For the serious board gamer without any friends
tTOP
Twice Yearly Wargame magazine that produces quite a few solitaire games. Click on the title for more details |
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(Avalon Hill) Still in print £37.95 (second edition - just out) |
ASL is a complex board game that simulates small unit actions during World War II. For the uninitiated, the game has over 150+ pages of rules and over 500 scenarios depicting different actions during the war. Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is a game of squad-level combat from World War II. Players command the forces of the various nations that participated in that war in "mini-games" called scenarios. These scenarios pit two opposing forces against each other in games in which each game turn equals two minutes of real time. The games are played on combinations of the 47 geomorphic mapboards. These mapboards have been designed to be placed against each other in any combinations to recreate the terrain of any battleground in the war. For full details visit the web site at -http://www.advancedsquadleader.com/ |
Playing time: Complexity Rating 10 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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Age of Heroes Renegade Mage 1997 |
Drakyre
is a world of Heroes, Monsters, Treasures and a whole lot more. Each deck of Age
of Heroes will be a full set of collectable cards which can be used to play a
solitaire or multi-player card game. The cards are divided into Heroes, Treasure and Monsters. Treasure is broken into Weapons and Armor and Spells and Items. Players receive a party of heroes and attempt to defeat the monsters, gaining treasure each time you defeat a monster. The game is essentially solitaire; you score based on how many defense points of monsters you beat divided by how many heroes you lost. In multi-player, you are fighting the same set of monsters and are competing to see who can score highest. |
Playing time: 15 mins Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Victory Games) Out of print 1984 |
You start to each "mission" (scenario) with a squad of 8 soldiers who have distinct capabilities (initiative, perception, weapon skill, driving skill) and an individual set of equipment, from rifle to hand grenades (and even a limited supply of ammunition clips). This is similar to a simple role-playing game. As (and if) your soldiers live through their adventures, they increase their skills, and they may buy new equipment at the start of each scenario. The mission briefing gives the objectives for that mission (victory conditions), and often additional rules or special equipment. The mapboards are printed on paper, not cardboard, so if you play very often you might consider to mount them yourself. They feature a 2-cm hex grid and colours that become ever brighter from module to module. Counters are the usual ½" and 3/8" cardboard counters. Fate is played by a couple of 10-sided dice. For full details visit the web site at - http://www.flyhi.de/games/ambush1.html |
Playing time: 2 - 4 hours Complexity Rating 5 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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AstroNavis Mechant Advanced (ANMA) (Wargamedownload.com $10 Printed 2005 |
AstroNavis Merchant Advanced is a solitaire freight shipping boardgame set on
the frontier of human space in the 2310s. Hoping to make your fortune, you've
traded everything you owned for an old, worn-out tramp freighter. You'll have to
take it beyond the relative safety of the Alliance worlds to the rough frontier
planets bordering alien Hovahlen space. It's a risky gambit, and making poor
choices in cargoes could result in losing everything, including the ship. Will a
corrupt port boss need to be bribed? Could expedited unloading/loading allow you
to move out ahead of schedule? Will picking up passengers or speculative cargoes
provide unexpected profits, or will smugglers or stowaways get you in trouble? |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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Printed 1981 Out of Print |
Barbarian Prince is a solitaire game of heroic adventure in a forgotten age of barbarism and sorcery. No opponent is necessary, as the Event Booklet takes you through a pre-programmed sequence of encounters which is different each time you play the game. For each event, you, as the Barbarian Prince Cal Arath, must make the decisions which will make your quest successful - or may cost you your life. Barbarian Prince is a new concept in Adventure Gaming. No rules reading is required; the programmed event sequence lets you begin play as soon as you open the box. Barbarian Prince contains - A full-color 12"x14" mapboard, a die, rules folder, Event Booklet, and summary sheet - and a detailed cast metal figure of the Barbarian Prince to mark your position on the board. |
Playing time: 3 hrs Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Wargamedownload.com) $3 In Print |
Barbarossa Solitaire |
Playing time: 30 mins Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(by Dan Verssen) Printed 2001 |
Crew-up your Paladin and set your jump vector for adventure! In this solitaire game an elite squadron of Paladin Class assault ships are under your command. Objective: Destroy an artifact battle platform while minimizing losses to your squadron. The automated platform will be firing deadly plasma bolts automatically and randomly. Avoid these while using your fusion guns to take out the platforms critical components before you are vaporized! This game can be downloaded free from the following website - http://www.battleplay.com/subpages/antilles.html |
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Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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Beyond
Solitaire (Panthean Books) 1976 Out of Print |
Contains six paper-and-pencil games
meant to be played by a single player, including Four Color, Pinball, Profit &
Loss, Mountains & Valleys, No Way, and Buried Treasure (which is not to be
confused with the later Sackson game of the same title that is a retheming of
Das Super-Blatt).
