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History of the World-1993
6 page rules folder
6 page sample game folder (with erroneous second move example)
32" X 22" mounted mapboard
6 X 96 Army markers
6 X 6 Monuments
6 X 7 Fleets
6 X 1 VP marker
20 Forts/Fortresses
28 Capital/City markers
4 Sumerian Armies
five six sided dice ( three white, two yellow)
deck of 48 large Empire Cards
64 small Event Cards
Designed by Stephen Kendall originally published by Ragnar Brothers 1991
A fun not so little game where you guide mankind through the eruption of the Sumerians to but not including WWI. Seven Epochs are featured with their seven respective dominant cultures(Empires), one per card. The seven Empire cards from each Epoch list the land of origin, troop strength and any Naval abilities plus the turn order of appearance which is basically chronological. Cards are drawn for each turn (Epoch) according to a strict player hierarchy.
| Empire | Troop Strength | Naval | Location | Capital | |
| Sumerian | 4 |
None | Lower Tigris | Ur | |
| 1 | Egypt | 5 |
Red Sea, E. Med | Nile Delta | Memphis |
| 2 | Minoans | 4 |
None | Crete | Knossos |
| 3 | Indus Valley | 4 |
None | Lower Indus | Mohenjodarra |
| 4 | Babylonia | 4 |
None | Middle Tigris | Babylon |
| 5 | Shang Dynasty | 4 |
None | Yellow River | Anyang |
| 6 | Aryans | 5 |
None | Turanian Plain |
A low die roll starts the game with this player drawing nine Event Cards (others following in die roll order) starting the Sumerians according to its card. No points are gained for the Sumerian Empire either now or later.
When the Sumerians are done (typical move at left) the low roller now draws the top card from the Empire deck. If this Empire is acceptable the player keeps it. If not acceptable it is passed to another player who may not look at it until the play starts. The second player (next lowest roller) now draws. If this player has not been passed a card, the drawn card can be kept or passed. This continues until all players have a card facedown in front of them. All players will draw a card but not necessarily have the choice of keeping it or even to whom they might pass it. You will try to keep the good ones for yourself and pass the lousy ones to the point leader.
The cards are played in order listed. The first army goes down in the listed
land. The second and subsequent armies go into the same or an adjacent land.
Once placed units never move except to allow a new Empire to start by retreating,
if possible. If the Empire has a Naval capability at least one ship must
be placed in at least one of the Seas listed as navigable. If that is not
possible that build is forfeit. If the land or sea unto which a unit is placed
happens to be occupied, battle occurs. Event Cards (Attacker) and terrain
(Defender) affect battles. No more than three armies or two ships can occupy
one area. A Fort can be built by cashing in one build. For each pair of resources
captured one monument may be built. After the move points are calculated;
| Capital | 2 |
| City | 1 |
| Monument | 1 |
| Sea Area not Ocean | 1 |
In later turns your previously played but still extant empires add their VP to your total. They will also count towards your Area VPs.
The map of the world is divided into thirteen color coded areas each Area worth Victory points according to the Epoch and level of presence;
-
Presence-at least one Land 1 X VP
-
Domination-at least three Lands and more than any other faction 2 X VP
-
Control-all Lands in an Area 3 X VP
| Middle East | North Africa | India | China | Southern Europe | Northern Europe | SE Asia | Eurasia | North America | South America | Sub Sahara Africa | Nippon | Australasia | |
| Epoch I | 2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
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| Epoch II | 3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
||||||||
| EpochIII | 3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
||||||
| EpochIV | 3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
||||||
| EpochV | 2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
||||
| EpochVI | 2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
| EpochVII | 1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| # of Lands in ea Area | 11 |
5 |
10 |
8 |
11 |
10 |
5 |
8 |
8 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
On subsequent turns the player who has received the fewest total of troop strengths ( a running total is tracked on the Victory Track for each player) draws first. Some Empires are definitely better than others.
