HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: tac6189@hertz.njit.edu (Tom Carmichael                                                  )
Newsgroups: rec.games.board.ce
Subject: Re: Question on Seeker...
Date: 24 Jan 93 23:12:45 GMT
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.

In article <1993Jan21.200139.12410@risky.ecs.umass.edu> hopcraft@spock.ecs.umass.edu (Geoffrey S Hopcraft) writes:
>I've replied individually to a few posters, but this house rule seems
>pretty widespread, so I'm going to post. Essentially, by allowing the
>seeker to get away with questions which essentially force behavoir,
>you're getting onto pretty thin ice. To whit:
>

	[House rule description deleted]

>
>Alright, let's take this house rule, and have the seeker ask a main
>player (who does not have parasite):
>
>"Are you going to ally for the rest of the game?"
>

The problem with this is that the seeker power is limited to asking a
question about the _current_ challenge.  This eliminates the problem of
what are you going to do for the rest of the game.

[more deleted]

>Ok, so you forbid this situation. What about "Are you going to
>compromise?" Can't do it unless the other main player agrees (barring
>the obvious cases), so you have to say no. Heck, make it "Are you
>going to compromise ever with anyone in the game other than me?"

Similar argument.

>Following the rules as stated (the person must do what they said they
>would if they can) still allows seeker to be used for information
>(although the seeker must be careful with her questions). If anybody
>doubts that, send me a case (in email, so this board isn't swamped) of
>some yes/no information item, and we'll see whether we can work out a
>reasonable question to ask. This house rule opens the door to hundreds
>of abuses, and with a little work can be made to be a pretty general
>"Do what I tell you to do" power even without the logical trap
>mentioned above. To my mind, this is not the intent behind seeker.

Agreed.  I think that setting up these kind of traps is definitely against
the spirit of the game.  Such things should be looked down upon.


Tom Carmichael
Newsgroups: rec.games.board.ce
From: tfuegi@nyx.cs.du.edu (Tom Fuegi)
Subject: When may players take a new hand?
Followup-To: rec.games.board.ce
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
	of Denver for the Denver community.  The University has neither
	control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Keywords: rules 
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 17:29:48 GMT


	I have the Mayfair @1991 edition and find that its rules only
mention that players with no challenge cards can have a new hand on the
turn in which they are offensive player but before their first challenge
in that turn.

	Nowhere in the rules does it say that a new hand may be drawn
during another player's turn (special powers/cards excepted).

	This would be fine except that there is no value given for players
who fail to play a challenge card because they do not have one.

	The obvious option: attack card value 0 has problems when 
anti-matter runs out of challenge cards.

	The second option: a compromise card won't work with the Pacifist and
the attacker tends to resent losing cards...

	Currently we allow the attacker to choose attack/compromise so that
the defender always loses - for anti-matter the card has value 100.

	This works OK but we would still like to know what happened in the
Eon set. Was taking a new hand every time your challenge cards ran out so
completely obvious to Mayfair that they just didn't bother to mention it?


Thanks for the advice...

Tom Fuegi.
From: glenn@sloth.ncsl.nist.gov
Newsgroups: rec.games.board.ce
Subject: SImple Question on Un Zap
Date: 21 Jan 93 18:06:51 GMT
Reply-To: glenn@sloth.ncsl.nist.gov
Distribution: rec
Organization: N.I.S.T
Posting-Front-End: Shinbun -- the OpenLook newsreader




Here's a simple one.  Can an un zap stop an un zap?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Rob G.
glenn@osi.ncsl.nist.gov
Organization: University of Maine System
Date: Monday, 25 Jan 1993 10:32:54 EST
From: The illustrius Pat Ellis (the DM) <IO11330@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Republic of ROME question, HELP

Well I just played for the first time over the weekend (with more than
one players that is) and I thought I'd found a way to win.  We had three
active wars present and one war inactive.  Rome had enough money to
survive the turn but not alot of Military strength remaining from
previous wars.  My partner in crime and I were voted as Dictator and
master of Horse.  Instead of going after the Second Punic we went after
the Illyrian war, The inactive one.  It was my thought that by taking
them out (we did) and then revolting we would win as rome would fall
because there would now be four wars going on.  However, after much
discussion and looking at the rules it was decided (by myself as well..)
that we had all lost, it stated that the only way to revolt and win
was if the people revolted or the state went bankrupt while we were in
revolt.  My question is what do any of you out there think of this does
this make sense????  Just looking for a little moral victory here,
Thanks alot,
                Pat Ellis
From: rreed@terapin.com (Rick Reed)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Looking for Cosmic Encounters, Illuminati
Date: 23 Jan 93 17:05:52 PST
Organization: BBS

