A.C.E. 3/ACE CD 3.iso/files/docs/castle2d.lha/Castles2.doc

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 81.9 KB | 1,661 lines

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                                   Presents                    02/02/94

              Manual Supplied By:-) Pyth0n    Typed By:-( AnImAl

                      ž__________________________________
                      |                                  |
                      |   CASTLES II: SIEGE & CONQUEST   |
                      |   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   |
                      Š----------------------------------‹

 INTRODUCTION

 Welcome to the world of Castles II: Siege & Conquest. This games is intended
 to test your skills as an Administrator, a Military Leader, and a Politician.
 During the course of play, you must maintain the delicate balance between the
 Administrator, Military, and Political functions of your dominion. The names
 of the Lords and the territories in CASTLES II are based on 14th century
 France, a tumultuous period in European history, which was marked by the
 prolonged conflict of The Hundred Years War. This century was marked by
 chaos, as the struggle for land in France had a high cost in human life. The
 blood of English and French soldiers saturated the soil and the peasants of
 these lands were forcefully removed from their homes, raped, or killed.

 The Lords of territories battled each other in an attempt to expand their
 realms. When a Lord conquered new lands, he would build Castles there to
 substantiate his power over the newly acquired territory. Your mission is to
 unite the territories of the mythical land of Bretagne in the midst of this
 bloody turmoil and eventually become King. It is a formidable task, one that
 requires intestinal fortitude, cunning, and risk taking. If you possess these
 qualities then you are ready to accept the challenge of CASTLES II: Siege &
 Conquest!

 OBJECT

 The ultimate goal of Castles II is to be crowned King. This is accomplished
 by petitioning the Pope to back your claim to the throne once you have
 expanded your empire to a point of considerable wealth and power. All the
 while you must keep your people happy and maintain good relations with the
 Pope. If you are named King, the game is over and you have won. If, at some
 point during the game, one of the other players petitions the Pope and is
 named King, then you have lost the game, and quite possibly, your life. You
 may choose to play as one of five feuding lords from the families of Albion,
 Burgundy, Anjou, Aragon and Valois. You select one of these, and the computer
 plays the other four as well as the Pope. A game of Castles II will commence
 on January 1, 1312, and will usually last between three and ten years. The
 date is displayed at the bottom right of the main game screen.

 Once you have begun to capture territories and establish your empire, it
 becomes necessary to build Castles. There are many obstacles and challenges
 that arise throughout the game which often hinder your quest to become King.
 If you manage your land with efficiency, the effects of these diversions can
 be minimised and the throne will be within your grasp.

 GETTING STARTED

 When Castles II is loaded, there will be several introductory screens which
 set up the premise of the game. Once the introduction is complete, the Set-up
 Screen appears offering several options for game play. Here you will choose
 the Player whose role you wish to assume, the Difficulty level (Easy, Hard,
 and Impossible), whether you want Plots on or off, how you want the
 Commodities distributed (Balanced, Geographical, or Random), and if you want
 tactical Battles on or off (see Tactical Combat). The Geographical option for
 Commodities will place them where they logically should be found (i.e. Gold
 and Iron in the mountains, Timber in the forests, etc.). Balanced Commodities
 means that each player will be able to access a balanced mix of commodities
 during the course of play. When you have made your choices, click on Play,
 and the game will begin, or Load, to load a saved game. (Only available if
 you have the optional FDD)

 The next screen that will appear is the Main Game Screen, where most of the
 game play will occur. The centre of the screen is a map of the entire
 kingdom, divided into 36 territories. Each territory has its own commodity.
 At the top of the screen your Ratings Point Pool will be displayed. The size
 of your Army and the amount of your Commodities are located to the right of
 the Point Pool. The Task Bars are located on the upper right of the screen
 (at the beginning of the game there will be three of these bars). At the
 bottom of the screen is the Message Window, which will display virtually
 everything that occurs during the course of play. Just above the Message
 Window are four buttons - Stock, Army, Relat (Relations), Opts (Options).
 Clicking on one of these buttons will access that particular area.

 TUTORIAL

 Often then best way to learn is by doing. For those who want to start playing
 the game immediately, this section will get your realm established with a
 couple of territories. You can play and experiment from that point. If you
 get stuck, you can easily refer to a specific section of the manual for
 assistance. Using the Left Mouse Button, click on the Play as Albion arrow,
 Easy as the Difficulty Level and turn the Plots and Battles off. Click on the
 Play button and you will be given one Territory and one Commodity assigned to
 that area. At this point you have the capability to perform three Tasks (one
 Administrative, one Military, and one Political). Begin by building your
 economy. As mentioned above, your territory has a particular commodity which
 can be processed. Click on Stock and select the commodity that is available
 to you at this point (click on the word Gather next to the Commodity). Click
 OK and you are now performing one Administrative task by gathering a
 commodity.

 Next, you should build your army, which is a Military task. Click on Army and
 select whichever aspect of your Military that can be recruited (click on Recr
 next to division of the army) and then click on the OK button. Now click on
 one of the territories adjacent to your starting pro-vince and click on the
 Scout button, followed by OK. At this point (since scouting is a Political
 function) you are now performing one Administrative, one Military, and one
 Political function - you are running at maximum efficiency. It is always
 recommended that you keep your task performing potential at its maximum.

 Once these three tasks are completed, you are most likely in a position to
 attack the territory that you have just scouted. However, if this particular
 territory is occupied by the Pope, you DO NOT want to attack it (see the
 section called The Pope).

 When you have finished Scouting the territory you chose (signified by the
 Task Bar flipping over with the message Scout Complete), Scout another
 territory. Do the same with the Gathering task you chose earlier. (A
 shorthand way to redo a task is by clicking on the Task Bar that just
 completed. This will relaunch the same task.). Once you have captured three
 territories you may want to consider building a Castle. Every territory you
 hold must include or be adjacent to a territory in which you have built a
 Castle or you risk the possibility of revolt from the people in this
 conquered land.

 To build a Castle, click on the territory in which you wish to build it.
 Click on the Visit option and a map of the territory itself will appear.
 Choose a grassy (dark green) area upon which to build your Castle (you can
 move the map by clicking on the directional arrows located at the bottom
 right of the screen - holding down the left mouse button will scroll
 continuously).

 Next, click on Design to begin designing your Castle. Every Castle needs a
 flag or Keep, walls, a door, and some towers. First, place a Keep by clicking
 on the flag icon and then clicking a second time on the map where the Keep
 should go. This is how you lay out the floorplans of your Castle, clicking on
 the piece you want to place, and then clicking the spot on the map where you
 want the piece placed.

 Now you need to enclose the Keep with walls, doors and towers. Click on the
 round tower icon at the bottom of the screen and place it on the map a few
 spaces away from the Keep.

 Now click on the tall wall icon on the lower right of the screen and attach
 it to the tower you previously placed. You can continue to place wall
 segments without clicking on the lower icons, but you must click on a new
 icon to place a new piece on the map. Continue placing walls and towers
 (don't forget a door) until you're happy with the Castle. If you want to
 erase a piece already placed, just click on the erase icon (the X) and click
 on the piece you want to remove. (Shortcut: If you have towers and walls
 placed on the map and you want to change from placing walls to towers (or
 vice versa), just click on the type of piece already on the map you want to
 change to and the cursor will default to that piece. This saves you from
 having to move the mouse down to the icon list every time you want to place a
 different piece on the map.)

 When you're done designing your Castle, click on the View button and then
 click on the Leave button to return to the Main Game Screen. You'll now see a
 small tower icon on the province shield, showing you've designed a Castle
 there. When you are ready to build the Castle, click on that territory, and
 choose the Build Castle option which will now appear in the message window.
 (For the specifics on Castle building, see the section entitled The Castle.)
 If Build Castle does not appear, you either do not have sufficient resources
 to build the Castle or are busy with another Administrative task.

 This should provide you with the basics to get started. Just remember to keep
 performing tasks in all three areas (Administrative, Military, and Political)
 simultaneously.

 PERFORMING TASKS

 To fully comprehend the essence of Castles II, it must be understood that it
 is a task based game. Anything that you want to do is done by way of
 accomplishing a task. There are three different types of tasks:
 Administrative, Military, and Political. These tasks are colour coded: Green
 for Administrative, Red for Military and Blue for Political.
 For each type of task, you have a certain number of ability points. There are
 three sets of two numbers displayed at the upper left hand corner of the Main
 Game Screen. The bottom number of each set is the overall rating in that
 category and the top number represents the available points from that
 category that you can apply toward performing tasks.