| Troop Strength | Naval | Location | Capital | ||
| 1 | Assyria | 8 |
None | Upper Tigris | Asur |
| 2 | Chou Dynasty | 6 |
None | Wei river | Loyang |
| 3 | Vedic States | 6 |
None | Upper Indus | Mithila |
| 4 | Greek | 9 |
Black Sea, E Med, W Med | Morea | Athens |
| 5 | Scythians | 7 |
None | Caucasus | |
| 6 | Carthaginia | 8 |
E + W Med | Shatts Plateau | Carthage |
| 7 | Persia | 15 |
Black Sea, E Med, W Med | Persian Plateau | Persepolis |
In the second and subsequent turns your previous Empires form an inert but solid foundation upon which to build around or through, if necessary. If, for example, you had the Shang Dynasty in the first Epoch, the Chou Dynasty in the second Epoch might allow you to control all of China with a possible invasion of India to follow. The Eastern portion of the board also has more Resources available with which to build Monuments. Of course, I could not envision someone turning down Persia no matter what happened in the first Epoch.
And so the game continues in this fashion throughout the seven Epochs. Event Cards are for the active (moving) player which add some spice to the mix while introducing some minor empires that did not make the cut, special weapons, disasters etc. The draw method at the start of the game ensures that a player receives a mixture of Event types. More victory points are available as the game progresses due to the more powerful Empires which emerge plus your old Empires still contribute while they survive forming your "faction". You try to set yourself up for a big move on the final turn. The game is a little on the long side but very interesting and enjoyable. Recommended.
Articles in the General
Vol.28 #5 New Release: History of the World by Don Hawthorne
Vol.29 # 1 Shortening History by Gary W. Graber Variant. History of the World passing in review by Steven J. Ulberg. Bidding for Worl Domination by Paul Rice. The Noble Art of self -Defense by Charles Bahl & Philip Kurita. Question Box. Reader's Buyers Guide vaults HOTW into numero uno.
Vol.29 #3 History of the World by Paul Rice using Sumeria for a seven player variant. Three more quick and dirty variants are included.
Vol.29 # 6 Playing the weak Empires by Wesley Kawato. Strategy for the backwater empires.
Vol.30 #3 The Persistence of Culture by Charles Bahl. Variant Event Cards from Declination hotw fanzine
- Epoch I-III Law (1)
- Epoch I-III Philosophy (1)
- Epoch I-III , VI-VII Commerce (1)
- Epoch I-IV Religion (1)
- Epoch II -III, VI-VII Democracy (1)
- Epoch V-VII Architecture (1)
- Epoch VI-VII Science (2)
Vol.30 #4 All Kingdoms Great & Small by Scott M. Smith. Play strategy and card history for monor kingdoms.
Vol.30 #5 A Great War Ending by Gary W. Graber. Variant Epoch VIII ending.
Vol.31 #5 Live Long and Prosper by Bruce Monnin. Staying power strategy.
Vol.31 #6 History of the World with Personality by Michael Welker. Variant Event Cards which form another draw. Hands are now ten cards to start. Play of these cards does not count towards the two card limit.
-
Epoch II
Lao-Tzu
Confucius
Buddha -
Epoch III
Jesus Christ
Plato -
Epoch IV
Muhammad
Irene -
Epoch V
Francis of Assisi
Thomas Aquinas -
Epoch VI
Martin Luther
Marco Polo -
Epoch VII
Thomas Jefferson
Karl Marx
History of the World-2001
The Game of Rising Empires and Falling Powers
An updated edition of the classic. Opinion appears to be divided as to the merits involved.
Components
- Mounted Gameboard
- 5 Dice 3 White 2 Red
- 30 Cities
- 32 Forts
- 36 Monuments
-
For each of the seven Epochs six sets of Miniatures (600 total)
- 5 Egyptians
- 12 Persians
- 20 Romans
- 15 Byzatines
- 18 Mongols
- 14 Spanish
- 16 British
- 8 Pre-eminence Markers. Bogus victory points. Removed in the optional rules.
