted here fill in the major or
notable battles of the period covered in the game.
Navarino was included because it was the last battle
fought under sail. The Rules of Engagement are
provided mainly to simplify the clerical end of fleet
actions in the game; they do not hew exactly to the
historical Rules of Engagement, inwhichthe British
sought to engage enemy groups from windward all
along their line. Beginning with the Saintes in '82,
the British sought to penetrate an enemy line with
two or more groups, with notable success. Although
that is unmentioned in the Rules provided here, any
attempts to penetrate an enemy line in one big LineAhead would be asking for trouble, as it would
endanger the leading ships and certainly create a big
mess, putting the control of the game beyond that of
either player and in the realm of common luck. TWO
or more groups penetrating have a good chance of
defeating in detail.
By rights. the Dutch, French, and Spanish
formations should have gaps between each ship of at
least one hex, owing to their poor seamanship
and/or commanders. Doing so on one board would
be ludicrous, especially when youexamine Glorious
First of June. If you can join two game-boards, such
a rule may be worth considering, as it will make
Continental navies' battle lines very porous. As it is,
British morale factors will still carry the day once
the leading ships board.
A note on balance: some tampering with the
historical setting has been made, to try and balance
things. Certainly many scenarios in the game are
imbalanced, owing to the uniformly bad morale of
the French and the crushing advantage in gunnery
that it gives the British. After 1789 this is realistic.
Before that, it is a moot point as to whether the
royalist French navy was that inferior.
Some comments on each scenario:
24-Glorious First of June: a grotesque number
of ships are involved; the set-up is provided for
historical purposes only. PIayers are discouraged
from using it. Owing to the purges, French morale
was bad; 1 have given the 3deckers higher morale
on the theory that a flag vessel might have a better
crew. The main reason is to give the French an even
chance. Even so, despite their edge in gunnery
factors, the French will have a sticky time of it. They
have one or two vessels more than the British and
these might well be used to turn the British line.
Frigates have been omitted, of course(!).
25-1 have tampered with morale here. This
should be an interesting duel between frigates and
a n honest-to-God ship of the line.
26-St. Vincent: Spanish morale should really
be PR, not GR. Even so, the Spanish have their
work cut out for them, despite their 2-1 edge in
numbers. British should have anedge in boardingcorrectly reflected by morale rules. Despite their
lesser numbers in each ship, the British had
discipline and the Royal Marines-the Spanish had
mal-de-mer. Players may downgrade Spanish
morale down to PR for boarding, oraltogether, but
that youldn't bt too fair to the Spanish player,
albeit historically accurate. Stick to the rules.
(NOTE:Spanish setup is an approximation.)
27-Camperdown: The one time the British
faced a real opponent, other than the US Navy.
British historians claim the tars were eager to prove
themselves after the mutiny. This is debatable.
Duncan kept two of his ships loyal that summer by
sheer force of personality, but all the rest sailed
away to the Nore. I have kept the British morale
high so they stand a good chance-that and their
position should balance things. Other than Monnekendam, frigates played no role in the action and
have been omitted.
18-Copenhagen: Balance?? I wonder. 1 recommend this only as a solitairegame, which is what it is

intended for. Danish movable ships should be

moved in the most effective manner possible (the
player is on the British side, but no cheating, now).
The interesting quirks of this battle-and
its
importance-is the only reason it has been retained.
The Danish gunboats, the Trekroner battery, and
the British frigates that engaged it have been
omitted-God
knows the situation is unwieldy
enough as is. Danish positions have beenadjusted to
fit the board but are fairly faithful to history.
29-Algeciras-Enemy
morale stinks but the
British still have a nastyjob, what with the plunging
fire from the shore batteries. A neat tactical
problem. Again, frigates played minor roles and
have been eliminated.
30-President-Victory
conditions have been
fitted to the situation. Running away won't win the
game for the U S unless they inflict a strike on
someone; they have no reason to board so that rule
has been dropped (British don't get the benefit of it
either, but that's for balance). USS President's
normal speed was 7 or 8, incidentally.
31-L. Champlain: a few I- and 2-gun boats
have been eliminated for simplicity. The official
Lake Erie scenario seems to have been similarly
edited.
32-Navarino:
Western sources [only ones
available) are skimpy. The lack of mention of shipnames or specific casualties indicate that the
Europeans regarded the opposing fleet as a seagoing
anthiII. which it wasn't. The mopping-up of the
transports was accompanied by incredible casualties. The Ottomans, for their part, seem to have been
caught unprepared. Hardly a glorious victory for
the Allies.
Ottoman frigates have been included, as they
had only 3 ships of the line to the Allies' 10. Their
only chance of victory is to change history
somewhat and actually take or strikean Allied ship.
These battles were thegreatest ever fought under
sail, along with the ones already depicted in
WOODEN SHIPS. They were also the last. Steam
propulsion resulted in paddle- and screw-driven
ships, followed by armor plate, moniton, and
dreadnoughts-all in the scant hundred years after
Trafalgar.
A SHORTHISTORY OFTHEROYALNdVYI117-181S.v.ZBr3.
David Hannay
A HISTORY OFNA V A L TACTICS FROM IVD-I930, Rmr-Adm.
S.S. Robeaon USN

2) The order of sailing shduld i

x decided. Who will
command the various squadrons, Van, Center. and
Rear'? The positioning of the commander can be
very important. With the Van squadron, the
commander is in a position to lead the battle, thus
providing an example of what is expected for the
subordinates. With the Center, he is in a position to
support either end of the battleline, as circurnstances dictate. In the Rear squadron, thecommander is in an excellent position to use his ships as a
reserve where needed. This decision is complicated
by the realization that if the line makes a 180" turn,
the relative positions of the Rear and Van
squadrons change. Yet another option is to divide
all the line of battle ships between the subordinates,
and place thc commander in a fast frigate behind the
line. This would give the commander more time to
study the situation, plan the movements of the fleet,
and enable him to move to take personal command
where most needed.
3) Discuss various plans, possible maneuvers, what
should be done in various circumstances, etc.
Resolve the various players conceptions as to how
the battle will be fought before thegame starts. This
way the actual game can be spent fighting with the
opposition instead of with each other.
4) Work out some sort of "shorthand" system for
sending messages. For instance, it could be
established that i f a message were sent that
contained only a move notation (i.e. "1R2LW),it
would be expected that all ships would make that
maneuver. This is a worthwhile effort to cover a11
the more common types of messages.
5) Actually lay out the mapboard, position the
ships of the various squadrons on it, and actually
practice maneuvering together as a group. This drill
will reveal any possible problems, and permit their
correction before it is too late. One final point on
playing multi-player games-try (though it is ever
so hard) to control your temper. You will no sooner
finish cursing out the player behind you for fouling
the rear ship of your squadron, then your lead ship
will foul a ship in the squadron ahead of you. I t
happens to everybody. So be kind to your partner,
even if he is a ywyo.
If this article contains any hints that improve
your play of WOODEN SHlPS & IRON MENterrific-but I like to win too, so please don't use
them against me! It is very embarrassing to lose at
your own game, especially when some of your own
favorite tricks are turned against you.

NA V A L HlSTORYOFGREATBRITAIN.v.2.3.5.6.wm.Jarnes
THE BATTLE OF N A VA RINO, C ,M. Woodhouse
ST. PINCENT A N D CAMPERDOWN, C . Uoyd
THE GREAT GAMBLE; &'ELSON AT COPENHAGEN, Dudley

Pope
THE A G E OF N E I S O N . G.J. Marcub
MAN-OF- W A R , Donald Macltltyre C h a i l W.h t h e

AREA TOP TEN

FAMOUS SEA BA TTLES. Donald Mnclntyrc

THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN SAILlh'C SHIPS, Howard I.

Chapelle
HISTORY OF THE US N A V Y , Capt. D. Knox USN
BATTLES O F 7'HE BRITISH N A Y Y. Joscph Allen

*****

FIGHTING SALES

. . . . Continued from

m*

@
Page 5

If time is available, a meeting should be held

prior to the date on which the battle is to be fought
by the players on a given side. Admirals of this
period always tried to meet with their subordinates
on the eve of a battle to discuss plans, iron out any
misunderstandings, and cover any special signals
that might be in use. Lord Nelson. the most
successful commander of the sailing era, was
especially noted for these pre-battle briefings.
Several important items should be on the agenda of
any such meeting:
I) The commander-inehief should be chosen, if
this has not already been decided.

Rank Name
1.
2.

3.
4.

5.
6.
7.

8.
9.
10.

Times
on List Rating

R. Chiang
T. Oleson
5. LeJeune
B. Lawrence
J. Halko
M. O'Donnell
S. Napolitano
J. Garrett
R. Vollbehr
G.Dayton

1 DGK2091

Previous
Kank

2 EFJ1965

1 CBB1510
2 DB-1480
2 EA-1455
2 CA-1410
1 CB-1387
2 DFJ1363
2 CA-1255
2 FDA1238

4
3
5
-

2
7
6

The B ~ Q V players
~
represent t h e ten
hlghest, prov~slonal(11+ rated games) rated
members of t h e 2,000+ member player pool.
Future listings will give pr~orltyto individuals
with a large rating base. An individualtwho
plays only one or two opponents will eventually be dropped from t h e listlng aswill those who
do nor remain relatively active once on t h e list.

T m GENERAL

PAGE 15

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF A

SQUARE-RIGGER
by S. Craig Taylor. Jr.

With ~ e v e l o ~ m e n
Notes
t
by Mick Uhl
Some games almost seem to design themselves,
progressing from the original conception to the
finished prcduct in short order, calling for only a
little playtesting to smooth over the rough edges.
Other games require more effort, the design
evolving gradually to meet current needs and new
demands. WOODEN SHIPS & IRON MEN is a
game of the second type, having a design that
developed gradually over a n eight year period
during which it underwent numerous transforrnations. To understand a game design of thistype, it is
necessary to understand something of its history,
and how it evolved. WS&lM had rather simple
beginnings, and developed gradually in a natural
manner as more research material wasaccumulated,
and continued play led to more streamlining of the
rules and game tables. This was a leisurely process,
as until about two years ago there were. no plans to
sell the design to any publisher; it was just
something to fiddle with in my spare time. During
this period the rules evolved through fourteen
different versions, and were played by several
hundred different people all over the country (I was
constantly on the move during those yearsMississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, Georgia--and
sought out the local wargamers wherever 1 went).
The first version of WS&IM was drawn up in

I966. It was more of a statistical analysis than a

game. The components effects of various size
cannon balls hitting wood at various velocities,
probability tables on the chances of hits and where
they could be expected, the probable effects of such
hits. combined with a rudimentary movement
system made up the game. The game wasinaccurate
in many respects, overly detailed in others, and
required too much paperwork to be much fun to
play. Continued research and playing of the game
over the next two years resulted in what I considered
to be the first really playable version of the game.

This fint definitive version, which I tentatively

titled "Boarders & Broadsides" was a complex,
though still playable, game suited for single ship
duels. This game featu1-d one minute Turns, gun
sections that were loaded and fired individually (and
took time to load, depending on the number of
crewmen doing the loading}, the trimming of
individual sails by crewmen who scurried up and
down the ratlines, a movement system that
considered gradual acceleration and deceleration,
and lots of other goodies. Firing called for the use of
five different dice. each ship's Hit Record covered
an entire sheet of graph paper, and the number of
items kept up with on the Log Sheet were
phenomenal. It was all a player could do to keep up
with his one ship command, and single ship duels
lasted for four to five hours. By 1970, this game had
evolved and been simplified to the point wberegame
time was down to about two hours, and even less
naval oriented players could pick up thegame rather
rapidly.

By 1970, I was becoming intrigued with the idea

of setting up some large fleet actions. These had
been triedin the past, but the necessity of having one
player per ship had limited the size battles possible.
The game would obviously have to be considerably
simplified to make this possible. At the same time, 1
wished to sacrifice as little of the game's realism as
possible. This was accomplished by changing the
scale of the game from the one minute turn to the
present three minute turn; this change in scale
allowed the conception of having such aspects of the
rules as loading and small details of ship handling
occur automatically. This scale change also lowered
the range of the guns, permitting more ships to be
packed into the same amount of playing space. The
several gunnery tables were all mathematically
"rolled into one" in a format similar to the present
HDT. This allowed the greater amount of firing to

& handled in a much shorter time than was

formerly possible. At this time the decision was also
made to allow each ship to occupy two grid sections
instead of one, this system seeming to provide a
much better simulation of the clumsiness of these
old ships than in earlier versions of the game. The
final result, which I considered to be the second
definitive version of the game, was the direct
ancestor of the present Avalon Hill version,
although it was designed as, and has always been
played as. a naval miniatures game. This game,
further refined through several more versions, was
eventually somewhat simplified, adapted to hexes,
and converted to a boardgame format on the
insistence of J. Stephen Peek of Battleline Publications. Six months later we were approached by
Avalon Hill on the possibilities of our selling the
game to them. From then on there wasa continuous
stream of correspondence between myself and
Avalon Hill. Several questions as to the basic
concepts of the game, reasoning behind various
rules, etc. were raised in these letters, that 1 feel are
worth explaining in the balance of this article. These
points were somewhat less than self-explanatory to
AH, and, no doubt, are equally puzzling to those
now playing the game.
One of the first questions raised concerned the
reasoning behind having rigging hits count double if
the ship is under lull sails. The rigging squaies
represent not only sails, but also the maze of ropes,
masts, and spars that provided the ship's motive
power. Full sails increase the hazards of fires, and
the strain on masts and spars that might be hit in
action. A solid hit on that increased amount of
canvas stands a good chance of breaking the
associated rigging, masts, and spars which are under
great tension. Also, a hit on a sail that is not fully
tensed will probably put a small hole in the sail. A
hit on a tensed sail stands agood chance of rippingit
in half.

TWE GENERAL

PAGE 16
Bow and stern chaser guns are not included in
the rules because they were of such insignificant
power. A gun square in the game represents roughly
100 pounds of metal. So few ships mounted a chaser
battery that even came close to this figure that it was
not deemed worth-while to include in the rules. The
chances of scoring a damaging hit with only one or
two smooth-bore guns are far too small to consider
in the scale of these rules. Proper chase tactics of the
period called for yawing the ship from side to side,
thus losing distance, but firing whole broadsides for
a greater chance of scoring a significant hit.
The game scale is roughly three minutes per
turn. with each hex approximately one hundred
yards. The two hex space a ship occupies is, of
course, much more space than the ship actually
needs (the largest ships of the period only being
about eighty yards along, including the bowsprit),
but allows for proper intervals between the ships. A
ship could maneuver somewhat within this space to
prevent an enemy ship from moving through it, as in
attempts to break a line.
The game scale is considered to be quite flexible
in some cases. Since grappling attempts can be made
from adjacent hexes, ships in adjacent hexes could
be assumed to be "rubbing hulls", or a considerable
distance apart. Part of the die probabilities for
grappling have to do with determining if the ships
are actually close enough together to attempt to
grapple. This also applies to collisions and fouling.
Ships which "collide" in game terms do not
necessarily have to actually bump into each other
(although if they foul, this is what has happened),
but they d o have to end their movement to avoid
such an actual coIlision.
There seem to be a bewildering number of
different ways in which a ship can be knocked out of
the battle, the distinctions between these being
meaningless to those not familiar with the period.
These differences can be rather easily explained. A
"struck" ship represents one whose accumulated
damage has reached the point where it can no longer
defend itself, either due to total crew demoralization
and shock, or to total concern with survival (i.e.,
keeping the ship afloat). A 'struck" ship would
present the appearance of a total wreck to anyone
observing it, and conventions of humanity and of
the sea of the period would preclude firing on a
helpless hulk. A "surrendered" ship simulates one
that is still seaworthy and could still put up some
resistance, if supported. However, if unsupported,
and threatened, such a ship would "surrender" to
avoid any further needless killing. There were
numerous instances during this era of ships
"surrendering". then raising their flag again and
sailing off when the immediate danger had passed
(the Flore did this at Lissa). A "captured" ship is
simply any enemy ship with a prize crew on board.
The design theory that went into the firing of the
guns is rather complex, and, in some cases,
somewhat abstract. The game's HDT isa somewhat
simplified and mathematically combined representation of what was covered by the use of several
tables in earlier versions of the game. Differentiations built into the HDT include the weight of
broadsides, the random spread o i shot due to the
windage of smoothbore guns fired from a rolling,
moving platform, perspective due to the apparent
smaller size of a target at a distance, and the loss of
velocity, and, hence, penetration due to range.
Remembering that WSBIM was developed
from earlier versions o i the game where the
individual guns were actually loaded and fired
separately, and took different times to load, it is
necessary to understand what is being simulated
when the die is rolled for each ship to fire. In the time
span of one turn, the gun crews could l
x firing "at
will", that is, loading and running out the guns as
quickly as each individual crew could do so. They

could be firing "by sections"(agun section normally

consisted of six guns, three on each side of the ship,
each section under the command of an officer), a
somewhat slower method, but with a more
concentrated impact and effect. They could be
loading all the guns, then, when all were ready,
firing the entire broadside at once. There could be
casualties, breaking up the organization of the gun
crews, and hurting their efficiency. The guns could
be loaded, then have to wait for a break in the smoke
before firing. The effects of all this over a three
minute period would be about equal on each ship,
but exactly when the guns would be fired,and how
many would bt fired at any one time is problematical.
There are two ways to look at firing in a si-move
game. The first is the theory that all units fire at
exactly the same moment, that moment coming at
the end of the movement. The second, the theory
used in WS&IM, postulates that during the time
span covered by each turn, each gun can be fired a
number of times (2-6, depending on the size gun,
and the training of the crews), and in a number of
ways. The scale of thegame is such that exactly what
the gun crews are doing is out of the player's
command realm, but the fact remains that, although
firing is conducted simultaneously after all movement is complete, this is not necessarily what is
k i n g simulated. If the first method was operable in
the game, the target of each ships fire would have to
be writtendown before firing could begin. Allowing
players to fire their ships in any desired order, as is
permitted in the game, not only reduces papenvork,
but is a more accurate simulation of the events. The
real realism problem of si-move games is not the
order of firing, but the fact that the counters may,
during the course of their movement, assume widely
different attitudes and ranges to one another from
what may be the case when all movement is
complete. The only compensation to all these
factors that could be made (compatible with
playability) is the effect of the die roll on a ship's
firepower. Thus, the die roll determines not only
what is hit (a factor of probability). but also how
many hits are caused (an abstraction of the facton
discussed above).

