Conquistador (game)

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Conquistador is a board game simulating the exploration of the New World in the 16th century. Players take on the role of European countries sending expeditions to find gold and establish colonies. Although the design uses the trappings of board wargames such as a hex map, combat is not a major part of the game. It was designed by Richard Berg and originally published by Simulations Publications as Conquistador! in 1976, then republished by Avalon Hill in 1981.

[edit] Game play

The game may be played by one to four players, who choose to be Spain, England, France, or Portugal. Each turn represents about five years, with the first turn beginning in 1495 and the game ending in 1600. A turn consists of five phases - Royal Council, Initial Naval, Land, Final Naval, and Maintenance, each of which is in turn divided into several segments. Game counters include soldiers, colonists, missionaries, carracks, caravels, galleon fleets, and gold bars, along with individual named explorers, privateers, and conquistadors. The map includes the entire Americas, with a variety of terrain types such as clear, rough, and jungle, and is divided into regions such as Patagonia and California, each with its own richness and healthfulness.

The Royal Council phase is focussed on planning, beginning with a random events segment that determines both money and colonist availability, as well as unforeseen events such as plague or a requirements to search for the Seven Cities of Cibola. The players then roll dice to decide the order of play for the remainder of the turn, and plan their expeditions, purchasing material and people and writing down composition and destination of each expedition in a supplied log.

In the Initial Naval phase, players move their expeditions to and from the New World. They may also move within the New World, possibly, engaging in naval combat or invasions, after which all expedition check for attrition.

Segments of the Land phase include attempts to discover gold and production from existing gold mines, movement and combat of land units, combat with natives, attrition of land units, and collection of resources.

The Final Naval phase consists of another opportunity to move expeditions to or from Europe, followed by still more attrition, and credit for discoveries by expeditions that have reached a friendly port.

The Maintenance phase simply deducts expenses for each unit to be kept in play for the next turn.

[edit] Assessment

Since the map is already displayed, there is no actual exploration to be done; instead players are rewarded for being the first to reach different regions and return safely. However, the main reward in the game is to establish viable colonies, not always a straightforward task as the turn-by-turn attrition can wipe them out entirely.

Writing in 1980. Jon Freeman says that Conquistador "may be the best of Richard Berg's designs", and that while "too cynically realistic" in favoring colony development over the glamour of exploration, it is nevertheless "a lot of fun".

[edit] References

• Jon Freeman, The Complete Book of Wargames (Simon & Schuster, 1980), pp. 109-110
• Boardgamegeek entry