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One of Xconq's distinguishing features is its extensive game library.
The variety can be rather confusing; which game should you be playing?
The following sections describe the games that appear in the games list
that is in the distributed library (these show up in the "New Game" dialog
in the Mac port, for instance).
Details of the
games may change from release to release, so treat this only as a guide.
Read the game's own instructions and notes for detailed information.
The library will generally include many game modules not listed here; in some
cases, the modules are supporting modules for other games, and not playable
on their own, while in other cases the game is still under development.
Because of this, you should be prepared to experience problems if you try
to play any module not on the games list.
Xconq belongs to what one might call the "Empire" family
of computer games; players each start with a small country and
attempt to take over the world. The available units, which
players must build for themselves during the game, are generally
modern military but somewhat abstract; armies, airplanes, battleships,
and suchlike.
The game designs in this category are just variations
on the theme, being more/less complex or faster/slower-paced.
intro
-
This is a simple game designed for newcomers to Xconq. The rules
are simple, the map is fixed, so it's not really very interesting once
you've learned how to play Xconq.
standard
-
The standard game is, well, the standard Xconq game. It is by far
the most developed, tested, and polished. You can enjoy Xconq for
years playing only this game and its variants.
classic
-
The standard game of version 7 has been enhanced to take advantage
of its new features, such as stacking, rivers, and roads, but if you
like the standard game of Xconq 5.x and want to continue with it,
classic is a very close approximation.
crater-lake
-
This is a classic of 5.x, so named because of the mountain ring
with lake in the middle. The real notable feature of this is the
difficulty of mounting any offensive; this game has been
fought to a stalemate time and time again.
old-empire
-
Stroll down memory lane. This is a workalike of the old simple
Empire game, complete with imbalance, slow pacing, and other problems.
Compare how it plays versus the standard game; the flaws should be
obvious.
pelops
-
If you're a fan of ancient history, try this version of the
Peloponnesian War. Although its game parameters need more work,
you can get some idea of the scale of the conflict. This is
also a three-sided game, allowing for someone to play the Persians
and perhaps win by exploiting the Athenians and Spartans.
rom-civ-war
-
The Roman Civil War, played out on a very nice map of the Roman world.
voyages
-
This represents the Age of Discovery.
magellan
-
Attempt to re-create Magellan's voyage around the world.
Based on
voyages.
1756, 1757
-
These are renditions of the annual campaign seasons that made up the
Seven Years' War.
1805
-
Napoleon's Austrian campaign of 1805, of which the battle of Austerlitz
proved to be the key action.
red-october
-
The Russian revolution.
gettysburg
-
This is a set-piece version of the Battle of Gettysburg, at the brigade
level with hourly turns. The setup is very detailed, but the mechanics
too simple, which unfortunately allows some rather bizarre-looking
battles to develop.
The WWII games listed here are technical, detailed, and specialized to
particular time periods or scenarios.
panzer
-
This is a fast-paced tactical Eastern Front game, similar to the board
games on the subject. Features include strict line-of-sight (thus you
can hide behind hills and trees), ranged fire, and a wide assortment of
hardware. It's not really very accurate, and it's stretching
Xconq to use it for a tactical game, but great fun anyway.
magnusvew
-
A large panzer scenario based on a Panzerblitz(tm) board game scenario
designed by Robert Harmon.
cherbourg, cobra, normandy
-
These are all battalion-level games using the base game
ww2-bn.
The cherbourg scenario covers the capture of Cherbourg in the
Normany campaign, while cobra is a reenactment of Operation Cobra,
and normandy is the whole invasion! While cherbourg is
reasonably sized, the others are monster games that will need lots of
memory and lots of time to play.
nw-europe
-
This game is at the division level, being about the entire
NW Europe campaign. Although you can open by landing in Normandy,
you can try invading anywhere you like.
ww2-eur-42
-
This is a theater-level simulation of WWII in Europe, starting in
January 1942. The Germans are on the ascendant everywhere, the Soviets
hard-pressed, and the Americans only just getting involved. The game
has a lot of sides; either AIs have to play them or you'll need to round
up a bunch of players.
ww2-38, ww2-39, ww2-42
-
These are full global scenarios for advanced WWII. Can they really be
played as games? Probably not -- but so what, we just want to scroll
around and admire it all!
ww2s-eur-42, ww2s-pac-41, ww2s-42
-
WWII again, but using the unit types and terrain of the standard game,
and with only two sides, Axis and Allies. It's not realistic enough
for purists, but can certainly be exciting to play.
flattop
-
This game is a somewhat abstract version of tactical naval combat.
You have a force of carriers and battleships, plus a contingent
of smaller vessels, and a similar opposing force somewhere out
there. Use your PBYs to find them, before their subs and destroyers
get in to sink your capital ships.
coral-sea
-
This is the battle of the Coral Sea, both land and sea, at the operations
level. Airplanes are simply part of carriers' combat abilities.
gazala
-
The battles around Gazala and Tobruk in North Africa. The Axis is out
to capture Tobruk, the British have to block them with very few units.
The games in this category include more economic development than the
combat oriented generic games.
empire
-
An Xconqification of "true" or "net" Empire, which is a large and
complex economic/military game.
Although Xconq was never designed for the swords&sorcery genre,
it turns out to be able to support some rather interesting games.
cave
-
A basic dungeon game, where you wander around a maze, collect
valuable items, and battle various monsters.
Xconq was never really designed for outer-space games either,
but there are some fun if unrealistic designs.
galaxy
-
A sort of generic outer space game with units mixed from various
fictional universes.
tokyo, monster
-
Inspired by a description of an old board called "Crush Crumble and Chomp",
this is a game featuring one side as Godzilla and the other side as Tokyo.
Hard to say whether it's more fun to play Godzilla and stomp on buildings,
or to play the national guard and try to defeat him before Tokyo is
entirely flattened!
If you ask for just
monster, you will get a randomized setup for
this game.
Some games just don't fit in any category.
beirut
-
A somewhat disrespectful rendition of the fighting in Beirut during the
early 1980s. Seven different sides, all fighting each other with tanks,
death squads, and car bombs.
insects
-
This is a silly but amusing game involving various kinds of insects.
mormon
-
This is a downright blasphemous version of the heroic age of the Mormon
pioneers in Utah. The Mormons try to reproduce faster than the US
Cavalry and the Ute Indians can massacre them; to strike back, the
Mormons have their Avenging Angels.
(I can do this, I'm descended from Mormon pioneers. -sts)
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