A number of questions were also raised as to

how a ship could change its speed so rapidIy, going
from full speed one turn to 'W on the next, etc. This
ability is a function of the scak used for the game.
As mentioned earlier in this article, a limited ability
to accelerate and slow down was a feature in earlier
versions of the game where the scale called for one
minute turns. The need for these rules disappeared
when the scale changed to three minute turns, as the
required speed changes are completely plausible
within this time span. One of the major features that
led to the use of square-rigged ships in thefirst place
was their ability to change their speed fairly rapidly.
Had it not been for this factor (and the fact that a
square-rigger could carry somewhat more sail), the
fore-and-aft rigged ship would have been the
dominant type due to its ability to sail closer to the
wind. The physics of a square-rigger are much more
than just inertia of rest, and inertia of motion. A
sailing ship overcomes inertia of rest and moves
forward due to the force of the wind blowing on the
sails at an angle, this wind force being translated
into a vector force towards the bow that makes the
ship go forward. Sailing ships are rather efficient
instrumcnts for this. and their speed can exceed the
wind velocity. Since the spars could be pivoted on
the masts. it was a relatively easy matter to "back"
the sails into the wind. reverse the vector force
towards the stern, overcome the inertia of motion
forward, and check the ship's movement. A squarerigger was much more flexible than a modern
sailboat. Speed could bechecked, orthe ship rapidly

brought to a standstill by backing the fore topsail,

then the ship could pullahead again by swinging the
fore yards to permit all sails to pull again. With a
little trimming, a square-rigger could even sail
sideways or backwards ("boxhauling"), although
this would not be done in combat.
With a scale of 100 yards per hex, a ship at a
speed of seven is covering700 yards per three minute
turn, an actual speed of seven knots. Since ships
given a speed of seven maximum in the game were
actually capable of a maximum speed in the
neighborhood of thirteen to fourteen knots with all
canvas on, and under ideal conditions, this speed
does not really approach their theoretical optimum.
Similarly, ships under what is termed in the game as
"battle sails" are making only three to four knots.
Compared to modern naval battles, sailing actions
were rather leisurely affairs.
Under battle sails, a ship would reduce her
canvas to what was known as her "fighting sailsmusually, to just the topsails andjib. Under these sails
a ship was easily managed, and required a minimum
crew to maneuver her. However, the ship's other
major sails (mainsail, foresail, and the topgallants)
were not secured to the yards (furled), but merely
loosely tied to the yards (clewed up). lngame terms,
this makes it very easy to go from battle sails to full
sails, or back again. Ships carried a large number of
additional sails that were never used in action as
they required too large a crew and too much timeto
employ. These sails, which might be termed
"cruising sails", would enable a ship to reach its
optimum speeds, but, as they would play no part in
an actual engagement, no rules covering them are
included or needed in the game. Thus, the maximum
speed variation in a three minute period is seven
knots, and the sail handling this entails is fairly
simple. Actually, a ship under full sails could
actually manage a better turn of speed than that
given lor short spurts, but this was never done for
more than a short period of time (mainly because
the guns could not be worked properly with the roll
and/or heel induced by such speeds), but the
average is what is considered in the game.
To summarize: A ship that moves seven hexes
during a turn is not necessarily moving at a constant
velocity of seven; it could be going faster at some
point during the turn, and slower towards the end of
the turn, permitting the ship to come to a halt at
some time during the following turn, if this is
desired. Also, a ship set in two hundred yards of
ocean, and occupying only about a third of that
space, is theoretically not necessarily sitting absolutely still, even if it is at a speed of zero in game
terms. This all perhaps soundsa bit abstract, but it is
the reason that the player can infinitely vary the
speeds of his ships from turn to turn.
Hopefully, this article will clear up many of the
questions players may have had concerning the
game, and increase their appreciation of what is
actually being simulated as they play it.
Speaking of Development

When WOODEN S H I P S A N D IRON M E N

was originally released by Battleline Publications in
the Summer of 1974, it immediately met withcritical
acclaim from gaming magazines and garnered top
ratings from their surveys. Perhaps even more
outstanding was the fact that it was being played
with regularity by many local garners. In a hobby
which has been satiated by a multitude of gamesof
every imaginable style and period, to see a game
being played more than a few times is a rare
occurrence. All of which iIlustrates the value of hard
work in the production of a successful garne. Craig
Taylor spent eight years on this labor of love which
developed from a very technical and accurate
miniatures version highly rated in its own right.

THE GENERAL
Once again it is time to consult you-our
audience-as to what you would like to see in
the year ahead from Avalon Hill in the way of
game designs. Last year's survey played an
important role in the design course we are
presently pursuing. Those which rated well last
year have either been published or are currently
in various stages of development. We are
already committed to several of the titles listed
below but your acceptance or rejection thereof
may affect their eventual publication date.
Regardless of the titles chosen you can rest
assured that, just like the movies, today'sgames
are better than ever.
The following list, presented in no particular
order, contains some pretty far out titles but we
have some folks who are far from devoid of
imagination. Cast your vote by filling in the
numbers of the titles you would definitely buy
and let the chips fall where they may.
1. BULL RUN-A competition-oriented game,
simple but subtle and designed to be played to a
conclusion in a reasonable time. This game has
an unusual history-it is actually a "lost classic"
designed back in 1962, when such competition
classics as STALINGRAD and WA TERLOO were
the standard fare. The game was put on the sheff
for financial reasons and never revived
. . until . . . We're thinking of cleaning up the OB, and putting it through the playtest
grind. Any votes for a new "old" classic?
2. PLASTICVILLE-War, peace and scavenging
in a futuristic city that abides, with ifs robotic
servants, through time and disaster. Politics,
lasers and hide and seek with robots along the
skyways and subterranean warrens of the

'

[:

3. CHINA INC/DENT-The land war in Asia,

1931-45. Designed as both a two-player and
multi-player game, the game would recreatethe
accomplishments and eventual doom of the
Japanese land forces up through Wll.
4. JIHAD!-Once the Arabs were the light of
civilization and the military power of the world.
This game traces their rise from the ashes of
Persia to the breaking of their power by the
military might of the Ottomans.
5. BYZANTIUM-A game about the waning of
the Byzantine Empire and the rise of the
Ottomans over a thousand year period. From the
brilliant General Belisarius through the strange
wars of the Crusades and the Turkish threat in
the Balkans, you can replay the military history
of the Eastern Roman Empire.
6. CLOAK & DAGGER-The city is alive with
intrigue-who can you trust with your military
secrets? Who can you trust in your embassy?
What are the other players' objectives? Even
your own counters might belong tothe enemy! A
game of treason, spying and assassination, sat
in the European capitals of intrigue.
7. MOUNT EVEREST-Solitaire or in combination,with other climbing parties, can you meet
the challenge and scale Everest? Say, what's
that big, fuzzy, white counter that keeps leaving
8. BISIWARCK-The
classic hunt for the Bismarck returns to print in a more sophisticated
Basic Game version which remains as easy to
play as the '61 original. An intermediate game
adds a number of advanced options and
scenarios whiie the Advanced Game lays the
ultimate in surface combat realism on you.
Additionai French, German, and American ships
provide a number of interesting what-if scenarios.
9. U-BOAT-Actually a misnomer. This game
would cover all aspects of Wll submarine
warfare in scenario format representing Ger-

TITLE SURVEY

PAGE 17

man, British, American and Japanese submarine and ASW warfare efforts. A much more
sophisticated game system than it's predecessor of the sixties, scenarios would range from
attacks on convo~s, to single ship duels. to
massive campaign games taking weeks to play.
10. PRIME TIME-A game which places you in
the seat of the network programming executives. The all important buck determines whether you'll put ALL IN THE FAMILY up against
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALLor SANFORD AND
SON. A three player game obviously . . .
11. MESSERSCHMIDT-Plane to plane combat
in Wll utilizing a simultaneous movement
setem for fighter duels. attacks on massed
bomber formations, and atracks on ground
targets. Individual plane specifications for 30
different types of aircraft.

capable of being joined to form one giant

Campaign Game.
18, BDXCARS-A multi-player
game for 2-6
players in which players haul freight across the
United States in order to earn enough money to
buy the lines themselves. Onmownad, the lines
are the source of additional revenue from other
player's whose trains must utilize them to get to
their destination cities. Game resembles a
sophisticated MONOPOLY.
1 9. WHODUNIT?-A
multi-player detectivs
game in which players attempt to discover a
code solution by a process of elimination and
deductive reasoning.
20. CHICKAIWAUGA-An
operational level
game with moderate complexity featuring semihidd*,, movement and variable Orders of ~
~

12. TERMINATioN-A
very simple Science
FiaiOn game for 2-4 players. Each player
attempts to knock out his opponents baseswhile
defending his own. Orbital weapon systems and
the rotation of the Earth introduce a novel twist
to normal game mechanics.
13. SPEED CIRCUIT-A 100% skill car racing
game for 2-6players. Players actually construct
their cars to the specifications they desire for the
track being utilized. Game comes complete with
six metal cars and 3 famous tracks.
14. HUN!-A touch of KINGMAKER surfaces in
this game of political intrigue and military
strategy over the ages. The game is Set in a
mythological continent that curiously resembles
Europe; the players are budding empire-builders
who try to take overthe world by organizing their
political parties, military coups. land and sea
invasions, and espionage activities to sweep
from country to country. A combination military,
political and economic game, with touches of
Holy Wars, trade routes, political followings,
espionage and piracy.
15. THE RISING SUN-Grand Strategic scale
game of the war i n the Pacific from 1941-45.
Game will utilize monthly turns and include
every capital ship
in the war. The
Japanese player must meet minimum victory
conditions every quarter for tfie game to continue.
16, SQUAD ,JEADERALMan to man in the
streets of Stalingrad and the fields of France
during W I I . Individual leaders play a crucial
role in directing fire and rallying broken squads.
AFV's, off-board artillery, ATguns, wtc. appear in
advanced scenarios. Game will include 12
interlocking scenarios and a Campaign game.
17. 'NAM-Operational game of the war in
Vietnam broken into many scenarios which are

players compete to find gold and market their

discoveries. Claims can be jumped, prospectors
bushwacked, and charaaers eliminatedby
hostile Indians, etc, The player gaining
of
the entire field by processing his own mines and
absorption of the remainder would be the
winner.
22. FRENCH
INDIAN WARS-A strategic
level
campaign
for the control
of ~~~~h
between the ~ ~ i and
~ ~i ~ h
~ lndians
~ and~
colonies can be induced to join in the fray
depending on the tactical situation.
23, KNIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE-M~~ to
man combat in the age of King Arthur. Game
would include jousting tournaments between
famous knights and small level skirmishes
&tween archers and swordsmen of the period+

21. LOSTGOLD-A multi-player game in which

24, THE GREAT WAR-Operational level game

of World War I Western Front combat.
25. HOCKEY STRATEGY-A
hockey game
using the popular matrix concept utilized in the
present Avalon Hill sports series.
28. GLADIATOR-Man to man combat in the
arenas of ancient Rome with scenarios depicting individual combat with the classic weapons
of the period-sword and shield vs. net and
trident. Team competitions, chariot races,
battles VS. animals, and skirmisheswith Roman
legionaries would also be included.
27. DESCENT ON CRETE-A
BattalionCompany level game of the German invasion of
Crete. Game would also include an extension for
the planned invasion Malta.
28. ARNHEM-TOBRUK recreated, this time
with terrain and the participants so vividly
brought to life by A BRIDGE TOO FAR.

Conrinued on Page 31. Column 2

PAGE 18

,,

'THEGENERAL

THE GENERAL

PAGE 20
r-'----*-----I-----*--I**-----*-**-**--.I
I

HOW 70 COMPUTE SHIPPING

a)RyouliveinUSA,andline(A)is:
Up to $1.00, add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

READER BWfA'S CWDE

$ 1 ~ : KINGMAKER

from $5.01 to 8.00,add . . . . . . . . . .90

from $7.01 to $10.00, add . . . .. . . . 1.00
from $10.01 to $15.00, add . . . .. . . 1.25
$15.01 and up, add . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 1.40

A*******************************

CONTEST N o a 72
CONTEST NUMBER 72 (INSTANT REPLAY)

1. Physical lluality
t. Hqboard
3. Wlonents
1. Ease m l U~ltrstielil
5. Completen~ssof Rules

1:
I
j

. We

left something critical out of

just isn't any solution. So we'll give
was supposed to be printed the first
wer last issue will not disqualify you
now that you know what the puzzle
nd this issue's answers will all be
+.

e" is under full sails AND that both

-)r

---------------------------------

Opponent Wanted

----7
I
I

I. Want.adr will heacceptcd only when pentedon

thu Form.

2. For Sak. Trade. or Wanted-lo-Buy a h will bc scagted only w h n they arc dcslinguithcdlsctor'r irrns(games
no lungpr available hmn AH) and arc accompan~cd
by a rokcn 25c FEE.
3. I-n copy w h requued on linesprwlded m d prlnr name, aMrcss. and phone number whcrc prwidcd.

1
I
I
I
1
I

4. Ntsrntrr c o u n l r : l f i t ~ b l cyour ad will not k accepted.

5 . A& will be m p t e d only on I o m s iron, the prewdrng isare except i n lhostcaaer hvhcrtnu Oppuncotr-Wanted

form appeared in the prcced~npl m c .

So lhrt as many ads can be prinled as posslble withrn wr tnnlted space. we fequesl you

up lhc tollowme
abbrvlallons in wordlng your ad. U k e W m l h Stale abbsvlalioos.
Airika Korpa = AK. h k x a d t r thc Crcat C h l w , hnrio: BswbaU Siralrgv = BB St; B r r l e ol the Bulge = BB;
BarkctbaU Stratqy = BK SI; Blitz; D.Day = DD. FootballStraiegy = FTSt.France. 1940= FR'.wFacc-t*Fscc
= FTF: Geutysburg = Gett;Cuadakansl- Cud; lulland = J U T K~iCp6plCIm K ~ i q LuFfwBffc.
:
hR.M~dw~
=y
Mid, 1914: Orldnr of WWll
ORIC. O u t d m Sumval Out: Psmcrbl~tr= PAN; Parvpr k a d e r = Pan Ld;
Play-byMs~l= PBM, Phy-b-Phone = PW. Rtchthotrn'r War = RW; 1776. SW~ngrad= Crad;TactlcsIl =TAC:
Third Rejch = 3R;Wawrloo = Wrt.

I
I

I
I
1

the next two turns are the critical ones-write down the proper
loading, firing, and movement for the next two turns and we will
assume you've figured out the rest.
The British ship isa 50-gun RAZE, the French a 74-gunship of the
line-both are in perfect shape as describedon the "Napoleonic Period
Specification Chart". Both ships still have their initial broadsides.
The ships have not yet fired in the position given above.Give us the
French player's loading and target for this turn, and the French
loading, movement and fire for the next two turns. At that point it
should be mathematically certain that the British are doorned-even
assuming the best British play and the worst possibleFrenchdierollsI
The French ship may be assumed to be loaded with whatever you
want at the beginning.
Use all the advanced game rules except critical hits.
Loaded
First Fire
First Move
Second Move

I
I

Name

I
1
I

Address

City

ISSUE AS A WHOLE:.

Zip

Phone

. . . . . . . . .{Ratefrom I t o

1'

with 1 e q u a t i n g excellent.

10=

terrible)

~I*I.:

NAME

I
1

ADDRESS
CITY

l a
State

Target
Movement
(Hull or Rigging) (Including full sails)

STATEZIP-

THE GENERAL
During the past spring and summer, Avalon Hill

I made several major changes in its design and

. development program for 1975.This was necessitat-

ed primarily by the decision to place TOBRUK as

the top-priority project for the Fall and secondarily
by the large commitment of man-hours to ORIGINS 1. As a result, W.S.& LM.was temporarily
placed aside till more time was available for its
development. As this point I entered as a developer
to work on the game. As the development
progressed more time was needed than anticipated
for its release and 1 took over full responsibility for
the design. A lot had to be done to prepare the
package for Fall release and the later sections of the
rules have suffered a bit from the resultant time
squeeze. It was expected that certain ambiguities
would pop up as it was impossible with all the
additional information and scenarios being included in the game to find all the problems. Yet, it
was also felt that delay was the worse of the two
problems and that the basic framework of the game
had sucoessfully withstood the rigors of a full year's
test by the gaming public without any adverse
effects.
As those who have had a chance to compare
both versions of the game realize, the Avalon Hill
version is more than just a re-write of the rules. A
large amount of new information has beenincluded
encompassing more scenarios, new types of shipa,
more detailed vessel performance, a critical hit
table, etc. Many of these additions seem to have no
place in the game framework, an impediment which
has kept many frustrated garners wondering where
in the world does the bomb-ketch belong or why d o
we need to know whether a ship is copperbottomed? Don't be dismayed, there's a method to
the madness. Unlike other board games, WOODEN
SHIPS AND IRON MEN is a member of the new
cadre of games which have been appearing in the
past few years that have combined the board games
components to a miniatures-based set of rules. The
marriage has produced a total package which allows
garners to play the highly accurate tactical battles of
a miniatures campaign without having to spend
exorbitant amounts of money for the equipment.
Unfortunately, board garners who have had years of
experience playing the more abstract games of the
past, must reorient themselves to a new experience,
when approaching a new style of game. This article
is a combination of miniature board gaming
orientation and a behind the scenes look a t a few of
the development decisions which may seemunintelligible from where you sit.
For those unfamiliar with miniatures gaming, it
is a Very popular hobby which paraIlels board
gaming in many respects but without the physical
accouterments of a board and cardboard counters.
Rather, miniaturized replicas of actual soldiers,
tanks, ships, etc., accurate in detail to the period
being represented, are the playing pieces and are
maneuvered on any surface large enough to cover
the battle area needed. The rules for miniatures need
not be specific as in board games but may fit a
general framework within which players may design
a scenario limited only by the amount ofequipment
he can afford. This is an essential aspect of
miniatures as there is no standardized set of
components to accompany the instructions.
When one attempts to combine a miniatures
game with the components of a board game several
compromises must be made on both sides. The size
of the miniatures styled battle is necessarily limited
to the confines of a game board and miniature
figures must be converted to cardboard squares.
The level of play must also be reduced to a tactical
level with elimination of the abstract aspects of a
higher operational andlor strategic approach
popular in most board games. The board becomes
Iess cluttered with detail and more representative of

PAGE 21
the open nature of the polymorphic terrains of
miniatures. The counters have a minimalamount of
information and tend to be a graphical representation of the miniature's counterpart. Most importantly the rules shed the appearance of a lightly knit,
all-loopholes-covered style essential in recreating
specific battles and assume a new appearance as a
system of rules which detail movement and combat
but which need not cover rules considered essential
in recreating a particular battle or war.
This emphasis on design-your-own which is the
basis for miniatures is, thus, unavoidably transferred to the miniatures based board game and in
turn allows players to develop new scenarios and
variants as a natural consequence of it. Miniature
based games such as PANZERBLITZ, PANZER
LEADER, and now, TOBRUK all have had many
new scenarios and variants invented; avery popular
outgrowth of the games. if one judges by the number
of articles and journals devoted to it.
WOODEN SHIPS A N D IRON MEN was
designed and developed with just this emphasis in
mind. Play is most enjoyable when the scenarios are
invented by the garners themselves and glancing
through the rules manual, one sees a wealth of
material from which these inventers may draw.
For those of you still trying to figure out where
such-and-such a rule belongs, here is your answer.