 Your rating will increase as you successfully complete tasks. For example,
 as you successfully complete Administrative tasks, your Administrative rating
 will improve and you will have more points to distribute among your tasks in
 the future. If, in addition, you applied ratings points to a task from
 different areas, (such as adding 2 Military and 2 Diplomatic points to the 3
 Administrative points used to build a Castle), you would gain partial credit
 towards advancing your Military and Diplomatic ratings.

 At the beginning of the game, there are three task bars in the upper right
 hand corner of the Main Game Screen that can be used to accomplish the three
 types of tasks (Administrative, Military, and Diplomatic). Three more bars
 can be added as the game progresses. The top bar is for Administrative
 tasks, the middle bar is for Military tasks and the bottom bar is for
 Political tasks. Each bar can only perform one task at any given time.

 While a task is being performed, three numbers will appear on the left side
 of the Task Bar. These numbers indicate how many points from the point pool
 were applied toward a task. The far left number is the amount of
 Administrative points, the middle one is the amount of Military points, and
 the number on the right represents the amount of Political points. When a
 task is being performed, the task bar will fill up from left to right. The
 task is complete when the bar is completely full. If you wish to repeat the
 exact same task, assuming it is available to you, click on the task bar
 itself; this is quicker than proceeding into the message window to set up the
 task. If you click on the task bar while a task is being performed, the
 message window will open up and inform you of how close you are to completing
 the task. It will also give you the option to cancel the task at this point
 or to continue by clicking OK.

 The speed with which a task can be accomplished is determined by how many
 total points are applied to it. The more points applied to the task, the
 faster it is accomplished. Also, when performing a task in any given area,
 you must use more points from that particular area of the point pool than
 either of the other two. For example, suppose you have 4 Administrative
 points, 7 Military points, 3 Political points, and you want to perform an
 Administrative task. If you choose to use all 4 of your Administrative
 points, you may use up to 3 of your Military points and up to 3 of your
 Political points. In this scenario, the addition of the Military and
 Political points are intended to give you more total points to apply toward
 the Administrative task and thus speed it up.

 Once you achieve a rating of 5 in any of the task categories, a second Task
 Bar in that category will be added to the Main Game Screen. As long as your
 rating is at least 5, you will be able to use the additional task bar. If
 your rating drops below 5, you will lose the second task bar. Ideally, you
 will reach the maximum number of six task bars (two Administrative tasks, two
 Military tasks, and two Political tasks).


                            "How To Play Castles II"
                    (Establishing and Maintaining the Realm)

 ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS

 The Administrative functions of your domain are those which help you to build
 a solid infrastructure. These functions include: Harvesting Food, Cutting
 Timber, Mining Iron, Refining Gold, and Building Castles. It is important to
 establish a strong economy early in game play, because so many of the other
 tasks depend upon the availability of certain commodities. For example, the
 Military task of reruiting Archers requires Gold and Timber!

 Each territory contains a particular commodity. Once you have captured a
 territory, you can then begin to gather that commodity. For example, if you
 capture a territory whose commodity is Iron, you can perform the
 Administrative task of mining Iron. As soon as you have completed any
 gathering task, your stockpile of that commodity will increase.

 If you choose to gather a commodity that you hold in multiple territories,
 you will receive units of that commodity equal to the number of territories
 in which you hold it (you will also need to apply the same amount of
 Administration points to the task). In other words, if you have three
 territories in which Gold is your commodity, when you refine Gold you will
 add three units of Gold to your economy - as long as you apply at least three
 Administrative points.

 Also, once you build a large enough Castle (see the section on The Castle) on
 a territory, the production of that territory's commodity is doubled when
 gathered. One shortcut to implementing the gathering task is to click on one
 of the commodity icons displayed at the top of the Main Game Screen. If it is
 possible to gather that item, a task will begin.

 THE BLACK MARKET

 If you need to add goods quickly to your economy, it is sometimes beneficial
 to trade on the Black Market (The Black Market option can be accessed the
 same way that the commodities are accessed - under the Stock bar). You can
 immediately trade a good that is plentiful for one that is lacking, at a cost
 of three for one. Be careful though - sometimes the black market is an
 unreliable medium and you can be cheated by those with whom you attempt to
 trade. Policing the Realm can lessen your chance of being cheated on the
 black market.

 THE CASTLE

 The best way to solidify your realm and eliminate the possibility of revolt
 by your people is to build a Castle. Building a Castle in a territory also
 makes it more difficult for an attacker to capture that territory, as it is
 easier to defend a Castled Territory than one without a Castle.

 To prepare for designing a Castle, click on the territory in which you want
 to build it. The message window will open and you will be given the option to
 Visit or Cede (see the section entitled The Pope for information on ceding)
 that territory. Click on Visit and a map of the territory will appear on the
 screen. You need to select an area that is suitable for construction. You
 cannot build a Castle on water or in a swamp, and you cannot build directly
 on top of a tree or a rock. Clicking on the directional arrows on the bottom
 right of the screen allows you to scroll over the map. You may also scroll
 the map by clicking on the edge of the screen. Clicking on the centre of the
 arrows enables you to rotate the view clockwise by 90 degrees.

 Once you have decided on a proper location for the Castle, click on Design
 and begin designing your Castle. All of the functions available to you during
 the designing process are located in the boxes at the bottom of the screen.
 First you will need to place the flag or Keep on the map - the Keep
 represents you and the Administrative control of the Castle. Once it is
 captured by an opponent, the Castle is lost so it is a good idea to put rings
 of walls and towers around your Keep. To place the Keep on the map, click on
 the flag box at the bottom of the screen and click again on the spot on the
 map where you wish to place it. There are two types of towers that can be
 used - Square or Round. The square towers are not quite as effective as the
 round towers, as they tend to have blind spots. The round towers, although
 they are better for defence, take a longer time to build than the square
 towers. To place a tower click on the box at the bottom of the screen and
 click again to place it on the map. You also have the option for thick or
 thin walls. As you might expect, the thick walls are better for defence but
 they take longer to build than the thin walls. For both the towers and walls,
 you also possess the option of Tall vs. Small. Keep in mind that when you are
 constructing walls and towers around the Keep, you must assure that the Keep
 is accessible. You cannot build walls and towers on all sides of the Keep to
 make it impenetrable, you must place a door in the perimeter.

 If you make a mistake in placing a piece on the map, use the X icon to erase
 the piece. Also, holding down the right mouse button and clicking the left
 mouse button will cause the cursor to act as an eraser.

 (Shortcut: If you have towers and walls placed on the map and you want to
 change from placing walls to towers (or vice versa), just click on the type
 of piece already on the map you want to change to and the cursor will default
 to that piece. This saves you from having to move the mouse down to the icon
 list every time you want to place a different piece on the map.)

 To prevent a province from revolting, it must contain or be adjacent to a
 province with a 100pt Castle.

 Your Castle's size is directly related to doubling the production of
 commodities as well as preventing the people from revolting. The Castle's
 size is measured on a point system dependent upon the choice of pieces (tall
 or small). A tall piece is worth 3 points and a small piece is worth 2
 points. In order to double the production of a commodity, a Castle must be
 worth at least 50 points. To keep the people from revolting, a Castle must be
 worth at least 100 points.

 The last thing that needs to be done in designing a Castle is to decide the
 manner in which it will be constructed. You will have the options of Uniform,
 Outward (start construction from inside), Inward (start construction from
 outside), and Towers First. Click on one of these and your Castle is now
 ready to be built.

 If you wish to save your Castle design, click on Save and you will be able to
 use that design later, in another territory. If you want to access a saved
 Castle design, click on Load and you can choose from any designs that you
 have created and saved (you must place your Keep before loading, indicating
 where the Castle is to be placed).

 To return to the Main Game Screen, click on Leave. Once you have designed the
 Castle, a tiny tower symbol will appear in the map of that territory. As soon
 as you meet the requirements for building a Castle, you can click on the
 territory and the Build Castle option will appear in the message window. The
 Build Castle task requires one Grain, three Timber, one Iron and two Gold.
 You must have at least two Administrative points allotted to the task.

 If you visit your territory while a Castle is being built, you will be able
 to see your partially completed Castle. When the Castle becomes large enough
 to double production (50 points), the Castle symbol on the map will grow to
 half size. When it becomes large enough to prevent revolts from neighbouring
 territories, the Castle icon will grow again and fill the icon space.

 MILITARY FUNCTIONS

 Military tasks are those functions of your empire that focus on the
 augmentation of your armed forces and their usage. You build your army
 through the Military tasks of recruiting Infantry, Archers, and Knights.
 Other Military tasks are concerned with adding weapons to your army which aid
 in attacking a Castle. These include: building a Ballista, building a
 Catapult and building a Siege Tower. The other two Military tasks are:
 sending a saboteur to another territory and, of course, attacking another
 territory.

