Archon II: Adept is a 1984 computer game developed by Jon Freeman

Jon Freeman

Jon Freeman was an influential computer game industry figure of the 1980s and early 1990s. He was a co-founder of Epyx and Free Fall Associates and the spouse of game programmer, Anne Westfall...

, Paul Reiche III

Paul Reiche III

Paul Reiche III is a game designer, particularly for computer games. Reiche is best known for being the co-creator, together with Fred Ford, of the Star Control universe.-Pen and paper RPGs:...

 and Anne Westfall

Anne Westfall

Anne Westfall is an influential game programmer of the 1980s. She is the wife of fellow game programmer, game designer and entrepreneur Jon Freeman.-Career:...

, and distributed by Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

 (and Ariolasoft

Ariolasoft

Ariolasoft GmbH, later known as United Software, was a German computer game developer, publisher and distributor. It started as the software subsidiary of Ariola Records...

 in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

) for various platforms.

Adept is a hybrid of a tactical board game and action. It's not based around a chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 motif, as the original Archon is, but maintains the concept of "good vs. evil", one on one combat, magic and power points.

Gameplay

Like its predecessor, Adept is a struggle between two opposing sides that takes place on a game board, complete with playing pieces, but instead of capturing pieces enter a battle screen and duel to the death.

The board is a rectangle with four roughly concentric bands, corresponding to the four elements

Four elements

Four elements may refer to:* Classical elements, such as air, fire, earth and water* 4 Elements, an album by Chronic Future* Group 4 element, one of the chemical elements in Group 4 of the periodic table...

 of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Two non-elemental squares along the vertical center are "Void." Two decorative citadel squares pad the horizontal center. Each player starts with four wizards called "Adept

Adept

An adept is an individual identified as having attained a specific level of knowledge, skill, or aptitude in doctrines relevant to a particular author or organization.-H. P. Blavatsky:...

s" that can cast spells

Magic (gaming)

Some role-playing games or game systems can include a set of rules that are used to portray magic in the paranormal sense. These rules simulate the effects that magic would have within the game context, according to how the game designer intended the magic to be portrayed...

, in particular a summoning spell used to bring the other pieces into play.

"Order" (yellow) and "Chaos" (blue) alternate turns. On a turn, a player must either move a piece or use an Adept to cast a spell. Summoned pieces can move any distance in their element, or move one square out of their element. Adepts teleport anywhere. Pieces may not enter occupied squares except as an attempt to capture an opponent's piece. Capture attempts are resolved immediately and the defeated piece is removed from the board. The turn then ends.

The game's sole resource is magical energy, used for spellcasting, paying a per-turn upkeep cost for each summoned piece, and the Adepts' teleportation. It's gained by having friendly pieces occupying squares with power points. Four power points are on the outer edges of one element at a time, moving inwards after every pair of turns. Two power points with lower income rates are on the Void squares.

The starting side can be chosen or randomized. The side that goes second receives more magical energy.

Battle

Battles take place as in Archon

Archon

Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...

, but with the element on which they occur affecting the playfield:

• Earth - Rocky barriers that cannot be shot or moved through.
• Air - Obstacles slow movement and deflect shots in random directions.
• Water - Patches of water slow down shots and movement. Water elementals move faster in water.
• Fire - Patches of fire cause damage to pieces. Fire elementals are immune.
• Void - No features.

Injuries persist, including the Gorgon

Gorgon

In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a terrifying female creature. The name derives from the Greek word gorgós, which means "dreadful." While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair of living, venomous snakes, and a...

's speed loss.

Pieces

There are two types of pieces summonable by an Adept: elemental

Elemental

An elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus in the 16th century. Traditionally, there are four types:*gnomes, earth elementals*undines , water elementals*sylphs, air elementals...

s and demon

Demon

call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

s. Creatures can be summoned by an adept and must be placed in the element occupied by the summoning adept. A summoned creature can move freely within an element (though it may not pass a foe) or move to a different element.

Elementals

The selection of available elementals depends on the summoning side.