Part of a series of five paper-and-pencil game books, including _Beyond Competition_, _Beyond Solitaire_, _Beyond Tic Tac Toe_, _Beyond Words_, and _Calculate!_. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Task Force) Out of Print 1982 |
Boarding Party is a solitaire game of low complexity that pits human invaders against robots and computer-controlled defenses. The human player must penetrate the defenses of the automated space ship and destroy the computer center. Gameplay lasts fourteen turns. Human movement around the map of the ship is at a flat rate. The robot movement is controlled by die rolls. Automated defense is determined by a blind draw of chits. Combat is determined by dice rolls which are cross-referenced on tables. There are four levels of the ship with many automated hazards for the human player to survive. Replay value is limited, but there are additional rules for a second player to control the robots. The game consists of one rulebook, one mapsheet, and fort-five die-cut counters. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating : Low Playing time: Complexity Rating : Low (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Avalon Hill) 1983 Out of Print |
B-17 is designed as a solitaire game, pitting you and your crew against the German air defences. Your goal is to complete 25 missions and earn that ticket home. Each mission begins by selecting the target city. The B-17 marker is then moved across the strategic map board, zone by zone, from England to the target and back. In each zone however, there is the chance that enemy fighters will appear. Die rolls determine the number, type and position of the fighters. You must allocate defensive machine gun fire, hoping to knock down fighters or spoil their aim. After the bomber fires, the fighter's get their chance. Charts are consulted to determine if hits are made, where the damage is, and how serious. The Queen is an incredibly tough plane and can take a lot of punishment, but there is always the chance of that lucky hit that will bring her down. As the mission grinds on, you start to sweat - wounded crewmen, low ammunition, burned out engines, oil leaks and more enemy fighters *Didn't really enjoy this game at first. Decisions that you can make are very limited - but of course that's the whole idea - whether you survived or not was to a great extent dependent upon luck. |
Playing time: 15 minutes to 1 hour Complexity Rating 3 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(GMT Games) 2001 In Print $45
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With what is probably the most unusual entry in the Award Winning Great Battles of History series, Caesar in Alexandria challenges the best GBoH players out there by allowing them to conduct both land and naval operations at the same time, in this simulation of Julius Caesar's rather rash pas de deux with the Egyptians in 47 BC. Caesar and the Romans - the VI, XXVII, and XXXVII legions, lots of archers and auxiliaries, and a dangerous contingent of field artillery - control the center of the city, including the Palace and the Inner Harbor. The Egyptians - a mixture of heavy, medium, and light infantry, and a numerically superior galley fleet - control the Outer Harbor, the rest of the city, and all land approaches to it. The Romans must defend their city position and also take control of the Heptastadium, the bridge that connects the city to the island of Pharos and its lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Caesar in Alexandria combines GBoH with War Galley, with rules for bot h systems included. On land, the game is closer to Simple GBoH (which is not needed to play this), mostly because the form of warfare involved here: street-fighting. Caesar in Alexandria also uses the SGBoH command and activation system, which is what produces the large does of tension. Do you move legions to protect your inner defense, or do you continue to attack the town of Pharos to gain access to the Heptastadium? Do you transport land troops to the island, or do you move your battle galleys out to sea, around Pharos, and into the Outer Harbor to attack the Egyptian fleet? Each turn you can do only one, all the while your opponent is considering his several, difficult options. Because of this unique situation, Caesar in Alexandria is also a great multi-player game. |
Playing time: 5 hours Complexity Rating: 7 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Victory Games) 1990 Out of print |
In a nutshell this is a marvellously enjoyable solitaire game. Usually solitaire games aren't to my liking. It also is quite challenging, and winning is not that easy. I like this game and highly recommend it. In closing, it appears to be a very challenging and workable solitaire game. So far, I've nothing but praise for it. Review from Jim Grams (courtesy of Web Grognards) |
Playing time: Complexity Rating 6 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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Cataphract GMT Games 1999 |
Cataphract portrays the development of the art of war wrought by the early
Byzantine Empire, during the reign of Emperor Justinian, under his great
Generals, Belisarius and Narses. During this period the Byzantine Empire, also
known as the Eastern Roman Empire, for a brief period of time, re-captured a
large portion of what was formerly the Western Roman Empire. Although successful
in its attempts to reconquer Italy and North Africa, the Byzantine Empire's
resources were insufficient to hold on to its gains. This is a 1 - 2 player game |
Playing time: 3 hrs Complexity Rating 6 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Games Workshop) 1987 |
Strangely enough, Chainsaw Warrior is not a boardgame in the usual sense. The first striking fact is that it is a solitaire game. Furthermore, the gameboard is not used as a gameboard in the usual sense, but instead it is used as an overview and distribution space for all the playing pieces and the most important rules and tables. To my mind, Games Workshop has done rather well with this game. It is perfectly suitable for people who like to have a solitaire game now and then, and it offers a good and thrilling background story. Once a player has understood the functions of most of the cards (after 1 or 2 rounds), the game becomes rather fast-paced and is everything else but not boring. Already the kitting out of the Warrior is very nicely done, forcing the player to spend an allowance of equipment points on different item-categories and drawing random items. Together with the randomised attributes of the Warrior, no two games are alike. The game itself is totally card-based. A random stack of cards provides all the action, and most of the game consists of fighting against monsters and avoiding traps in order to stay alive and meet Darkness. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating 5 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Wargamedownload.com) $14.99 In Print |
Corsair
is based on the Hornet Leader II game system, and adds many flavorful changes
that bring out the unique feel of WWII combat in the Pacific. In this game, you
get to select a mix of 12 aircraft to command. You can select from F4U fighters,
SBD light bombers, B-25 medium bombers, and B-17 heavy bombers in your attempt
to win the Solomon Island campaign. There are two campaigns included, one for