BEHIND THE SCENES

To those readers who may wonder why so many
obvious blunders, (obvious to them, that is), seem to
remain inagame when only a little work would have
eliminated them we present a behind the scenes look
at some of the more controversial decisions made
during the development of WOODEN SHIPS
AND IRON MENina questionand answer format.
W h y are the counters identified by numbers
rather than by name as in the Battleline game?
Certainly the appeal of the game would have been
better served by naming the ships rather than by
numbering them if it weren't for two major
drawbacks. One, with the additional elevenscenarios, there was not enough room to fit all the new
ships on the counter sheet. If we h d gone to two
counter sheets, the first problem would have been
solved but the other would still remain, i.e., how to
identify different ships with the same name. This
problem is a result of adding an extra twenty years
to the historical period covered in the game. Some
ships were christened with the name of aship lost or
captured in the previous war. Other ships were
refitted with more guns in the period between the
American Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. All
in all it was decided that ship identification was
better served by number than by name.
Why are the order of battles of the ships in the
1776- 1784 scenarios no different than the "average"
ships O.B's of the period? All of the new scenarios
(Revolutionary) were done during the late development phase and as those who have tried to research
individual ship characteristics at the time of battle
have discovered, there is a sparsity of information
especially for the French and Spanish ships.
Rather than spend., literally, months collating
the data for an accurate-to-the-last-gun O.B,, it was
decided that interests would be best served all
around by basing all O.B's upon the general "rate
specifications." The difference is minimal, anyway,
but for those who desire realism to the ultimate
degree and have the perserverence to research the
actual O.B's may their patience be rewarded.
One other problem that developed in the
preparation of O.B.'s was the identification of a
ship's country of origin. Those ships definitely
known as being captured are given the correct
characteristics. Those ships whose origins were
uncertain, got the capturing country's 'average

ship" treatment. Again, a little independent research

can resolve the problem.
What in the world possessed you todesign such a
garish mapboard? One of the most tedious phases of
preparation in the original Battleline version was
determining the land hexes for the "Nile" scenario.
Each land hex was listed by its identification
number in the scenario, which took time to locate on
the board. Three more scenarios were planned
which involved land, of which two were included in
the manual. (The other is at the end of this article).
All of which prompted us to design a game
board more functional than the original. It was
hoped that by using three shades of blue that the
land hexes could be easily identified without losing
the overall effect of sea . . . that thedifferent shades
would be construed as different depths of the sea
floor.
Why did you reduce the color identification
code of the different nationalities on the counters?
This was my own personal decision deriving
from the fact that I like components that
most closely resemble the units and topography they
are to represent. The idea that a ship is surrounded
by a red sea just for the sake of identification would
be a final alternative on my own list of priorities.
Whether there is enough color for easy identification is yet to be seen.
Why must the ship's log be adjusted in the
advanced game? T h i s is just part of a connected
series of changes between the basic and advanced
games. The basic game is totally the invention of
Craig Taylor with just one or two very minor
changes. The advanced game, specifically the
adjustments to a ship's complements and the
changes in the tables, are my changes made during
the development. If one analyzes the historical
accuracy of the play of the basic game, it is quickly
discovered that the damage incurred by ships is
much heavier and received at a much greater rate
than actually occurred in history. This was done
with maximum effort toward playability. If considering turns equivalent to three minutes duration, an
average battle during this period would last from
between a half-hour for single ships to several days
for large fleets, or from 10 to 480 turns. It could not
be accurately represented within the limits of the
game, therefore, a compromise was reached to
increase the damage while maintaining the relative
deficiencies between the ships. The feel of play
would still remain tactical, the balance would not be
altered, but the scenarios could be played in a more
acceptable period of time.
During the development program at Avalon
Hill, it was realized that certain adaptations would
have to be made to this system to adjust for the
campaign scenarios. In the Suffren and Hughes
campaign, five battles were fought with the same
fleets. If we had stuck with the original combat as it
was then defined, it would have directed the tempo
of the fighting to an all out conclusion in the very
first battle. This, combined with the fact that a more
accurate simulation of damages would also result,
prompted us to design a new system of tables and
adjustments to the ship's ratings. Both combat
systems may be used interchangeably, keeping in
mind the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Why does the crew quality rating affect combat
as it does? Crew rating is the combination of three
factors: better morale, better aiming, and k t t e r
loading procedures, all of which are a result of
extensive training. When an additional bonus of
two on the Hit Table is made for an elite crew, it is
not just because the crew has a lot of confidence.
Within the duration of the turn they are getting off
more well-aimed shots than an average crew.

GENERAL

PAGE 22
What is the logic behind allowing such a high
bonus for raking? This is perhaps the most
controversial decision made during the development. Many of the playtestersand local advisorsfelt
that it was much over-rated in its effect. Early inthe
program, 1 felt the same, especially when 1 had one
ship with full sails accidently move into the ten hex
range of two opposing ships and was raked so badly
that the ship's battle speed was reduced to one. In
the Advanced Game some reduction in effect of the
rake was made, while the Basic Game remained the
same. The decision to maintain the strength of the
rake was made primarily to force ships away from
full sail status during the battle. Historically, ships
always reduced sail as they entered battle for fear of
damage to the rigging. They also luffed into the
wind or approached at an angle as they advanced
upon an opposing line.
Experiments in the reduction of rake bonus
strongly indicated the loss of its effectiveness in
prohibiting full sails in battle. Intelligent handling
of one's ships or fleets should minimize this damage.
The name of the game is to recreate the same
situation presented to the historical commanders
and it is unjust for a simulation to offer advantages
that were not actually in the battle.

To date there have been very few questions sent

to us that deal with the rules of play. Most have
concerned themselves with the omissions and errors
in the charts and tables. Considering the amount of
time spent on the rules of play, the lack of this kind,
of feedback seems to indicate that it was time
well spent.
CORRECTIONS
Basic Game Hii Tobles:
1. Result 4 of Table 0,hull, should read C rather
than M.
2. Result 1 of Table 8, hull, should read 4H-2G-C
rather than 4C-2C-C.
Master Scenario Chart, Scenario 2
3. The starting position for the Ranger is S1, dir. 3.
The starting position for the Drake is CCl, dir. 4.
4. For all scenarios, if there isa conflict between the
wind velocity number and the wind velocity name,
the name is always correct.
5. Order oJ Battle for Trafalgar
Principe de Asrurias is a SOL I and not a SOL2.
6. In the Campaign Game, scenarios 7C and 7D,
the SuIran is listed twice. Substitute the Monarca
whose specifications are shown in 7A for one of the
two Sultans.

QUESTIONS
Q. In the Campaign game where does a ship
captured in a previous scenario start in a subsequent
scenario?
A. A captured ship may be placed anywhere with
the capturing fleet not more than 2 hexes aside or
behind an uncaptured ship (not in front).
Q. From which crew section of 2 or more OBPs
whose strength has been combined for melee does
the controlling player extract losses?
A. The controlling player may extract losses from
any section or sections he chooses.
Q. What happens to a ship which is fouled or

grappled to a ship that sinks?

A. Nothing. Assume that the ship was able to break
free with minimal damage.
Q. May you discharge your guns to reload with a
different type of ammunition without firing at a
target?
A. Yes.

I DESIGN
ABF 4 6

ANALYSIS
15

12)

GUN 88rnm/L56
E f f Rng 3000m
AMMO 92 PEN 4.9" 2 MG 34

GPrws 14

~ t 6 0 . 1 1 HPW+ 11.6

THE SECOND TIME AROUND

by Donald Greenwood
No game in recent years has been a s controversial as THIRD REICH. Bestowed with prestigeous
awards on one hand and widely criticized on the
other, it, perhaps more than any other game, holds
the elusive answer to the oft asked question of what
makes a popular game. Few people question the
degree of innovation or possibilities for varied
strategies which abound in THIRD REICH.
However, no one will defend it as the panacea of
rules presentation.
THIRD REICH, for all its honors, is not
indicative of Avalon Hill rule development. In 1974,
the game was under the pressure of a publication
deadline which would enable it to be released to the
retail trade in time for Christmas sales. I, as the
game's developer, met that deadline-much to my
later regret. In essence, the rules never went through
the rewrite development stage. I was too busy
playtesting and redesigning the original prototype
to d o more than basic cosmetic surgery on the
Prados rules. For all its innovations and va~ied
strategies, the original T W R D REICH prototypes
simply did not work. In retrospect, we spent too
many of our game design BRPs in making it work
and not enough on rules development.
The THIRD REICPI rules are, to k frank,
repetitive and ambiguous. They were not intended
as a definitive set of all encompassing rules, but as
an outline of situations which could occur. T o
include specific cases for each unique situation that
could occur would have necessitated a booklet
comparable to the Bronx phone directory. The
player must use the outline provided as a guide and
let logic pursue its course. Rules lawyersand novices
will have a hard time with THIRD RE=
Be that as it may, a second edition of the THIRD
RElCH rules has been long called for and is now
available. Devotees of the game who have been
awaiting this event as if it were the second coming
and the answer to all their questions should hold
their hosannas. Rewriting a rulebook the size of this
one is impossible for a multitude of reasons, all of
which look suspiciously like the common denominator; money and the lack thereof. The rules
therefore remain in the same outline style punctuated by 35 red dots which draw attention to changes of
varying degrees of importance in the original text.
The two column format has been expanded to three
columns per page resulting in a shrinking of the
manual to 32 pp. More historical notes and a five
page appendix of questions & answers have been
added at the expense of omitting the section on
strategy of play for the various powers.
All this may be worth $2.00 plus postage to
many of you, but for those who would otherwise feel
ripped off we list the major changes below.

2.4 "Stockholm & the hex west of it", "Cenoa &

Spezia" have been added to the list of hexside
combinations which do not allow physical contact.
2.7 "Defensive benefits are not cumulative; i.e., a
mountain behind a river is still only tripled on
defense."
3.313 Declarations of War have been added to the
total B R P expenditure of a nation during any turn

which may never exceed half its YearJStart BRP

level.
3314 "Units can be SR'ed through Gibraltar even
though enemy units may be adjaoent, as long as
friendly forces control Gibraltar."
3.51 "Colonies or conquered territories of a fallen
power (other than France) become the property of
the first player to occupy them. S R to such areas is
not allowed until first occupied by friendly forces."
3.52 "If Paris is taken by Axis troops, French
attacks during the upcoming turn must be supplied
from England througha French port. Theseassaults
are limited to direct assaults on the capital or those
enemy units barring direct access to Paris. If it is
impossible for Paris to be retaken that turn by
French units, then n o further Frenchattacks may be
made.
French units outside of France when it
falls must move to the nearest French colony or
France itself (whichever is closer) where they'll
undergo the usual VichyIFree French determination procedure. British units in Vichy French
colonies must leave or declare war in their turn."
3.53 The loss of Moscow and Leningrad not only
costs the Russian player BRPs but is now"added t o ,
the German's (BRP base) every year until the cities
are retaken." The Soviets must also now be reduced
below Axis strength in Russiaas wellus being under
75 factors to be forced to surrender.
3.6 The restriction against naval units of opposing
major powers intervening against initial invasion
attack of minor neutrals has been lifted.
Another important change is that "Italian fleets
cannot convey German units across the Mediterranean and German units may not cross ltaly until
the alliance is activated. The allianoe is activated by
a Declaration of War against any major power also
at war with Germany."
4.3 Important changes have beenmade in the supply
rules. "In order for a nation to be used as a source
for supply it must have military units represented in
the game. Portugal, for example, could not be used
as a base for supply. Any Libyan port can be usedas
an Axis base of supply in Africa ascan any Egyptian
port for the Allies."
"Russian units may trace supply to any Russian
hex on the eastern edge of the board. Allied units
may not trace supply from Russian sources."
4.6 "There is one exception to the stacking rules; the
British player may stack 3 units in London."
4.7 "Airborne units which are eliminated after
staging an air assault are permanently removed
from the force pool if unable to tracea line of supply
at the time of their elimination. Once this occurs
they may never be rebuilt. NOTE: for purposes of
this permanent elimination rule only: an airborne
unit is considered in supply if it is adjacent to a
friendly non-airborne unit at the time of its
elimination."
4.9172 "The transport mission must be the first
"attack" executed during the turn; i.e., a transport
mission cannot ke made to a port occupied by the
enemy at the beginning of a turn."

Continued on Page 32, Column 3

PAGE - 23

THE GENERAL

Austria: Hal Naus

England: John McCallum
France: Edi Birsan
Germany: Eugene Prosnitz
'

t-6

Posral Diplomacy is a hobby ifi and of itself

;complete with its own cast of cha~actersand
pupepstars. PBM Diplomacy is carried on in any
of dozen~lsof mimeographed or dittoed fun 'zines
!- few of which have circularions over 100
I mthusiasts. The publisher acts m the GM (gamebmaster) and acts as the receiving point for moves
and press releases. A Dippy zine may carry as few
ras oac or as m n y as 10 or 12 separate games tall of which are given a postal number and
;recorded for posterity by a hobby generated
wyttem called the Boordrnun numbers. The Bwrdpmnrn number of the AVERAGE ACES game
kwhich we are about to review was 19 72W.
! As can be seen, s win in postal Dipbrmncy
: circles (roughly 500 hard : core
entkusinsts)
, m m s a good deal more than the average pbm
;@me of say. . . WATERLOO. A plnyer who has
'bccumu~ated10 postal wins is widely revered and
+die to a number of rating gstems virtually
'everyone knows who the best players are. This
!article origimlly contained extensive background
?&to an the pkyers which we've omitted due to
?the lack of menning this would hold for most
GENERAL readers. Suffice it to say that the
:%ld is well known in postal Diplomacy circles
for their accomplishments in that a m .
Those interested in beioming part of the
:postal Diplonaocy scene shoiak? write Walter
Buchannn whose DIPLOMACY WORLD is adb t i z e d elsewhere in this issue. In the coms m m t ~ which
~ y follows blocked moves are indicated by italics. Fleets are shown on the game
, charts by circles; armies by squares.

AVERAGE ACES GAME (1972CR)

It is u pleasure to write the introduction for
this arnalysis of what I consider the most brilliant
win in post01 Diplomcy history. Brenton Ver

PIoq won in only 7 p m e years against probably

the strongest field ever assem bled.
The key to this game was indeed diplomacy.
As GM I w s privileged to get some insight into
the inner worldngs of the game, and Brenton s'
cornmutzicutions to the ofher plnyers both by use
of the phone and by letter were brilliant.
A t the beginning of the game the majority o f
the pluyers were against Brenton (maybe due 60
his prior outstanding record) and in fact as R u s h
in 1901 kc gained only one mppty center,
Austrh and Turkey both being against him.
Diplomacy began to tell, however, Brenton
jirft s t Austrin to ally with him against Turkey
and then immedbtely stabbed him with the
resalt that Naus w s pretty well done in by the
end of 1902. Next, Brenton, with the kelp of
Beyerlein's Italy, turned on Lakojb's Turkey
and Len w s out of the running in 1904. Doug,
inadentally, w s Brenton's game-bng ally. A t
least until the end of the game!
The next step on Brenton's strategy was a
btiliinnt one. In 1905 he let Doug grow t o near
parity, thus assuring his gume-long trust. A 1 7-17
&aw h d been agreed to. I906 saw Brenton

Italy: Doug Beyerleh

Russia: Brenton Ver Ploeg
Turkey: Len Lakofka

Commentary: Walter Buchanan and Doug Beyerlein

stabbing both Birsrm's Frame nnd M n i f z ' s

G e r m n y in the north t o establish hegemony in
that area, Brenton set this u p by abetting both
Edi's and Gene's pre-game animosity so that they
were at each bther's throats for the entire game.
The last step ws the stab on Doug in 1907.
Brerzton had engineered Doug into leaving his
borders unguarded, thus making the victory easy.
it might be infwred from the record of this
game that Brenton traded in his 4 year history as
a trustworthy player t o win this bigone easily by
a series of stabs. I do not believe this t o be the
mse, however. Brenton's use of dipIomacy in
getting the other plnyers to do what he wanted
them t o do was f w l y sipggering. 11 addition to
running a phone bill u p t o between $200 and
$300 and many long ktrers, Brenton put the
batter p r t of his waking hours during a 6 month
period into this p m e . That is how 60 win a postal
Diplomcy game
W h ~ tfollows is Doug Beyerlein 's in-depth
amlysis of the gnme itself.
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO SPRING 1901:

When the start of a newA game is first

announced the seven players pull all stops to
arrange alliances in their favor, tie up their
neighbors in uriproductive cnltacks, and iil general
try t o get an idea of what to expect will. happen
on the board. This was certainly true of 1972CR.
From the atart the action was fast and fierce.
Edi Birsan (France),winner of the previous
HA gnme, was strong on committing his neighbors to ~ r t a i nattacks without immediately
involving France. He wanted to peacefully @in
Spain, Portugal, and Belgium while England And
Germany clashed and Italy went after Turkey. In
this respect Edi a w the game possibly concluding
with England and France opposing a RussianTurkish alliance. In any case, his old nemesis;
Eugene Prosnitz playing Germany, would have to
be dealt with - hopefully with aid from England
and Russia. However, even Italian or Austrian aid
for the French capture of Munich would do for a
start.
Eugene Prosnitz (Germany) was all for taking
on and elimwting France as quickly as possible.
As such, he wanted Birsan to attack England in
1901 (something which Edi refused t o do) and
for Italy to go west and not east. Scandinavia was
not of prime interest and Gene was willing to
have Russia take Sweden t o keep peace on that
sector of the board.
I t is difficult to know what John McCallum
(England) was planning because little of his
correspondence has been collected for this analysis. Letters to France and Italy indicated that he
was headed east after ~ ~ r m or
a Russia.
n ~ However, he definitely had his choice in going with
either a French or German alliance, and he
seemed t o prefer the German alliance with his
Spring 1901 orders.
Brenton Ver Ploeg (Russia) had both a northern and southern front t o worry abput. The

northern front was a secondary one as he was

only concerned with taking Sweden in Fali 1901
With both England and Germany more involved
with France than with Scandinavia this was not
difficult. The south was more involved. An early
alliance with Italy gave Brenton some insurance
against Turkey and Austria getting together.
Personality conflicts made an alliance with LAofka's Turkey near impossiile and Naus' Austria
was somewhat of an unknown factor. Yet Russia
aimed for Austria to accept the move of A
Warsaw t o Galicia.
Len Lakofka (Tuxhy) had a corner position
- which was both good and bad. If he could
make some initial gains he was pretty much
guaranteed success later in the game. But he
would be in a bad way if Italy were t o open with
the Lepanto attack on Turkey. Thus Len aimed
his diplomacy a t getting Italy to go west after
Birsan's France. That would gtop the Lepanto.
And to grow, his best chance was the alliance
with Austria against Russia.
Hal Naus (Austria) corresponded very little
with his neighbors. He agreed t o a non-aggression
pact with Italy and at least initially was agreeable
to helping Russia against Turkey.
Doug BeyerIein (Italy) had accepted the
Rus+n alliarioe offer and was content to stay
out of western'affairs while'kon&'ntrating on the
east. To remove the possibility of a Russian~ d k i s halliance he told Turkey that Italy would
go west if Turkey would attack Russia. At the
same time he plannea t o open with the standard
Lepanto - as nearly everyone suspected.