In article <1993Jan21.111926.16045@infodev.cam.ac.uk>, amd@mail.ast.cam.ac.uk
(Andrew Dunn) writes:
>I can't remember who originally made Cosmic Encounter
>in the states. In Britain, the game design was bought
>by Games Workshop and I think it is still available.
>Purists dislike the changes to the board (no hexagons,
>just four jigsaw section which make a board for 6 players).
>One advantage is that you get *all* (or at least most)
>of the races from the expansion sets right from the start.
>

It was bought by Mayfair Games and is very much available.  You do get most of
the powers (I think 45 or so) in their printing.  The hexes are still around
for the board, but they do interlock like a jigsaw puzzle to the void center
hex.  More Cosmic Encounter is also out which supplies you with all the
expansion set things, some new rules, and even more alien powers.  All in all,
a good deal if you get both.

rreed@terapin.com
From: s666@ac.dal.ca
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: DF&E: Hydran or Kzinti Graveyard ?
Date: 25 Jan 93 13:25:58 -0400
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

In article <1993Jan21.173121.2993@dct.ac.uk>, mcsbc3maw@dct.ac.uk writes:
> 
> 
> 
> 	I will be playing  D Fed & Emp for the first time soon against
> 	another inexperienced player . My question is , as i am the 
> 	coallition , do i try to smash the Kzinti out of the war in the first
> 	few turns of hold back and try to nail the Hydrans (you only need
> 	3 starbases outside the old colonies!) . Do I build a B10 and if
> 	so do i transfer economic points from the Lyrans to do it ?
> 		What do the Romulans do ? Crush (ahem) the federation
> 	or the gorn ? Or do they nail the tholians ? Or Both ?
> 
> 	Mark

       As the Coalition player, you should throw everything (both Klingon
and Lyran) at the Kzinti for the first three turns. After this, the Lyrans
have to carry the brunt of the Hydran front. Use the Far Stars fleet to
reinforce the Hydran border. Continue throwing the Klingons against the
Kzintis. Also consider building Lyran bases through klingon territory. This
gives a second supply route for the joint assault on the kzinti capitial, and
gives a strategic movement route for Lyran ships to the Federation (after turn
9) You will need all the ships you can get against the Feds. (the Federation
economy, once it gets off the ground, can produce a ridiculous amount of ships)
      The Klingons should produce B10s. They don't die very easily and having
a combat factor of 24 for one unit drives your combat strength up nicely.
Transferring economic points is something to consider, as the Klingons have to
worry about gaurding three borders, as well as building a kick ass fleet to take
on the Feds.
      When the Romulans come in, throw them at the Feds as well, leave a token
guard fleet aginst the Gorns, and reinforce it as necessary. A Coalition 
victory is the result of grinding the Fed fleet down faster than it can be
replaced. This takes a concerted effort between the Roms and Klingons (and the
Lyrans to keep the Hydrans and Kzintis from becoming uppity again)
      The Tholians are a complete waste of space. Don't bother with them. They
are as much a meat grinder as the Feds, and kiling off Feds gives a better
reward.

Sean Dzafovic
Dalhousie University
From: hannu@polaris.utu.fi (Hannu Pajunen)
Subject: Re: I Am Spartacus: Command Magazine
Organization: University of Turku, Finland
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 08:07:16 GMT

In article <1k1gn1INNcc6@lynx.unm.edu> mwhite@vesta.unm.edu () writes:
>Greetings: Would anyone care to comment upon the game balance or relate
>           glorious stories about "I AM SPARTACUS?"  

There is no play balance in "I am Spartacus". The rebels win always,
even if they are unlucky. The designer, Mike Markowitz explained in
the CONSIM-L mailing list, that he did not consider the play balance
at all...

After having said that, I must also tell that 'I am Spartacus' is a very
interesting game, per se, and the play balance problem can be
corrected by playing TWO games in succession, once as the Romans, and
once as the rebels, and then comparing how well the Romans did against
the barbarian hordes in each game.