the early Solomon campaign from late 1942 to mid-1943, and the late Solomon
campaign from mid-1943 to early 1944. Selecting a good set of aircraft at the start of the campaign, as well as sending the proper aircraft on each mission is vital to success. |
Playing time: 30 mins Complexity Rating 6 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(SPI) 1979 Out of print |
Fantasy game. Players take on the role of magicians who can conjure up Demons to fight their battles for them. Using their powers they search for treasure in Armenia. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating 5 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Omega Games) 1980s Out of print |
East Front Solitaire is a strategic, solitaire simulation of Germany's struggle on the Russian front during the Second World War. An innovative game system utilizing unique area movement rules and variable unit strengths accurately recreating the greatest land campaign in history. The German order of battle features infantry armies and panzer corps. German army group and panzer group headquarters are represented to provide vital logistical support to the player's combat units. Soviet forces are represented by fronts, shock armies, tank armies and garrisons. The Soviet forces are controlled by the game system. The rules governing the Soviet forces simulate an opponent without the complexity level of most solitaire simulations. Eastern Front Solitaire allows the player to concentrate on the strategies involved in invading and defeating the Soviet Union. Eastern Front Solitaire is both playable and challenging and was designed to be the ultimate solitaire game for eastern front gamers. |
Playing time: 1 + hours Complexity Rating 2 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Lambourne Games) In Print £16.95 |
This is a dice and chart game. Solo or Face-to-Face. Playing time 20 minutes. Individual Player Ratings and Team Ratings. Action controlled by a deck of Fast Action Cards - no playing board. Detailed 'commentary' provided for all the highlights. Emphasis placed on the one-to-one confrontations in a match. Comes complete with the English Premier 1999/2000. |
Playing time: 20 minutes Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Lambourne Games) In print £19.95 |
A soccer simulation, using a 'compressed time' system. Tactical formation changes have a major impact on play and the ebb and flow system ensuring that even unfancied teams have their share of the play. includes 1999/2000 English Premier and First Division, 1999/2000 Scottish Premier -- 1999/2000 Italian Serie 'A', and also the Euro 2000 championship Game Features · Accurate results - achieved by using the same Team Rating system as Soccer Replay. · Quick playing - no more than 20-30 mins per match. Smooth flowing play system - the use of Fast Action Cards and 3 separate Movement Plot Cards with a ten-sided die works very well with the play moving rapidly up and down the pitch. Quick and easy player identification. Tactical formation changes which really alter things - Team Ratings change whenever a non-standard formation is used. Fun to play yet capable of campaign use - with built in Injury (immediate and long-term) and Squad Rotation Rules for season-long campaigns. Capable of solo play yet supporting face-to-face.Full compatibility with Soccer Replay Team Cards and Extension Sets - the game uses a Midfield Rating in addition to team Attack and Defence Ratings, and a quick Conversion Table is provided to produce this from existing Team Cards. Much more than just goalmouth incidents - the pattern of a match clearly showing through, midfield battles for control, breakaways against the run of play, etc. Ebb and Flow concept - even lesser teams have their share of the action. Tactical changes and substitutions always available - often at the cost of handing the Initiative to your opponent. More goalkeeper involvement - their Ratings affecting their ability to bring off blinding saves, but also to fumble the odd shot or two. Comes complete with the 1999/2000 English Premier and 1st, Scottish Premier, and Italian Serie 'A' seasons, and also Euro 2000. |
Playing time: 20 - 30 minutes per match Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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Go Tell the
Spartans Against the Odds Vol 2 (Clash of Arms £24.99 |
Go Tell the Spartans is a solitaire game simulating the three day battle (August 18th, 480 BCE through August 20th, 480 BCE) for the pass at Thermopylae (the Hot Gates) between an immense Persian host under Xerxes and the a small Greek force dominated by Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. Being a solitaire game, the player is in the role of the Greek side "fighting a colossus of blind automata". | Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Lambourne Games) 1991 Still in print £15.95 |
A solo Formula 1 management game. Take over one of 13 two-car teams at the start of the 1995 season. Hire and fire drivers. Arrange Engine Testing sessions and contracts. Worry about Chassis Development and Tyre Contracts. Obtain Sponsorship. Sort out your long-term Finance. All before the first of the sixteen races gets under way! The race procedure is fast-playing (about 30 minutes per race) but takes into account all aspects of your cars, tyres, and drivers. You'll also need to ensure that your drivers react to your race tactics dictated from the safety of the pits. The other 24 cars in the race have tactics decided for them by the game system, but you'll have your work cut out with an ongoing series of decisions throughout the season. · Will you win the Constructors Championship? · Will you even win a race? · Or will the bank foreclose before the season ends? A recent add on - 2001 Formula One Season *Really enjoyed this game - see my favourites |
Playing time: 30 minutes per race Complexity Rating 5 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Lambourne Games) Still in print £14.95 |
Hillclimb puts you in the seat of a car in one of the six classes at the start of the new Brooklands Trophy hillclimb season. Eight cars to choose from, each with different gearing, top-speed and handling, and you drive them like a real car via gear changes, accelerating and braking, trying to find the quickest route up the ten hills featured. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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GMT Games 1991 Out of Print |
Hornet Leader is an exciting solitaire game that challenges you to command a squadron of F/A-18 Hornet strike-fighters in an almost endless variety of combat missions. From the decks of U.S. Navy carriers you lead your squadron against 26 different target types, from naval strikes and fleet air defense to fighter sweeps and ground attacks. As Squadron Commander, you must select the best team for each mission from the fifteen Naval or Marine aviators under your command (each of whom is rated for his own individuals skills and style). You must also decide how many of your F/A-18s will fly, the weapons each will carry, and how they will be used. |
Playing time: 30 mins Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Gregory Game Co) 2002
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A solitaire simulation of professional, college, and high school football based
upon actual statistical performances over theseason(s).