SPRING 1901:

AUSTRIA (Naus): F Ti-Alb, A Bud-Ser, A

%-Bud
ENGLAND (McCallurn): F E&-Nth, A Liv-Wal, F
Lon-Eng
FRANCE (Birsan): F Bra-Mid, A Par-Bur, A Mar
S A Par-Bur
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F KieDen, A Ber-Kie, A
Mun-Ruh
ITALY (Beyerlein): F NapIon, A Rom-Apu, A
Ven H
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F St P(sc)-Bot, A WarGal,
A Mos-Ukr, F Sev-Bla
TUR&Y (Lakofka): A Con-Bul, F Ank-Bln, A
Smy-Arm

TUB SPRING 1901 ORDERS:

AUSTRIA: Standard opening to take Serbia
and Greece by the fall. The move to Budapest
(allowing Russia to take Galicia) was a little
unusual as now both Vienna and Budapest were
open t o possible Russian assault in the fall.
'However, Russian passage through Galicia had
been allowed so that Russia muld take Rumania
with support in the fall.
ENGLAND: The moves t o the English Channel and Wales e n d e d an attack on France. This
was apparently a result of Gerrnany'sdiplornacy.
FRANCE: Standard opening for the gain of

PAGE 24
Portugal and Spain in the fall. The support of the
move into Burgundy guaranteed that German
resistance would be useless and Beburn would be
within reach for the fall season.
GERMANY: Standard opening allowing for
numerous alternatives in the fall. A possible gain
of three (Denmark, Holland, and Belgium) could
be made in the fall.
ITALY: The move of A Rom t o Apulja meant
that Italy would open with the Lepanto and
convoy the army to Tunis in the fall. Ordering A
Venice to hold showed that there was not a
strong Austro-Italian alliance.
RUSSIA: A fairly standard opening in moving
three units rwuth. F Sevastopol t o the Black Sea
guaranteed neutralization of that important sea
province. And, as mentioned earlier, Austria had
agreed to let Russia move through Galicia to take
Rurnania .
TURKEY: A Russian attack was in full swing.
If the BIack Sm could have been taken (through
diplomacy) the attack would have been guaranteed a success. However, now it was to be a long,
hard fight.

DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO FALL 1901:

, ,
I

1 II

The diplomacy prior to Fall 1901 slacked off

considerably in comparison t o the amount conducted before the spring. This was somewhat t o
be expected as alliances on the board were
beginning to make themselves known. However,
also during this period the 1972 Summer Olymp i a were on prime time evening television and
kept at least one dipIomat away from the
typewriter.
Len Lakofka (Turkey) was the most active
player prior to ihe fall deadfine. The spring
results showed both Austria and Italy moving in
his diredon rum he was in the midst of a war
with Russia. Len continued to work on getting
Italy t o attack France. And he offered Au*ia

the prize of taking Rumania with Turkish uppart. In addition, he contacted Ru& about an
end t o their war and what wr~ditionsVEX
would want for letting Turkey survive.
Edi Birsan (France) also appeared t o be in
trouble. The English fleet in the Channel was a
bad omen. To minimize the fleet's pos8ibiiities
Edi told England that the French hi would
definitely cover Brest. However, help into B O
gium could be arranged if England would definitely cover Brest. However, help into Begum
could be arranged if England wanted to mmoy
the army there. All during this time Bdl was
eyeing taking Munich and again inquired about
Italian support in doing so.
Brenton Ver Ploeg (Russia) rejected Turkey's
plea for peace unless Lakofka was willing to
puppet to Russia's demands. Brenton felt that
the Austrian alliance would hold and R u d
would be taken as planned. Little o r no d i p b
macy was conducted b y the other player6 d e
this season.

PALL 1901:

AUSTRIA maus): A Bud-Rum,P A s r e , A SBI

S F Alb-Gre. Owns: Bud, Tri, Vie, Rutn, Sff,Gre
(6). Build 3.
ENGLAND (McCallum): A Wal-Bel, F Eng C A
Wal-Bel, F Nth-Nwy. Owns: Edi, Liv, Xnn, Be{,

Nwy (5). Build 2.

FRANCE (Birsan): F Mid-Por, A Mar-Sp, A
Bur-Mun. Owns: Bre, Mar, Par,Por, Spn 6).
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Den H, A KikHol, A
Ruh-Mun Owns: Ber, Kie, Mun, Dm, Hal (5).
Build 2.
ITALY meyerlein): A Ven B,A AplrTun, F Ion
C A ApwTun. Owns: Nap, Rom, Ven, Tun (4).
Build 1.
RUSSIA (Vm Ploeg): F Bot-Swe, A Gal-Rum, A
Uh-Sev, F Sev-Bln. Owns: Mos, St P, Sev, War,
Swe (5). Build 1.

'TLJRKEY b k o f h ) : A Bul S A u s h b A BudRum, F AnkBh, A At-.

Oms: Ank, Con,
Smy,Bd(4). Build 1.
FALL 1901ORDERS:
AUSTRIA: The mme and support into
Greece were standard. However, the order of A
Budapest to Rumania (supported by Turkish A
B-ria)
wan a major surpriss apparently con.
cocted by Turkey.
ENGLAND The convoy into Belgium was a
d 0 move relative to chancing rn attack on Bmd.
T h gain of Norway was assured
FRANCE: Birsan won the gamble to lave
B r a t open and take PortufaI with his fleet. The
move of A Burgundy to MlinicR was less succew
ful, but with the gain of both Portugal and Spain,
Francs would not be hurting m 1902
lTALY: The mntinuation of the convoy tn
Tunis WEIS wmplated. A Veniw would hold until
it oould profitably intervene in a neighbonIng
co~ct.
'

RUSSIA: Fall was nsarly a disaster with the

Austrian stab over Rumania, The only gain to be
made was the taking of Sweden.
TURKEY: Lalmfka had rnade the best of a
kid &miion by talking Austria into attacking
and ,taking R u d with TuWb suppd. Thk
was a majur victory in a ware
is of stanhf&
WmiOMACY PRIOR m WrNTER 1901:
T M s diplomacy period was very short (one
week) and actually was more oonmned with the
Spring 1902 orders than the Winter 1901 builds
Brenton Vsr Pbeg (Rupsia) discus& with
Italy the h e s to be rnade in posiibly fighting
both Austria and Turkey. However, t h goal
~ was
still to separate Lakofka and Naus and handle
mch individually: i.e., divide and conquer.
Edi B i r m (France) was puahing England :t
make builds favo~able to Prance. Such builds
would he A London and F Edinburgh. At the m e
time Edi was talking Germany h i o building a
fleet to be u d against Ewland.
Eugene hosnitz (Germany)wan still trying to
convince Italy to attack France.
Len IAoflte (Turkey) now inquired if Italy
@t
want to h g e apparent course (Lepanto
into Turkey) r 1 hit Auskia from the rear.
WINTER 19
AUSTRIA .,us): Builds A Bud, A Tri, A Vie.
ENGLAND (McCallum): Builds A Liv, F Lon.
FRANCE (Birsan): Builds F Bre, A Par.
GERMANY (Prosnitz): Builds A Mun, F Kie,
ITALY (Beyalein): Builds F Map.
RUSSIA (Ve*Hoeg): Builds A St P.
TURKEY(Lakofka): Builds F Cop.

THE WINTER 1901 BUILDS:

AUSTRIA: The building of three a r m h
indicated that Naus was now in pursuit of a
strong land policy vis a via Russia and Turkey.
ENGLAND: The building of A Liverpool and
F London showed that there might be an
AngleFrench alliance in the future.
FRANCE: The fleet in Brest was needed to
balance the English fleet in the Channel. The
army in Paris would be helpful against either
G e r m y o r England.
GERMANY: F Kiel w a s a concession to
possibly gain the French alliance against England
- as apparently the E@sh move t o Belgium was
not welcomed by Germany.
ITALY: F Naples was standard for further
development of the Lepanto into Turkish waims.
RUSSIA: This build of A St. Peteraburg was
unexpected. One would have thought that Ru&
was in enough problems in the muth without
devoting its one build to the north.

THE GENERAL
TURKEY: The addition of F Constantinople
would make possible the gain of the Black Sea
plus cover Smyma, Bulgaria, and the Aegean Sea.
However, the Italians now had an easy shot at the
Eastern Mediterranean.
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO SPRING 1902:
Brenton Ver Ploeg (Russia) was heavy with
the diplomacy in an attempt to regain the
Austrian alliance in the south. He worked on
Germany and Italy to talk Austria back into an
alliance with Russia. At the same time he wooed
Naus into giving up Rumania t o Russia for the
gain of Bulgaria. And Brenton even had Lakofka
on the Iine just in a s e . In the north he was
working with Germany for the gain of Norway
after an initial stand-off over the Skagerrak (to
keep out the English) in the spring.
Eugene Prosnitz (Germany) was falling more
into line with the Russian alliance as he saw
EngIand and France allying. And he was still
p u s k g Italy to atiack France.
Len Lakofka flurkey) was no longer quite
sure what to d o with the Austrian monster he
had now created. He was still exploring negotiations with Russia, but only on a most elementary
level. Better chances lay with getting Italy to put
pressure on Austria from behind.
John McCallum (England) was now firmly
allied with France and committed himself tactically to battle against Germany and Russia.
Doug Beyerlein (Italy) was riding with the
Russian alliance. A strong Austria was a clear
menace and it was definitely necessary to split
the Austrc-Turkish alliance. Apparent commitment to a western attack b y Italy would hopafully g v e Austria the security he would need to
hit Turkey. Thus that was the diplomacy used.

SPRING 1902:
AUSTRIA (Naus): A Vie-Tyr, A Tri S A Vie-Tyr,
A Rum-Bul, A Ser S A Rum-Bul, F Gre S A
Rum-Bul, A Bud S Russian A Gal-Rum
ENGLAND (McCallum): A Liv-Edi, F Eng-Nth, F
Lon S F Eng-Nth, F Nwy S F Eng-Nth, A Bd S
French A Bur-Ruh
FRANCE (Busan): A Bur-Ruh/r/ (Gas, Pic, d), A
Par-Bur, F Ere-Eng, A Spa-Mar, F Por-Mid
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Den-Sh, F Kie-Hol, A
Hol-Eel, A Mun-Bur, A Ruh S A Mun-Bur
ITALY (Beyerlein): A Ven B,A Tun-Apu, F Ion
C A Tun-Apu, F NapT yr
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F Swe-Skn, A St P-Nwy, A
Gal-Rum, A Ukr S A Gal-Rum, F Sev-Bla
TURKEY (Lakofka): F Ank-Bla, F Con S F
Ank-Bla, A BuI S Austrian A Rum/a/,A Arm-Sev

SPRING 1902 ORDERS:

AUSTRIA: The attack on Bulgaria came
through to the good fortune of Russia - and the
bad of Turkey. The move t o Tyrolia was quite
unexpected and meant possible trouble for either
Italy or Germany.
ENGLAND: The support of the French attack on Ruhr definitely sided England with
France as did the move from the English Channel
to the North Sea.
FRANCE: The attack on Ruhr went poorly as
instead Burgundy was lost. However, the reat of
the French units continued the deployment and
the set back was only minor.
GERMANY: The German attack was beginning to move into full swing. Burgundy was taken
from France. Two fleets now bordered the North
Sea and Russian cooperation was evident in
Scandinavia.
RUSSIA: The diplomacy had paid off. Austria
did as told and A Galicia finally got to Rumania.
The Turkish advance would go no further. In the

PAGE 25
north the positions were now such that Russia
conic! take Norway without trouble and German
cooperation would keep England from protesting
too strongly.
TURKEY: The Black Sea was now gained and
Italy had abandoned the Lepanto - yet with the
Austrian attack and capture of Bulgaria things
looked bleak.

DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO FALL 1902:

This season almost everyone was in agreement: get Austria. With the Spring '02 Austrian
moves to Tyrolia and Bulgaria Hal Naus was
without a single ally in the east.
Len Lakofka (Turkey) saw t h t with the
simultaneous Austrian stabs of Turkey, Italy and
Germany (A Tyr-Mun possible in F '02) and the
past Austrian stab of Russia that Turkey was no
longer the diplomatically odd man out. Pursuing
that line of attack he worked on both Russia and
Italy to combine with Turkey for a threbway
attack on Auskia. In addition, Len tried to sound
out Ver Ploeg on the game-long Russo-Turfish
aUiance proposal agdin.
Doug Beyerbin (Italy) was upset over the
Austrian move t o Tyrolin. He contacted both
Turkey and Russia regarding tactics to be used
against Austria in Fall 1902. To sound out
Austria's intentions for the fall now that Venice
could not be captured Doug called Naus to learn
of Austria's plans. Hal spoke of an attack on
Turkey and of his plans to order A Tyrolii to
Bohemia and F Greece to the Aegean Sea. With
this knowledge (assuming it was true) it was then
possible for Beyerlein to coordinate the RussianTurkish-Italian tactics for the fall season. A
comparison of plans (one for the attack in Fall
1902, the other for the attack to begin in Spring
1903) was studied and the decision made to
attack Austria in Fall 1902 agreed upon by Ver
Ploeg, Lakofka,and Beyerlein.
Brenton Ver PIoeg (Russia) was watchmg two
fronts develop for Russia. In the south Brenton
hoped to maintain the Austrian alliance until
Spring 1903 when he would be able t o slip an
army into Galicia. However, Italian and Turkish
tactics versus Austria required Russian participation in the fall. In the north things were
beginning to move as Norway would be taken in
the fail. Diplomatically Brenton was pushing the
line t o France that only a French-GermanRussian attack on England and then a FrenchRussian split of Germany would help either
France or Russia in the long run.
Eugene Prosnitz (Germany) was worried
about the Austrian spring move to Tyrolia with
Munich open. Thus he pushed strongly for the
Russian-Italian-Turkish attack on Austria. In the
north his cooperation with Russia would give Ver
Ploeg Norway. And it was at this time that Gene
made his statement t o Ver Ploeg that he was in
favor of a gamelong alliance and would even
accept a second place finish. This statement was
t o later greatly influence events in the game.
Edi Birsan (France) was trying t o get back on
the diplomatic offensive. A letter went out to
England, Italy, and Turkey outlining what was
needed to be done to counter the RussianGerman-Austrian combination. Playing the other
side he also wrote Austria in regards t o attacking
Munich in exchange for French aid versus Italy.
And in a rather long letter (seven pages) wrote to
Russia on the philosophy of how they {France
and Russia) should handle the west. The letter
also gave insight into past Engiish-French-German
relations.
Hal Naus (Austria) was briefly communicative
as he wrote Italy explaining his move to Tyrolia
and Austria's fall plans against Turkey.

FALL 1902:
AUSTRIA (Naus): A Tyr-Boh, A Tri H,A Bud H,
A Ser S A But A Bul S Russkn A Rum/d/, F
Gre-Aeg. Owns: Bud, Tri, Vie, Ser, (4). Remove
1.
ENGLAND (MoCallum): A Bel-Bur, A Bdi-Hol, F
Nth C A Edi-Bol, F Lon S F Nth, F Nwy S F
Nthfrl (Bar, Nwg, Ska, d). Owns: Edi, Liv, Lon,
(3). Remove 2.
FRANCE (Birsan): A Pic-Bel, F Eng S A PieBel,
A Par & A Mar S English A Bel-Bur, F Mid-Gas.
Owns: Bre, Mar, Par, For, Spa, Bel 16). Build 1.
GERMANY (Rosnitz): F Den-Nth, A Hol. B, F
He1 S A Hol, A Ruh-Mttn, A Bur-Mun/r/ (Pic, d),
Owns: Ber, Kie, Mun, Den, Hol ( 5 ) . Constant.
ITALY (Beyerlein): A Ven-Tyr, A Apu-Ven, F
IonGre, F Tyr-Ion. Owns: Nap, Rom, Ven, Tun,
Gre (5). Build 1.
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): A St P-Nwy,F Swe S A St
P-Mwy, A Ukr-Gal, A Rum-Ser, F S e ~ R l r m .
Owns: Mos, St P, Sev, War, Swe, Nwy, Rum ( 7 ) .
Build 2.
TURKEY ( L a k o k i : A Arm-Rul, F Bla C A
Arm-Bul, F Con S A Arm-Bul. Owns: Ank, Cork,
Smy, BuI(4). Build I.
FALL 1902 ORDERS:
AUSTRIA: For once Naus played it shaight,
didn't double-cross anyone, and instead got hit
by all three of his neighbors. His moves from
Greece and Tyrolia opened the door for the
Italian attack.
ENGLAND: The attacks on Burgundy and
Holland were apparently designed to counter a
full German attack on Belgium - no matter what
the combination of atttlcking and supporting
units. However, in doing so England gave Belgium
to France and of wurse lost Norway to R u s i a .
FRANCE: Very safe defensive orders ~ n :;er
d
Germany was thrown out of Burgundy arid
France gained Belgium for a build.
GERMANY: The seK-stand off to cover
Munich may have been neoessary by Prosnitz's
way of thinking, but it destroyed whatever
momentum Germany had just when Russia was
starting to move out on England.
ITALY: The move to Tyrofia could have been
very risky, as Venice could have been lost ro an
Austrian attack. But with the capture of Greece
also successful Italy was now in an excellent
position to further expand in the east.
RUSSIA: The attacks on Serbia and Galicia
signaled the end of Austria. In the north Norway
was now Russian. And with the gain of Rumania
(in the spring) and Norway, Russia was now the
strongest country on the board.
TURKEY: The convoy to Bulgaria from
Armenia showed that the Turkish-Russian war
was now over with as far as Lakofka was
concerned.

DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO WINTER 1902:

Once again with the winter season only lasting
one week only a small amount of diplomacy was
conducted d u r k this period.
The most active diplomat was Len L a k o k
{Turkey). Back to trying to get a wlid a k n c e he
was telling both Russia and ltaly what wonders
could be accomplished with a Turkish alliance.
Brenton Ver Ploeg (Russia) wrote Naus explaining the R u s ~ nattack 011 Austria was
because of pressure from ltaty & Turkey. Doug
Beyerlein (Italy) told Naus that the attack was all
Lakofka's ideas. However, Hal Naus {Austria)
would believe none of it when he wrote a press
release stating that he wouId throw all of his
units a t Russia.

PAGE 26
Just prior t o the winter season Edi Biran's
father died. (Interestingly, another death of one
of the players' parents would occur two months
later.) This tragedy undoubtedly affected Birsan's
diplomacy for a couple of seasons.

WINTER 1902:
AUSTRIA (Naus): Removes F Aeg.
ENGLAND (McCallum): (Summer '02: F Nwy R
Nwg) Removes A Edi, F Lon.
FRANCE (Birsan): Builds A Bre.
GERMANY Prosnitz): A 'Bur refuses t o refreaf/d/. Builds A Kie.
ITALY (Beyerlein): Builds A Nap.
RUSSIA Wer Ploeg): Builds F St P(nc), A War.
TURKEY (Lakofka): Builds A Ank.