	Order	Chaos
Earth Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...	Giant Giant (mythology) The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...  - hurls rocks at opponent	Behemoth Behemoth Behemoth is a mythological beast mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.-Plural as singular:...  - punches opponents
Water Water Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...	Kraken Kraken Kraken are legendary sea monsters of giant proportions said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland.In modern German, Krake means octopus but can also refer to the legendary Kraken...  - missile attack	Siren Siren In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...  - "sings" to drain opponent's life, but is immobile during attack
Air	Thunderbird Thunderbird -Creatures:* Thunderbird , a legendary creature in Native American culture* Dromornithidae, an extinct Australian family of birds* Thunderbird , a term used in cryptozoology to describe large, bird-like creatures-Computing:...  - shoots very fast "thunderbolts"	Ifrit Ifrit Ifrit—also spelled, efreet, ifreet, afreet, and afrit —are supernatural creatures in Arabic and Islamic cultures...  - very fast missile attack
Fire Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....	Salamander Salamander (legendary creature) The salamander is an amphibian of the order Urodela. As with many real creatures, pre-modern authors often ascribed fantastic qualities to it , and in recent times some have come to identify a legendary salamander as a distinct concept from the real organism. This idea is most highly developed in...  - spits fire	Firebird Phoenix (mythology) The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....  - explodes in a fireball

Demons

The same demon selection is available to both Order and Chaos.

• Juggernaut
  Juggernaut
  A juggernaut in colloquial English usage is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as mercilessly destructive and unstoppable.Originating in ca...
  
  - Uses itself as a missile to attack opponent.
• Wraith
  Wraith
  Wraith is a Scottish dialectical word for "ghost, spirit", see Ghosts in European culture.Wraith or The Wraith may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Wraith: The Oblivion, a role-playing game*The Wraith, a 1986 movie starring Charlie Sheen...
  
  - Attacks by forming a draining cloud around itself and any hits to the opponent add life to the wraith. Invisible except when attacking (or playing against computer opponent).
• Gorgon
  Gorgon
  In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a terrifying female creature. The name derives from the Greek word gorgós, which means "dreadful." While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair of living, venomous snakes, and a...
  
  - Shoots a gaze attack which reduces the speed of the opponent, cumulatively. Once it cannot move, it dies.
• Chimera
  Chimera (mythology)
  The Chimera or Chimaera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing female creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of multiple animals: upon the body of a lioness with a tail that ended in a snake's head, the head of a goat arose on her back at the center of her...
  
  - Each attack cycles through three weapons: missile attack fireball, missile attack poison gas, and a melee-like stinger.

Wizards/Adepts

Both Order and Chaos Adepts are very fast at moving and attacking. An Adept has the ability to cast a ball of fire/magic at the opponent. While the projectile does almost the maximum damage to the opponent and the adept's magic recharges quickly, as an added feature the player has the ability to control the direction of the ball while in flight by holding down the fire button (unfortunately, this also stops the player from moving, à la the Siren's attack). A skilled player could slow the ball's speed, then let go of the fire button to move their player to dodge an incoming attack and then re-engage the magic ball and send it toward their attacker.

Spells

Spellcasting costs magic points in varying amounts, depending on the spell (e.g., summoning a demon requires more magic than summoning an elemental). Heal is the only spell which can affect Adepts.

• Summon - Summons a demon or elemental.
• Heal - Heals a portion of a given piece's damage. Also cures the Gorgon's speed drain.
• Weaken - Weakens a creature.
• Imprison - Prevents a creature from moving.
• Release - Releases a creature from imprisonment.
• Banish - Completely removes a creature from the board.
• Apocalypse - Triggers a battle that determines the outcome of the game. The fortresses uproot, transform into luminous Adepts and attack each other in Void. The Adepts' attributes are determined by the summoned creatures, remaining magic and surviving Adepts on their side.

End of the game

The game is decided in one of five ways:

• A player occupies all six power points and wins.
• A player runs out of pieces, magic or is otherwise unable to take a turn, and loses.
• Apocalypse is triggered and conducted.
• The computer concedes to a human opponent. This typically only happens when the computer lacks the energy to summon new pieces for several turns and is down to a single Adept.
• A player loses his last Adept. "The masters intervene" and Apocalypse is triggered.

External links

• Images of Archon II box, manual and screen shots