Our Stat-Based Football Games is similar to Statis-Pro Football than Strat-o-Matic Football or APBA Football because of the use of fast action cards instead of dice. Our games is simple a modified version of Statis Pro Football with enough changes to make our games unique. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Lambourne Games) Still in Print £22.95 |
Many athletes are rated and a formula is supplied to enable you to convert any Personal Best for any year into a Rating! Quick-playing, even for the longer distance events. Ideal for solo play. Based on an athlete's personal best for the season. Seven Fitness Levels. Fitness peaking and injuries. Special Event Cards for every event - men and women. The field events use a similar system to the track events but each event has its own special Event Card. Most field events cover three aspects, for example in the Long Jump the run up, the take off, and the jump are all considered separately. A conversion formula is provided to enable you to convert any Personal Best to a Rating. And there are seven fitness levels. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Task Force) 1980 Out of print |
This mini game pits the crew of a space station against an ever-growing, ever-hungry alien monstrosity. The problem (besides the obvious fact that something nasty is running amok) is that when the monster escaped, so did a bunch of lab animals, and there's no way of knowing which is which without putting crew members in danger. The longer you take to find the creature, the more powerful it becomes and the greater the likelihood that it will reproduce. Intruder is designed primarily as a solitaire game, and it works quite well for this purpose; lots of possible situations are covered by the rules, and there are enough random elements to prevent the game from becoming boring. Several suggested scenarios are provided for playing the game with multiple players, however, so the game isn't entirely restricted to single-player mode. This game has been out of print for a decade or two, but it's worth finding a copy of, especially if you're a fan of single-player gaming. |
Playing time: 1 hour Complexity Rating : Low (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
Last Frontier: The Vesuvius Incident (Sierra Madre Games) 2001 Still in print $10 |
Last Frontier: The Vesuvius Incident is a tense science fiction boardgame for one player. As the marines explore the doomed ship, a random "chit-in-a-cup" system generates events and encounters, creating an unpredictable environment. You never know what's behind the next door -- it could be the ship's log, or a terror-stricken crewman, or a malevolent alien. Detailed mechanics resolve alien actions, line of sight, multiple targets, weapon jams, explosives, collateral damage, computer malfunctions, decompression, human abduction, and panic. In between fights, the marines can regroup, secure areas, and conduct non-combat activities like computer hacking or equipment repair. Meanwhile, an orbital timer counts down as the ship plummets towards its fiery doom... |
Playing time: 2hours Complexity Rating: Medium (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Lambourne Games) Still in print £17.95 |
The latest edition of this popular rugby simulation comes complete with the recently expanded 'Six Nations' competition comprising England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and newcomers Italy. Also included are new injury and discipline rules, implementing recent changes in the laws of the game. Add in the 20 teams of the 1999 World Cup and you have an excellent package! Teams are rated for Attack and Defence plus their ability in set scrums, rucks, loose mauls and line outs. The game uses the 'highlights' system on a Stadium Card, picking up the action when a promising attack begins and following it through until the attack breaks down or a score is made. Team Cards use named players and substitutes, with individual Player Ratings ensuring that the right players score the points and kick the goals. You will get exciting bursts of action, flowing passing movements, scrambling forward play, and penalty-kicking duels in appropriate proportions ....... |
Playing time: 20 - 30 minutes Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Avalon Hill) 1996 Still in print £29.95 |
As a solitaire game, London's Burning places you in command of a pair of Royal Air Force fighters in southeast England. The game's unique point of view blends tactical and operational elements to recreate a true microcosm of the Battle of Britain. Do well, and England will survive; do poorly and your vital airfields, radar stations, shipping, oil depots and London itself are set afire by the Luftwaffe bombers. Also visit the very good web site at - http://www.flyhi.de/games/londburn1.html |
Playing time: 2 -8 hours (short or long scenarios) Complexity Rating 6 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
Luftschiff: Game of Zeppelin Combat (Sierra MadreGames) 2001 |
Luftschiff is a solitaire simulation of Zeppelin combat during the Great War. The player acts as the crew of a single Zeppelin on a mission over England, the North Sea, Russia, Italy, or Africa. On the earlier scenarios, flying a Type M or P Zeppelin, the commander faces only the elements and a few aeroplanes with Ranken darts or rifle grenades. On later scenarios, flying "Super-Zeppelins," "Height Climbers," or "War-Zeppelins," additional challenges include incendiary ammunition, balloon barrages, and searchlights. Includes a basic and advanced game, a campaign game, and a two-player variant. Rules cover RNAS raids, aircraft carriers, Le Prieur rockets, Zeppelin bouyant stalls, solar superheating, stabilizer snow load, hydrogen poisoning, loss of gondolas, torpedogleiters, sailmakers, and more! |
Playing time: 1 hour Complexity Rating: Medium (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
Mil Mascara's Pro Wrestling Game (Bernie Lopez Ent.) 1983 Out of print |
