Re: MEPBM FOURTH AGE

From: zubla@sprynet.com (Greg Chapman)

Date: Thu, 31 Oct 1996 00:00:00 +0000

ALS@email_address wrote:

>After glancing through the Fourth Age nation design sheets my initial impression was that there
>was a lot less variation possible than I had expected.  This is probably a good thing in the
>sense that it will flatten out the distribution of power while still allowing for customization.
> Still, perhaps I'm biased by only having played 1650, but the nations seem rather wimpy to
>start with.  The Kingdoms are the exception, of course, and they are VERY tough.  Would anyone
>who played in the playtest like to comment on the game dynamics?  I for one would be very curious.

I did not playtest, but I downloaded and printed off the setup sheets.

Some things I noticed:
1.  It is not possible to create some of the 1650 nations because
    of the cost of certain nation abilities.  It may level the
    distribution of power.  I presume the two major kingdoms were
    made strong to withstand some incursion from the smaller
    alliances.

2.  One can create an agent nation right away and go out and be an
    immediate character threat, but the opposite end of the spectrum
    is not there.  It is impossible to purchase enough troops to be
    an immediate military threat.

3.  It is going to take more turns to get to a point before one can
    eliminate another nation.

I have some thoughts on all of this, but I will wait to see how
this thread develops.

References

MEPBM FOURTH AGE
ALS@email_address
Wed, 23 Oct 1996 00:00:00 +0000