- 12 Fleet/Coin Markers. Coins are given with certain Lesser Event Cards. They may be used to replace one defeated army per coin or converted to a fort.
- 42 Score Chits
- 49 Empire Cards ( 7 each for 7 Epochs)
-
22 Greater Event Cards
- 15 playable in any Epoch; 7 Leaders roll three dice when attacking (lost when triples rolled), 4 Weaponry +1 to dice, 4 Reallocation Fleets may be replaced with coins
-
7 Minor Empires one for each Epoch
- Hittites
- Phonecia
- Mayans
- Anglo-Saxons
- Fujiwara
- Safavids
- Japan
-
49 Lesser Event Cards. I have grouped these according to which Epoch(s) they
may be played
-
27 Any and all;
- 2 Egineering add two forts if active Empire has Capital,
- 3 Civil Service bonus coin for each of Capital and/or Navigation,
- 4 Disaster in any two lands Monument and City destroyed Capital reduced,
- 3 Population Explosion receive two coins,
- 2 Naval Power Defend only 2 dice against landings,
- 2 Elite Troops win all ties,
- 2 Allies two coins to expand into empty lands,
- 2 Treachery automatically win one predesignated attack,
- (3) 1 each Expert Troops Forest-Straits-Mountains named terrain is no longer difficult,
- Famine all lands in one area with a one destroying it,
- Jihad Attack with three dice win all ties until first army lost the two dice win all ties after second lost army normal,
- Pestilence named land roll three dice two dice in adjacent lands a one destroys army (optional roll for each army),
- Plague roll four dice army destroyed on a one. Plague travels to adjacent land with three dice until an army is not destroyed or it runs out of ocupied lands
-
22 Expiring Events;
- Epoch I Kingdom Cannanites army from Epoch VII and a city in Palestine
- Epoch II Etruscans army from Epoch VII and a city in Northern Appenines
- Epoch II-V Migrants Australia 2 armies into two lands in Australia
- Epoch II-VII Jewish Revolt 1 army attack s Palestine with three dice
- Epoch II-VII 3 X Civil War 3 armies in three different lands of one enemy empire.
- Epoch II-VII 2 X Barbarians attack out of a barren land into an adjacent occupied land. Repeat until defeated or all adjacent lands occupied
- Epoch II-VII 2 X Astronomy place a fleet in any sea
- Epoch III Kingdom Kush an army from Epoch VII and a city in the Upper Nile
- Epoch III-V Migrants North America 2 armies from Epoch I in any vacant land in North America
- Epoch III-V Migrant Africa 2 armies from Epoch I in any vacant land in Africa
- Epoch III-VII 2 X Siegecraft +1 to attack fort, city or capital. Victory against fort destrys garrison
- Epoch IV Kingdom Tiahuanco army and city in Southern Andes
- Epoch V Kingdom Mali army and city in Gold Coast
- Epoch V-VI Crusade 3 armies from Epoch I in Eastern Med. Attack +1. If Palestine is captured They get a city and a fort there.
- Epoch VI Black Death two adjacent areas each rolls one die with a one destroying
- Epoch VI Kingdom Thai army and city in Malayan Peninsula
- Epoch VII Kingdom Zimbabwe army from Epoch I and city in East Africa
-
27 Any and all;
Dedicated ship markers have been eliminated. Instead, the active empire places generic ship counters on the navigable waters. You may transfer armies across these, but If you wish to score points for the sea areas you must place an army upon it (optional). This would compensate for the lower unit count to some degree.
The Events Cards have been divided into Greater and Lesser Events. You are still limited to the play of two cards per Epoch nor may you play two identical cards.
A limit of one army per land has been added. The optional rules allow up to three as before.
Naval presence does not cancel a difficult crossing at a strait.
The Sumerians have become a regular Empire in Epoch I.
Total army strength is no longer tracked unless needed to break final victory tie.
Only two lands and more than any other are needed for dominance.