Non-statistical wrestling game with one of the most unusual boards you will ever see, especially as it is a sport related game. Dice related movement but choice available and also movement forced on you by various moves or having to stand in neutral corners, that sort of thing. Unique item. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating: (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Victory Games) 1985 Out of print |
Mosby's Raiders puts you in command of the Partisan Rangers. Your mission is to infiltrate enemy lines to disrupt the Union war effort. As you succeed in your operations, your notoriety grows and the Union devotes additional troops to stopping you. You select the Union targets for your raids and decide what actions Mosby's Raiders will perform. You may be deep inside Union lines when the Union Army is alerted by your activities and begins to pursue your band. As more Union troops join in the chase, you must either try to escape or stop to take on the Union units in combat. Events beyond your control may lead to Union sweeps that diminish your Confederate support or you may find yourself gaining unexpected reinforcements. |
Playing time: 2 hours Complexity Rating 4 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Lambourne Games) Still in print £15.95 |
Solo or face-to-face this module recreates limited overs international cricket. Playing time is about 2 hours for a 55-overs match. The game, which has been updated as of October 97, comes complete with over 200 current cricketers from nine countries, and around 1,200 players are carded covering all era available in Additional Player Sets of seventeen players. Individual Player Cards recreate not just each player's career stats but also their characters and playing style. Other features include four Batting Modes, and Pitch and New Ball effects. There are unique rules for batsmen before and after getting their eye in , and all outfielders are rated for their ground fielding and catching ability separately. Wicket-keepers are rated for their keeping standing up and standing back. |
Playing time: 2 hours Complexity Rating 5 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Victory Games)1988 Out of print |
Open Fire is the solitaire game of combat, adventure, and heroism for everyone who ever wondered what World War II armored combat must have been like. Inspired by the award-winning Ambush! solitaire game system, Open Fire provides the player with a platoon of American armor, faced with a variety of missions against an ever-changing German foe. The variable events, innumerable tactical options, and wealth of unexpected occurrences make Open Fire a game unlike any tactical armor game you have ever played before. The easily learned rules are designed to get the player into action quickly, selecting his platoon and vehicles and providing each unit with command and initiative ratings, perception, weapon skill, driving skill, and movement capability. After selecting one of the six missions provided, you will send your platoon into operations, where your vehicle will move as you wish... until the sequenced action rounds are triggered by the shriek of an incoming 88mm anti-tank shell, and then the fun begins. |
Playing time: 6 hours Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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SPI 1974 Out of Print |
Operation Olympic is a hypothetical simulation on a regimental/brigade level of the planned invasion of Japan in November 1945. The "Olympic" invasion against Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese Home Islands, was planned to secure a base for Operation Coronet, a follow-up invasion which was scheduled to be launched against the principal Home Island, Honshu, in March 1946. One or two player but principally solitaire |
Playing time: 2 hours Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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Minden Games IIn Print £9.99 |
Twice yearly wargaming magazine. Started in 1998. Each magazine has at least one game enclosed. Many are solitaire. Issue 1: Reichstag (solitaire) - Issue 2: Nuremburg (solitaire) - Issue 3: Barbarossa Campaign (solitaire) + Mini game: Cold Harbour (solitaire) - Issue 4: Battle of the Atlantic (solitaire) - Issue 5: First day of the Somme (solitaire) + Mini game: Commando Raid on Rommel - Issue 6: Fall on Constantinople (solitaire) - Issue 7: Mini game: 1914 Opening Moves (solitaire) - Issue 8: St George's Valour (solitaire) + Mini game: Fall of Rohm - Issue 9: Mini game: La Bataille de York 1813 (solitaire) + Mini game: Siege of Leningrad (solitaire) - Issue 10: Sniper Attack (solitaire) Web Site - http://www.homestead.com/minden_games/Panzerschreck0.html |
Various |
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(Avalon Hill) 1987 Out of print |
Patton's Best is a solitaire game that puts you in the commander's seat of a Sherman tank in George Patton's best fighting division, the 4th Armoured. You can play through a short engagement, a complete day of movement and battle, or follow the day-by-day European campaign of the 4th Armoured Division. The success and survival of your tank depends on your decision. You will start out in a basic M4 Sherman tank, but may later command any of 17 different Sherman variations. Each crew member is rated for skill at his position and his rating will affect how well he performs. Your crew will start with relatively low ratings but if they can survive to become veterans, their ratings and the efficiency of your tank can improve. Included are three types of scenarios: Advances, Battles and Counterattacks. |
Playing time: 0.5 - 2 hours Complexity Rating 6 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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Phase Line
Smash GDW 1992 Out of Print |
A
solitaire game based on the Gulf War. While the Iraqi unit's reactions are
programmed, it is still possible to lose by taking careless chances that cause
an excessive amount of friendly casualties. To win, you must do as well as the
actual campaign. What makes this difficult is the need to explicitly manage the
flow of supplies to allied combat units. The difficulty of the game adds to its
play and replay value.