 THE ARMY

 The army is your fighting force and, as mentioned previously, it consists of
 Infantry, Archers, and Knights. To keep your Military strong, it is necessary
 to recruit troops. Whenever you engage in an attack or are the victim of
 sabotage, the numbers in your army may decrease. So, it is important to keep
 recruiting and strengthening your army. To recruit for your army, click on
 the Army button and then click on Recr (Recruit) in the message window next
 to the branch of the army that you want increased (a faster way to start this
 task is by clicking on one of the Military icons at the top of the screen).

 In order to maintain the size of your army and keep your troops happy, you
 will need to feed and pay them. For every 5 Infantry or Archers that you
 possess, you will need to feed them 1 Food and pay them 1 Gold (rounded up)
 per year. Every 5 Knights will cost you 2 Food and 2 Gold (also rounded up).
 The troops are paid in the spring and fed in the autumn. If you delay feeding
 and/or paying them, increasing numbers of your troops will desert.

 ATTACKING

 Once you have built your economy and army to a certain point, you will want
 to attack another territory to increase the size and wealth of your domain.
 In order to attack a territory, you will need two Military Points, a
 Happiness Rating of at least three (see Happiness), and one Iron. When you
 have met these requirements and want to attack, click on a neighbouring
 territory (you can only attack a territory that is directly adjacent to one
 of your own) and the Attack option will become available. When the Attack
 Task Bar is full, you will be given the option of proceeding with the attack
 or recalling your troops. After you make this decision, click OK and the task
 of preparing your army for battle will be complete.

 At the beginning of the game, you have the option to set Tactical Battles off
 or on. If the battles are off, the computer plays out the battle for you and
 determines the victor. If the battles are on, you will have more control over
 the outcome as you will be able to manipulate your forces individually (see
 the section entitled Tactical Combat for a detailed description of this
 aspect of the game).

 WEAPONS

 When you are attacking a territory that has a Castle, there are certain
 weapons which can improve your chances of victory. They can be added to your
 arsenal at different times during the game if specific conditions of your
 economy exist, and your ability points are high enough.

 The Ballista is, in essence, a giant crossbow that fires a large arrow at a
 Castle. In order to build a Ballista, you will need a Military Rating of at
 least 5 and 4 of those points must be applied to building the Ballista. In
 addition you must expend 1 unit of Timber, 1 unit of Iron and 1 unit of Gold.

 The Catapult requires the same amount of commodities, but you must have a
 Military Rating of at least 6 and you must expend at least 5 of them on
 building the Catapult.

 A Siege Tower also requires the same number of commodities, but a 7 Military
 Rating is necessary and 6 of those points are needed to start this task.

 When any of these three weapons become available, they will appear in the
 message window after clicking on the Army button.

 SABOTEUR

 To hire a Saboteur, click on the territory to be sabotaged (the territory
 must be owned by someone). This task will become available as soon as you
 have a Military Rating of at least 3 and use at least 2 of those points along
 with spending 1 Gold to hire the saboteur(s). A saboteur is sent to an
 opponent's territory with the intent of destroying some aspect of that
 territory's economy or disrupting the Military - perhaps sabotaging the Food
 supply or demoralising units of their Military, causing them to desert.

 POLICING THE REALM

 Since your opponents have the same capabilities as you do, you must be wary
 of opponents' saboteurs. The only way of accomplishing this is to Police the
 Realm. This is another function of the Military that is generally successful
 in capturing saboteurs and spies. When you Police the Realm, the overall
 efficiency of any ongoing tasks improves as well. One negative by-product of
 Policing the Realm, however, is that it reduces the Happiness Level of your
 people by one happiness point (see Happiness).

 TACTICAL COMBAT

 Once you have made the decision to proceed with an attack, or are the victim
 of an attack, the main game screen will be replaced with the Tactical Combat
 Screen (assuming that you have set the battles on). This screen features a
 map of the territory in which the battle shall occur (there is a different
 map for each territory), and a scaled representation of the two Military
 forces that will clash.

 The scale of the battle will be indicated at the bottom of the screen. When
 the scale is 1, each figure on the battlefield represents one unit of the
 army. When this value reads 2 or more, it means that each unit of the army is
 represented by two or more figures on the battlefield.

 In this aspect of the game, where you fight is just as important as how you
 fight. The territories consist of many terrain types, and the effectiveness
 of the different branches of the Military will be influenced by the location
 of the battle. For example, Knights do very well on open grass or dirt, but
 are hindered greatly by rocky terrain in which the horses will have
 difficulty galloping. As one might expect, Knights also have serious problems
 in swampy, watery areas where their excessive weight can cause them to sink.
 Archers are most effective when firing from a covered area, such as a forest,
 into an open area. On the other hand, Archers have problems firing into a
 forest because their arrows are more likely to strike a tree than the enemy.
 These are just a few of the terrain effects of tactical combat. All of the
 effects are based on the performance capability of a Military unit in a
 specific environment. If you are the defender in a field (non-castle) battle,
 you will be given the opportunity to choose where in the territory the battle
 will take place. Click on the spot on the map where you want to fight, and
 the forces will appear.

 The first thing that you want to do in preparing for battle is to place your
 troops. To do this, click on a figure, or figures, and then click on the spot
 where you want to place them. If you want to move all members of a specific
 branch, click on one of the three buttons located at the bottom right of the
 screen (Infantry, Archers, Knights).

 When you are attacking a Castle, you can only place troops within a certain
 range of that Castle. You cannot put them too close to the Castle, nor can
 you place them in the Castle. A Castle's most vulnerable positions to attack
 are the doors as well as any breaches in the walls caused by a Catapult or
 other machinery. The Flat button gives you a better view of the inside of the
 Castle when you are a defender. As a result, you will be able to see where
 you place your troops. Although the walls have seemingly collapsed in the
 Flat mode, the Castle is still very much intact for the purposes of battle.
 It is purely a practical function that allows you to manipulate your forces
 more easily.

 When troops that are attacking a Castle are commanded to Melee, they will
 attempt to reach the Keep as long as there are no enemy units to attack. If
 the troops attacking a Castle are not given commands prior to battle, all
 units will default to Melee and all engines will default to Destroy.

 If you are defending a Castle and do not select a command, Melee will be
 assumed. The Catapult and the Ballista will be situated outside the Castle in
 locations that will help to create breaches in the Castle walls. These
 weapons will attack the nearest unbreached wall until destroyed. They will
 then attack the one behind it, moving forward if necessary. The Siege Tower
 will assault a wall that is not already under attack from another weapon. It
 moves up to a wall or tower and releases a few Infantry units on the top of
 that wall or tower.

 After you have placed your army, you are ready to begin the battle. The
 buttons located at the bottom left of the screen allow you to control certain
 aspects of the battle.

 Before clicking on one of these buttons, you will need to select specific
 troops by clicking on them (or by clicking on one of the shortcut buttons on
 the right of the screen). To attack a specific enemy unit, first click on the
 units of your army that you want to deploy, and then click on the enemy
 figure.

 The Stand button commands your troops to stand their ground and fight anyone
 who comes near them.

 The Melee button commands the selected troops to engage in battle. They will
 search and destroy the nearest enemy unit, or if one is not in range, destroy
 the Keep or a siege engine.

 Destroy is similar to Melee, only the forces are commanded to attack weapons,
 or Castles, before people.

 The Retreat function causes your remaining fighting force to leave the battle
 site (it is not necessary to click on any figures on the screen prior to
 retreating).

 The Begin button starts the battle after your other commands have been given.

 Victory is achieved when certain conditions of battle have been met. For a
 field battle, you must either kill all enemy forces or cause the enemy to
 flee the battle site. A Castle battle is won when all enemy forces have been
 killed, the enemy flees. or a sufficient number of your troops reach the Keep
 and remain there for a long enough period of time (simulating the Castle
 commander's death or surrender). The amount of time needed to capture the
 Keep depends on the number of your troops at the Keep and the initial
 strength of the defender. The Keep cannot be destroyed by siege weapons.

 In tactical combat, each division of your army, along with the siege weapons,
 has specific battle purposes.

 The Infantry is your ground force. They are most proficient at hand-to-hand
 combat and are useful for capturing the Keep of a Castle. They can also
 attack doors and climb Castle walls.

 The Archers are best at long range attacks and weakest at hand-to-hand
 fighting. They are superb for Castle battles when perched on the walls, and
 they can also attack Castle doors and climb walls. The higher they are, the
 farther their effective range.

