Manual

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SHORT RULES 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 THE SCENARIOS The Standard Scenario The 1880 Scenario The 1914 Scenario 3.0 THE SCREEN DISPLAY The Map Game Markers 4.0 THE PLAYERS 5.0 GETTING STARTED Loading the Disk Game Setup Saving the Game 6.0 PLAYER ACTIONS Phases of Play Build Phase Movement Phase Combat Phase Scoring 7.0 THE COMPUTER PLAYER 8.0 STRATEGIES AND HINTS APPENDIX: Area Information AT PLAY IN THE IMPERIAL SANDBOX: The Golden Age of the White Man's Burden 1880-1914. By Robert S. Billings

SHORT RULES

Colonial Conquest: Up to 6 major countries vie for control of more than 120 Minor countries using diplomacy, espionage, armies and fleets.

Objective: The player's goal is to be the first to obtain a preset number of victory points. Winning battles and aquiring control of areas increase a player's victory point total, while losing battles and control of areas decrease his total.

Major Countries: In sequence of play, these are: 1) England, 2) Germany, 3) France, 4) USA, 5) Japan, 6) Russia. Each Major country is controlled by a human player or the computer or is designated neutral and then acts as a Minor country. While one player is entering his moves at the computer, all of the other players should be seated else where. There they can negotiate informal agreaments. They are prohibited from watching the player at the computer, but anything else is acceptable.

Scenarios: The 3 alternatives are an 1880 scenario, a 1914 scenario, and a standard scenario.

Loading and Starting: [Not included]

Screen Display: See enclosed map for identification of areas and regions. See Figure 3.2 for identification of game markers.

Controlling the Computer: To move the cursor, use the joystick. To set your choice, press the TRIGGER. To continue within the Build Phases and Movement Phases, press the TRIGGER. To go back a screen while selecting movements, ect., press START. To advance to the next phase after completing your actions in a phase, press START.

Game Phases: Build Phases (Army, Navy, Fortification, Economic Aid, Espionage, Subversion), Movement Phases (Army, Navy), Combat. The Build Phases occur each spring only. The first turn begins with the Espionage Phase.

Army Build Phase: Learn current army and Navy strengths. Create new armies in supply centers of your Major county's home area.

Navy Build Phase: Create new navies in the supply centers located in the ports of your Major country's home area.

Fortification Phase: Fortify army units. Lend money to Major countries; these are added to the Treasury. Lend money to neutral Minor countries; these are used immediatley to build armies.

Espionage Phase: Learn the approximate army strength and income of a Minor country or of an area controlled by a Major country. Your current treasury and the cost of spying will be displayed after you set the choice of the area to be spied on.

Subversion Phase: Spend money to bribe a Minor country's army, weakening the country's defence or causing a coup.

Army Movement Phase: Move armies to adjacent areas only. If area is controlled by you, troops become reinforcement. If area is neutral or controlled by another Major country, troops attack and battle is fought in the Combat Phase.

Navy Movement Phase: Move navies alone or with armies from one port to another. If destination is a port you control, forces there are reinforced. If you do not control the port, then navy alone or nany and armies attack and battle is resolved in the Combat Phase.

Combat Phase: Nine rounds of battle; each consists of naval vs. naval battle and army vs. adjacent army battle.

Scoring: 1 point added for every battle won by armies. 1 point deducted for every battle lost by armies. Victory points are also added or subtracted for acquiring or losing control of areas. In the historical scenarios, Mojor countries control some areas at the beginning of the game, but they have no victory points. All scores are set at zero before play begins. However, if as a Mojor country, you lose contol of an area that you held at the start, points will be deducted from your score. If you should gain control again, then you will be awarded the victory points just as you would be for gaining control of any other area. A menu appears before each movement phase and before the Combat Phase that allows you to see the score at that time.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Based on the empire building of the late 1800's, Colonial Conquest is a grand strategy game for 1-6 players. Using diplomacy, espionage, armies, and fleets, up to 6 Major countries vie for control of more than 120 Minor countries and each other.