Hannu


Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: emcglynn@moose.uvm.edu (Ted McGlynn)
Subject: PLayers??
Organization: University of Vermont -- Division of EMBA Computer Facility
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 21:48:31 GMT

	Is there anyone out there, in the Vermont region who war-gaames??
Like A&A or any others....the market here is thin for players.....anyone?!


Tedler

-- 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: kogoma@triton.unm.edu (Taki Kogoma)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: New Illuminati
Date: 25 Jan 1993 00:46:15 GMT
Organization: Nit-Pickers for a Better Tomorow Afternoon
NNTP-Posting-Host: triton.unm.edu

In article <C1Dw18.E3I@news.cso.uiuc.edu> ken@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu (Ken Primer) writes:
>    Do you have any old issues of The Space Gamer? They peiodically came out
>with new groups like the Malevlent Microwavers. They even came out with a
>Monty Python Illuminati. Does anyone have that issue? I can't seem to find
>mine....

Don't have it on hand (It's in one of the piles in my bedroom ;-), but
if memory serves, it was 8/8, Income 9 or something along those lines.
Also included were a few dozen new groups featuring the new 'silly'
alignment.  The MP Illuminati's special power is that it cannot be
destroyed.  (Even if it has no groups after turn 2, it's still in the
game.)  It's special victory condition was to collect 5 or 6 silly
groups.

One of my favorite groups in the collection was 'The Spanish
Inquisition'.  P: 5/3, R: about 4, I: 1.  Special power: All attacks
from this group are considered Privelleged.  (Nobody expects the
Spanish Inquisition! ;-)

There was also a special card; 'Not Being Seen' which protects a group
from attack for one turn.
>
Lots of good stuff.

-- 
Capt. Gym Z. Quirk  (Known to some as Taki Kogoma)  kogoma@triton.unm.edu
 I'll get a life when someone demonstrates that it would be superior to
                          what I have now...
From: kogoma@triton.unm.edu (Taki Kogoma)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Steve Jackson Games' "Hackers" too much like "Illuminati"?
Date: 28 Jan 1993 02:10:02 GMT
Organization: Nit-Pickers for a Better Tomorow Afternoon
NNTP-Posting-Host: triton.unm.edu

In article <APPEL.93Jan27081144@soda.soda.Berkeley.EDU> appel@soda.Berkeley.EDU (Shannon D. Appel) writes:
>In article <1993Jan27.115534.23170@jyu.fi> mol@jyu.fi (Mika O. Latokartano) writes:
>->My worry is, that "Hackers" seems
>->a lot like the original addiction (i.e. Illuminati).  What's the
>->word?  Should I go for it, or let it pass, and still remain at least
>->somewhat assured that the network is still safe?
>
>You should _not_ buy it because the nits make you cut out several
>pages of cardboard backed pieces on your own.  It was pretty clear
>that SJG was cutting corners to save that extra nickel, ready to pass
>the extra work onto you, the consumer.  The game itself is fairly
>good, but the inherent cheapness of the design was enough to assure
>that I would not be buying any more SJ products any time soon.

...Thus insuring that they won't have the revenue to provide such
'neato keen' perks as perforated cardstock in the future...wonderfully
self-fufilling prophecy...;-) ;-) ;-)

-- 
Capt. Gym Z. Quirk  (Known to some as Taki Kogoma)  kogoma@triton.unm.edu
 I'll get a life when someone demonstrates that it would be superior to
                          what I have now...
From: peters@physics.ubc.ca (Dan Peters)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Lord Of The Rings boardgames?
Date: 28 Jan 1993 03:34:58 GMT
Organization: The University of British Columbia
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: physics.ubc.ca

doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu writes:

>                                                     I vaguely recall seeing
>one called "The Fellowship of the Ring," but I don't know who makes that one
>and doubt it is still in print.

This one is by ICE. I don't know if it's still in print.

Drin
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I think I think, therefore I think I am." 
- Descartes' failed attempt to discard the notion of objective reality.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: tecot@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Edward M. Tecot)
Subject: Re: Six Day Race
Organization: CS Department, Stanford University, California, USA
Date: 25 Jan 93 23:23:41 GMT

cjs@phy.duke.edu (Carl Schnurr) writes:
>The only place that I know of to purchase 6-Day Race in the US is through
>Games People Play.  Their number is:  (617) 492-0711.  The reason you
>won't find it in other stores is because it's a German game and has to
>be imported.  Thus the $55 price tag.