 The Knights are fast on open terrain, slow elsewhere, strong at hand-to-hand,
 and they can attack Castle doors but cannot climb walls.

 The Catapult and the Ballista are used to knock down Castle walls and create
 breaches. They have limited movement. The Ballista is the weaker of the two.
 The Siege Tower transports Infantry to the top of outer Castle walls,
 avoiding the arrows of defending Archers. This weapon is slow but quite
 powerful. None of the siege weapons are used in field battles.

 POLITICAL FUNCTIONS

 Political tasks are those which allow you to learn about opponents'
 territories and those which determine your relations with your opponents.
 Both the Scout and Spy tasks are considered Political tasks. The other
 Political functions are: dispatching a Diplomat to improve relations with
 foreign territories or the Pope, sending a Merchant to trade goods, improving
 your happiness level, and summoning a council to inform you of any threats to
 your realm as well as the Pope's relations with all the players.

 THE RELATIONS RATING SYSTEM

 Your Relations with your opponents, the Pope, and the happiness level of your
 people are measured on a nine point scale. Relations of 8 or 9 represent a
 close alliance, and better trading opportunities with that faction. Relations
 of 1 or 2 represents a state of war, with much higher chances of being
 sabotaged or attacked by that faction.

 Relations can be improved by Diplomatic (Political) tasks, accepting the
 other faction's Diplomatic missions, and performing actions within the
 plot-lines that will make other leaders happy.

 Relations will be reduced by attacking a faction, having your spies and
 saboteurs caught by them, attacking their allies, and by performing actions
 within the plot-lines that will not please them. The levels of these ratings
 are displayed in the message window after clicking on the Relat button.

 THE POPE

 Since the Pope is the only one who can declare you King, it stands to reason
 that maintaining favourable relations with him are extremely important. Your
 relations with the Pope can sometimes be improved if you send a Diplomat and
 offer Gold as a show of good faith. If you let your relations with the Pope
 slip to 2 or lower, you will be excommunicated. When this happens, you can no
 longer trade with anyone or send further Diplomatic missions to the Pope. The
 only way to improve relations with the Pope after being excommunicated is to
 cede one of your territories to him. When you do this, your rating will
 improve by three points.

 To cede a territory, click on that territory and click again on the Cede
 option. If you cede a territory to the Pope that has a Castle built on it,
 your relations with the Pope will improve by four points. You may cede a
 territory to the Pope even if you are not excommunicated. In that case,
 however, you will only improve your relations by one point with no Castle,
 and two points if you cede a territory with a Castle.

 You cannot cede a territory to the Pope if it is adjacent to one he already
 owns.

 HAPPINESS

 Your Happiness level represents the morale of both your people and your army.
 If you let your Happiness level drop too low, you risk the possibility of
 rebellion. To improve your Happiness, you can employ the Happiness task,
 which requires 2 Political points, 1 Food, 1 Timber, and 1 Gold. Completion
 of this task boosts the happiness of your people by one point.

 If you attack someone and lose, your Happiness will decrease. If you are
 attacked and lose, your Happiness may or may not decrease. If you are
 attacked and win, however, your Happiness will increase.

 Your happiness will also decrease when you are Policing your Realm. When you
 Police the Realm, the people are placed under constant scrutiny and they will
 not appreciate the burdens and accusations that will be directed at them by a
 vigilant government. One way to avoid the discontent of the people is to
 simultaneously improve Happiness while you are Policing the Realm.

 SCOUTING

 It is recommended that before you attack a territory or send a saboteur, you
 should scout that territory to be sure you know who owns it. Scouting tells
 you who holds a territory, the commodity present, and if there is a Castle in
 that territory.

 The scouting task requires 1 Political point. To initiate it, click on the
 territory that you wish to scout, and then click again on Scout when it
 appears in the message window.

 It is a good idea to Scout a territory more than once, especially before
 attacking it, as territories can change ownership rapidly.

 SPYING

 Where scouting provides you with information about one of your opponent's
 territories, the Spy task can provide you with information about his entire
 realm. This task requires a Political rating of at least 3, and an
 expenditure of at least 2 of those points and 1 Gold.

 When you decide to use the Spy function, click on one of the opponent's
 territories and then click again on the Spy button that will appear in the
 message window. If a spy is successful, you will learn the number of
 territories that a particular player holds, the whereabouts of those
 territories, how big his army is, and the Happiness of his people.

 However, if that player happens to be Policing the Realm at the time that you
 send a spy, your chances for success are greatly reduced. If that player
 captures your spy, relations with him will drop.

 MERCHANTS

 When you want to increase the amount of a commodity, but you do not have the
 capability to gather it at that particular time or do not want to risk a
 transaction on the Black Market, the Merchant task can be quite useful.

 You can send a Merchant to trade with an opponent or the Pope. Your Merchant
 will have the best chance of success if you have good relations with the
 territory with which you are trading. The chances for a successful trade can
 also be improved if you apply a high number of Political points toward this
 task. To start the Merchant task, click on the territory with which you want
 to trade. A Merchant button will now appear in the message window. This task
 requires that you have a Political Rating of at least 3 points and expend at
 least 2 of them.

 DIPLOMATS

 If you desire to improve relations with any other player or the Pope, you can
 send them Diplomats. This function requires a Political Rating of at least 3,
 and an expenditure of at least 2 of those points and 1 Gold. Like the
 Merchant task, the number of Political points that are applied can increase
 the chances for successful diplomacy. The Diplomat is dispatched to a foreign
 territory with the intent of offering ar requesting Gold to improve
 relations. If the Diplomat succeeds, your relations with that territory will
 improve by one point. The Diplomat can also be used to request Gold from a
 territory with which you hold favourable relations, thereby improving your
 economy.

 As soon as the requirements are met for a Diplomat task, the option will
 appear in the message window after the Relat button is accessed. To engage
 the task, click on the Diplomat button next to the ruler with whom you wish
 to interact. Options for negotiation will now appear in the message window.
 Click on the arrows until you achieve the desired range of negotiations you
 want your Diplomat to propose. You will have the option here to declare the
 amount of Gold that you are offering (or requesting). You can also propose an
 ally treaty with the leader. When you finish your proposal, click OK and the
 Diplomat will be sent.

 COUNCIL

 Summoning a Council provides you with information gathered by the members of
 your executive council. It is basically a status report of the entire realm.

 Upon completion, this task informs you of each player's rank, status with the
 Pope and informs you if any of the territories that you hold are near
 rebellion. This option will be found in the message window after clicking on
 the Relat button as long as its minimum requirements are satisfied. To summon
 a council you need to expend 3 Political points, 1 Food, and 1 Gold.

 When this task is finished, the results will appear in the form of a chart in
 the message window. This chart will display a list of all the players, in
 order of strength.

 If a player has a rating of 8 or 9 he is considered Blessed in the eyes of
 the Pope. Below the ratings, the status of the territories of your realm will
 be indicated (if any of them might be near rebellion in the near future).

 WINNING THE GAME

 Your score is displayed on the Message Window door at the lower right of the
 screen. When you have achieved a score of at least 7,000 points, you earn the
 opportunity to petition the Pope to name you King.

 To petition the Pope, you must click on the Claim button when it appears in
 the Relations menu. After you have petitioned the Pope, you must keep your
 point total above 7,000. If you maintain that point total for approximately
 4-5 computer months, you will be named King and the game will be over.

 Making a claim to the throne does not make you popular with the other
 players, however. Claiming the throne will cause an immediate drop in
 relations with other factions, and even those who were friendly with you
 before your claim, may choose to attack you rather than risk losing the
 throne.


                         "Other Features Of Castles II"

 MESSAGES/PLOTS

 Periodically, during the course of play, you will be visited by messengers
 who will appear in the message window with news and information. Some of
 these Plots will test your ability as a leader and as a Diplomat.

 You will be asked to resolve a variety of situations and you will be given
 several options with which to do so. The plots can drastically affect your
 fortunes, both good and bad. You may make new friends, or enemies, that can
 help, or hinder, your efforts to claim the throne of Bretagne.

 You may have to deal with problems from outside Bretagne. You may also find
 treasures, deal with disasters, and be forced to make crucial alliances.

 FILM CLIPS

 Occasionally movie clips will appear in the message window at various moments
 during the game. When, for example, you are preparing to attack, the main
 window will sometimes feature a few seconds of a digitised film image of
 troops preparing for battle.

 There are several film clips which have been chosen for specific situations
 that arise during game play.

 This feature can be turned on or off at the beginning of the game.

 OPTIONS

 The Options button is located on the Main Game Screen just above the message
 window. Here you will be able to turn tactical battles on or off, turn plots
 on or off, turn the music on or off, or quit the game. You will also be able
 to save a game and load a previously played game.

