HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: taia_a@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: BTECH Re: Arrow IV
Date: 16 Sep 92 13:22:57 NZST
Organization: Welligton City Council, Public Access.
NNTP-Posting-Host: kosmos.wcc.govt.nz

In article <BuMM7t.3Fz@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Axly) writes:
> lunatic@netcom.com (Lunatic Johnathan Bruce E'Sex) writes:

>> B) Treat each elemental as a separate unit, in which case each elemental
>>    takes 20 points of damage, and you've wiped out the entire point with
>>    one shot.

> Artillery (Arrow IV being an artillery weapon primarily) does area damage.
> Everything in the hex takes damage. Yes, if you drop an Arrow IV on a
> point of elementals, it will wipe them out.
> Axly

 Yippee!!!! and guess who has a Battalion of artillery? I'm so glad that
I got all those thumpers :) With a few Arrows put in those damn elementals
are gonna die, big time! But hey I was a Russian Red Army commander in a
previous life anyway :)

FINAL POINT: People lets remember that others lack our fine tastes in Btech.
 So lets remember to put in those BTECH: etc in the headers :)

This has been....
 Tony Taia
  TAIA_A@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz, tai-shu@kauri.vuw.ac.nz
3068: The surrender of the Clans to the Draconis League :)
From: chris@smurf.sti.com (Chris Guthrie)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: JUNTA - can someone summarize this game???
Date: 11 Sep 92 19:13:19 GMT
Reply-To: chris@sti.com
Organization: Software Transformation Inc.


wesdia@sniap.mchp.sni.de (Wolf-Eckart Schmidt) writes:
|> Hello,
|> 
|> I just have read the postings about JUNTA.
|> Can someone post a summary of the game via email? Perhaps I'll buy the game.

JUNTA is best described as an interactive game.  There is a certain degree
of diplomacy ("Please give the Air Force more money this turn since they
clearly need bombing practice").  There is a bit of Adel Verflicktic [SIC]
("The minister's free assassin assassinates the President at the nightclub").

There is a segment of the game that involves moving counters as in a wargame.
However, this is mostly a maneuvering exercise with little actual combat.

Finally, all of this is overlaid with a cynical view of the politics of a
mythical South American dictatorship.   All in all, very humorous.

	Chris
From: desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Titan - who does NOT like it?
Date: 10 Sep 92 16:29:39 GMT
Organization: IDA Center for Communications Research, Princeton

Here is the complete recruiting table for the Bo-Yin variant reposted;
he asked me to post it for him as his posting access is not so good at
this time.

Also, he comments:

> as for why this makes the game more interesting.... even after one gets 
> lucky and converts a high level creature, it is So easy for someone to 
> convert another line as there are SO many different lines......

---------------------------------------------------
The Creature Table

[Tundra]
Warbears => Roc (11~*3) => Gog (24-2) -> Jotun (23-3)
            Giant  => Gog [10]
	    Roc -> Colossus
            [12]
2 Gorgons + 1 Ranger #####> Demon (4~*5)
                            [10]
[Mountains]
Minotaurs => Roc => Phoenix (15~*3) -> Juggernaut (15~4)
	    Dragon => Phoenix [10]
            Roc -> Colossus
2 Rangers + 1 Gorgon #####> Demon
   
[Swamp]
Wyverns => Medusa (7~~4) -> Gog
           [12]
[Desert]
Griffons => Scorpio (12~3) -> Phoenix
            [12]
[Hills]
Minotaurs => Dryad (5*5)
             [12]
[Woods]
Warbears => Dryad

[Jungle]
Behemoth => Basilisk (14~*3)
            [8]

To cross recruit a Phantom Knight one needs at least two distinct
of the below with one of them in the proper terrain.
Phantom Knight (no terrain)
Behemoth [Jungle]
Wyvern [Swamp]
Griffon [Desert]
Demon [Tundra and Mountains]
Unicorn [Hills and Woods]

[The number in brackets under each creature is the supply for each]

Explanations for special creatures:
Demons:  Has infinite range for ~strikes, no range penalty,
         native to sand/dune/slope/bog/bramble/drift
Phantom Knights: same nativity as Demon
     movement and attacks may be delayed until after completion of other 
     movement and attacks (i.e. can intersperse movement and attack).
Dryads: May enter Tree, gain 1d in tree, enemies not recruitable in treed
	terrain (incl. P.K) lose 2d on strikes 1d on rangestrikes.
Medusas: Rangestrike is full strength (7 dice at 4).
Scorpio: Deliver 150%+ damage from sand, and 150%+ at non-native on sand.
Basilisk: With 2+ in stack, all Behemoths/Gorgons promote to 8~*3
Roc/Phoenix native to Volcano.