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Playing time: 1.5 hrs Complexity Rating 7 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(BBI Games) 2003 |
Table Top football for the solitaire
gamer. Plays in an hour and has some new features like qb performance against
the blitz and redzone performace for all offensive players.
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Playing time: 1 hr Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Valgames) Still in print £12.95 |
Covers the 1988 men's and women's pro tours as well as a seniors tour (64 men, 24 women and 16 seniors) over 40 courses. A quick-playing game with often just one dice roll required per player per hole but with the 'pressure putts' to birdie or save par recreating the moments of tension in every round.
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Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Avalon Hill) 1984 Out of Print |
Very
simple card game. Cards represent the capabilities of different clubs. So
clever, you get to play every shot, yet there is no board. Avalon Hill planned to release more course books, but only did two |
Playing time: 1 hr Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(PTP) 1986 Out of Print |
It is a
sumptuously produced game and the box cleverly converts, using graphic inserts,
into any one of the major league ball parks. The game system is statistic based
and covers just about everything. It is available in an introductory set with
some recent Allstar players or as the full fledged 26 team version. If you can
run to the expense, this is the game to get. See Mike Siggins view on Baseball Games - http://www.gamecabinet.com/sumo/InsidePitch/BaseballGames.html |
Playing time: 45 mins Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(West End Games)1986 Out of print |
You control British and Canadian Royal Air Force Squadrons, positioning the day's patrols where you believe the Nazis will strike. Day after bloody day, the RAF must rise to battle the modern fighters of Luftflotte 2 and 3 while Nazi bombers pound England into ruin - and submission. You must intercept German bombers, sacrificing dwindling men and equipment to halt the German war machine. The game system controls the Luftwaffe, directing a coherent bombing campaign against targets vital to British survival. A unique card system hides strengths, compositions and targets of the German strikes until after you've decided where your squadrons will patrol, and which raids you'll intercept. You make the decisions that could save democracy. RAF offers three scenarios - The hardest day - The thin blue line - The Battle of Britain. *I haven't played this game for a while but it is an interesting solitaire game |
Playing time: 3 - 10 hours Complexity Rating 4 (from 1 - 6, 6 is high) |
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(Avalon Hill) 1987 Out of print |
Raid on St. Nazaire is a solitaire simulation of the daring British raid on the German-occupied French port that recaptures the combat, adventure and heroism of one of history's most gallant military actions. Using a unique blend of Area movement to depict the naval action and a Point-to-Point system to simulate the land battle, the player is able to command the British forces in a recreation of the historical action against a programmed German defence that varies every game with the whim of the dice. Relive the historical raid or plan your own by varying the primary targets of your individual Demolition squads and torpedo boats. * Personally this is one of my favourite solitaire board games * Review taken from WebGrognads There are two very distinct sections of the game. The naval segment, before the commandos land, does have quite a bit of dice-rolling, but not to the B-17 level, and you do get do make some important decisions. Your boats and troops will get shot to ribbons by nigh-invunerable German gun positions, but your turn comes next. The land phase is rather more interesting; commando parties (two types- 'demolition' with light firepower and demo charges to destroy VP objectives, and 'assault' with heavy firepower and grenades) move across the (gorgeous) map point-to-point. German defense troops appear randomly throughout the area, gradually more over time, and just move towards the closest accessible commandos (no silly charts regulating them; they just home in on commandos.) Basic combat is simple: 1d6 (modified for cover & commando type) under the firer's strength points (commandos start at 6, Germans at 2, 4, or 6) to hit and 1d6 damage if a hit is scored. German shore guns also fire at commandos but are harder to kill with gunfire (use grenades). The game doesn't usually end by the clock- all British troops are eliminated or escaped long before time runs out, as the troops have limited charges & grenades, and the German troop arrival table starts to pick up some wicked upward modifiers. Also visit the very good web site at - http://www.flyhi.de/games/nazaire1.html *An excellent solitaire game full of variety and interest - see my favourite games |
Playing time: 3 hours Complexity Rating 6 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Omega Games) Out of print 1990 |
This is a solitaire game about modern patrolling operations. You plan your mission, determine what skills you need, select the appropriate people for your squad/platoon, practice as much of the mission as you can, and then execute it. Like the other Omega modern games, Ranger is heavily based on actual doctrine and duplicates many of the concerns a real leader would have. The execution of the missions is done on a laminated map using a grease pencil to keep track of your location (so the game is neither hex-based nor area movement). Events can occur based on a die roll and are determined using a paragraph system. The outcome of an event is influenced by whether you practiced that part of the mission during your workup. It is a very good game and very educational. You could use it as a basis of a patrol leader's course. Since it is paragraph based play gets repetitive if you play it a lot. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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Roads and Boats Splotter Spellen 1999 |
Roads &
Boats - each player builds a civilization over a long period of time, like in
many other games. Unlike most games, however, the emphasis is not on warfare,
population growth, city or state building, but on logistics, or rather: on
transport.