WINTER 1902 BUILDS AND REMOVALS:

AUSTRIA: Removing the fleet was the only
sensible removal for Austria.
ENGLAND: The removal of AEdinburghwas
expected, but not of F London. It would have
been much better to remove A Burgundy and
keep F London.
FRANCE: The build of A Brest was a safe
one. The new army could either be used against
Germany or convoyed into England for a welltimed stab.
GERMANY: The build of an army in Kiel was
difficult t o understand, except for the fact that it
could support A Ruhr t o Munich in Spring 1903
and the support wuld not be cut.
ITALY: A Napies was designated for the
Balkans via a convoy into Albania. This would
allow for development of a third Italian army o n
the Austrian front.
RUSSIA: F St. Petersburg (north coast) was
headed for England. A Warraw could be useful
agninst the Austrians and Turks.
TURKEY: The new army in Ankara would be
needed for the Balkans if Turkey wanted some
security for Bulgaria and future gains.

DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO SPRING 1903:

AUiance shifting, marked by periods of great
diplomatic activiJy, was beginning to diminish as
alliances stabilized and attacks were pursued.
However, there were still a number of stabs in the
works.
With the English removal of F London, Edi
Birsan (France) was now faced with the golden
opportunity for an attack on England. On this
matter he again sounded out Russia as to attack
possibilities and joint operations against both
England and Germany. Plus Edi was still playing
with the idea of getting someone - anyone - to
attack Munich.
Russia was finally startin$ t o prosper from all
of the diplomacy Brenton Ver Ploeg had conducted. The Austrian attack was now a clean up
campaign as long as both Turkey and Italy
behaved. And just to make sure they did,
Brenton kept open alliances with both Lakofka
and Beyerlein. No reason to leave anything to
chance. The northern attack was going just as
well. Ver Ploeg told Birsan that the Russian
Spring 1903 orders in the north (F Swe-Ska, A
Nwy-Fin, St P(nc)-Nwy - all suggested by
Prosnitz) were a sign of Russia's willingness t o
attack both England and Germany.
Len Lakofka (Turkey) refused to give up and
continued to plug away a t getting a real alliance
with either Russia or Italy.
Doug Beyerlein (Italy) worked out with Ver
Ploeg the set of orders needed for Russia,
Turkey, and Italy t o eliminate Austria in 1903.
These tactics were quickly agreed upon by Russia
and Turkey.

THE GENERAL
Gene Prosnitz (Germany) was still pressing
Italy t o attack France. The other two players
were rather quiet this season.

SPRING 1903:
AUSTRIA (Naus): A RohGal, A Bud S A
BohGal, A Pi-Vie, A Ser S Turkish A BuIRurn/d/
ENGLAND (McCallum): F Nwg S F Nth, F Nth
H, A Bur-Ruh/r/ (Gas, d )
FRANCE (Biran): A Bel S English A Bur-Ruh, F
Eng S A Bel, A Bre-Pic, A Par-Bur, A Mar S A
Par-Bur, F GasMid
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Den-Nth, F Hel S F
Den-Nth, A Hol-Eel, A Ruh-Bel, A Kie-Mun
ITALY (Beyerlein): A Tyr S Russian A Gal-Vie,
A Ve'en-Tri,A Nap-Alb, F Ion C A NapAlb, F Gre
S A NapAlb
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F St P(nc)-Nwy, A NwyFin, F Swe-Ska, A GatVie, A Wm-Gal, A Rum S
Turkish A Bd-Ser, F Sev S A Rum
TURKEY (Lakofka): A Bul-Ser, A Ank-Bul, F
Bla C A Ank-Bul,F Con-Aeg
SPRING 1903ORDERS:
AUSTRIA: Naus did as he said and devoted
his whole defense t o stopping the Russian attack.
However, by publicly saying so before the season
he allowed his enemies to take advantage of this
knowledge.
ENGLAND: The support of F North Sea and
attack on Ruhr were very weak ordws. I t was a t
this time in the autumn of 1972 that McCallum
was losing interest in the game - and it was
beginning t o show on the board.
FRANCE: I t was quite definite that Birsan
was waiting for the fall to make his march on
London.
GERMANY: Prosnitz was attempting to get
back o n the offensive, but the German position
made it near impossible to do so quickly.

ITALY: The development of the attack on

Austria was right on schedule.
RUSSIA: With Italian cooperation Vienna
was captured and there was an excellent chance
to take Budapest in the faU. The realignment of
units in the north went smoothly and without
interference.
TURKEY: The gain of Serbia and the move
into the Aegean Sea was going t o save Turkey
from an early elimination.

DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO FALL 1903:

This season the three major diplomats Lakofka, Birsan, and Ver floeg - were all writing
each other on the strategic need to kill Italy next.
Both Lakofka and Birsan mw the quick gain of
ItaIian centers (through a three-way attack) as
possible cures to their countries' ailments. Bowever, one of the three, Ver Ploeg, actually had his
eye fmed on other gains and in fairly quick
succession he planned t o deal with Turkey and
then France.
The set-up of Turkey primarily involved
getting Lakofb to attack Greece with the support of A Bulgaria. Ver Ploeg sent Beyerlein a
fake letter (of which a copy went to Lakofh)
saying how it would be best t o advance the fleets
against Turkey and use A Albania in the attack
on Trieste. Thus Greece would not be supported
and Turkey could take it. However, as Ver Ploeg
and Beysrleiin set up the p h thme wns little
difficulty in ordering the oorrect counterattack
so that Greece would not be lost and in addition
the Aegean Sea would be gained. Also, by
ordering A Rumania'to Budapest and P Sevastopol to Rumania, Sevastopol would then be open
for a build. Perhaps a fleet?
Outside of the Balkans, Birsan was about to
do England in. Edi also wanted help against '
Germany and was hying to push either Italy or
Russia into aiding in a n attack.

PAGE 27

THE GENERAL
FALL 1903:

AUSTRIA (Naus): A Tri Hid/, A Bud Hid/, A

Gal H. Owns: (0). Out.
ENGLAND (McCallum): (Su03: A Burldi). F
Nwg S F Nth, F 1VsR S F Nwglrl (Edi, Yor, d).
Owns: Edi, Liv, (2). Constant.
FRANCE (Birsan): F Mid-MAt, A Bel-Lon, F Eng
C A Bel-Lon, A Bur-Bel, A Pic S A Bur-Eel, A
MmBur. Owns: Bre, Mar, Par, Por, Spa, Bel, Lon
(7). Build 1.
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Hel-Nth, F Den S F
Hel-Nth, A Hol-Bei, A Ruh-Eel, A Mun-Bur.
Owns: Ber, Kie, Mun, Den, Ho1 (5). Constant.
ITALY (Beyerlein): A Tyr-Tri, A Ven S A
Tyr-Tri, A Alb S F Gre, F Ion-Aeg, F Gre S F
Ion-Aeg. Owns: Nap, Rom, Ven, Tun, Gre, Tri
(6). Build 1.
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F Nwy-Nwg, F Ska-Nwy, ,A
Fin S F Ska-Nwy, A Wnr-(31, A Rum-Bud, A Vie
S A Rum-Bud, F Sev-Rum. Owns: Mos, St P, Sev,
War, Swe, Nwy, Rum, Bud, Vie, (9). Build 2.
TURKEY (Lakofka): A Ser S Russian A RumBud, F Bla S Russian F Sev-Rum, F Aeg-Grelrl
(Con, Smy,Eas), A Bul S F AegGre. Owns: Ank,
Con, Smy, Bul, Ser (5). Build 1.
FALL 1903

ORDERS:

AUSTRIA: Naus knew that he was dead and

therefore didn't bother to put up a F ~ h t Thus
.
all
three armies held.
ENGLAND: B l i d trust and a lack of interest
did the E w s h in as the French stab took
London and Germany fmlly gained the North
Sea.
FRANCE: Edi was finally on the move again
with the moves into London and the North
Atlantic Ocean. However, he was racing mme
very tough opposition and if was a gamble for all
or nothing.
GERMANY: Finally a real gain was made and
the North Sea taken. The land attack against
France was still disorganized however.
FALY: The attack on Austria was now
completed and the Turkish battle just beginning.
The set-up and gain of the Aegean Sea would
certainly help.
RUSSIA: Right on schedule as Vienna and
Budapest were gained this year. Excellent attack
pos~ibilities versus Turkey and England now
existed.
TURKEY: Though with the gain of Serbia
and thus a build, Turkey was caught in a wedge
of Italian and Russian units. Would Len be able
to talk his way out of this one?

DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO WINTER 1903:

This winter season nothing much happened
on the diplomatic front. Lakofka was worried
over not gaining Greece and losing the Aegean
Sea in the fall. He suspected that Ver Ploeg
tipped off Beyerlein on the Turkish orders for
the fall. However, he was still pushing for a
Turkish-Russian alljanoe with Brenton. The key
to that alliance forming or not, so thought
Lakoflra, was tied to his demand that Russia not
build in Sevastopol. As a standard threat, he told
Ver Ploeg that Turkey would let Italy take all of
the Turkish centers in the aftamath of a Russian
stab. To cover all eventualities, Lakofka also
wrote Beyerlein with a warning of the consequences of Italy building a fleet in Naples.
Edi Birsan, in a letter to Walt Buchanan, saw
the end game as a battle for victory between
Russia and France. Italy and Germany would be
minor powers trapped between the two giants in
their struggle - or sa Edi thought.

WLNTER 1903:
ENGLAND @fcCallum): F Nth refuses to re-

treatid/. Builds A Liv.

FRANCE (Birsan): Builds F Bra
GERMANY (Prosnitz): Constant.
F A L Y (Beyerlein): Builds F Nap.
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): Builds F St P(nc), A Mos.
TURKEY (Lakofka): F Aeg R Eas. Builds F
Smy.

WINTER 1903 BUILDS AND REMOVALS:

AUSTRIA: The last army, in Galicia, was
removed. Austria was dead.
ENGLAND: With the refusal t o retreat A
Burgundy during the spring retreat season and
another refusal during the fall, England was able
t o build an army in Liverpool. TMs might
temporarily slow down the French attack, but
realIy it was just too Bttb, too late.
FRANCE: A third fleet was built (again in
Brest). As the mmbined strength of the German
and Russian fleets in the northern waters would
soon reach five, it was of utmost importance that
France had a minimum of three.
GERMANY: Constant - which is bad if
everyone else is building.
ITALY: The new fleet in Naples meant that
there was to be no peace in the southeast. As
long as France and Russia stayed a t least neutral
there would be no real difficulty in defeating
Turkey.
RUSSIA: Another fleet for the north and
apparent appeasement of Turkey by building in
Moscow and not SevastopoL This tactic would
aIlow Turkey t o believe that Re would have
enough security to bring all of the Turkish units
into the battle against Italy. Then Russia could
easily slip into the Turkish centers without a
fight - if all went well.
TURKEY: The r e t r a t to the Eastern Mad
and the build of F Smyrna would provide a fair
defense, but all that would help Turkey now
wodd be a shift In alliances.
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO SPRING 1904:
With the beginning of the holiday season
(Thanksgiving) and college finals the diplomacy
prior to spring was sparse.
Len Lakofka thought that he finally had the
Russian alliance - a long sought after dream. He
advised Ver Ploeg on tactics versus Italy and
m n e d Beyerleii that any further attacks on
Turkey would mean war. It was t o be war, but
hardly to his liking.
Brenton Ver Ploeg was busy setting up stabs.
Through some tactical blundering during t
h past
game year (i.e., putting his fleets in Norway and
the Skagerrak instead of Norway and the Barents
Sea) he needed French support from North
Atlantic to take the Norwegian Sea in the spring.
So, in exchange for the French support, he told
Birsan that Russia would be attacking Germany
this year. The lies to Lakofkd were for greater
gain. For L a k o h to cover the Italian sea attack
Len would have to send F Black Sea to Constantinople. That would leave the Black Sea open for
Russian F Rumania to wander in if it so desired.
Combine that move with Russian armies t o
Rumania and Sevastopol and an Italian attack on
Serbia and Turkey's days were definitely numbred.
Doug Beyerlein, in addition to pushing the
attack on Turkey, had now decided it was time
t o get France. Rumor had it that Birsan would
soon be moving a fleet and an army towards
Italy. Whether or not this was true, it was vital to
Beyerlein's expansion plans that the FrenchItalian war take place on French, not Italian soil
The moves to the Tyrrhenian Sea and Piedmont
would insure t h i s The Russian-Italian master
plan called for the board to be equally divided:

17-17. This would require Italy to gain Serbia,

Bulgaria, and Smyrna in the east and Iberia,
France, the Low Countries, and Munich in the
west. With such a large task ahead, the attack on
France muld wait no longer.
SPRING 1904:
ENGLAND: A Liv-Edi, F Nwg-Edi/r/ (Bar, Cly,
dl
FRANCE: F NAt S Russian F Nwy-Nwg, A
Lon-Yor, F Bng-Nth, A Be!-Bur, A Pic S A
Bel-Bur, F BreMid, A Mar-Gas
GERMANY: F Den-Hel, A Hol-Bel, F Nth S A
HoI-Bel, A Mun-Bur, A Ruh S A Mun-Bur
ITALY: A Ver-Pie, F NapTyr, A Tri-Ser, A Alb
S A Tri-Ser, F Aeg-Btal(sc) (R Ion by orders), F
Gre S F A eg-Bul(sc]
RUSSIA: F Nwy-Nwg, F Ska S German F Nth, A
Fin-Swe, F St P(nchNwy, A Mot+Sev, A War-Gal,
F Rum-Bla, A Bud-Rum, A Vie-Bud
TURKEY: F Bla-Con, P Smy-Aeg, F Eas S F
Smy-Aeg, A Ser-Greldi, A BuI SA Ser-Be
SPRING 1904 ORDERS:
ENGLAND: The self-off over Uinburgh was
probably as good as anything England could do.
ENGLAND: A strange set of orders, but with
a purpose. The moves to Gascony and the
Mid-Atlantic Ocean were all part of a convoy (FA
Gas-Eel) and support into Belgium in the fall if
the Germans were t o capture it in the spring.
Some excellent guessing by Edi over Belgium and
Burgundy managed t o hold them both. However,
Franm did make a mistake in supporting the
Russians into the Norweigan Sea as Ver Ploeg had
no intention of attacking Germany - yet.
GERMANY: Poor tactical moves including F
Denmark to the Helgoland Bight. Gene was
known to k a tactical expert, but he sure
outfoxed himself that time.
ITALY: Everything went as expected - including the loss of the Aegean Sea. It was only a
matter of time before the death of Turkey.
RUSSIA: The suckering of France had
worked in the north with the gain of the
Norwegian Sea. And the southern attack went
like clockwork. The Black Sea was taken without
a battle and Turkey caught in a corner with all of
the Turkish units facing Italy.
TURKEY: Despite all of the diplomatic
effort, the Russian stab meant the end of Turkey.
There would be no hope.

DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO FALL 1904 :

Brenton Vei Ploeg really turned on the
diplomacy this season by writing nine letters and
making numerous phone calk t o the other
players in the game. He told McCallum to retreat
English F Norwegian Sea t o Clyde and then have
it support A Liverpool against the French attack.
He told Edi that Russian F Norwegian Sea would
cut the English support of Liverpool - but was
actually lying. Brenton also told Bksan that
Russia would attack Germany and take Denmark
this fall: another lie. Following Prosnitz's suggey
tion, a Russian fleet would be taking the North
Sea so that German F North would have the
option to retreat to an open French or English
supply center. Gene wanted Russian F Skagerrak
to make the move, but Brenton talked him into
sending in F Norway instead so that A Sweden
could move to Norway and then be convoyed
into Clyde.
Russia's southern front was going just as
nicely as the north. Even with the rejection of
Lakofka's offer to puppet to Russia in return for
survival there would be no real problems with
making additional gains against Turkey. In any

THEGENERAL

PAGE 28
case, Brenton was really rolling towards victory.
Edi Birsan was still pushing hard for Russia t o
attack Germany. But now he also had to handle
the Italian threat in the south. That was about the
last thing he needed.
Gene Prosnitz had worked out how he could
use the forced retreat t o advance into a supply
center. A supported Russian attack on the
German fleet in the North Sea would dislodge the
fleet, forcing it to retreat. And with a choice of
retreats hopefully either London or Edinburgh
would be open. Considering how long Germany
had been without a gain of a Enter the tactic was
well worth the potential problem of having the
Russians in the North Sea.
Len Lakofka, as previously mentioned, was
still trying hard. He offered Ver Ploeg complete
use of the Turldsh forces in exchange for survival.
Yet he was doomed to elimination because
Russia had no need for him against Italy. When
the time came there would h sufficient Russian
units t o do the job.
Doug Beyerlein only mrried on a minimum of
diplomacy as his mother died during this season.
Be gave Prosnitz credit for suggesting the move
against France in response to Birsan's query.
Actually that was only a convenient excuse as the
d t a c k had been Iong planned.
FALL 1904:
ENGLAND (McCallum): (Su '04: F Nwg R Cly).
F Cly-Edi, A Liv S F CIy-Edi/r/ (Cly, Wal, d).
Owns: Edi, (1). Remove 1.
FRANCE (Birsan): F NAt-Liv, A Yor S F
NAt-Liv, F Eng S A Eel, A Pic S A Bel, A Be1 S
German A Mun-Ruh (nso), A Gas-Mar, F MidWes. Owns: Bre, Mar, Par, Spa, Por, Eel, Liv (7).
Constant.
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Hel-Den, F Nth-Eng (R
Lon by orders), A Ruh-Eel, A Hol S A Ruh-Bel,

A Mun-Bur. Owns: Ber, Kie, Mun, Den, Hol, Lon

(6). Build 1.
ITALY (Beyerlein): F Tyr-Wes, A Pie H, A Ser S
Russian A RumBul, A Alb S A Ser, F Gre-Aeg, F
Ion-Aeg. Owns: Nap, Rom, Ven, Tun, Gre, Tri,
Ser (7). Build 1.
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F Nwg-NAt, F Mwy-Nth, F
Ska S F Nwg-Nth, A SweNwy, A Sev-Arm, F
Bla-Ank, A Rum-Bul, A Gal-Rum, A Bud S A
Gal-Rum. Owns: Mos, St P, Sev, War, Swe, Nwy,
Rum, Bud, Vie, Bul, Ank (11). Build 2.
TURKEY (Lakofka): A Bul-Smy, P Aeg C A
Bul-Smy, F Eas S F Aeg, F Con S Russian A
Sev-Bul (nso). Owns: Con, Smy, (2). Remove 2.

FALL 1904 ORDERS:

ENGLAND: McCallum did not order the
support of Liverpool and lost it despite Ver
Pbeg's information. Apparently the postal service was the culprit.
FRANCE: Edi was trying hard and managed
to stay even, but against the combined attack of
Germany, Russia, and Italy he had little hope.
GERMANY: After too many seasons of stagnation Germany was finally moving again. Burgundy was gained. The forced retreat tactic
picked up London. And Germany would have a
build.
ITALY: Nothing was gained in the fall, but a
build was due by taking Serbia in the spring. That
would place added pressure on France in 1905.
RUSSIA: Nothing could go wrong. Ankara
and Bulgaria were taken. The North Sea was now
Russian. Even the move into the North Atlantic
Ocean succeeded.
TURKEY: Down to two centers. Hope may
spring eternal - but not supply centers.

DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO WINTER 1904:

Winter 1904 was very quiet as it occurred
between Christmas and New Year's Day. Brenton

Ver Ploeg was the only one to write. He tried to

explain to Birsan the stab of France in such a
manner to remove the emotional sting. This is a
rather standard tactic, though greatly refined b y
Ver Ploeg, employed by the stabber when there is
a chance that the victim may be needed later in
the game or may be met again on another field of
battle. Every little bit helps.

WINTER 1904:
ENGLAND (McCallum): (Au '04: A Liv R
Removes F Edi.
'FRANCE (Birmn): Constant.
GERMANY (Pxosnitz): Builds A Mun.
lTALY (Beyerbin): Builds P Nap.
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): Builds F St P(nc), A Mos.
TURKEY (Lakofka): Removes F Con, A Smy.
WLNTER 1904 ADJUSTMENTS:
ENGLAND: No real idea why he retreated to
Wales and then removed F Edinburgh.
FRANCE: Constant - but not for long.
GERMANY: The addition of A Munich
would help in the attack on France. However, it
might even be more valuable in the defense of the
homeland.
lTALY: The new fleet would help in the
attack on France.
RUSSIA: The b d d i n g of F St. Petersburg
(north mast) and A Moscow was not hostile to
either of Russia's allies: Germany and Italy.
However, one wonders just what was planned for
the new units.
TURKEY: The removals of F Constantinople
and A Smyma was Turkey's way of pleadin* fnr
survival against Italy.
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO SPRING 1905:
For one reason or another the diplomatic
front stayed fairly quiet. Edi 'Birsan was trying to
convince Beyerlein that Italy's only sucoess lay
with helping France against Germany and Rusria.
Beyerlein in return told Edi that he would not
attack the Western Med nor support the Germans
into Marseilles. In addition, Doug told of the
Russian attacks on the Mid-Atlantic and the
English Channel in the hope that Edi would stop
the northern attack and concentrate less on the
south.
L a k o f h in a parting letter told Ver Ploeg that
Russia could decide the fate of the remaining two
Turkish centers. And if Turkey was allowed to
live it would d o whatever Russia commanded.
In mmments to Walt Buchanan, Brenlon Ver
Ploeg decided to stay with the Italian alliance
until he was assured that a stab would produce a
win. If only Beyerlein knew!

SPRING 1905:
ENGLAND (Mdlllum): A Wal-Liv
FRANCE (Birsm): F Liv-Wal, A yar-L~..,
Bel-Cras, F Eng and F Mid C A BelGas, A Pic-Par,
A Mar-Bur
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Den-Nth, F Lon S
Russikn F Nth-Eng, A Bol-Bel, A Ruh S A
Hol-Bel, A Bur-Par, A Mun-Bur
F A L Y (Beyerlein): A Pie-Mu~,F Tyr-Lyo, F
NapTyr, A Ser-Bul, A Alb-Ser, F Gre-Aeg, F Ion
S F Gre-Aeg
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F NA t-Mid, F Nth-hag, F
St P(nc)-Bar, A Nwy-Fin, F Ska-Nwy, A Mos H,
A Bud H, A Rum S Italian A Ser-Bul, A Bul-Con,
F Ank S A Bul-Con, A Arm H
TURKEY (Lakofka): F Aeg S F Ens, F Eas S F
'4%

.,

SPRING 1905 ORDERS:

FRANCE: With know1 , . ....
and Russia would probably try, Edi n

PAGE 29

W GENERAL
excellent moves. The convoy to Gascony from
Belgium strengthened the center of the French
line. I t alsa added support against the Italian
asault.
GERMANY: Belgium was gained, but that
was the only advance.
ITALY: Bulgaria was gained in the east with
Russian help and cooperation. With a fleet in the
Gulf of Lyon now, Marseilles could be hit witha
supported attack.
RUSSIA: No advanoement of the front in the
north was made. Just the opposite was true in
Turkey where it all could be gained - but it
would be shared.
TURKEY: By blocking the sea approach to
Turkey, Lakofka hoped that Russia would either
take it all (and teach Beyerlein a lesson) or let
Turkey live.
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO FALL 1905:
The amount of diplomacy was rapidly deamsing as the game headed towards conclusion.
Edi was giving it another try (good diplomats
never give up) with letters t o Ver Ploeg and
BeyerIein. He needed either far Brenton t o attack
Germany or Doug to march eastward and leave
Franoe alone. Beyexlein informed Ver Ploeg of
the needed tactics to divide and conquer Turkey
this season plus mentioning the need t o strike
down Germany in 1906. And t o Edi, Doug wrote
saying that he did not plan to let Ver Ploeg win,
but the de8uuction of France was required.
FALL 1905:
ENGLAND (McCallum): A Wul-Liv. Owns: Edi
(1) Constant.
FRANCE (Birsan): F Liv- Wal, F Eng-Lon, A Yor
S F Eng-Lon, F Mid-NA t, A Picpar, A Gas-Bur,
A Mar-Spa. Owns: Bre, Par, Por, Spa, Liv, ( 5 ) .
Removes 2.
ITALY (Beyerlein): A PkMar, F Lyo S A
Pie-Mar, F Tyr-Wes, A BulCon, A Sex-Bd, F
GreAeg, F Ion-Eas. Owns: Nap, Rom, Ven, Tun,
Tri, Ser, Gre, Bul, Con,MQT (10). Builds 3.
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F N A t S English A Wal-Liv,
F Nth S German F Lon, F Nwy-Nwg, A Fin-Nwy,
F Bar H, A Mos H, A Bud H, A Rum S Italian A
Ser-Bul, F Ank S Italian A Bul-Con, A Con-Smy,
A Arm S A Con-Smy. Owns: Mos, St P, Sev, War,
Swe, Nwy, Vie, Bud, Rum, Ank, Srny (11).
Constant.
TURKEY (Lakofka): F Aeg-Smy, F Eas S F
Aeg-Smy. Owns: (0). Out.
FALL 1905 ORDERS:
FRANCE: The tactics were all there but not
the odds. Marseilles and Belgium were lost. Just
to stay constant was now impossible.
GERMANY: The attack on Gascony was t o
assure that the Italians wuld take Marseilles. The
rest of the German land attack (or lack of it)
showed Prosnitz to be very a u t i o u s even in the
face of a dying France.
ITALY: This was Italy's best yew with the
gain of three centers. The Turkish attack was
now finished and the first gains were made in
France.
RUSSIA: Growth limitations had caught u p
with Russia this year. Advmoes and gains were
made against Turkey, but these were offset by
giving Bulgaria t o Italy as per agreement. No
gains, other than moving into the Norwegian Sea,
were made in the north. It was almost as if Russia
was pausing for a moment's rest before making
that last dash t o victory.
TURKEY: Lakofka's last tactical trick was
foiled by the Italians attacking both Turkish
fleets so that neither could give support t o the
other to stand-off the Russian move t o Smyma.

WINTER 1905:
ENGLAND (PAdMum): Constant.
FRANCE (Birsdn): Removes F Liv, F Eng.
GERMANY (Prosnitz): Builds A Kie.
ITALY (Beyerbin): Builds F Nap, A Rom, A
Ven.
RUSSIA (Ver Pbeg): Constant.
WLN'ER 1905 ADJUSTMENTS:
These winter orders were taken with the Fall
1905 orders and thus there was no diplomacy
period.
FRANCE: The removal of the two northern
fleets showed that Birsan was preparing for the
defense of his homeland. That was now his main
concern.
GERMANY: A Kiel, like A Munich built last
year, would most likely never get into the French
conflict, but it could be useful in the defense of
the homeland and Denmark.
ITALY: The three Italian builds gave Beyerlein a number of alternatives on how he wished
t o employ them. Such a decision wuld affect the
outcome of the game.
RUSSIA: Constant - but then Russia was
hardly hurting for units.

DIPLOMACY PWOR TO SPRING 1906:

The set-up of Germany was in progress. In the
fall the Russian stab of Germany would finally
came - although too late to give France any
relief. Tactical considerations between Ver Ploeg
and Beyerlein now dealt with this set-up and
stab. The Russian units in the Balkans would now
slide westward along the Russian-Italian common
boundary. The Russian northern units would get
into position along with A Moscow to Warsaw.
Beyerlein wouid move the new armies forward into Trieste and Venice. A Marseilles would
support German A Burgundy to Gascony t o help

break u p the French line. S p i n would then be

easier to capture in the fall. And when the time
came to drive into northern France, GermanFrench divisiveness would doom any common
defense. The Italian tactics in the coastal waters
off of Turkey would be more than slightly
mnfusing in the spring. F Greece would take the
Aegean Sea. F Eastern Mediterranean would
attack Smyma with support from A Constanthople. The only problem was that there was n o F
Eastern Med - the fleet was in the Ionian Sea.
This fake attack would acmmplish two things: 1)
to Germany it wouid appear that Russia and Italy
were fighting and therefore Germany should also
strike against Russia, and 2) with fleets in the
Aegean, I o n h , Tyrrhenian (F NapTyr), and
Western Mediterranean, A Constantinople could
be wnvo yed to Spain in the fall.

SPRING 1906:
ENGLAND (McCallum) : A Wal-Liv
FRANCE (Birsan): A Yor-Lon, F Mid-Eng, A
Gas-Bur, A Par S A Gas-Bur, A Spn-Mar
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Den-Nth, F Lon S
Russian F Nth-Eng, A Bel-Pic, A Kie H, A
Bur-Gas, A Ruh-Bur, A Mun S A Ruh-Bur
ITALY (Beyerlein): A Mar S Germen A Bur-Gas,
F Lyo-Spa(scJ, F Wet-Mid,A Ven-Tri, A RomVen, IF NapTyr, F Eas-Smy (nsu) (F Ion lu),A
Con S F Eas-Smy, A BukSer, F Gre-Ag
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F NAt-Liv, FNth-Eng, A
NwyiCly, F Nwg C A Nwy-Cly, F Bar-Nwy, A
Mos-War, A Bud-Vie, A Rum-Bud,A Smy-Con, I?
Ank H , A Arm-Sev
SPRlNG 1906 ORDERS:
FRANCE: Excellent tactics again. One almost
wonders if somebody was telling Edi what the
other players would be doing.

THE GENERAL

PAGE. 30
GERMANY: Picardy was gained, but nothing
else. If nothing else this German attack shows the
difficulties in trying to push an attack through
the narrow, two province German-French border.
Without plentiful aid from the flanks it i s almost
always doomed to failure.
ITALY: The eastern tactics went as planned.
The west did not fare as well.
RUSSIA: Liverpool, nor the English Channel
were gained, however, the convoy t o Clyde and
the general shifting of units into new holding
patterns against Germany went smoothly.
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO FALL 1906:
Everything was set to go against Germany.
Birsan had agreed to vacate Spain and support
Russian F North Sea t o London. In exchange
Beyerlein promised not to attack Gascony. With
French A Gascony supporting A Paris, the
Gennan attack would fail. Beyerlein's convoy
would be rmdy to go - although it latm turned
out to be one of the worst moves Italy could
have made. Ver Ploeg was definitely ready f o the
~
fall. He would gain the most from this stab - as
he had from all previous ones and would from
the last stab of the game.

PALL 1%:
ENGLAND (McCallum): A Wal-Liv. Owns: (0).
Out.
FRANCE (Birsan): A Yor S Russian F Nth-Lon,
A Spa-Bre, F Mid C A Spa-Bre, A Par S A
S e r e , A Gas S A Par. Owns: Bre, Par, Por, (3).
Removes 2.
GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Den-Nth, A Kie-Hol, A
Bw-Par, A Pic S A Bur-Par, A Ruh-Bur, A Mun S
A Ruh-Bur, F Lyo- Yor (R Eng). Owns: Ber, Kie,
Mun, Den, Hol,Bel, (6). Removes 1.
ITALY (Beryebin): A Con-Spa, F Aeg C A
Con-Spa, F Ion C A Con-Spa, F Tyr C A

Con-Spa, F Wes C A Con-Spa, A Mar S A

Con-Spa, F Lyo S A Con-Spa, A Ven-Pie, A
Tri-Tyr, A Sex-Tri. Owns: Nap, Rom,Ven, Tun,
Tri, Ser, Gre, Bul, Con, Mar, Spa. (11). Builds 1.
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): A Cly-Liv, F Nat S A
Cly-Liv, F Nwg-Edi, F Nth-Lon, F Nwy-Swe, A
War-Ru, A Vie-Boh, A Bud H, A Sev-Ukr, F
Ank-Bla, A Srny-Ank.Owns: Mos, St P, Sev, War,
Swe, Nwy, Vie, Bud, Rum, Ank, Smy, Edi, Liv,
Lon (14). Builds 3.
FALL 1906 ORDERS:
FRANCE: Again exellent tactics, although
this time it was very easy t o understand why.
GERMANY: Caught cmmpletely unaware by
the stab, Germany was now in a very poor
position to resist further attacks.
ITALY: On the surface there was nothing
wrong with the Italian orders. But, as events
would later show, Italy moved from an excellent
defensive position v i s a vis Russia to a fatally
poor one.
RUSSIA: Poetry in motion as R U Gswept in
to pick up all three of the English centers
(gaining one each from England, France, and
Germany). The moves in the east were all
designed with an obvious (with 20-20hindsight)
purpose in mind.
WINTER 1906:
FRANCE (Birsan): Removes A Yor, A Gag
GERMANY (Prosnitz): Removes F Eng.
ITALY Qeyerlein): Builds A Ven.
RUSSIA Wer Ploeg): Builds F St P(sc), A War,A
Mos.

WINTER 1906 ADJUSTMENTS:

Once again winter was combined with the fall
deadline.

FRANCE: The removal made of the two

armies needed for France's defense against Germany signalled a fight t o the f ~ s hagainst
Birun's eastern neighbor.
GERMANY: With the removal of the retreating fleet, Germany was prepared to stop the
Russian and Italian attacks. But it would not
matter.
ITALY: Another =my for either west or east.
RUSSIA: The Russian giant had more units
than he needed. However, a few exka wouldn't
hurt.
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO SPRING 1907:
In many ways the fate of the game hinged on
this wason. Ver PIoeg had now literally stabbed
everyone on the board except Beyerlein. If
Beyerlein decided to attack the Russian bear in
the spring it would be a long, hard, and nasty
fight before anyone won this game.
Ver Ploeg was out in form explaining his stabs
t o Prosnitz and Birrran (remember Russia took
French-owned Liverpool in the fall) and hoping
for forgiveness. To Beyerlein he was sensitive in
not p r o v o h g an Italian attack. Russia would be
supporting Italian A Tyrolia t o Munich in the
spring to help Italy grow.
Prosnitz had finally come alive diplomatically.
Be asked Ver Ploeg to halt the attack on
Germany so that he could firgt eliminate France
before losing to Russia. Gene wrote Beyerlein
with an excellent plan for Italy t o stab Russia
this season. Movement to Serbia, Trieste, Vienna,
Tyrolia, Smyrna, and Greece would take Vienna,
Budapest, and Smyrna by the fall. I t d y would
gain and Russia lose.
Beyerlein, down with a cold, wasn't much in
the mood fox diplomacy, but looked over Prosnitz's plan. I t would most likely catch Ver Ploeg
off guard and succeed. However, as stated in a
letter t o Walt Buchanan, Doug had four reasons
for not attadwig Ver PIoeg.
They were:
"I. Brenton and 1 have been allied from the
beginning and have eliminated Austria and Turkey. With the destruction of Turkey, Russia had
more than an excellent chance t o stab me and did
not. I feel that I owe him that much in return.
"2. I think that the accomplishment of the
two-way draw will show that a good player does
not always have t o stab to get ahead. A h I have
used and shown in numerous cases that the
diplomacy a player employs is much stronger
than the units on the board.
"3. Even if I did attack Vex Ploeg, I might find
Rosnitz changing sides and allying with Russia
against me.
"4. In the murse of the game Ver Ploeg has
become more than just another good player but a
very good friend and as his involvement with the
game of Diplomacy is becoming l e s and l e s I do
not wish to cheat him out of the two-way victory
that he deserves."

SPRING 1907:
FRANCE (Birmn): A Bre S A Par,A Par S A Bre,
F Mid-Gas

GERMANY (Prosnitz): F Nth-Eng, A Hol-Kie, A

Mun-Berial, A Bw-Gas, A Ruh-Bur, A Pic S A
RukBur
ITALY (Beyerlein): A Spa-Gas, A Mar-Bur, A
&-Mar, A Tyr-Mun, A Ven-Tyr, F Lyo-Spa{scJ,
F Wes-Mid, F Tyr-Wes, F Ion-Tun, F Aeg-Grs
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): P NAt-Nwg, F Edi-Nth, F
Lon S F Edi-Nth, A Liv-Yor, F Swe-Den,F St
P(sc)-Bot, A Mos-St P, A Ru-Ber, A War-Sil, A
Boh S Italian A Tyr-Mun, A UkrCd, A Bud H, A
Ank-Sev, F Bla C A Ank-Sev

PAGE 31
DIPLOMATIC LETTER CHART:
< .
1901 1902 I903 1904 1905
AUSTRIA
-

a ENGLAND
FRANCE
,

TOTAL.

~o

JU

~5

~4

$0

13

165

NOTE. Because only Birsan, Bsyerletn, and Ver Ploeg saved their cor~espondenccfrgm the
the above figures for the number o f letters sent each game year are undoubtedly low. Wii

SPRING 1907 ORDERS:

FRANCE: Edi continued to hold out against
some pretty rough attacks. However, i t was quite
possiile that Ver Ploeg was informing him of the
Italian orders.
GERMANY: Some attempt was made to stop
the Russians, but the move of Gennan F North
Sea to the English Channel ahowed that Prosnitz
was still obsessed with killing France.
lTALY: Except for the badly made attack in
France, the Italians did about as planned.
RUSSIA: Everything was xeady for the fall.

gami. If I wanted to stab Russia Iwould have

had to do it duing Fall 1906 or Spring 1907 and
even then it would have been a very close battle.
'Therefore now all Ih v e to go on is the trust
of the Russian bear. The choice i s his."