Lords:
Dominion (7*4) per 300
Virtue (7*5) per 700
Seraph (12~*4) per 1100
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: m91kgh@tdb.uu.se (Karl-Gunnar Hultland)
Subject: Re: BTECH - machine gun mechs
Organization: Dept. of Scientific Computing, Uppsala Univ.
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 23:49:46 GMT

dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Axly) writes:
: m91kgh@tdb.uu.se (Karl-Gunnar Hultland) writes:
: 
: >hal@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Hal Wadleigh) writes:
: >: Check all those massive machine gun 'mechs for legality.  A magazine can feed
: >: no more than two weapons and must be at least 1/2 ton minimum.  I doubt that
: >: those munchkin machine gun purcupines follow this rule.  Also remember that a
: >: 'mech can jump no farther than it can walk.
: >: 
: 
: >Please give me page and rulebook where you read that. I have
: >never seen a limitation like that. But IF you are right
: >then FASA has some illegal designs too ...
: 
: He may be thinking of the vehicles section, wherein you need one ton (1/2
: ton for MG) of ammo for every ballistic weapon. On 'Mechs, the book states
: for "every CLASS of weapon" . Major difference between Vehicles and 'Mechs.

Ahhh that should explain some parts of his statement, but the
two weapons sharing a magazine is a new rule for me.
(perhaps a house rule)

				Karl

-- 

Karl-Gunnar Hultland              Vox Dei, Vox Populi
m91kgh@bellatrix.tdb.uu.se
From: chris@intelhf.hf.intel.com (Chris Houghton)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Civil War Strategic games
Date: 9 Sep 92 21:10:07 GMT
Organization: Development Tools Operation, Intel Corp., Hillsboro, OR

In article <1992Sep9.121823.813@HQ.Ileaf.COM> jdarnold@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Jonathan Arnold) writes:
>In article <1992Sep8.130138.993@oz.plymouth.edu> sos@oz.plymouth.edu (Steffan O'Sullivan) writes:
>>woodc@aix.rpi.edu (Christopher A. Wood) writes:
>There's also the older (almost certainly out of print) 3W games called
>Mr. Lincoln's War.  It came in two games that could be linked together
>- the Eastern and Western theaters.  It is a low level game for such a
>grand strategic scope - brigades, I believe.  Never really sat down
>and played it though.
>+=================================+================================+
I have the Western Theatre game (Army if the Tennessee) and have played it
several times.  It's army level, not regiment.  Much like AH's War and Peace,
i.e., troops are represented by counters, a general is required to move
infantry.  Each point of infantry seems to be worth about 3000 men.  Combat
proceeds in rounds until one force retires.  You have tactical chits to play
which add/subtract from differetial.  Troops generally have morale ratings
of 2 or 3, modified by season, supply status and demoralization.  Negative
morale forces a withdrawal from a battle with pssible pursuit loses.

Naval warfare represented by fleets of warships and transports as well as
riverboats and ironsides.  Naval forces line up and simultaneously fire.
You can shield some ships behind the front line.

The Union in particular is very tied to railroads by supply requirements.
Political factors are tallied with the winnre getting to roll for political
results ranging from low recruitment to intervention (unlikely).

A hard game for the South of course, but fairly good at giving a feel for
the war.  Nothing much happens the first year,  then a series of campaigns
that start out looking unstoppable, then bog down from supply/morale/
command control problems.

Chris H.


-- 
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Apparently-From:                   | Galadriel's Law :             | 
|      chris@hfglobe.intel.com       | Some things come true only if |
| Disclaimer:                        | you turn from your path to    |
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: pad@probitas.cs.utas.edu.au (Paul A Daniels)
Subject: Re: Shogi "Japanese Chess"
Keywords: Shogi Chess
Organization: University of Tasmania, Australia.
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 07:57:42 GMT

In <Bu04G0.8J2@casper.cs.uct.ac.za> mpinnock@casper.cs.uct.ac.za (M B Pinnock) writes:

>I recently discovered an apparently ancient Japanese board game
>called Shogi (I think). I know very little about it except that it bears
>some resemblance to chess. It is apparently very popular in Japan.