Each player starts the game with three donkeys, a pile of wooden boards, a number of stones and two geese. With these few resources, you try to build such diverse things as woodcutters, roads, boats, mines, a stock exchange... but beware! There is no concept of territory in this game: you cannot own land, nor buildings, so the things you build can be used by any other player... The game can be played by two to four players, but it can also be used as a one-person puzzle. Material for a fifth and a sixth player is available in the &Cetera expansion. |
Playing time: 4 hrs Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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Return of the Heavyweight Champ (Lambourne Games) Still in print £12.95 |
You are about to enter the world of professional boxing as the Manager of a British Heavyweight Contender aat the start of his career. There are ten to choose from, each with a potted life history, different skills and varying amounts of experience points, which can be converted via training into increased skill ratings, and reputation points which control the quality of the opponents who are prepared to fight your man. - Guide one of ten British Heavyweight hopes through his professional career - Look after his training and arrange his fights - Take him to the World Championship in 36 months - Game Features · Quick-playing Fight System, or you can use the Championship Boxing system (Ratings for both are provided). Reputation Points which control who is prepared to fight you. Experience Points which can turn into increased abilities via Training. British, European, and Commonwealth Title bouts. The chance to take your fighter to the USA to speed his career (for better or worse!). Mis-matches. Personalised Opponent Cards with potted career histories " A couple of hours of reading has led me to the conclusion that the game is absolutely brilliant ....... While I've enjoyed every game I've bought from you before this one has the most depth and seems to be exactly what I've been looking for when it comes to sports games. I really like games where it's not just ONE match, or just ONE fight, but instead gives me the whole picture." Daniel Gothe, Sweden *An interesting little game that doesn't take too long to play |
Extension Set - 'The Little Guys' (Lambourne Games) £7.95
Playing time: 20 minutes or less per match Complexity Rating 2 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Lambourne Games) Still in Print £13.95(1997) and £16.95 (1999) |
The game is basically a solo replay but would stand up well to a head-to-head session, or indeed is great fun for a multi-player occasion, with each pairing - singles, four-balls, or foursomes - on the course but tackling different holes at the same time. Individual Player Cards ensure that all the golfers perform as they really did off the tee and with short, medium, and long iron. There are special ratings for Recovery Shots and pressure situations. Much of the drama of the Ryder Cup stems from the fact that several matches are taking place at the same time, and that is how this simulation works, even as a solo game. The Scoreboard keeps track of the overall situation in each match as every hole is played. Match Play is just about the only golf situation which a replay simulation can tackle on a stroke-by-stroke basis. Ryder Cup Replay is quite quick to play yet provides a detailed 'commentary' of what's going on, and the individual Hole Diagrams bring it all to life. -- You can purchase the basic game in two formats -- · Ryder Cup Replay 1997 - including the Valderrama course and 1997 Player Cards · Ryder Cup Replay 1999 - including the Brookline course and 1999 Player Cards |
Playing time: Complexity Rating: (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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Second Season Pro Football Game (PLAAY) 1999 $37 |
The unique design of the Second Season game book allows the table-gamer to visualize not only what happens on each play, but also why. (Even the computer games don't do this!) This is the appeal of Second Season Pro Football: it's like watching a pro football game on TV, with the game book serving as both your play-by-play and color commentator. And you're the coach! Send your star running back up the middle on fourth and goal; watch your big tackle clear the way for a TD... or will the middle linebacker stuff the play? All the action of pro football is here! From breath-grabbing long bombs to bone-crunching hits, Second Season has it all! |
Playing time: Complexity Rating: (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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Silent War Compass Games 2005 $75 |
Silent War is a solitaire simulation of the United States' submarine war against Imperial Japan during the Second World War. The scenarios allow players to recreate various stages of the war or the entire campaign. In each of these scenarios, the player takes on the role of Commander Submarines, US Pacific Fleet (ComSubPac), deploying available submarines from either Pearl Harbor or Brisbane in order to attack the Japanese Navy. Additionally, in the patrol game, using single submarines, players can recreate some of the war's most famous patrols. The amount of flexibility the game allows the player is tremendous, a single submarine patrol can be completed in 10 minutes, the various campaigns can be completed in 10 or more hours depending on which campaign you play and your progress as commander. |
Playing time: 10 hrs for total campaign Complexity Rating: (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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(Wargamedownload.com) $5 In Print |
IIn Solitaire Caesar
the player re-creates the rise and fall of the Roman Empire from 300BC to
1453AD. |
Playing time: 1 hr Complexity Rating: (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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Solitaire Pro
Football Designer - Mike Keeley 1990
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A football simulation game
specifically designed for the solitaire player. Teams came on roster sheets.
Not a quick-play game, the solo player plays against an artificial
intelligence player, which makes decisions based on probabilites and
situations.
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Playing time: Complexity Rating: (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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Solotaire (Milton Bradley) 1973 Out of Print |
A version of poker where cards are
placed in slots on a board.
