Lords of Conquest
Encyclopedia
Lords of Conquest is a 1986
strategy video game
developed by Eon Software, Inc. (collectively, Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka and Trevor Western) and produced by Don Daglow
.
and released for the Commodore 64
, Apple II
, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST
and PC DOS.
The game is based on the board game
Borderlands by Eon (best known for their highly acclaimed board game, Cosmic Encounter
), and was marketed with the slogan "Better than Risk
!" to identify it as a global conquest game similar to Risk. It proved to be one of EA's best-selling titles of 1986. GameSpy
awarded Lords of Conquest a "Gotcha" award as one of the top games of its era.
After territory selection, the game then moves on to the Production phase, where all the resources per player are tallied and "put" into the stockpile. There is a 25% chance for the Production phase to be skipped on any turn. If it is the first turn, players then place their stockpiles in a territory. Next comes Trade, where players may trade any resources they have for resources they wish. All five resources may be traded, but note that horses must have a territory to "land on" to be accepted. The next phase is Shipment, where the stockpile may be moved. Alternatively, a horse, weapon, or boat may be moved. Note that you may ship a weapon with a horse, or a weapon and/or horse with a boat! There is a 25% chance for the Shipment phase to be skipped on any turn. The fifth phase is Conquest, where you may make up to two attacks on any valid territory. The final phase is Development, where you may buy cities, weapons, or boats.
There are five kinds of resources: coal, gold, iron, timber, and horses. Control of each territory with a resource at the beginning of the turn yields one unit of the resource into the stockpile. At the end of the turn boats, cities, or weapons may be purchased.
During combat, the offensive and defensive odds are computed by taking the sum of all territories that touch the territory in question. Therefore, if a defending territory is touched by only one other territory of the same color and three of the attacking player, the offensive:defensive strength is 3:2, meaning the attack will succeed. Other factors can change the combat strengths of the opposing forces, including:
When initiating an attack, it is possible to bring in up to one unit from another territory. If this unit is adjacent to the territory being attacked, there is no bonus; the unit is already part of the combat strength. (Exception: Boats don't add into an attack unless they're brought into the attack.) If the unit brought in is NOT from an adjacent territory, its strength will be added AND, upon successful conquest, will be placed in the territory.
A Horse is capable of bringing along a Weapon, giving a boost of 1 or 4 to combat strength. A horse can also pick up a weapon from a territory it's traveling through, but since such a Weapon must be in an adjacent territory, the only gain will be 1 for the Horse (assuming it wasn't also adjacent) and having the units in position. A Boat can bring a Horse and/or a Weapon, giving up to 6 additional points of strength, assuming the Horse and Weapon weren't from an adjacent territory. Boats can travel anywhere along a given body of water, making them very powerful. Boats cannot pick up other units en route like the Horse can. Boats MUST be able to reach a coastal tile of the target territory; if all coastals tiles are blocked by other Boats (even Boats in adjacent territories occupying the wrong tile), the Boat cannot be used in the attack.
Only one of a given land unit can occupy a territory. It is possible to capture enemy units if you don't bring your own in. Boats are special in that you can have more than one Boat on a territory.
Each player may attack twice in any one round. If a player chooses to move his stockpile on the first attack, he loses the second. Likewise if the first attack fails, the second is also lost.
Additionally, other players adjacent to the defending territory may choose to side with the offense or the defense and throw in their combat strength to that side.
The game is over when one side builds the number of cities listed as the victory condition, or when all territories have been taken over by a single player. Note that if more than one player exceeds the number of cities required for victory, the game continues until one side falls under than number.
1986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
strategy video game
Strategy video game
Strategy video games is a video game genre that emphasizes skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. They emphasize strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges. Many games also offer economic challenges and exploration...
developed by Eon Software, Inc. (collectively, Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka and Trevor Western) and produced by Don Daglow
Don Daglow
Don Daglow is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. He is best known for designing a series of pioneering simulation games and role-playing games, as well as the first computer baseball game and the first graphical MMORPG, all between 1971 and 1995...
.
Summary
The original version of the game was programmed for the Apple II in FORTH and assembly language by Ted Schmeckpeper, in collaboration with Eberle, Kittredge and Olotka. The game was published by Electronic ArtsElectronic 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 released for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and PC DOS.
The game is based on the board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
Borderlands by Eon (best known for their highly acclaimed board game, Cosmic Encounter
Cosmic Encounter
Cosmic Encounter is a science fiction-themed strategy board game, designed by "Future Pastimes" and originally published by Eon Games in 1977...
), and was marketed with the slogan "Better than Risk
Risk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
!" to identify it as a global conquest game similar to Risk. It proved to be one of EA's best-selling titles of 1986. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
awarded Lords of Conquest a "Gotcha" award as one of the top games of its era.