Only three lands and no enemies present needed for control
No retreats. Empires and Kingdoms starting in occupied lands destroy the residents.
Players draw Empire cards in subsequent by Victory Point order, lowest first. Ties are broken first by lower Empire strength on the previous turn then the earlier Empire from the previous turn draws first.
New Zealand has been added to Australia.
North Atlantic separated from the Atlantic.
| Middle East | North Africa | India | China | Southern Europe | Northern Europe | SE Asia | Eurasia | North America | South America | Sub Sahara Africa | Nippon | Australasia | |
| Epoch I | 2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
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| Epoch II | 3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
||||||||
| EpochIII | 3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
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| EpochIV | 3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
||||||
| EpochV | 3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| EpochVI | 2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
| EpochVII | 1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
| # of Lands in each Area | 11 |
5 |
10 |
8 |
11 |
10 |
5 |
8 |
8 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
The Victory Points have been modified upwards from the first AH version;
Middle East 2 points in V +1
Southern Europe 0 point in I +1, 2 points in VI +1
Northern Europe 2 points in VI +1
South America 0 points in V +1
There is certainly nothing revolutionary here. All in all, it looks pretty good. I can't wait to try it.
Ragnar Brothers History of the World with cloth map.
Subject: Re: History of the World: new vs old
From: "Greg J. Schloesser" gschloesser1@cox.net
Date: 3/23/02 12:55 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id: <3C9CC1DC.5A8B8199@cox.net>
Mike J Schneider wrote:
>
> Show of hands: Is the new version a better game than the old one? Why?
(I
> hate the way the new version looks, but I'm looking for replies that
> discount appearance.)
Most in my group prefer the older version, but they are just old 'poops'and don't like change! :o)
Seriously, I think both editions have some nice features and would have loved to see a combination of the best of both. However, being forced to choose, I'd choose the new one. They have made a few things a bit easier, including the helpful little charts on each territory informing you of the victory points they award. Plus, I like games which appeal to the eye, and certainly the new version is more attractive than the old one, especially with all those miniatures. Yes, the miniatures can crowd the board a bit and the two green colors are simply too close in appearance, but the overall picture is better.
--
Greg J. Schloesser
The Westbank Gamers: http://www.westbankgamers.com
Strategy Gaming Society: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/~sgs
Subject: Re: History of the World: new vs old
From: mike1@SPAMERSKILLEDusfamily.net (Mike J Schneider)
Date: 3/24/02 3:18 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id: <mike1-2403020229060001@msp-65-25-245-78.mn.rr.com>
In article <3C9CFC8D.FE089404@ma.ultranet.com>, Christopher Bourassa
<bourassa@ma.ultranet.com> wrote:
> Mike J Schneider wrote:
>
> > Show of hands: Is the new version a better game than the old one?
Why? (I
> > hate the way the new version looks, but I'm looking for replies
that
> > discount appearance.)
>
> I haven't seen the older version, but what makes it more attractive
to you?
Oh man, I just *hate* the way the new games looks: Goodbye earthtones, hello gaudy puke colors; ugly plastic men half the quality of A&A guys (and a tenth the quality of Samuri Swords units), and you have to be very careful moving your sleeve over the board or they go flying.
The old version of HoW has the most attractive "map of the world" board I've ever seen, and the cardboard counters, while nothing innovative or high in quality, were distinctive and functional. You certainly didn't need to worry about bumping the table. The game came in a box half the size, and all the chits could be kept sorted in a tiny fishing lure case
(try that with hundreds of bulky GI.Joes).
My guess is Hasbro simply copied the "look" of Risk and MB's Gamemaster Series, hoping that adding 3D pieces to the game would boost sales.
--
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/American_Liberty/files/links.htm
I was planning to start a flame war, but the guy who was going to argue
pointlessly with my pointless post never posted.
-- Mike Caprio
Reply to mike1@@@usfamily.net sans two @@, or your reply won't reach me.