 To do this, click on one of these selections. After the file name appears,
 click on OK and your game will be saved or a past game will be retrieved,
 depending upon which function you have chosen.

 You may also press the Pause button to pause the game.

 CHRONOLOGY

 1302 - Philip IV called together the first Estates-General, the ancestor of
 the French Parliament.

 1309-1377 - The Avignon Papacy (the Popes were a succession of Frenchmen).

 1328-1350 - Reign of Philip VI (first of the Valois rulers).

 1337-1453 - The Hundred Years' War between England and France.

 1378-1417 - "The Great Schism" in the church (two Popes were chosen at the
 same time - one Roman and one French, causing great controversy).


                               "Player Profiles"
                          (Contenders for the Throne)

 EDWARD KING OF ALBION

 Albion has one of the strongest claims to the throne of Bretagne, dating back
 many generations. Edward is the son of the castle-building King in the
 original CASTLES. Edward is a strong ruler who attempts to be noble, but his
 self-righteousness gets in the way.

 Edward is married to Edna, but the marriage is a loveless one, and the two
 people despise each other. Edward would love to have Edna forcibly retired to
 a nunnery so he could remarry, but has not figured a way that he could do it
 without upsetting the nobles and putting Albion in turmoil. Edna looks to
 humiliate Edward at any chance she gets.

 Edward's attitude to:

 Charles Of Valois: An arrogant monster, and Edward's chief rival.

 Phillip Of Burgundy: A friend, but only from a distance. they both despise
 Charles of Valois. Not much personal integrity.

 Ramiro Of Aragon: Not to be trusted, but not an immediate threat. Ramiro is a
 King, and is more worthy of respect than a Duke or a Count.

 Henri Of Anjou: Pure contempt. Henri is an overgrown child with a monstrous
 mother.

 Pope Innocent Benedict: Indifference. Pope Innocent Benedict has never been
 fond of Albion.

 CHARLES COUNT OF VALOIS

 Charles is the cousin of Charles of Clossau, the late King of Bretagne. By
 family ties, Charles has the most solid claim to the throne. Of course, both
 Albion and Anjou would argue that the late King's claim to the throne was
 rather dubious.

 Charles is known for his arrogance. He makes no secret of his contempt for
 the other claimants to the throne; Politics is not his forte, but he is a
 formidable general. As a ruler, he tends towards oppressiveness and cruelty.
 His one peculiar oddity is his fondness for his hunting hounds, which he
 dotes on as if they were his grandchildren, and one in particular, a husky
 named Sasha.

 Charles's attitude to:

 Edward Of Albion: An insufferably self-righteous egotist. Mutual enmity
 exists between the two.

 Phillip Of Burgundy: A fawning Politician, and the chief thorn in his flesh.
 Phillip is a lying, cheating swine.

 Ramiro Of Aragon: Charles doesn't know him well enough to hate him, but won't
 trust him.

 Henri Of Anjou: Pure contempt. Henri is an overgrown child with a monstrous
 mother.

 Pope Innocent Benedict: Charles wants to cultivate a good relationship with
 the Pope, and use the Church's support to turn Bretagne into a European power
 that will rival the Empire of the Teutons.

 PHILLIP DUKE OF BURGUNDY

 Phillip is the pampered son of a foppish Duke, and acts like it. He prefers
 to present a good face wherever possible, letting his retainers do his dirty
 work. His claim to the throne is extremely weak; he simply intends to grab
 whatever power he can get. Phillip is caught between the Politics of Bretagne
 and the Holy Teuton Empire, to which Burgundy owes its fealty. Phillip has
 only one talent, and that is diplomacy. He knows what people want to hear,
 and he will tell them that. People like him because he makes them feel good.
 He does not, however, follow his words with deeds.

 Phillip is also a habitual womaniser, a habit that has gotten him in trouble
 on more than one occasion.

 Phillip's attitude to:

 Edward Of Albion: An enemy of his enemy is his friend. If Edward were to
 obtain the throne, it's likely that Burgundy's power would increase.

 Charles Of Valois: An insufferably self-righteous egotist. Mutual enmity
 exists between the two.

 Ramiro Of Aragon: Phillip doesn't know what to make of him.

 Henri Of Anjou: How can you respect a man who has not yet entered puberty?

 Pope Innocent Benedict: Phillip does not appreciate the Church's teachings
 against womanising, but can usually talk his way out of trouble. The Church
 is an organisation to exploit or to ignore, whatever is most convenient.

 RAMIRO KING OF ARAGON

 King Ramiro Of Aragon is not so much power-hungry as he is greedy. He has no
 legitimate claim to the the throne of Bretagne; he simply wishes to get as
 much wealth as he can during Bretagne's civil war. He is cool and controlled,
 and addicted to work. He is a shadowy figure who works behind the scenes,
 although he can be quite extravagant when he wants to flaunt his wealth. At
 present, Aragon's neighbour Castile is undergoing a civil war, and the Moors
 are making their presence known in the South of Aragon. Ramiro believes that
 by taking the Gold-rich provinces of Bretagne during their moments of
 weakness, he can fight the Moors, annex Castile (regaining land that his
 father lost in the process), and make his treasury wealthy beyond the dreams
 of men. He keeps his goals to himself; not even his most trusted advisors are
 sure about his plans.

 Ramiro's attitude to:

 Edward Of Albion: As a fellow King, Edward demands more respect than other
 claimants to the throne - until he gets in his way.

 Charles Of Valois: Charles has the right temperament to be King, he just
 flaunts himself too much. A King should be cruel and arrogant, but they
 should have some capacity for subtlety.

 Phillip Of Burgundy: He's not close enough to really worry about. As a
 Political weasel, he might be easy to manipulate.

 Henri Of Anjou: He's a fool, and a fool, handled properly, is the best friend
 you could possibly have.

 Pope Innocent Benedict: Aragon is a deeply religious land, but the Pope is
 not much of a factor in Ramiro's plans, and the two men dislike each other.

 HENRI DUKE OF ANJOU

 A relation of both Edward of Albion and Charles of Valois, Henri despises
 them both. His claim to the throne is as good as Edward's. Henri would rather
 not be King; he would rather laugh and sing in the garden, but his mother,
 Marie, wants him to become King. Marie is the real power in Anjou. Long ago,
 Marie was in love with Edward of Albion, and they were betrothed, but the
 late king Charles forbid the marriage for Political reasons. Marie was
 furious when Edward married Queen Edna, and vowed revenge. All of her life
 has been spent manipulating Anjou into grabbing control of Bretagne and
 destroying Albion.

 Henri's attitude to:

 Edward Of Albion: He's too self-important. Henri secretly admires some of
 Edward's more noble qualities, but hides that admiration behind jealousy and
 spite.

 Charles Of Valois: Charles insults Henri. Henri doesn't like to be insulted.
 He doesn't like Charles.

 Phillip Of Burgundy: Henri likes what he says, doesn't trust what he does.
 He's also jealous that Phillip is more popular than he is.

 Ramiro Of Aragon: Who knows what's really on his mind? Mother doesn't trust
 him.

 Pope Innocent Benedict: He's the Pope. God says your supposed to love the
 Pope, right, mother?

 POPE INNOCENT BENEDICT

 Driven from Rome and into exile in Bretagne, Innocent Benedict is still the
 most respected figure in Christendom. The Pope wishes to regain the Papal
 States from his adversary, Anti-Pope Christopher. He wants to see a strong
 leader emerge from the Bretagnese civil war and help him regain his lands,
 and restore the schism that has affected Christianity. Although the Empire
 was largely responsible for his exile, he hopes to make amends with them and
 destroy any support for the Anti-Pope.


                                "Foreign Powers"

 HOLY TEUTON EMPIRE ("The Empire")

 Bordering on the east of Bretagne is the Empire of the Teutonic Princes, also
 known as the Holy Teuton Empire. This Empire is an alliance of dozens of
 quarrelling dukes and princes, held together by Emperor Louis, an aging
 Bavarian Prince who is tiring of interminable wars and Politics. The Empire
 is currently engaged in conflict against the Saracens in the East, and is
 allied with the Hungarians and the Venetians. Their chief goal is to keep
 Constantinople, which is governed by the Empire's puppet, from falling to the
 Saracens, which would cut off the extremely lucrative Eastern trade routes
 currently controlled by the Empire. The Empire is always willing to help a
 friend - for a price.

 THE DANES

 East of Flanders, the Danes control the northern seas. Once home to the
 fierce Vikings, the Danes are considered to be a civilised people; they want
 control of the Channel and all shipping in the North, in the hopes of
 becoming a major European power; this ambition has set them in conflict with
 Albion, Valois, Flanders and the Empire.