>If anyone knows the rules and a little about the game, I would
>greatly appreciate the info.

>You can mail to me directly at the address given below.


>Brian Pinnock

>Computer Science Dept.       | 
>University of Cape Town      | 
>South Africa                 | 
>mpinnock@casper.cs.uct.ac.za | 

	Does anyone know wher you can get a shogi set in Australia?
Oh yes the rules could be handy :)

	Paul.
From: desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Marsh/Plains
Date: 11 Sep 92 20:38:07 GMT
Organization: IDA Center for Communications Research, Princeton

Timothy C. Worsley <tw1r+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
> I'm going to start by saying that equal point creatures of different
> skills are not equal.  Because of the hitting system, skill 4 peices
> are best*, then skill 2, and then skill 3.  Movement favors the higher
> skilled creatures, or course, but hit factor is almost always the most
> important.

I think that this underestimates the importance of movement, but that's
not my main point.

To summarize rather than quote your argument: Trolls are better than
Lions; Warbears are better than Minotaurs; Giants are better than
Dragons; Griffons are about the same as Wyverns.  Since Trolls lead to
Warbears and Lions to Minotaurs, Marsh is better than Plains.

Supposing that all of this is true (I agree that Warbears seem better
than Minotaurs), it doesn't prove your case.  This entirely ignores
Centaurs->Warbear and Ogres->Minotaur mustering.  Since most of your
argument is founded on the principle that Warbears are better than
Minotaurs, doesn't this mean that the 3-Centaur line is more favorable
than the 3-Ogre line?

Or do you consider the 3-Centaur and 3-Ogre lines not even worth
mentioning?

                                        David desJardins
From: tomlee@yoko.rutgers.edu (Thomas J Lee)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Titan - who does NOT like it?
Date: 9 Sep 92 13:57:37 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

mcneely@korg16.ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM (Alan_McNeely) writes:

>I'm one of those people who found the first game so intolerable I didn't want
>to play anymore,  ever.  The other three players all found the game worthwhile.
>I can easily imagine that if I pushed myself through six or seven games of
>this it might become a lot more fun,  but there's too many games that I can
>enjoy every time I play to push myself through this kind of learning curve.
>There are obviously lots of people on the net who get a lot of pleasure from
>Titan,  but for someone considering buying the game unplayed like the original
>poster,  there's a substantial risk of disapointment.

First-timers should play two-person Titan, starting in opposite towers,
to better get the hang of the movement and mustering systems. I prefer
head-to-head vs. multiplayer anyway, because the pace is faster and you
can play several games in an evening.

Tom Lee
tomlee@yoko.rutgers.edu
From: nicholso@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Melvin H. Nicholson YBH)
Subject: Re: Hostility in Gamers toward Certain Games
Organization: NASA Ames Res. Ctr. Mtn Vw CA 94035
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 19:58:34 GMT

First off: I'd like to thank Stephen for starting a wonderful thread of
discussion.  The initial observation was a good one.

After my initial post on the subject I waded through the flood the
followed and decided I didn't have time to reply again, and didn't
have much new to add.  The thread still continued.  Most amazingly
of all, not that much of it degenerated into a mindless flame war.

I do think I've picked out one of the MAJOR reasons for this snobbery,
which I generally see as a kind of sublimated rejection more than any
overtstatement ((as Stephen noted, once he admitted to being an 'X', he
just couldn't seem to do anything right in the eyes of a 'Y' who knew)
They certainly were outright ostracizing him, but they lowered their
opinion of him, which can hurt even more).  The reason this feeling
persists is that it is self-perpetuating.  Once an X decides that Y's
are less than human and starts snubbing them and telling them how being
an X is so much better than being a Y and attacks Y's venue, the Y's are
ALL INSULTED.  The Y's start fighting back and attacking X's venue,
drawing more from each side into the fray, and leading to a polarization
where the Y's and X's hold resentments against the genres as a whole.