If you're in the SF Bay Area, 6 Day Race can be found at Gamescape (I got
mine in Palo Alto, but they also have a store in SF).  I don't remember what
I paid, but I'm certain it was much less than $55.

_emt
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: gsbg9079@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (G. Scott Braley)
Subject: Unable to email many people
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 17:37:08 GMT

I got a great response to my posting of games for sale.  Unfortunately, I have
been quite unable to email most of the people who sent mail to me.  I'm not
quite sure why.  Anyway, the high bid on Destroyer Captain was $15, from
Elliot Wilen, who I haven't been able to email.  Anyone else who wanted a 
game and hasn't heard from me, please email me again.

				Sorry about that,
					Scott


-- 
*****************************************************************************
*  F.B.I.B.M.--The most feared merger  *  gsbg9079@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu         *
*****************************************************************************

Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: LIPSCOJA@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu (Andy Lipscomb)
Subject: Re: Lord Of The Rings boardgames?
Organization: Vanderbilt University
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 02:42:42 GMT
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.24

[discussing boardgames based on Tolkien]
Check out rec.games.diplomacy; there are currently two games in that style with
Middle Earth as the setting.

  |   Andy Lipscomb
--+-- lipscoja@(ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu,vuctrvax.bitnet)
  |   Don't blame me, I voted Libertarian.
  |   disclaimer.standard
From: ccjm@st-andrews.ac.uk (Colin Charles James MacDonald)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: SFB: Rom. SkA vs Thol. DD- Any advice?
Keywords: SFB
Date: 22 Jan 93 12:13:06 GMT
Organization: St. Andrews University, Scotland.

In article <1jjs3tINNr2e@srvr1.engin.umich.edu> byh@beaker.engin.umich.edu (Bartholomew Hsu) writes:
>
>	Hello.  I am a inexperienced SFB player stuck in a scenario flying a
>Romulan Skyhawk-A vs. a Tholian DD+web snare refit+Legendary Weapons officer.
>(Not by choice; The scenario was that we would each get a randomly selected
>destroyer, (each being balanced to approximately the same BPV) and just slug
>it out).  Frankly, he is beating the tar out of me with those disruptors and
>I can't think of an effective way to reply.  Those Pl-F's don't have enough
>range to be effective and he can fly just as fast as I can.  Any advice or 
>suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Bartholomew Y. Hsu
>(byh@engin.umich.edu)
>University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

If he's got any sense or patience, he's not going to let you close the range.

1) Go hell-for-leather to try and catch him. It's not going to cost you anything
to hold your torps or phasers, while he's paying for his disruptors. Think
about using a mid-turn speed change to fool him. Burn your batteries if you
have to. Switch off fire control if you are sure that you will not get a decent
firing opportunity this turn. (maybe a bit extreme, but you get the idea)

2) Stop, TAC, and put all your power into ECM and re-enforcing shields. Repair
your shields with reserve power at the end of each turn if you have it. You
*have* to make him close, or you will lose. Cloak if you think it will be
cost efficient. You must make it clear that he is not going to damage you 
from long range. 

If you can get close, use PPT`s first to try and get him to snare them.
Anchor him if you can. How many transporters do you have? A hit-and-run
against his LWO would *really* annoy him. Got any Suicide Shuttles handy?

Best of luck.

Colin.
From: doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Lord Of The Rings boardgames?
Date: 27 Jan 93 18:14:49 GMT
Reply-To: doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu
Organization: Department of Chemistry, UCLA

In article <1993Jan23.150005.6410@ips.cs.tu-bs.de>, koch@eis.cs.tu-bs.de (Andreas Koch) writes:
>What boardgames (_not_ role-playing games like MERP) 
>are dealing with the Lord Of The Rings theme by J.R.R.Tolkien? 
>Aeons ago (-1984), there was a large game made by SPI that enabled 
>players to recreate the trilogy (if I remember correctly, maybe 
>someone else knows more). Any info is appreciated!