FALL 1907:
PRANCE (Birsan): F Mid-Bre, A Bre-Pic, A Par S
A Bre-Piela/. Owns: Bre, Por (2). Constant.
GERMANY Qrosnitz): F Eng-Bre, A Pic-Par, A
Bur S A PiePar, A W u n , A Ruh S A Kie-Mun.
Owns: Yun, Den, Hol, Bel, Par (5). Removes I.
lTALY (Beyerlein): A Spa-Gas, A Mar S A
DIPLOMACY PRIOR TO PALL 1907:
SpaClas, F LywSpa(sc), F Wes-Mid, F Tyr-Wes, F
This was it: the end. From numerous letters I Tun-NAf, F G e H, A Mun-Kie/r/ (Sil, d), A
(if you will allow me to slip back into the first
DrMula, A Pie-Tyr, A 7kfi Via Owns: Nap, Rom,
person) received from Prosnitz and Birsan, Iwas
Ven, Tun, Mar, Spa, Tri, Gre, Bul, (9). Removes
-be$inning to feel the probability of a Russian
2.
stab inamsing. I had trusted Ver Ploeg - but
RUSSIA (Ver Ploeg): F Nwg-NAt, F Den-Kie, F
'realistimlly one can nevm trust an ally when such Nth-Hel, F Lon-Nth, A Yor-Lon, A St P-Nwy,P
a tempting victory is so close. Blind, as all too
Bot-Bal, A Sil-Ber, A Pru S A Sil-Ber, A Boh- Vie,
trusting victims are, I could not see the obvious.
A Bud-Ser, A Gal-Bud, A Sev-Con, F Bla C A
Mow it was too late to rectify my error - or was Sev-Con. Owns: Mos, St P, Sev, War, Edi, Swe,
it? The evening prior to the FaU 1907 deadline I
Nwy, Liv, Lon, Vie, Bud, Rum, Ank, Smy, Ber,
studied the situation. Then, as Iwrote to Walt
Kie, Con, Ser (18). Builds 4 and WINS!
Buchanan, before lwning of the stab:
"Idecided that if I thought that Gene and 1
muld s t o ~Russia I would chanee i d e s and
'attack ~ e PIoeg
;
this season. I@re
;d
that Fall
TITLE S U R V E Y . . Con~inuedfromPage 17
'07 will decide the outcome of this game. If
29. THE IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT-A ma mBrenton doas as I asked then the draw is
moth treatment of the American Civil War
probably guaranteed. However, if he attacked me
utilizing 8 normal sized boards which can be
this turn and if Germany and Iwere prepared for
broken down into five lessergames or combined
the attack then what would t h e final ending be?
into one massive macro-game. Game will be
Thia would govern whether or not I would try for
the stab or meekly continue to play along in division and brigade level and encompass the
political, economic, and transportation factors
hope of the tie. Well, I ran the whole mess
which determined the course of the war. This
forward and backward at least twice and mme up
game would sell for 850 with mounted mapwith the following conclusion. If Russia were to
boards.
attack Itdy and Germany this'turn and those two
countries were prepared !or that attack, Russia
30. GUNFIGHTER-An individual role-playing
would not win in 1907. However, we could not
game of life and adventure in an old west
stop him from winning in 1908. This is basidly
cowtown. Gunfights, brawls, and robberies
because of the strength of the Russians in the
come to life in this game of the old west.
north and the open availability of Italian supply
31. COMANCHE-Another role-playing game
centers in the Balkans that cannot be protected.
from the oldwest featuring the glamorousdeeds
Therefore, nothing
Prosnitz and I would
and tragic adventures of the Indian tribes
do could stop Ver PIoeg from the win if he wants
doomed to annihilation by the western advance
it. And of course that is the key to this whole
of civilization.
32. OLDE EARTHE-A game of wizardry and

***

..

Supply Center W

GERMANY
ITALY
RUSSlA

5
4
5

TURKEY

5
7
4

5
6
5

7 1 0
11
11

11

14

18

monsters which allows you to replay the

adventures of your favorite sword and sorcery
books. Play runs the gamut from ordinary
swordsmen to magic users, monsters, and
hidden passages.
33, TRIREME- WOODEN SHIPS & IRON MEN
when civilization was vouna
.
- and Empires r d e
on the fate of vast floating shipboard rnsless.

The Mediterranean is the battlefield and the

opponents are many: Persianvs. Greek. Spartan
vs. Athenian, Rome vs. Carthage in a struggle for
victory at sea.
34. FOUR ROADS TO MOSCO W-A divisional
level game utilizing one mapboard for four
different games-each an invasion of Russia.
Games in the set include the Mongol invasion,
Charles the XII, Napoleon, and Hitler's Operation Barbarossa. Turns equal 10 days with a
game consisting of from 12 to 37 turns. Game
system is similar to the "ctassic" tradition of a
WATERLOO or STALINGRAD.
35. FOUR ROADS TO MOSCOW-Same game
described above but designed using the latest
simulation techniques and totally divorcing the
simple, vet unrealistic, classic game concept.
36. ARAB-ISRAELI WARS-The third member
of the PANZERBLITZ game system family.
Scenarios will trace the development of weapons systems in the Mideast with emphasis on
modern air support of ground forces.
37. WEED-An individual role-playing game
dealing with the problems of scoring some
Acapulco Gold. Play dealswith the problems and
hassles at the City distribution level, e.g. law
enforcement, rip-offs, and swindles.
38. SMUGGLER-A game on the same subject
as WEED but deal~ngmore with International
Borders and various illegal substances such as
Gold, Drugs, and the White Slave Trade. The
French Connection comes alive as you cross the
border safely or face arrest and deportment.
Either solitaire orseveral players playing against
the board.
39. DESTROYER CAPTAIN-Destroyer/small
Cruiser level ship-to-ship combat game based
on many of thesmall actions of World War Iand
11. Most scenarios would have 4-5 ships on
either side.
40. REVOLUTION/-An
operational/strategic
game dealing with the attempt at Revolutionand
maintaining in power (if successful) the new
Junta against possible counter-revolutionists
and/or outside intervention.
41. EXODUS-An operational game dealing
with aspects of the War for lndependencefought
by Israel in 1 948. Would cover the Jewish fight
for survival against internal Mufti attacks and
intervening Arab Nations.
42. BREAKTHROUGH: A brother game to
Bmtle of the Bulge - regiment and Brigade level
- only this time it's an American breakout, at
Avaranches and St. Lo! The stakes: the Allies
penned up in the Normandy beachhead - or the
Germans surrounded in the Falaise Pocketl
43. KEEP THE PEACE: The rime i s July, 1914;
the Great Powers of Europe are gathered on the
brink of the greatest war man has ever known.
This is a card game wherein the players attempt
to keep the peace while gaining their diplomatic
objectives. There are notes and threats and
warnings; can YOU k e p your alliance togsther as
the going gets rough? Or will you swindle your
way into a war - which is what' actually
happened. Random cards introduce compliczZions and limit the options open to the diplomats. Can you keep the lights irom going out all
over Europe?

7829-The birth and growth of railroads. Upto 9

players buy stock to control railroad companies
and turn them into dividend-paying concerns.
Rail networks laid out on the board develop into
more sophisticated lines and cities as railroads
become more advanced.

PAGE 32
A. H.Philosophy. ,. Continued from Page 2
10. Dale Wetzelberger, president of IGB is about
t o present the Unsung Hero Award to Craig
Ransom for having donated the most wlunteer
hours t o the convention. Craig deserves most of
the praise f o r the smooth f l o w o f pre-registration.
11. Murray Summers o f Secane, PA won the
BATTLE STA TlONS plaque in the naval miniatures competition which had t o be called due t o
time limits.
12. Thomas Filmore o f S i t v ~ r Spring, MD
emerged triumphant i n the Gladiatorial Combats.
13. The attendees of DIP CON I X were much i n
evidence as shown by the t-shirt o f this particular
enthusiast, who happens t o be admiring the new
enlarged A H m a p b a r d version. The Diplomacy
tournament was the largest evar held w i t h 25
boards i n use simultaneously.
14. The artillery of the First Virginia Regimen3
proved not enough to stop Fraaier's Highlanders
and the 6 4 t h Afoot Regiment o f British rqulars
i n the first of t w o skirmishes an the college
green.
15. SPEED CIRCUIT, a discontinud 3M gama,
proved t o be a popular Tournament event and is
destined t o be repackaged and reissued as an
Awlon Hill game this fall.
16. Anton W e k r of Montclair, NJ proved t o be
the best o f 150 pilots who participated i n the
RICHTHOFEN'S WAR DEMO DERBY. Anton,
like most o f the other finalists, gained ace status
on the way ro his win.
17. Joseph Kurtz of Cleveland, OH smms pleased
t o accept the TOBRUK plaque from game
developar Randall Reed. Kurtz needed a "snake
eyes" roll on the last t u r n of the final round t o
pull out his victory.
18. Bud DeAngelis of North Brunswick, NJ
proved the best of 120 participants i n the
PANZER LEADER tournament.
19. Thomas Shaw accepts the Charles Roberts
Best Game of the Year Award for Philmar's
KINGMAKER from John Mansfield o f SIGNAL
fame.
20. The ladies were much i n evidence at
OR IGlNS I l and were far from pushovers as Mary
Kawuhlia demonstrated t o h h n Cochran with a
24-13 pasting. It took T o m Shaw himself t o end
the lady's participation with a 26-7 victory.
21, Armtn Miniatures utilizing GHQ armor was
once aglsin one of the glamour evenrs of the
convention as 1GB stalwarts Jim Rumpf and Bill
A l p r t outdid themselves w i t h 4 new scenarios
ranging from the final street fight shown here t o
the amphibious invasion scenario of the opening
round.
22. Peter Sleight of Herndon, VA earned his
KINGMAKER plaque with three consecutive
wins as the finals stratched into the wee hours o f
the morning.
23. The young ladies who manned our registration desk kept things running smooth as silk as
by-mail preregistration completely reversed last
year's trouble spot.
24. Anton Haug of Columbia, MD proved the
best in 6 rounds o f single dimination combat i n
the SPI TACTICAL SHOOTOUT.
25. Charles Cottle of East Haven, CT gained a bit
of notoriety by being the only repeat winner at
ORIGINS t I duplicating his 1975 victory i n the
Armor Miniatures competition.
26. Bill Stiener accepts his plaque for besring
others i n the ALIEN SPACE competition.
27. Bill Wales had t o be victorious through 7

rounds of competition i n W O D E N SHIPS &

IRON MEN t o win out over a field o f f 28.
28. James F. Dunnigan was certainly one o f the
highlights of the convention. The popular designer is shown here accepting the Charles
Roberts Awards for Best Professional Magazine
($&TI and Hall o f Fame {for his own individual
achievements).
29. Dave Bakulski [right) is shown besting Robert
Beyma who finished fourth i n the A H Classic
500. After this semi-final round game Dave
proceeded t o lose t o his brother Paul i n the most
prestigeous event of ORIGINS.
30. THIRD RElCH games w8re spread all over
campus for the 150 player tournament sponsored
and run by ATTACK WARGAMING ASSOCIATION. Local IGB members Karl Fickanscher
(2nd f r o m right) and Chris Chyba (extreme left)
are identifiable i n this particular game.
31. Leave it t o the DIPLOMACY enthusiasts of
Dip Con I X t o stab us i n the back and sneak into
an auditorium reserved f o r Univarsity use. The
Diplomacy seminar seemed t o go well without
interruption i n any case.
32.Duke S i e f r i d presiding over the Custom C a a
Civil War Miniatures demonstration. This was just
one o f four events staged by Custom Cast which
earned them the Exhibitor Service Award.
33. Or. Clifford Sayre, better known for his
efforts i n connection with the Charles Roberts
Awards. is shown here hosting a naval warfare
miniatures demonstration put on by Potomac
Wargamers.
34. Next t o DIPLOMACY, KINGMAKER was
one o f the most numerous tournament gamss
with a field of 150, including this board which
apparently hosted a later day Margaret o f Anjou.
35. Paul Bakulski (right) is shown i n his semifinal match i n the A H Classic 500. His opponent,
Phil Evans, want on t o reap 3rd place honors.
126 games were played i n the competition'
(there were t w o forfeits i n the second round).
AFRIKA KORPS was the most popular game; Of
the 45 games played, the Germans won 23
(interestingly, the British d i d better i n the later
rounds). There were 36 games of STALINGRAD
played, 19 won by the Garmans and 17 by the
Russians. The latest versions o f each game's rules
were used. Surprisingly, the French won 20 of
the 30 WATERLOO games played. This is contrary t o our own feeling ahout the game's
balance; we can only assume that it is harder t o
play rhe defense under the time pressure of a
tournament. BATTLE O F THE BULGE was
played 12 times with the Germans winning 11
times. ALEXANDER was played twice, the
Persians and the Greeks winning once. The Allies
won the only game of D-DAY played.
Surprisingly, although A f r i ka Korps was the
most popular game, only one game of it was
played during the last 3 rounds, largely because
the semi-finatins were versatile players who
ddeated the AFRIKA KDRPS specialists and
who could agree o n other games t o play. Between
them the finalists won 13 games of STALINGRAD, 3 games o f AFRIKA KORPS, 5 games of
BULGE and 3 games of WATERLOO-

36. & 37. The cavalry must have helped when the
First Virginia Regiment and The Maryland
Company of Wayne's Light Infantry took the
offensive and won the second skirmish of the day
- reversing their earlier setback.
38. Just part of the 128 later day John Paul
Jones' who competed i n W.S. & I.M. - a game
which is sure t o be r e p e a t d as a tournament
even? i n later ORIGINS conventions.

39. The Design Panel Seminar i n progress. Shown

here from left to right: Lou Zocchi, A l Nofi,
Steven Cole, Richard Berg, Frank Chadwick,
Richard Banner, and John Prados.
40. What would the A H Classic 500 be without
judges? Our own Doug Burke (left) and Richard
Hamblen were part o f the cafeteria scanery for
three days and nights.
41. Sunday's Naval Warfare Seminar was a small
but enthusiastic success with a number o f noted
speakers on hand.
As ORIGINS leaves Baltimore we feel assured
that its reputation has been established as a great
attraction and that it will draw even largar
crowds with better organization and artractions
i n the future. Success tends t o build upon wccess
and we expect ORIGINS will snowball into
productions equal t o the great Sci-fi cons drawing,
10,OM)+. The successful participation i n this
year's con b y Custom Cast, GHQ. erc. bodes well
for the participation of all miniatures companies
i n future ORIGINS conventions - thus drawing
the various elements of the hobby closer together
for the common good.
Avalon Hill will support future ORIGINS
conventions w i t h publicity and attendance. Interest Group Baltimore, for its part, is already
looking forward t o chartering a bus t o New York<
t o compete i n next year's championships as well
as sponsor more o f the events which made
ORIGINS I and 11 s
o successful. I t looks like a
great ORIGINS I l l already1

***

,'

T H I R D RElCH . . . . Conrinuedfrom Page 22

4.9173 "Unlike Transport, units utilizing Amphibious Assault must start their turn in a port hex."
4.9253 This i s the biggest and most irnportanr
change in the second edition rules and is brought
about as a "cure" for the Axis trick o f massing all
airpower on the French coast and forcing an,
airborne conquest of Britain. This rule does not,
exclude the possrbility of such a conquest but, iw
conjunction with the Increased British stacking in,
London, makes it d~fficultto achieve against a goo&
Britlsh defense.
"Total, air strength involved in any Ground,
Support Mission may not exceed three times thd
number o f attacking ground factors.
5.7 "Partisans do not require supplies."
6.3 "French naval units may base only in French
territory. French fleets forced out of France may
base in Frenchcolonies but must return to Vichy
France when it is established. If necessary, Frenck
fleets may pass Gibraltar before or after the fall of
France In order to reach a Vlchy p o ~ t . "
6.4 "On the first wrnter turn of any Axis invasion all
non-Finnish Axis forces located east of the original
Soviet border are not doubled on defense and may
not use an Offens~veOption."
9.0 "Commencing with the I944 Year/ Stan
Sequence, t w o U-boatsarelost foreach ASW factor
In the Strategic Warfare box."
9.4 "If supply can be traced overland via Turkey the
limitation on German movement is dropped."
9.8 Axis Minor Variations 3 and 5 have been
interchanged. Iraq is treated as a German M~nor
Ally in Variation 1 and Axis Variation 10 may not
be played before 1943.
That sums up the changes in the second edition
of the THIRD REICH rules. There are other lesser
alterations but the major points have been explained above. Those who play a lot of THIRD
REICH should probably still invest in the new
rules-if only for the appendix of questions and
answers arranged numerically by subject paragraphs.

THEGENERAL

PAGE 34

W W
nm:CAESAR'S

BUYRIS 6UlDE

LEG~ONS

M E E T : Roman Legions vs. Germanic Tribes on the Rhine frontier

CAESAR'S LEGIONS w e s t h e 2 6 t h game
of a s ~ d ef ~ r s thought
t
to be at a disadvantage
t o undergo analysrs I n t h e RBG a n d f a r e d w e l l
For example, our playtesters c o n s ~ s t e n t l y
w l t h a 2 64 cumulatrve rating good enough for
thought that t h e Romans d ~ d nr have a chance
8 t h place o n t h e current 41st CAESAR'S rn t h e Idlstav~soscanarlo We agreed at first
LEGIONS IS prlmarlly w h a t we call a speclal
and Increased t h e trme l ~ r n ~b ru t t h e n dls
interest game It appeals mostly t o fancrers of
covered n e w strategles that usually resulted I n
t h e a n c ~ e nperladand
t
lacks broadsalesappeal a Roman w l n a n d w e n t back to the orlginat 1 5
w h l c h 1s w h y we've r s s t r ~ c r e d~tto t h e m a l l t u r n game l ~ r n ~
Play
t balance I n ouroplnton. IS
order only Ilne. Otherwise rts appeal lies better t h a n t h e ratlng lndlcates w h e n experl
chiefly ~nt h e popular matrlx CRT s'la 1 7 7 6 a n d enced players are involved
t h e h ~ d d e nmovement optlens of t h e Teuto
E x c ~ t e m e n tLsvel c a n vary d e p e n d ~ n gon
burger W a l d scenarro
the SCenarlo b e l w played The l n t r o d u c t o r ~
The game proved veryconslstent,
s ~ t u a t l o n sare too l o p - s ~ d s dto be excltlng b u t
the top third In
categories The best
t h e multiple combat system a n d ambushes of
performone came In Completeness of Rules
t h e T e u t o b u r ~ eW
r a l d scenario can keep e v s n
whrch ranked 3rd best
The game has
the most stele paaver o n t h e edge of his seat
slready gone
second editlo,, and the
almost non-existent questions s u b m m e d o n
t h e g a m e have c a u s d only s l ~ g h tcosmetlc
changes to t h e 2 n d Edition rules.
1. Physical I U l i Q
2.32
The game's w o r s t ratrng came I n play
2. ~ ~ ~ b , ~ d
2.36
balance w h e r e ~t ranked only 1 9 t h Thls 1s a
3- Com~'w'S
2.31
d ~ s e p p o ~ n t r n e nI nt that m u c h t l m e w a s spent
2.14
4- h e of I n d d a n l i n ~
on t h e playlestrng o f t h l s game l o r solely play
balance purposes There seem t o b e t w o
5. h O I p l # t ~ n ~Onf f h l 0 ~
2.23
explanationsfor t h ~ sl! peopleareconcentrat
6- PIar blmc
Ing t
m m u c h o n t h e introductory scenarios
"
whrch are adrnlttedly Roman walks and 2 ) a s
8- E i ~ h m o n 10
t
1s t o o often prevalent these days garners j u s t
don t play a game enough to d ~ s c w e rt h e
9. h8nll hill
n u a n c e s o f playwh~chcanturnthet~de~nfavor
fiaw
2 hr. 15 min.