Even at the lower level where an X tend to brag about the wonderfulness
of Xness, and even without considering the resonance from the above
conflict this must precipitate, if a Y doesn't enjoy X, s/he won't want
to sit around listening to an X extolling the virtues of Xosity, and
soon may decide not to want to be around this jerk, the X, who keeps
trying to push Xification.  It isn't a large jumps to sublimate from
"that X is a jerk" into "X's are jerks" especially in the case that
there are multiple jerk and counter-examples are unclear or missing.

Note: ANYONE who tries to bind this argument to a flame about who
started what is a lowly slime (<-- pre-emptive flames, perhaps a whole
new way to fight fire with fire?).  It is clear that in different
circles different sides will have been at fault (and more often that
both sides were at fault --- it takes two to tango) and that the
interactions between these microcosms are to complicated to even derive
anything as simple as a chicken-or-the-egg problem.

Mel

P.S. Eggs came first.  Think of non-chickens that layed eggs long before
the first chicken.
From: elm4252@zeus.tamu.edu (MOORE, ERIC LEE)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: BTECH - machine gun mechs
Date: 11 Sep 1992 18:59:00 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41


in an earlier post, it was stated that mechs can only have 1
hatchet.  as far as i know, there is nothing said about not
having two hatchets.  i do not know if you can use both in 
a single physical attack.  but, the solaris premade mechs 
have some with two hatchets/claws on them.  i do not know the
names of said mechs.  but i do know that they do exist.

					Mok

a.k.a.  Mjr Kessel
        CMDR 537th Heavy Company
        (2nd Company on the horizon...<WHOA Salvage>..)
        Mercs employed by Federats

	How can you expect to outwit a maniacal genius on an
	empty tummy?   
					-Eve
					 Mann and Machine
From: kgnome@cs.concordia.ca (MATIS stephane)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: BTECH: The Clans
Date: 15 Sep 92 17:59:43 GMT
Organization: Computer Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec

From: eda171s@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au (D.M. Bateson)

> >I guess an adventure where the only plot was to kill innocent
> >relatives of a traitor just to be allowed to form your own
> >bloodname irritates some people...
> >
> 
> But it fit the Clan Lifestyle so well!
> 
> They are, after all, a culture that is more a throwback  to
> barbarianism than anything else.
> 
> Their political organisation sucks, if they didn't have superior
> technology, a unifying religion (well? what would you call it?)
> and a hidden powerbase they would get what they deserve.

BTW, just to remind you all, the Clan political structure is that of the
USA. Two Khans = 2 Senators, IlKhan = President. Senate is the Kurlutai
and BloodNamed warriors are like congressmen.

No ?...

> eda171s@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au  |       - My Sister.

Roll!       ___      +---------------------------------------------------+
Over!   __ ( . )      From        : Stephane I. Matis
      _/__\(___)      Internet    : kgnome@cs.concordia.ca
    / /\\[==]//\ \    Working for : Monenco Systems Group 
   /_/  |THOR|  \_\   Working  at : Newfoundland Offshore Contractors 
  [00] _//==\\_ [00]  Writing for : Mecha*Press and FASA's BattleTech
      / _/--\_ \      		    Dream Pod 9
     |__|    |__|     "It Just Works... " - Steve Paul Jobs, CEO NeXT
     (__]    [__)     "Clam Warships are landing on Toycod !" - Anonymous
    [_=_]    [_=_]   +---------------------------------------------------+
From: dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Axly)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: One the best mechs is...
Date: 6 Sep 92 16:58:12 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.Bu61t1.Hp4
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

bkdavis@eos.ncsu.edu (B K DAVIS) writes:

>Hmm not really true that the Lrm and Large laser will only be pegging you, BUT
>It can fire all of that while running towards you. the Archer will overheat very 
>very fast, and the Grasshoppper will get in that min range quick. Also the 
>Grasshopper has enough heat sinks that you could drop Large laser and something 
>else and throw in a ppc. But still straight up the Grasshopper is the best heavy.
>If for nothing besides the 22 heat sinks.

Well, the Archer can walk backwards almost as fast as you can come forward.
You gain +2 hexes every round while enduring the LRM 20's. If the techs have
moved the medium lasers so they are all pointing forward and in the torsos
(standard modification with the people I fight), the Archer will most likely
keep you at range until you've taken a goodly number of LRM 20 shots. When
you have finally closed the range, he can step up with close range firepower
almost equal to yours, and his arms will be free to punch. 