This is a 1 to 2 player game |
Playing time: Complexity Rating: (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Decision Games) 1981 Out of Print |
This is aStrategy & Tactics magazine issue 142 with the game “Tarawa” by Decision Games. Mike Joslyn designed the issue game that is a solitaire simulation of the assault on Betio Island on November 20, 1943 by the U.S. 2nd Marine Division. Game contents are a 17” x 22” full-color game map, 100 die-cut game counters, and a 16-page rules insert bound into the magazine. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating: (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Lambourne Games) Still in print £14.95 |
Thirty-six of the world's great milers - modern day athletes and stars from the past - are brought together in this simulation of the classic track event. Individual Cards recreate the strengths and weaknesses of the runners portrayed, and a unique game system ensures that the tension builds steadily through each race as the player (solo or otherwise) decides how to run each of his athletes, when to force the pace, when to unleash the final sprint. The game includes such features as stamina, boxing-in, use of a pacemaker, tieing up, and four different modes of running. Lap times and final times are dependent on two factors - the individual performance of the athlete plus the Pace Count (the pace at which the race is run) which is assessed by the aggression of the leading runners throughout the race. Campaign Rules enable you to train each athlete and plan their season, attempting to peak at exactly the right time for an important race or world record attempt. A fascinating what if game. Now at last Wooderson can take on Bannister, and John Landy, Herb Elliott and Jack Lovelock can line up with Cram, Coe, Ovett and Aouita in the greatest mile race of all time. The game now comes complete with the More Metric Milers and A Few More Metric Milers extension sets. These are still available separately to those of you with older editions of the game. *If you like athletics and would like to race athletes from different eras then this is the game for you. |
Playing time: 30 - 40 minutes Complexity Rating 2 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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Simulation Publications Out of Print |
A one player game produced in the typical SPI format. The game simulates the various crisis periods in Roman History on high strategic level, from 100AD to 500AD SST # 181, Strategic game of Roman crises from the 1st to 6th century (re-design of the same game from S+T 39) |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Metagaming) 1984 Out of print |
MicroGame number 18. A fantasy game set in the labrinth of tunnels that make up the home of the Dwarves. Essentially a man-to-man war game, with solitaire rules as a bonus. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
The Wreck of the B.S.M. Pandora (SPI) 1980 Out of print |
This is a very good game as players play the role of one crew member in a broken down space ship. They must individually find their way in the confusion, locate weapons and tools, attempt repair work and avoid the biological specimens on board that are now free. Very much an 'Alien' type scenario. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(West Coast Games) 1977 Out of print |
There and Back Again is a fantasy adventure game based on 'The Hobbit'. The player attempts to manoeuvre the company on the playing man to the Lonely Mountain and back again to Rivendell. It is up to you which paths you take and how you handle your encounters. *November 2003 - this game sold for £112 on Ebay*
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Playing time: 1 hour Complexity Rating low (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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Thunderbolt/Apache Leader GMT Games 1991 Out of Print |
Thunderbolt / Apache Leader is an exciting solitaire game that challenges you to command teams of A-10 Thunderbolt tank-busters and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters on battlefields around the world.
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Playing time: 5 hour Complexity Rating low (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Avalon Hill)1979 Out of print |
Title Bout is a table top game that is excellent for solitaire play and detailed, realistic results. Title Bout is played using fast action cards, with 40 cards equaling one, 3-minute round. The original boxed game included approximately 400 fighters, each statistically rated on individual cards. Two more sets, a total of 1500 updated cards, were made available and have been sold out. A computer version of Title Bout, called Title Fight, is available through Electronic Boxing Weekly and the creators, Tom and Jim Trunzo, still plan to provide limited support of the board game version. |
Playing time: 40 mins per fight Complexity Rating 3 (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Avalon Hill) |
Tokyo Express is a solitaire and two-player simulation of the night naval battles off Guadalcanal. In the solitaire version, you command the US Fleet awaiting the emergence of the Tokyo Express from the darkness. You group your ships into formations, assigning them orders, and select the targets to attack with torpedos and guns. Simple mechanisms control Japanese maneuvers and target assignments in a realistic manner. You never know when combat will occur until the explosion of topedo salvos signals the presence of Japanese forces who detected you first and made their surprise attacks. The two-player version modifies the solitaire game and pits players against each other in an exciting recreation of World War II naval combat. Tokyo Express is graduated in complexity to help you learn the rules as you play. |
Playing time: Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Avalon Hill) 1969 Out of Print |
This is a one player word game. With 81 unique wooden dice this makes up a very interesting word game with many variations of play. This is a companion game to the maths game Tuf. |
Playing time: 30 mins Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high) |
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(Lambourne Games) Still in print £24.95 |
It offers the solo player the chance to control a string of horses for a full 33-week English and European flat-racing season some 500 races long, from the humble handicap to the extremely valuable Class 1 races such as the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, the Epsom Derby and Chantilly's Prix du Jockey Club Lancia. You have forty-one stables to chose from, ranging from three-horse outfits to the massive 40-horse stable of Michael Stoute. And there is even more choice as you can decide to manage just one or two of the three age groups (2-y-o's, 3-y-o's and Aged (4-y-o's plus)) rather than the complete stable's inmates. With horses expected to run 8 - 10 times during the season even a modest 6-horse string involves fifty-plus races, and that's about 25 hours gaming. Whichever string you choose your aim is to maximise profit (Prize Money less Entry Fees) in relation to your seasonal target which varies with the mixture of ages within your stable but is approximately 120,000 UK Pounds per horse. Your end-of-season total is expressed as a percentage of this 'target' to provide an indication of your success or failure. Rather like a round of golf, you can always do better next time! Or can you? |
Playing time: 30 mins per race Complexity Rating (from 1 - 10, 10 is high)
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