Game phases
The game is a contest between two to seven players, of which any number may be human or computer players. Each player is given a specific color, which matches their territories. Computer players can be selected to be Aggressive, Defensive, or Passive in their style of play. The human player(s) then must select how random the odds of an attack are, the amount of resources in the game, and the amount of land vs. water. Additionally, the Victory Conditions are also chosen; of which is the building of three to eight cities. Territories are then selected one at a time amongst the players, until all are selects or a remainder is left that is at least one less than the number of players, which are left black.After territory selection, the game then moves on to the Production phase, where all the resources per player are tallied and "put" into the stockpile. There is a 25% chance for the Production phase to be skipped on any turn. If it is the first turn, players then place their stockpiles in a territory. Next comes Trade, where players may trade any resources they have for resources they wish. All five resources may be traded, but note that horses must have a territory to "land on" to be accepted. The next phase is Shipment, where the stockpile may be moved. Alternatively, a horse, weapon, or boat may be moved. Note that you may ship a weapon with a horse, or a weapon and/or horse with a boat! There is a 25% chance for the Shipment phase to be skipped on any turn. The fifth phase is Conquest, where you may make up to two attacks on any valid territory. The final phase is Development, where you may buy cities, weapons, or boats.
Resources and units
After the final territory is selected, the players place stockpiles on the map. The stockpile may be moved once a turn if there is a transport phase, or instead of attacking another player. The stockpile holds all of a player's resources, and if the territory it is located in is taken, those resources are forfeited to the attacking player.There are five kinds of resources: coal, gold, iron, timber, and horses. Control of each territory with a resource at the beginning of the turn yields one unit of the resource into the stockpile. At the end of the turn boats, cities, or weapons may be purchased.
During combat, the offensive and defensive odds are computed by taking the sum of all territories that touch the territory in question. Therefore, if a defending territory is touched by only one other territory of the same color and three of the attacking player, the offensive:defensive strength is 3:2, meaning the attack will succeed. Other factors can change the combat strengths of the opposing forces, including:
- Boats - Boats have a strength of 2 each. During an attack, Boats may carry one horse and/or one weapon, for a maximum increase in strength of 6. For defensive purposes, each Boat raises the territory defense by 2. A Boat costs 3 wood (or 3 Gold) to build, and there may be multiple boats in a territory, one per piece of coastline the territory possesses. Boats have no movement point limits, but they can't cross land to enter other bodies of water or dock at territories with no open coast tiles.
- Cities - Cities are the key to the game. Besides quantifying victory, Cities DOUBLE the production of all resources in the territory they are built OR are touching, with the exception of Horses. Cities add 2 to the owner's strength. A City costs a Coal, a Gold, an Iron, & a Tree (OR 4 Gold) to build, and there may be only one City per territory.
- Horses - Horses are unique among the resources as they are not a stockpiled good, but rather expand on the map. A Horse is produced in the territory that has the herd icon, or in an adjoining territory. A Horse adds 1 to combat strength, and there may be only one Horse per territory. A horse may move up to 2 spaces to participate in an attack, and may carry a weapon with it or pick one up along the way, giving a maximum strength bonus of 4.
- Weapons - Weapons are bought like Boats or Cities. A weapon adds 3 to the strength of a territory. A weapon costs a Coal and an Iron (or 2 Gold) to build, and there may be only one weapon per territory. Weapons have a move of 1.
Conquest and victory
In combat, the side with the highest strength wins. That is, you only need to outnumber the opponent. The resolution of ties depends on a setting at the beginning of the game. High odds means the attacker wins ties, Low odds means the defender wins ties, and Random means there is a 50:50 chance of either side winning.When initiating an attack, it is possible to bring in up to one unit from another territory. If this unit is adjacent to the territory being attacked, there is no bonus; the unit is already part of the combat strength. (Exception: Boats don't add into an attack unless they're brought into the attack.) If the unit brought in is NOT from an adjacent territory, its strength will be added AND, upon successful conquest, will be placed in the territory.
A Horse is capable of bringing along a Weapon, giving a boost of 1 or 4 to combat strength. A horse can also pick up a weapon from a territory it's traveling through, but since such a Weapon must be in an adjacent territory, the only gain will be 1 for the Horse (assuming it wasn't also adjacent) and having the units in position. A Boat can bring a Horse and/or a Weapon, giving up to 6 additional points of strength, assuming the Horse and Weapon weren't from an adjacent territory. Boats can travel anywhere along a given body of water, making them very powerful. Boats cannot pick up other units en route like the Horse can. Boats MUST be able to reach a coastal tile of the target territory; if all coastals tiles are blocked by other Boats (even Boats in adjacent territories occupying the wrong tile), the Boat cannot be used in the attack.
Only one of a given land unit can occupy a territory. It is possible to capture enemy units if you don't bring your own in. Boats are special in that you can have more than one Boat on a territory.
Each player may attack twice in any one round. If a player chooses to move his stockpile on the first attack, he loses the second. Likewise if the first attack fails, the second is also lost.
Additionally, other players adjacent to the defending territory may choose to side with the offense or the defense and throw in their combat strength to that side.
The game is over when one side builds the number of cities listed as the victory condition, or when all territories have been taken over by a single player. Note that if more than one player exceeds the number of cities required for victory, the game continues until one side falls under than number.