M+

L6m

R U S S I A N CAMPAIGN:
Most oi~hequestionsperloinlng to th~spame
have evolved around auempring t o graft another
game's charactcrislics u n t o thls gurnc hystcm. F o r
cxamplc, do rivers and lakes freeze and become
clear terrain I n Ihe winter (STA L I N G R A I I ) : do
Stukas undoublc rivcr dcjcnic posi~ionsagainat
ground altacka (BLITZhRIEU): meg the Qerm n s sLart i n Hungury (STA LiNURAU) ctc. I T
you accept lhc rules for whrt thry do siy. there iu
really only one prohlcm with [hc RL:SSIA.V
( - A MPA lGh ruler; I'he incvilrbtr l y po is Tould
I n t0.6 which ahould refer to thc h l t i c - not thc
B b c k Sea.
Dcslgn-w~6ethere wrll alway?, be tho= who
find fault as i n thc casc o f thc individual who
chided u r for giving SS units supposedly auperhuman slrcnglh by bringing them h c k ah replacemenls each year. H i d he stopped to think i t olcr.
our critic rniphl have realued that the rule gives
credence to the fact Illat SS utlits were always Erst

i n l ~ n etor refitting and rcploccmcnt rather than

recoeni?ingany uncanny abilily toreturn fromlhe
dead. Be that as i t may, rebponw to RtiSSIAh'
C A M P A I G N has beenoverwhelmin#ly enthusiat
tic and ~ h lullowlng
c
questionh and answcn arc
prorrded in hope%ot presenting an am tight set o f
rulca l o r the rules lawyers among you who dtlighl
I n nit picking.

Q. May a Stuka tracingils range rrom AGN allack

unbts In a Military D~htrictothcrthan thc Bnllicun
the 6 r f t turn'
A, Y n . See 15.6 slukas only have l o trace their
range l r o m a HQ unit. Airpower is not an ~ntrinsic
part o i a n y Military DirLrici. I t can beFreelylenlto
olher areas i n range.

Q.May the Germans u5eseamovcmrot on thcfirsl

impulse o f the hrst turn'?
A. N o - t v t n though 5ca movcmcnt is pussiblr
wilhouta pon.noAxis unbtsexist orithe board(to

u w the olt-hoard Axis pnna] nt tllnt point o l the

panlc.

Autonlatic \>ictory cnpability i n cnngeated arrna

nyllinal il (lacked delenae

Q. Ma! thc Russiun player replace o n r hunrdr

Armtwrcd unit end onc Gunrds Inlnntr:; unit
d u r ~ n gthe same turnq
A . Ycr hut hc could nor rcplicc ;I l i u a d a
Arlnrlured unil and an Arnlouled unjt duringlhe
Mrnc turn.
Q.Aredcfen.iirc henclit~cumulative:i.e..atpcirier.
k h i n d a ribcr tr~plcd?
A. Nrl

lJ.Ehnclly

Q. Arc paratroopers dropped prmr to combat?

A. Yes
Q. Doch e n ~rns~~ccchhlul
lnrasion count lowards
the two lil%n.ilon limu'!
4 . Ycs
Q. Me! a Rumanian (or olhcr wiltivrality) I'anrcr
Grenadier unll IK suh~titutedI n r il German one
W ~ C I I Lnkinp replaccmcnt$')
A. K O
Q. Can yrlu u,c lwu Stuka cuunlerr i n rhe sumc
attack?
A. s o
Q. What lv;ippcn# i l a S t u k i lakc\
i n an
a l u c k egainsl dclcndcrh on marc than onc hcx'!
A. I h e entire attack iu still improved by three
odds.
Q. 1s 11orrnel ~nuvement[including relrml, sdvnncc) nlloncd across thc r a ~ lbridgc which
cnnnecl, (iCil9 umixhHH21'!
A. K o KC thc 15.1 bentenm o f 9.5.
Q. May unit?,retreat advancedcruas t h r S l r u i t ~ o f
Kcrcfi! Mu) huppl) lx ~rucedacrwa Straits'!
A. Yea. Yes

V.

I l u IIQ unua morc s ~ r n ~ l i ator miantry i n

respect l o having t u htop rln mountain and wocds
hexes9
A. Ych

Q.Suppvac that n Rukilnn unit isadvnncingalon~

a m ~linc
l previously controlled hy the Germans.
A t thesran ufthe Ruvrianturntherail markcriaal
K 17. 1-he Russian hegins at J l h a n d edvancmto
1.19. Due5 the crll counter lnovetn ILZI at the end
n t rhc (icrman player's nexl turn pmbidcd thc
Kusaien unit ia atdl thcrc'?
A. Yo. I t mover to L19 at the end o l thc RU.L\IUII
C;crman
turn pro,,idM [.I g i, out r,rC;crman
then use
muvenlenl up to
Ru%sianunit3 ur, to I.1Y
Q. Murr unita rchich took plaw i n an auIonlntrc

v~cton-sltac),and rcmnin a d j a c c n l ~ oencmvunitr

aur~,cndcri i o t h c r Friendly units do n o l manage at
leaht a aoak-ull attack vs. the adjacent units?
A. Ye$ the whole purpose o l 16.3 is to dcny

wherc can A x ~ siorcea set up at thc

hcginn~ngul' the gamc'!
4 . I h e Rumanian [ R ) k r c c mutt utorl i n
Rurnanro. thc binn- in Finbnd, and ill1 ulher
l'orce3 ;bnywhcre 111Kurn:lnia. V4jlandor H u n p r ~ .

Q. What cunaliluler an udvuncc hlonp a rs~lroad.

l o r Ihe purpnaeb o l advancing milheads'?
A. 9.7 " l h t rail hex o l grratwt advance out of
cncm) ZOC at thc cnd ol cvcry x c o n d impulse."
tierman units need not triversr the entlre rill line.
l a b o r and rear ared unitrr no1 rrptertrted by
uuunlcn i n thc game itrc nasumcd to bc clcar~ng
the lracka beh~nd the German advance For
eunlple. thc Breul-tlrpn.;k rail line could be
clrarcd QI soon n, thc Fcrman c n l c n Hryansk
p r v v ~ d r n gthere are n o intervening Russian ZOC
rven i l German units have 4101 movcd thruuyh Ihe
Pr~pyatM a r s h a

Q. [)or. ~ h cI.ul~twalic unu havc its own

replow~ncnla l l o s a n ~ ~ ' !
A. Yt*. I t mn! hctnkcn i n licu v l n 3 4 ~nlantr)unit
however. I t a l m has vecond inlpulse movement
ellvunncc equal to Gcrman lnlantw l o r l h o x 01
you whodoubled 'TheGermancavalry unit can he
taken aa s repluccment only in placc o l n pantcr
grenad~erunit
Q. [I
the Cicrmttn is cntitlcd to two or more pnnrer
replawnlent$ hut has loft none nlay he take o 3 -4
i n l i n l r y l i i r mch pnn7cr w r p s hc 1s enurlrd to
malead"
A.

Yn

0. Muxt each Axis

unit ntlack rr indicaled u n the

first turn nl thc gnmc, or may some units hang
back and not attack untit the wcond impulae
wherever lhev can reach'!
A. Thc latter. 1-he only reatrrnion is Ihat units
w h ~ c hdo attack o n the firrrl impulse of l h r p m e
must alruck i n the apcmlicd M i l i t a w Dlstrlcth.

0. Arc

h a l l hexm playable'!

A. Yesand initial placement oireiniorcemenls!xphrrmcnla on l h n c hcxcs ~b Irce.

0. Canyuuwillingly hnld back reiniorcemenlr,rephccmcnts altcr thc [urn t h c j should entet!

A.

h'u

Q. Arc ~ r t l a ncounterx placed heinre or alter

cornhut rexolulior! i n the Ruasiun second impulsr?

A. Aftcr
hex. W h a ~dnes 11 de-rind with:'
A. 4. Ihc rulcr state that thc unlt is halwd lractiona rounded up thua a " I * doubled hy the
mountain =4.

AVALON HILL REG RATING CHART

T h e games are ranked b y their cumulative scores w h i c h is a n average of t h e 9 categories for each
game. W h i l e it may b e fairly argued that each category s h o u l d n o t w e i g h equally against theothers.
w e use il only as a generalization of overall rank. B y breaking d o w n a game's ratings i n t o individual
categories t h e uamer is able t o discern for hrmself where t h e g a m e is strong or w e a k I n thequalities
he valuesthe most. Readers a r e r e m i n d e d t h a t t h e G a m e Lengthcategory i s m e a s u r d i n multipleS0f
t e n m i n u t e s a n d t h a t a ratrng of 1 8 w o u l d equal 3 h o u r s

WARGAMING T-SHIRTS
The w a r g a m i n g t-shirts are n o w a v a i l a b l e a n d
atthough these black a n d w h i t e photos do n o t
portray t h e vivid colors a n d sharpness of t h e
artwork y o u c a n t a k e o u r w o r d t h a t t h e s e s h i n s
sport a n exact f u l l color likeness of w a r g a m ing's m o s t w i d e l y recognized box cover.

T h e back sports a n enlarged, silk screened

version of t h e A v a l o n H i l l logo. The neck a n d
sleeves featureanractive redcollars topresent
a very p l e a s ~ n goverall appearance.
The shrrts sell for 35.00each p l u s t h e u s u a l
postage charges based e n t h e d o l l a r a m o u n t
o f y o u r total order Be sure t o s p e c ~ f yslze
Maryland residents add 4% State Sales Tax.
Small

-M e d i u m

-Large
-Xtra Large

2.40 3.07

2.38

2.39
2.88
2.60

2.07

3.30
3.27
2.86
2.78
2.12

1.85 1.88 2.10 9.2

2.62 2.00 2.09 2.15 21.7
2.87 2.19 2.34 2.20 13.1
2.94 260 2.66 2.39 2.45 6.0
2.81 3.08 2.72 2.63 2.38 33.4
3.22 2.59 2.24 1.35 205 34.9
3.00 306 2.08 2.07 2.05 14.0
2.23 3.73 3.05 286 2.73 13.5
2.52 3.43 3.07 2.65 2.M 18.8
3.25 4.05 3.00 3.40 2.75 16.0
3.06 3.24 2.53 2.61 2.67 29.7
3.02 3.73 3.41 2.82 2-64 24.2
2.90 3.66 3.08 2.37 2.73 16.7
2.29 3.39 3.57 291 2.77 13.5

2.55

2.98

3.43

2.88

1. W 5 . & I.M.

2.34

2. A N Z l O
3. P A N Z E R L E A D E R
4. RICHTHOFEN'S

2.36 2.11 1.74 1.84

2.50 2.41 2.17 2.34
2.52 2.28 2.62 2.12
2.56 2.16 1.76 2.45
2.57 2.12 2.47 2.34
2.58 2.00 3 . M 2.03
2.64 2.32 2 3 6 2.31

3.74
3.65
2.63
3.27
4.15
4.03
2.14

2.M

2.26

5. I778
6. 3rd R E l C H
7. P A N Z E R B L I T Z
8. CAESAR'SLEGIONS
9. C H A N C E L L O R S V I L L E
10. F R A N C E 1940
11. JlFrLARID
12. CUFTWAFFE
13. M I D W A Y
14. A F R I K A KORPS
15. A L E X A N D E R
16. ORIGINS OF W l l
17. B L I T Z K R I E G
18. T O B R U K
19. WATER LOO
20. B U L G E

21.

0-DAY

22. STAL1NGRAO
23. TACTICS II
24. 1914
25.

GETTYSBURG

26. KRIEGSPIEL

2.82

2.57

2.45

282 175 2.05 1.85

2.39
2.83 2 . 8 4 2.87 241 2.91 2.04
2.88 2.75 3.12 2.56
2.90 3.04 3.10 2.92
2.93 2.99 3.27 3.19
2.98 269 2.58 2.80
3.09 3.39 3.28 3.30
3.10 2.85 4.68 2.13

3.18 3.28 3.27 3.11

3.21

2.93

2.80

3.43 3.72 4.54

3.31
3.69

3.44 3.43 3.74 3.40

3.51 3.a3 4.30 3.59
3.87 3.18 3.40 3.26
3.88 3.59 3.84 3.54
4.04 3.77 4.20 3.85

2.00 2.22 4.00

3.14 2.88 2.25
4.32 2.77 3.06
2.01 3.11 3.27
3.08 3.40 353
2.56 3.09 4.38
207 2.52 4.37
1.45 2.18 7.32
5.46 4.32 3 86
2.63 3.39 5.08
2.13 2.94 2.93

2.76

2.43

2.86

12.7

3.11 3.40 9.6

3.B7 2.81 3.05 24.0
2.11 3.00 296 21.6
4.32 3.21 3.01 16.2
411 2.81 2.95 20.0
4.60 3.60 3.56 17.8
5 1 5 3.28 3.04 20.0
1 5 7 4.59 4.20 11.6
1.95 5.48 3.88 55.0
4.51 4.34 3.88 12.6
6.09 5.20 5.29 8.8

4.06

PAGE 35

THE GENERAL

Club lthaca has struck the first blow in the

1976 Team Championship Tournament sponsored by Nicky Palmer of Denmark. Bryan
Mundell won for lthaca as the Allies in ANZlO
over Alan Carlson of theYOGWC.This is justthe
first of many matchesto be decided however and
reports should be forthcoming regularly for the
balance of the year.

John Collins repons that the Central Virginia

Wargamers Clubgot their stan last May when a
feature article in the Richmond Times Dispatch
attracted many new people to their Wednesday
night meetings at the locat YMCA.Thearticle, in
turn, attracted a local tv station which did a short
film feature on the group. The Richmond based
club now has over 50 members and has been
responsible for introducing wargames to four
stores in the Richmond area. The group is
currently planning to sponsor an event at
ORIGINS Ill. Interested parties can contact the
club at 6 East Main St., Richmond, VA 23219.
Don Greenwood won the 2nd Annual Avaion
Hill BASKETBALL STRATEGYLeaguewith a9481 triumph over the Phoenix Suns of John
Armstrong who is most remembered for having
won the FOOTBALL STRATEGY tournament at
ORIGINS 1. Greenwood's N.Y. Knicks finished
second in the regular season to the Buffalo
Braves of Dennis Yost but won play-off matches
in the third and deciding gameto end the season
with a 13-6 mark. Greenwood won $50 for his
league championship season which stertsevery
year with a player draft.
James Venn, owner of the "Articles of War"
store in Buffalo, recently donated some $800
worth of games to WHED Ch 7 in Buffalo. Every
year the station holds an auction to raise funds
for charity and the simulation games are
reported to have started some active bidding,
especially for TOBRUK and the AH sports
games. James also successfully auctioned off
one hour courses for non-wargamers who
wished private lessons in simulation games.
Those who missed ORIGINS II can still make
MICHIGAN SIMCON I which is scheduled for
September 24-26 at the University of Michigan
League Main Ballroom. A weekend admission
charge of $3.00 buys access to the usual
assortment of wargame tournaments, miniatures, auction, etc. Inquiries should be made to
John C. Finley, 807 W. Madison #3, Ann Arbor,
MI 48103.

Willlam McCullam of Fairmount Rd.. Newbu-

ry, OH 44065 announces the publication of his

fanzine JAMAIS-JAMAIS PAYS for the play of
postal KINGMAKER & DIPLOMACY. Movement
will be simultaneous with three weekdeadlines
for moves. The game fee shall be $3.00. A copy
of William's rules for postal KINGMAKER and a
subscription to the magazine for the life of the
entered game come with the $3.00 game fee.
Vol. 13, No. 1 p r o v d to be another ratings
flop, garnering a 3.58 overall. Apparently our
rwidership is becoming more accustomed to
increased quality and i s going to be harder to
please in the future. The sub-3 rating which we
always strive for has now eluded us for three
straight issues. Individually, the articles stacked
up as follows in our 1200 point maximum
scoring system:
Calibrated LU F T W A F F E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
Series Replay PANZER LEADER . . . . . . . . ,251
KINGMAKER Analyzed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,135
Avalon Hill Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .I08
Winning wlth the Underdog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Adding t h Luftwaffe
~
Occupation as The Key to Victory . . . . . . . . 90

Deslgn Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Second Th0uph.t~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

34
11

We note here with great sorrow the passing

of Rear Admiral C. Wade McClusky who died
three weeks before the ORIGINS II convention at
which he was scheduled to appear as Guest of
Honor. McClusky had been a very active member
of the Avalon Hill Technical Advisory Staff since
1964 when he collaborated with AH in the
design, authentication, and production of the
popular MIDWAY game. All scholarly accounts
of the battle credirMcClusky as the hero of the
American forces that day. Burial was at the U.S.
Naval Academy in Annapolis with full military
honors.
Dueto our parts department moving into new
facilities, the public will no longer be able to
purchase gaming supplies in person. New
games will continue to be sold at the regular
Harford Road address and a limited number of
half-price games will remain available at theold
1501 Guilford Ave. address while the supply
lasts. All parts orders must be placed by mail.
Early reports from the 4th Annual Flying
Buffalo Wargame Convention in Pheonix list it
as a great success with over 50 enthusiasts in
attendance. Congratualtions go to Charles
Shannon and Dave Eagle who won the Avalon
Hill & KINGMAKER tournaments respectively.

THIRD RElCH RULES

The Second Edition of the Third Reich rules is
now available for $2.00 plus 50C postage. These
rules have not been rewritten. They are still in
the original lengthy and somewhat ambiguous
style. Those expecting a crystal clear revision
will be disappointed, and should not order the
revision.
What the second edition does have is a 5
page Appendix of Questions & Answers on
play-many of which have appeared in the
GENERAL previously. Marked in the margins of
the rules themselves are 35 changes to the
actual COPY. All of the Important changes have
been published in the Design Analysiscolumn of
Vol. 13. No. 2 of the GENERAL so that previous
owners need not purchase a new set unnecessarily.

4th EDITION BASEBALL

STRATEGY NOW AVAILABLE
BASEBALL STRATEGY, originally published
in 1960, is now available in it's 4th edition. The
game had been restructured and repackaged in
1974 to accomodate the bookcase format. Over
500 playtest games later, the Avalon Hill
Baseball Strategy league discovered apparent
flaws in the remake. The game developed into a
scoreless pitching duel between ace pitchers
and expert defenses with super defensive plays
being the rule rather than the exception.
The new version puts more offense into the
game and allows for intentional walks, stretching base hits, and increasing the negative
effects on tiring or ineffective pitchers.
Owners of the previous bookcase edition
need not purchase a n entire new game to
update their set. A new playing board will do the
trick, although a purist should also get the
slightly amended rules to complete the update.
Although the basic matrix system of the game
remains largely untouched, a variable die roll
has been introduced after the matrix phase to
add further variety to the range of results for
each interaction of the offense and defense.
Owners of the 3rd edition should be sure to
update their present sets.

BASEBALL STRATEGY Game ......... $10.00

Board .............................. . $ 3.00
Rules/Manual Set .................. . 8 1.75
plus the usual shipping charges

Inierest Group San Franc~scounder the

direction of Michael Peterson meets bi-monthly
at the "Gardens" Recreation Hall, 191 9 Alameda de las Pulgas, in San Mateo, CA. Among their
plans for the coming year are a Bay Area
tournament based on the PWA-AH 500 structure of Origins I. Mike can be reached at 41 5574-5998.