Yes, there's "War of the Ring" (which is the one you are referring to
specifically).  There are also two other SPI (out of print, of course) games
called "Gondor" and "Sauron."  I know of two Hobbit-based games published by
Iron Crown Enterprises (don't know if they're still in print or not), called
"The Lonely Mountain" and "The Battle of Five Armies."  I vaguely recall seeing
one called "The Fellowship of the Ring," but I don't know who makes that one
and doubt it is still in print.


-Doug Gibson
 doug@abby.chem.ucla.edu

Neither UCLA nor the National Science Foundation has a clue what I am doing.
They just pay me to do it.

"We have to tear you to shreds because we care." - EAC
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: richard@smok.demon.co.uk (Richard Clyne)
Subject: Re: Modern Art 
Distribution: world
Organization: Richard Clyne (Home System)
Reply-To: richard@smok.demon.co.uk
X-Mailer: Simple NEWS 1.90 (ka9q DIS 1.19)
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 21:24:47 +0000

In article <8972@news.duke.edu> cjs@phy.duke.edu writes:

>I recently purchased an imported German game called "Modern Art" which
>looks great and should be fun to play, but I have a question concerning
>the translated-to-English rules (apparently pulled off of Compuserve).  
>The translated rules state something like:
>
>        The card that ends the round (the fifth card of a suit played)
>does not "count" for "scoring" purposes.  
>
>What does this mean?  Does that mean that the player who owns it doesn't
>get money for it?  Or, that that card does not count towards the count of
>cards to see which suit has the majority?
>

The person playing the card gets no money for it, but it does count for
determining majority.

>Looking forward to hearing from someone who knows the answer...
>
>-Confused Carl
>-- 
>        Carl J. Schnurr                                 1-919-684-8256
>        Duke University Dept. of Physics                cjs@phy.duke.edu
>        Durham, N.C.      27706                 
>

-- 
--
Richard Clyne
319 Violet Lane, Croydon, Surrey, CR4 4HN. Tel +44 (0)81 686 7159
richard@smok.demon.co.uk (Prefered)    rclyne@cix.compulink.co.uk
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: drevik@utkvx2.utk.edu (Drevik, Steve)
Subject: A&A: Destroyers
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: University of Tennessee Computing Center
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 13:09:00 GMT

One thing A&A seems to lack is the ability to protect transports
from submarines without one or two battleships present.  I suppose
other subs could be used for a 'shoot back' capability against
sneak attacks.

Has anyone every tried adding destroyers to the game?  I would
envision their stats like:
	Attack 1
        Defense 3 (against subs and aircraft only, not against BW)
        Cost: 8?
        Move: 2 (of course)

any ideas?
From: robert_walton@next.com (Robert Walton)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Star Fleet Battles
Date: 26 Jan 93 00:20:29 GMT

Some SFB Questions:

1) How does one get started in SFB?  It seems everyone posting to the net  
is an expert who started playing a decade ago.  I read one post the other  
day so full of acronyms and jargon as to be meaningless to a potential  
entrant!  Is this a game with high barriers to entry?

2) Why hasn't the game improved its graphics?  Seems like such a popular  
game would have no trouble keeping up to date on graphics quality, but  
this doesn't seem to be the case.  The current materials in the store look  
to me like they're published out of a garage by amateur artists.  Is there  
some war with Paramount over publishing rights?  To add insult to injury,  
the games seem to rely on ships and equipment illustrations from the TV  
version (hokey) rather than the movies (much improved).  Look at new  
entrants like Battletech.  I have no real interest to play this game (the  
whole premise seems pretty silly), but the graphics of some of the recent  
stuff make the SFB stuff look pretty feeble.

3) Why hasn't there been an aggressive inclusion of the ST:TNG period?   
Seems like this would be a hot item...

4) Weren't there some miniatures out for this awhile back?  What happened?   
This seems like a natural for miniatures. God knows if people buy  
miniatures of big robots for Battletech I'd think the Star Trek stuff  
would go like gang busters.

Can anyone enlighten (as opposed to flame) me on these issues?  I'm a big  
fan of the genre, and I've always been interested in the gaming concept,  
but have been put off by the seeming complexity or rules, and the  
amateurish execution of the materials (yes, I place a very high premium on  
graphics quality -- it's a personal peeve).

Please post any thoughts.

Thanks,

Robert