 ITALY

 South of Bretagne are the great Italian city-states: Venice, Genoa, Milan,
 and Rome. They have become formidable places of commerce, home to many of
 Europe's most prosperous merchants and moneylenders, and ruled by extravagant
 Dukes, Counts, and Princes. They are almost always at war with each other,
 and bear little love for either Bretagne or the Empire, except for alliance
 of convenience, of course.

 CASTILE

 This neighbour of Aragon took a great deal of land from them in a war thirty
 years ago, and King Ramiro has been trying to get it back ever since he came
 to the throne. Ramiro engineered the civil war that is currently wrecking
 Castile, what the King of Aragon did not count on was the ruthlessness of the
 leaders and factions in this war - he has been unable to get the land he had
 been hoping to grab.


                       "Some Bretagnese Personalities"

 QUEEN CATHERINE

 The widow of the late King Charles, Queen Catherine was considered "the power
 behind the throne" for many years in Bretagne. Undoubtedly she, and her
 doting brother Count Merose, will want some say in who rules Bretagne, as
 well as guarantees of personal security.

 ARINSEAULT

 This philosopher/demagogue is a hero of the Paris Mob, and considered one of
 the most cunning philosophers in Europe. His support would be an asset to
 anyone who obtains it, although his eccentric nature can be irritating, and
 he does have many enemies.

 BISHOP WINSLOW

 The most conservative cleric in Bretagne. It is sometimes said that he still
 objects to the Bible being written in Latin instead of Aramaic. Winslow is
 troublesome to deal with, even for the other clergy in Bretagne.

 SIR PERCY OF NARBONNE

 An old friend of many of the claimants to the throne, Percy is something of a
 fop, although one with considerable brains and determination. He is noted for
 his dislike of violence and his protectiveness of the people of Narbonne.

 DUKE FRANCIS OF BOURBON

 Although not a claimant for the throne, Duke Francis has one of the largest
 armies in Bretagne, and an extremely independent attitude. The Duke of
 Bourbon would rather die than offer fealty to another man, and will do his
 best to demonstrate Bourbon's independence to any would-be ruler of Bretagne.

 Becoming King in CASTLES II demands careful planning and resource management.
 Here are a few hints from the experts to help you meet these challenges.

 THE ARMCHAIR STRATEGIST'S GUIDE

 Becoming a King in CASTLES II demands careful planning and resource
 management. It also requires a clear understanding of the rules of the game.
 This document provides a detailed explanation of how to play the game and
 surmount the obstacles that will be placed before you.

 WARNING: This guide offers specific hints and playing techniques for
 CASTLES II. Players who prefer to learn the subtleties of the game on their
 own should not read beyond this Artificial Intelligence section of this
 document.

 GENERAL PLAYING HINTS

 Some subtle aspects of CASTLES II may be lost in a first reading of the
 manual. These few pointers may make your first experience with the game much
 more pleasent:

 1. Use the right mouse button to speed up the clock while waiting for an
 event to occur. This works in both the Strategic and Tactical modes.

 2. Defending Military forces are always approximately one-half the size of a
 player's total Military force. The number of soldiers that a terrritory can
 muster in its defence, in other words, is based on the total size the army
 owned by the controlling player. To be precise, the number of each type of
 unit is equal to one-half of the number of such units in the player's army,
 rounding up. For example, a player with three Infantry and five Archers would
 defend with two Infantry and three Archers.

 The defender still has an edge, however. The strength of each individual
 defensive unit is adjusted upward slightly to account for the defender's
 superior knowledge of the terrain. The defender also gets to choose where the
 battle will be fought. This offers a significant advantage to the clever
 player. Finally, the attacker will have a very difficult time winning unless
 the odds are greater than 2:1 in its favour (this includes morale, which is
 not immediately measurable, just as in real life).

 The battle system works both ways: when you are attacked, you defend with
 half your forces. If you lose the battle you may then launch a retaliatory
 attack on the other player, who will defend with half or whatever forces
 remain after the first attack. Also remember that every unit lost to either
 player removes one unit of that type from the player's forces. However, since
 the defender only fields an army half the size of its total force, it can
 never be wiped out in a single battle. The attacker, however, can be
 completely eliminated by a solid defender. A counterattack after such a rout
 is usually devastating to the once-proud aggressor.

 The intent of this design is to encourage back-and-forth skirmishing. It also
 places the greatest risk of loss on the player who has the most to gain - the
 attacker. The design applies to both the computer players and the human
 players; they abide by exactly the same rules. This includes the rule which
 provides at least one Infantry and one Archer to a player with no Military
 forces. We assume that any territory - Human or Computer - is capable of
 offering some defence to an attacker, however meagre.

 3. Your army's morale is based on the Happiness of your people. Battles may
 be won and lost solely on morale. It has a very strong effect on the outcome.
 Be sure to keep your Happiness at least as high as that of your neighbours.

 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

 CASTLES II employs two sophisticated, multi-level artificial intelligence
 engines for the computer players - one for Strategic mode, another for
 Tactical mode. Only the Strategic AI is discussed in this analysis.

 The Strategic AI consists of medium-level and high-level portions. Actions
 are initiated through the same task mechanism used by the human players. In
 fact, the AI players were tested by letting one of them run the game in place
 of the human, even displaying results on the same user interface.

 CASTLES II was exhaustively playtested for six months. Every aspect of the
 gameplay was critiqued and fine-tuned. This was an especially complex task
 for the artificial intelligence routines. Many of the AI algorithms were
 rewritten several times until they became satisfyingly realistic.
 Fortunately, the computer players use the same tasks as the humans. The
 tuning factors were based on empirical adjustments derived from actual human
 playtesters. The result is a series of opponents who play at a level
 equivalent to that of an expert human player. The Easy and Impossible
 difficulty levels in the game were created by adjusting delicately more than
 a dozen factors in the playing style of each opponent.

 The medium-level AI maintains appropriate levels of commodities and Military
 forces, and ensures the safety and security of the kingdom. It issues Gather
 and Recruit tasks whenever it decides to increase its Military strength. The
 medium-level AI can send Merchants (this is a good way to find out if a
 computer player is experiencing a shortage of a given resource, by the way).
 The medium-level AI also starts a Happiness task when the peoples' morale
 drops, sends Scouts to neighbouring territories, and Polices the Realm if it
 is being Sabotaged or Spied upon.

 The medium-level AI does not think very often. During playtesting, this AI
 was found to be extremely agile in its response to changing conditions in the
 game - far more agile, in fact, that any reasonable thinking was reduced to
 compensate for this. One other adjustment was made. Since the computer
 players do not get the benefit of plots or random events, which give
 "freebies" to the human player, the AI were given the ability to obtain one
 unit of a given resource if no units are available in their stockpiles and
 the computer wants to run a task that requires that item. This also
 compensates partially for problems which arise due to their reduced frequency
 of thinking. This only applies if they are completely out of that commodity.
 The computer players cannot pile up large stocks of goods in this manner.
 Also, they do not possess this special ability at the Easy difficulty level.

 The high-level AIs handle the more complex thinking in the game. They use a
 modified version of a traditional AI approach to prioritisation of their
 various options. This keeps them from becoming locked into simple patterns of
 action. Attack, Build Castle, Saboteur, Spy and Diplomat are high-level AI
 tasks. The computer evaluates each task based on a large number of variables.
 It may decide to attack a particular territory because it contains a
 commodity that is in short supply, or it may back off if it finds a Castle
 there. It weighs all of the possibilities and chooses the one which is the
 best means of achieving its goals.

 STARTING THE GAME

 At the beginning of the game, your focus should be on grabbing territory.
 This cannot be done in a haphazard manner, though. Your most important goals
 should be:

 1. Build a solid, defensible perimeter.
 2. Possess all four types of resources.
 3. Crank your economy up to top speed as soon as possible.

 Most of the players begin in one corner or another of the map. The best
 strategy for these players is to aim for an initial size of five or six
 territories. Conquer a few immediately, preferably by building a "wall" of
 territories that you own, behind which may be a few that you do not yet own
 but are inaccessible to the other players (the other players cannot
 "leapfrog" and get to them). Then, conquer these other territories.

 Territories will revolt if not subjugated by a show of force. You must
 therefore begin to build Castles once you control four or five territories.
 Try to build just one Castle, preferably in a territory which borders every
 other territory that you own. If you are fortunate, or have planned well, the
 territory in which you build the Castle will have Gold as a resource. Make
 sure that your Castle is at least 100 points strong, so that it will prevent
 revolts in all neighbouring territories. The Castle will not prevent revolts
 until it reaches an appropriate level of completion. Be sure to start
 construction early enough to ensure that your people will not revolt before
 the Castle reaches this critical size. One good way to speed up the
 construction process is to skip the moat: it slows the construction process
 significantly.