1.1 Colonial Conquest is 100% machine language and features smooth scrolling on a map of the world that is four screens wide and two screens high. More than nine colors are displayed by using a special mode. Only the joystick and console keys are used in giving commands.

1.2 Colonial Conquest features diplomacy, loans between countries, espionage of Major and Minor countries, subversion of Minor countries, the building of army and navy forces, and combat. Each army may contain from 1,000 to 9,999,000 men; each navy may contain from 1 to 9,999 fleets. At the start of each new STANDARD game, the army strength and net worth of each Minor country are randomly set. In the 1880 and 1914 scenarios, the army strength and net worth are preset. Each game is different, and the strategies are endless.

1.3 In Colonial Conquest, the player is awarded victory points for winning battles and acquiring control of areas. The player who first attains a preset number of points is declared the winner.

1.4 The Language of Colonial Conquest The novice at wargaming may find it helpful to keep in mind that ordinary words often take on special meanings in a game. Be aware of the particular use in this rulebook of the following terms: friendly, unfriendly, movement, battle, and war.

1.4.1 Only those Major and Minor countries under your control are considered friendly. All other countries, whether neutral or controlled by an enemy are considered unfriendly.

1.4.2 All movements against unfriendly countries automatically become battles in the Combat Phase.

1.4.3 When we write of a cumputer controlled Major country considering itself at war with you, we mean it attacks your areas whenever and wherever it can. The computer will begin a war with you because you have attacked it or an area which it controls or for some unknown reason.

You may end a war by lending money to the computer controlled Major country, but another war may begin, again as a result of either an action of yours or a decision of the computer.

2.0 THE SCENARIOS

2.1 Three Options

2.1.1 The Standard Scenario
The six Major countries control only thier own areas as the game begins.

2.1.2 The 1880 Scenario
A historical scenario in which, as the game begins, the six Major countries control the additional areas actually controlled by those countries in 1880. See Scenario Data Card for indentification of controlled areas.

2.1.3 The 1914 Scenario
A historical scenario in which, as the game begins, the six Major countries control the additional areas actually controlled by those countries in 1914. See Scenario Data Card for indentification of controlled areas. In addition, if the computer controls Russia, France, or England, the country is at war with Germany. Conversely, if Germany is controlled by the computer, it is at war with Russia, France, and England.

3.0 THE SCREEN DISPLAY

3.1 The Map
The map is 4 screens wide and 2 screens high. There are over 125 Major and Minor countries displayed on the map. If the cursor is held against either the right or the left edge of the map, the screen will wrap around from one end of the map to the opposite end.

3.1.1 Major Country:
A Major country is colored solid: England-purple, Germany-grey, France-green, USA-light blue, Japan-yellow, Russia-red. A Major country contains more than one area, each with it's own identification number. For information on the characteristics of Major countries, see the Major Country Comparison Chart (figure 3.1.11).

3.1.2 Minor Country:
A Minor country is checkered; it contains only one area. The army strength and net-worth of a Minor country is randomly set prior to each new STANDARD game or is preset in the 1880 and 1914 scenarios. If a Minor counrty is controlled, its net-worth is added to the treasury of the controlling Major country. Minor countries can only defend; they can neither build nor attack.

3.1.3 Region:
The world is divided into the eight regions shown on the World Map. At the start of each new year, if you control all of the Major and Minor countries of a region, you receive an economic bonus in addition to the combined net-worth of all of the countries. This reward can be as high as 20 million dollars.

Regions are important in naval sorties¹ and naval assaults². If a naval attack from one region to another fails, all of the armies in the attacking force are lost.

1) In naval sorties, only ships are moved. 2) In naval assaults, troops accompany ships that are moved.

