COLUMBUS

by Nicholas Holgate

from Sinclair User 34 (January 1985)



Columbus - Nicholas Holgate (Sinclair User-January 85)





[The instructions in the game and printed in the magazine are somewhat ]

[inadequate to fully understand what's going on in the game, so there's]

[a fair bit of trial and error involved before getting to grips with   ]

[it. One particular thing to note is that deployment of Soldiers won't ]

[work until some exploration has been done to discover places to send  ]

[them to.                                                              ]

[The code is very complex and awkward to type in, with all the array   ]

[commands, but I've tried all the options and everything seems to work ]

[reasonably. I did a line-by-line manual verification of the code, and ]

[spotted a few mistakes, although there may still be a few obscure     ]

[typing errors or program bugs which I haven't discovered.       JimG  ]





Take ship for the New World and found an empire in a thrilling

simulation of the struggles of European nations to compete for a share

of America's riches in the 15th Century.

	Columbus, by Nicholas Holgate, was a runner up in the 1984

Cambridge Awards competition. The game is for two to five players, but

should prove entertaining for one. The program runs on the 48K Spectrum.

	Each turn begins with a financial statement, following which

you may choose a number of options.

	Ships allows you to explore, build ships and improve their

design. It also allows you to engage in piracy, invade an opponent, or

seek to blockade their ports if at war. A further option is to protect

trade or move troops in convoy.

	Soldiers gives four options. You may explore, attack or defend

in the New World. You may also recruit new troops.

	Spies allows you to examine certain details of your rivals'

progress and plans.

	Crop changes allows you to instruct your colonists on what

products they should aim to send home. What you decide will depend on

the type of land colonised.

	Tax changes may be used to increase revenue, but high taxes can

deter colonists.

	War allows you to plot an attack on a player the following turn.

A declaration of war will only be announced on that turn.

	The different types of land are colour coded. White indicates

tundra or desert, of territorial significance only. Yellow is plains,

the best for growing crops. Green is forest producing timber thus

cutting ship-building costs. Purple may produce silver or gold.

	Some land is inhabited, and you will have to deal with the

natives there. You can trade with them or oppress them.

	At the end of each round, all players may see a report on the

outcome of trading and wars, along with an indication of who is winning.

The game ends when one player has achieved colonial domination, but

that player may not be the overall winner.