 Politics also plays a critical role in the game, even at this early stage.
 Make sure your people are happy. Make sure that the Pope likes you. And try
 to keep your enemies at bay by buying them off occasionally until you can
 become strong enough to fight them effectively.

 TOUGH CHOICES

 Once you have your initial territories under control, you may choose any one
 of several approaches to the game. The game can be won through Military
 conquest, Administrative power, or Political expertise, although the obvious
 Military approach is the easiest. Make a decision now as to how you wish to
 proceed, and stick to it as long as possible.

 The game will place far more demands on your resources than they can support.
 You must decide whether to make your people happy, build alliances with your
 neighbours, build Castles, or build a dominant Military force. Your basic
 strategy choice will determine which of these will be emphasised.

 There are a few general pointers that apply to any strategy. Keep these in
 mind and you will always be in control - as much as possible, anyhow. And,
 lest you think that these pointers are not important, just remember that the
 other players ARE using them.

 1. Use every ability point you have. Even if you are not running a Military
 task, for example, apply the otherwise unused Military ability points to
 another task, such as Gather. This will serve the dual purpose of increasing
 the speed of the gather task and giving you the extra push towards raising
 your ability rating. Your Military ability will not increase as quickly as if
 you were running Military tasks, but any contribution in the right direction
 is helpful.

 2. Stay friendly with the Pope. Monitor your relations regularly. Remember
 that attacking a friend of the Pope (noted be the word "Blessed" next to that
 player's name in the Council display) will cause your relations with the Pope
 to decrease by one point. It is very easy, therefore, to become
 excommunicated through carelessness.

 3. Stay friendly, or at least on neutral terms (Relations of 4 to 6), with
 your neighbours. The better your relations with them, the less likely they
 are to attack or sabotage you. Also, your Merchants are likely to get better
 deals if they are dealing with friendly parties.

 4. Maintain a reasonable army size. Make it too small, and your neighbours
 may attack when their spies discover that you are a weakling. Make it too
 large, and the maintenance costs will drag down your economy.

 5. Send Diplomats to "buy off" enemies who are attacking you. They remember
 friendly actions and are less likely to attack if they have reached a
 Diplomatic agreement recently. Unfortunately, they cannot recall armies who
 are already in the process of attacking, so your Diplomat may be too late to
 be effective. Also, enemies remember your hostile acts even longer than they
 remember the nice ones.

 6. Think in terms of small campaigns. Before launching attacks, pick a small
 number of territories to capture, build up your army and then go. Don't bite
 off more than you can chew! After grabbing a couple of provinces, consolidate
 your gains, rebuild your army and erect Castles for defence. Never get
 greedy, as an overextended empire crumbles very quickly!

 7. Always harvest your resources. You will use them up very rapidly as
 everything you do costs money and/or goods. Try to resist building a Castle
 until your Administrative Rating hits 5, allowing you a second task in that
 category. Then keep harvesting as you build.

 8. If you don't have a good mix of commodities in the territories you own,
 you can still have a good economy. Try to harvest the commodity you have the
 most of and then trade them for what you need. You'll need good relations
 with a trading partner to pull this off, but it works well when you don't
 have access to Iron and Gold. Always remember that the black market is risky,
 but it can help bail you out of tight situations.

 MILITARY MIGHT

 Many players initially try to win the game through brute Military force.
 Unfortunately, being a leader means more than having the largest army. You
 must also make friends with those who can be most helpful to you. You must
 choose your enemies carefully. And you must manage your realm well enough
 that it does not vanish in a sudden spate of revolts. The following hints
 should assist the determined militarist:

 1. Obtain Knights as soon as possible. Build up a Miltary Ability Rating of 6
 by recruiting and attacking. Don't Police your Realm unless it's essential.
 Take a risk in order to build up your forces more rapidly.

 2. Build just enough Castles to prevent revolts. You can build them without
 moats if your in a big hurry.

 3. Make sure that you have plenty of Iron and Wood initially, so that you can
 build a big army. Then make sure that you have plenty of Food and Gold to pay
 for these forces. If you lose them due to failure to pay, you may very well
 lose the game.

 4. Choose your armies carefully. Only attack one at a time. Trying to conquer
 two at once will almost certainly end in disaster. Send plenty of Diplomats
 to the other player to keep him off your back. Besides, you can get better
 trading terms with that player until you're ready to attack.

 5. Ambush a weak opponent. Call a Council and see who is at war with whom.
 Then attack a neighbour who is busy fighting someone else.

 6. Don't attack Blessed players unless you have no other choice. The Pope
 will cause you a great deal of grief. You should never need to be
 excommunicated.

 ADMINISTRATIVE ACUMEN AND POLITICAL PROWESS

 CASTLES II may also be won through Administrative might and Diplomatic savvy.
 A player with six well-chosen territories and many Castles can prosper and
 win without spending enormous amounts of effort on Military campaigns.

 1. The key to an Administrative victory is maintaining the happiness of your
 people and becoming allies with the other players. Run Happiness tasks and
 send plenty of Diplomats to your neighbours.

 2. Focus on obtaining Gold territories. You will need Gold to buy off your
 neighbours and the Pope.

 3. Build a moderate-sized standing army. If your neighbours suspect that you
 have a small army they are more likely to attack you. Remember that losses
 affect the attacker more than the defender (since the defender will never
 lose more than half his army in any given battle), so you can do a great deal
 of damage to someone who dares attack you.

 4. If you get attacked, send Diplomats. If relations improve, your opponent
 will temporarily be less willing to attack again. Keep up a steady stream of
 Diplomats and you may be able to avert a second attack.

 5. Send lots of Merchants and Diplomats. Political Ability points are the
 most difficult to achieve, but you will have plenty of time to get them since
 you will be spending fewer resources on Military actions.

 6. When other players like you a lot (Relations of 8 or 9), trade will be
 more advantageous. You can actually make a profit on trade if you work hard
 at it. Every unit in your stockpile puts you closer to victory.

 7. Don't forget that your friends will turn on you when you Claim. Relations
 will drop by one point with every other player. You will suddenly be the
 target of numerous Saboteurs and Attacks. Be prepared. Just before you claim,
 build up a substantial army with plenty of Knights and Archers.

 LONG TERM STRATEGY

 The goal of CASTLES II, ultimately, is to survive long enough to become King.
 Once you have established your initial fiefdom, it is time to put your
 overall strategy to the test. Focus on the elements that you deem most
 important, as noted above. We won't tell you how to win. There are many ways
 to win in CASTLES II, and part of the fun is in discovering them for
 yourself. However, a few general pointers for later in the game may be
 warranted:

 1. Build a buffer of extra points before you Claim. Once the other players
 get wind of your pending coronation, they will become increasingly aggressive
 toward you. Claiming reduces relations of all other players with you. This
 can pull you very rapidly into warfare. Make sure that the loss of points due
 to the drop in relations, plus the drops due to the attacks you will receive,
 will not be so severe that the Pope decides to reject your claim.

 2. Deciding when to Claim is a tricky decision. If you are the first to try,
 everyone will take their shot at knocking you down. Waiting for someone else
 to claim first is a tricky path to follow because you might not have enough
 time or power to knock him down, and, if more players claim in the meantime,
 it'll turn into a free-for-all. (Actually that becomes quite a fun end game
 to be involved in. Maybe that's not such a bad idea after all!)


                             "Administrative Tasks"

 HARVEST GRAIN

 Harvesting Grain requires an expenditure of at least one Administrative Point
 per Grain territory harvested. If a Castle is present in a Grain territory,
 an additional Administrative Point must be spent to gain the additional
 Grain.

 CUT TIMBER

 Cutting Timber requires an expenditure of at least one Administrative Point
 per Timber territory harvested. If a Castle is present in a Timber territory,
 an additional Administrative Point must be spent to gain the additional
 Timber.

 MINE IRON

 Mining Iron requires an expenditure of at least one Administrative Point per
 Iron territory mined. If a Castle is present in an Iron territory, an
 additional Administrative Point must be spent to gain the additional Iron.

 REFINE GOLD

 Refining Gold requires an expenditure of at least one Administrative Point
 per Gold territory refined. If a Castle is present in a Gold territory, an
 additional Administrative Point must be spent to gain the additional Gold.