3.1.4 Ocean:
Each ocean of the world has been divided into seas. These seas are important in estimating the prescence and strength of enemy navies occupying adjacent land areas. The presence of a fleet marker indicates which Major country has the greatest number of fleets in a single adjacent land area.

3.1.5 Status Square:
Each Minor country and each Major country has one square, known as the status square, that denotes who contols the area. In an uncontrolled Minor country, the Status Square looks like the rest of the country except when a Major country is choosing the destination of armies or fleets. Game Markers (section 3.2 and figure 3.2 contain information on what can appear in a Status Square).

3.1.6 Inland Waters:
No markers appear in such inland waters as the Great Lakes in North America. However, movement across such water is blocked. Areas on opposite sides are not considered adjacent. Army movement between areas 42 and 79 and between 114 and 116 is allowed.

3.2 Game Markers
(a graphic showing flags for army markers, flag with dot in lower right corner indicates Fortification, Also the Markers for fleets,Port, supply center, and Mountains).

3.2.1 Army:
This marker represents the flag of a Major country and denotes the prescence of troops and control by that Major country.

3.2.2 Fleet:
this marker represents a fleet in a sea and indicates that in a land area adjacent to that sea, the controlling country has more fleets than any other Major country. The color identifies the Major country. Note: this is the largest number of fleets in any one adjacent country, not the total of those in all the adjacent areas controlled by the Major country.

Example: England has 32 fleets based in London (area 46). France has 30 fleets based in Normandy (area 50) and 15 fleets based in Paris (area 49). Although France has a greater combined total of fleets in two of the areas adjacent to the sea, the English fleet marker is displayed in the sea because it has the greatest number of fleets in any one area adjacent to the sea.

3.2.3 Fortification:
This marker, a black square, appears in the bottom right corner of the flag that indentifies control by a Major country. The defence strength is doubled by fortification; the attack strength is unaffected. The cost to an enemy player wishing to spy on the area is increased by fortification.

3.2.4 Major Supply Center:
This marker appears in Major countries only, indicating the sole area in which armies and fleets can be built. It denotes control of the area by the Major country identified by the color of the area. The major supply center acts as a fortified area; that is, its defence is doubled and the cost to spy is increased.

If the area were controlled by another Major country, the supply center marker would not be visable; in its place would be the flag of the controlling Major country.

3.2.5 Neutral Supply Center:
This marker appears in a neutral Minor country during the Espionage Phase to indicate that no Major country has control.

3.2.6 Port:
This marker appears in a neutral Minor country to indicate that it can be invaded by sea during the Navy Movement Phase by an active player. It denotes lack of control by any Major country.

3.2.7 Mountains (Impassable Terrain):
This marker indicates mountains. Movement is prohibited through mountains. Army movment between area 82 and 84 is allowed.

4.0 THE PLAYERS

4.1 Each of the six Major countries is controlled by a human player or by the computer or is neutral. The human player is referred to as an Active Player. The role of a neutral Major country is the same as that of a neutral Minor country. It is considered unfriendly and can be defeated and controlled.

4.2 While you, an Active Player, sit at the computer to enter your moves, all other human players sit elsewhere conducting diplomacy. To facilitate play, they should have copies of the World map. When you have completed your moves, the next player in sequence takes his place at the computer until all moves have been entered. If some of the countries are controlled by the computer, the computer moves at the appropriate time in the sequence. After all players have made thier moves, combat occurs. The results can be viewed by all players.

4.3 Since the computer controlled Major country cannot indulge in diplomacy, there should be 3-6 human players for the most effective use of this feature of the game. While one Active Player enters his moves, the other players may make treaties, lie, backstab, threaten, and exchange information in any way they wish. The only limitaion on thier behavior is that they may not spy on the player who is entering his moves.

4.4 The player sequence is determined by the control of the Major countries. The contries move in the following order:

1. England
2. Germany
3. France
4. USD
5. Japan
6. Russia

5.0 GETTING STARTED

5.1 Loading the Disk [Not included]

Text by SSI and typed by Castellon