This, of course, assumes a 1 on 1 fight, which is highly unlikely. It's 
true that a Grasshopper is a great 'Mech to take when fighting on Solaris,
but it doesn't fit well in a group. The 'Mechs that perform best in 
groups tend to be those that concentrate at one thing. The Warhammer and
Archer are good examples of this. They provide incredible long range fire
support for the lance, and if you do close the range with the lance,
odds are pretty high they have a close range fighter paired with a long
range gunner. The Tbolt is a good companion for the Archer in that sort
of situation. Marik Wolverines team well with the Warhammers.

This doesn't mean that the Grasshopper isn't a good heavy. It's weapon
combo is useful to a group, but the tendency of people who pilot them
to hot dog can't be denied. 

Axly
From: desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Marsh/Plains
Date: 14 Sep 92 03:39:43 GMT
Organization: IDA Center for Communications Research, Princeton

Bo-Yin Yang <maboyiny@ccvax.as.edu.tw> writes:
>Also, a Warbear is often useless if you are trying to preserve it in a
>superior attack (it becomes a liability) while a Minotaur can rangestrike
>from behind a "death-hole" or a bog, not to mention take two Cyclops-rounds
>and survive (a majority of the time).

This last comment is a bit biased because of the "rock-scissors-paper"
aspect of Titan: fours are best against twos, twos against threes, and
threes against fours.  The warbear has a much smaller chance than the
minotaur of being killed by two rounds of centaur or gargoyle attacks.

                                        David desJardins
From: el0g+@andrew.cmu.edu (Erik Lauer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Marsh/Plains
Date: 14 Sep 92 22:36:33 GMT
	<1992Sep13.232133.25167@galois.mit.edu>
Organization: Doctoral student, Mathematics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Bo-Yin writes:
>This must be a really different group of gamers that you have there.  At
>the MIT "Warroom" some 1/3 of the opening moves involves a tripling of
>Ogres or Centaurs.  You got to remember that Centaurs aren't that much
>worse than Lions.... On a 1 a lot of people that I know will go for a
>triple, especially if a THREE on the next move is bad otherwise.

The problem with the third centaur is not that it is weaker than the
lion, more what can soon happen.  Suppose your next two rolls could get
you a warbear and the pair of the other tower creature, while a player
recruiting the other way finishes his other pair, and gets another lion
(here you have gotten somewhat lucky, since your best spot gives you
only a 1/3 chance of getting your warbear, and your chance of recruiting
every turn is not as high).  If you do not take the other tower
creature, your stack can fall behind.  If you take it, your group will
have to spilt, and has no terrific spilt, does not recruit in as many
terrains, and is weaker at fighting.

>Certainly playing 2- and 3-handed games there is a LONG time before stacks
>intermingle, and with more hands people are NOT eager at all to attack with
>Trolls, and you will get your reprieve.

Well, in a 2 player game, if you recruit this way, I should have more
stuff, and can easily affoard to send a little group to get in the way
of your more single minded recruiting.  As to attacking with trolls, I
would not attack, with many people, just because I have a troll and you
have an ogre.  However, if I have a better group than you, the troll
(and the typically slightly better ensuing recruiting) may make an
attack more worthwhile (the extra ogre / minotaur stack is both  easier
and more worthwhile to attack.


Erik
---=
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: chem7l@jane.uh.edu
Subject: BTech TR 3055 Errors
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: University of Houston
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 17:21:00 GMT

I remember seeing a post someone made with all of the errors in TR 3055.  I just
recently purchased TR 3055, so I would appreciate it if someone could send me a
copy.

Thanks in advance,

Jim Corbit
Chem7l@Jetson.UH.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: carbon@bnrmtl.bnr.ca (Peter Carbon)
Subject: Dune by Avalon Hill
Summary: anyone out there play Dune by Avalon Hill?
Organization: Bell Northern Research Montreal, Canada.
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 14:38:18 GMT

Does anyone on rec.games.board play the Avalon Hill game about Frank
Herbert's novel Dune? If so do you know where I can get a copy of the
game? I understand that it is out of print but I am willing to buy a
second hand version. Thanks in advance,

 Peter Carbon
 bnrmtl!carbon@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu

Newsgroups: rec.games.board