 BUILD CASTLE

 Building a Castle requires a minimum Administrative Rating of 3. At least 2
 Administrative Points must be assigned to the task and, in addition, 1 Grain,
 3 Timber, 1 Iron, and 2 Gold must be spent.


                                "Military Tasks"

 POLICING THE REALM

 Policing the Realm requires an expenditure of at least one Military Point.
 While this task is running, all other tasks run at a higher efficiency and
 the chances of catching spies and saboteurs goes up. At the completion of
 this task the Happiness Level of the people goes down one point.

 RECRUIT INFANTRY

 Recruiting Infantry requires an expenditure of at least one Military Point
 and, in addition, one Iron is spent to arm the troops and one Gold is spent
 as a recruitment bonus. Upon completion of the task, one Infantry unit is
 added to the army.

 RECRUIT ARCHERS

 Recruiting Archers requires a minimum Military Rating of 2. At least one of
 those Military Points must be spent on the task in addition to a cost of one
 Timber to equip the Archers with bows and arrows and one Gold as a
 recruitment bonus. Upon completion of the task, one Archer unit is added to
 the army.

 RECRUIT KNIGHTS

 Recruiting Knights requires a minimum Military Rating of 6. At least one of
 those Military Points must be spent on the task in addition to the cost of
 one Grain for feeding the Knight, his horse, and retinue. One Iron must also
 be spent to armour the Knight and one Gold must be paid as a recruitment
 bonus. Upon completion of the task, one Knight is added to the army.

 BUILD BALLISTA

 Building a Ballista requires a minimum Military Rating of 5. At least 4 of
 those Military Points must be spent on the task. In addition, one Timber and
 one Iron must be used to construct the Ballista and one Gold must be spent to
 pay for its construction. Upon completion of the task, one Ballista is added
 to the army. An army can only have one Ballista at a time.

 BUILD CATAPULT

 Building a Catapult requires a minimum Military Rating of 6. At least 5 of
 those Military Points must be spent on the task. In addition, one Timber and
 one Iron must be used to construct the Catapult and one Gold must be spent to
 pay for its construction. Upon completion of the task, one Catapult is added
 to the army. An army can only have one Catapult at a time.

 BUILD SIEGE TOWER

 Building a Siege Tower requires a minimum Military Rating of 7. At least 6 of
 those Military Points must be spent on the task. In addition, one Timber and
 one Iron must be used to construct the Siege Tower and one Gold must be spent
 to pay for its construction. Upon completion of the task, one Siege Tower is
 added to the army. An army can only have one Siege Tower at a time.

 ATTACK

 Mounting an attack on a territory requires a minimum Military Rating of 2,
 and a Happiness Level of 3 or more. At least 2 Military Points must be spent
 on the task and one Iron must be used to equip the army. This task represents
 forming the troops, procuring necessary supplies, and marching the army to
 the territory to be attacked. You can only attack a territory adjacent to one
 of your own. Upon completion of this task, the army will be in a position to
 conduct an assault on the enemy.

 SABOTEUR

 Sending a Saboteur or band of Saboteurs to attack an enemy-held province
 requires a minimum Military Rating of 3. At least 2 of those Military Points
 must be spent on the task in addition to spending one Gold to pay the
 Saboteur(s). Successful completion of this task will cause the enemy's stocks
 to be depleted or some of his units to be demoralised and disbanded. If the
 enemy is Policing the Realm there is a good chance the Saboteur(s) will be
 caught. If a Saboteur is caught the enemy's relations with you will go down.


                               "Political Tasks"

 SCOUTING

 Scouting a territory requires an expenditure of at least one Political Point.
 Upon completion of the task, information concerning the province's commodity
 and ownership will become known. You can only Scout territory adjacent to one
 that you already own.

 SPY

 Sending a Spy requires a minimum Political Rating of 3. At least 2 Political
 Points must be spent on the task and one Gold must be paid to the Spy. Upon
 successful completion of this task, the player will be shown which
 territories he owns, how large an army he has, and what level of Happiness he
 has achieved. If the enemy is Policing the Realm there is a good chance the
 Spy will be caught. If a Spy is caught, the enemy's relations with you will
 go down.

 DIPLOMAT

 Sending a Diplomat to a player requires a minimum Political Rating of 3. At
 least 2 of those Political Points must be spent on the task as well as paying
 the Diplomat one Gold for expenses on his travels. When sent, the Diplomat is
 given a range of options to negotiate within. The more Political Points that
 are assigned to the task, the better the Diplomat will perform.

 MERCHANT

 Sending a Merchant to trade with another player requires a minimum Political
 Rating of 3. At least 2 of those Political Points must be spent on the task.
 You cannot trade with the Pope. When the Merchant is first sent, you decide
 what is offered and what is desired. The more Political Points that are
 assigned to the task, the better the chances of success. Good relations with
 the player you're attempting to trade with also help to get a better deal.

 HAPPINESS

 Raising the Happiness Level of your people requires an expenditure of at
 least 2 Political Points. In addition, one Grain must be spent to feed the
 people, one Timber must be used to construct public works, and one Gold must
 be distributed to the poor. Upon completion of this task your Happiness Level
 will go up by one.

 COUNCIL

 Calling a Council requires an expenditure of 3 Political Points. In addition,
 one Grain must be used to feed the council while in session, and one Gold
 must be spent to pay their travelling expenses. Successful completion of this
 task gives the player information about the players' rankings in the game,
 who is Blessed or Excommunicated, and which of your provinces are near
 revolt.


                              "CASTLES TASK CHART"

 Required to accomplish

 TASKS           Min. Admin   Min. Milit   Min. Polit   Grain Timber Iron Gold
                   Level/       Level/       Level/
                 Min. Points  Min. Points  Min. Points
                  To Apply     To Apply     To Apply

 ADMINISTRATIVE
 Harvest Grain        1
 Cut Timber           1
 Mine Iron            1
 Refine Gold          1
 Build Castle         3/2                                 1     3     1    2
 MILITARY
 Police Realm                      1
 Recruit Infantry                  1                                  1    1
 Recruit Archers                   2/1                          1          1
 Recruit Knights                   6/1                    1           1    1
 Build Ballista                    5/4                          1     1    1
 Build Catapult                    6/5                          1     1    1
 Build Siege Tower                 7/6                          1     1    1
 Attack Territory                  2/2°                               1

                  (°MIN.HAPPINESS OF 3)

 Send Saboteur                     3/2                                     1
 POLITICAL
 Send Scout                                     1
 Send Spy                                       3/2                        1
 Send Diplomat                                  3/2                        1
 Send Merchant                                  3/2
 Raise Happiness                                2/2       1     1          1
 Call Council                                   3/3       1                1

 TERRAIN KEY

 Shallow Water          Lt. Blue
 Med. Water             Med. Blue
 Deep Water             Dark Blue
 Grass                  Green
 Marsh                  Green/Brown
 Dirt                   Dark Brown
 Forest                 Dark Green
 Agriculture            Yellow/Grey
 Swamp                  Cyan
 Rocks                  Grey

 TERRAIN EFFECTS MOVING

 Infantry

 Grass/Dirt             OK
 Agriculture            Poor
 Rock                   Poor
 Forest                 Bad
 Water                  Bad
 Swamp                  Worst

 Archers

 Grass/Dirt             OK
 Agriculture            Poor
 Rock                   Poor
 Forest                 Bad
 Water                  Bad
 Swamp                  Worst

 Knights

 Grass/Dirt             Good
 Agriculture            Poor
 Water                  Bad
 Forest                 Worst
 Rock                   Worst
 Swamp                  Worst

 TERRAIN EFFECTS BATTLE

 Infantry Hand-To-Hand

 Grass/Dirt             OK
 Forest                 Poor
 Agriculture            Bad
 Rock                   Bad
 Water                  Bad
 Swamp                  Worst

 Archers Hand-To-Hand

 Forest                 Good
 Rock                   Good
 Grass/Dirt             OK
 Water                  Bad
 Swamp                  Bad
 Agriculture            Bad

 Knights Hand-To-Hand

 Grass/Dirt             Good
 Agriculture            Poor
 Water                  Poor
 Forest                 Worst
 Rock                   Worst
 Swamp                  Worst

 Defense Against Arrows

 Forest                 Good
 Rock                   OK
 Agriculture            OK
 Swamp                  Poor
 Grass/Dirt             Poor
 Water                  Bad

 SEASONAL EFFECTS

 During Winter months, certain tasks will run slower. Attacking Territories,
 Harvesting Grain and Cutting Timber will all take more time to complete.

 PLAYER COLOURS

 Anjou                  Blue
 Aragon                 Lt. Blue
 Burgundy               Gold
 Valois                 Red
 Albion                 Purple