The Walls of China

Costs: $3 per turn Frequency: Once per ten days Email: manzikertca@yahoo.com URL: http://www.geocities.com/manzikertca/han.html Type: pbe-mail board game Last-Update: 2008Jan03 Keywords: commercial, open-ended, email, human, historical, wargame, economic, rpg Description THE WALLS OF CHINA This is a game played by two teams of up to ten players per team.The imperial Han are now in the saddle as inheritors of the Chinese Empire ,the previous Ch'in,the original uniters of China ,now destroyed through greed with the accidental death of Chin shih Huang in a hunting accident.It is a time of consolidation for the Chinese as they go from strength under the Han,both economically and politically.However the old nemisis of the southern civlization is still out there :the barbarian raiders.These have made the raiding south of the Yellow River a way of life .In respose the Han utilizes previously built walls spanning the northern loop of the Yellow River combined with aggressive cavalry raids into the barbarian heartland.Sometimes it is more economical to simply pay of the individual tribes in order to cease attacking . The players must give thought to economic factors as well as military ones.Would it be better to build walls or is it possible to relay upon a barbarian players previous agreement not to attack? .The barbarian supreme commander may have to mull over the timing of his raids into the south as his horses are in the best condition in the fall after the summer grazing .Some times he must contemplate the consequences of any actions to the south as the Han may in retaliation occupy his fertile basins from where he gets his needed manufactured goods such as weapons and tools. This stratgic element is of great importance as trade routes are vital for both teams.In the case of the Han the route to the west must be maintained while the barbarian must always keep a passageway open to either the westerly basins or the northern one at Karakorum,(later to be the captial of the barbarian empire). A good game should have many ways in which to win .This game fullfils these requirements admirably.

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