Mohawk was published by The Aulic Games Council and republished by Sleuth Publications Limited, 689 Florida Street, San Francisco CA 94110. It covers the years from 1754 to 1760 in the northern colonies of New England and New France. Mowhawk's style is very simple, its rules are weak on completeness but full of innovation, and it is very effective. Mohawk demonstrates that "it ain't what you do, its the way that you do it", as it delivers an exciting game with minimum brain trouble at the same time as presenting a game which is pretty accurate and very atmospheric. The simple style should not disguise the splendid piece of design work which I only wish I could copy. If Mohawk's rule writing is not of the best, because it only has five pages of rules one can afford to read through all of them. Most importantly it gave us a good game, a long discussion afterwards and a lot of pleasure en route.

Mohawk's map has a central section taking us from the Ohio to Louisbourg and from Tadousac and the Great Lakes south to Baltimore and Alexandria. The map uses point-to-point movement. The movement routes being road (civilized country on the coast and in Nova Scotia), Indian trail, and waterway. One can also move by sea. The "points" consist of forts, fortified cities or towns, towns, Indian villages, ports and trading posts/portages. Thee geographical limits of the theatre are thus well illustrated. The whole map is illustrated as covered in woods. Around the edge of the map are six smaller maps. Five are used in combat to give some "feel", they represent open fields, a landing point, a fortress and wooded terrain. The sixth map is used for the naval sub-game.

Both sides have a large number of counters in several clear types. These are Regulars, Militia, and Indians (including Rangers and Courers de Bois). These definitions are important in recruitment, replacement movement and combat. The designers clearly conceiving the different types of combat skill of each troop type as being a key feature of this campaign. Regulars are mostly available only by the landing of naval units from the Old World. Both sides have colonial regulars who are raised by reciept of naval supplies or by battlefield promotion (the French units being Compagnies Franches de la Marine, and the British including the Royal Americans - 60th Foot). Battlefield promotion can also generate Rangers and Courers de Bois if Indian fighting is what is needed. Regulars can be replaced if lost but militia units and Indians cannot which means that a massacre on the lines of Monongahela can be disastrous to the Colonies.

The game sequence is naval combat, landing reinforcements and recruiting, movement rolls, musters, movement, combat and promotion. This sequence applies to the first turn each year, in the second (and last) turn of a year there is no naval combat or musters, and at the end of the turn the militia go home.

Both sides throw two march dice. The French have one for Indians and one for regulars and militia. Regulars and militia may only use two march points a turn but a single Indian stack can use as many as you have. The marches are divided up around your stacks as you wish. Regulars and militia suffer for being very slow on indian trails and not being able to combine types of terrain in one march point. March points can also be spent to outflank (see below) and burn, capture or build locations. The British dice for sea lift capacity and for land forces BUT they always get two extra marches. No turn is going to be the same in this game.

Movement for regulars and militia is fastest down waterways and so campaigns develop along the main rivers rather than through the Indian trails of New Hampshire. Furthermore as supply requires at the end of the year that units trace down waterways or roads the use of indian trails can be deadly. For this reason, the portage between Fort Edward and Fort George makes Champlain a poor invasion route whereas the Lake Ontario - Mohawk Valley route is much better.

Naval combat handles the other great variable - what-the home government sends you. The French have four squadrons, with combat value in parenthesis, (Naval Squadron [3], Troop Convoy [0], Privateer [2] and Supply [1]. The Royal Navy has four as well (two naval Squadrons [3] Troop Convoy [0], and Supply [1]. However, the side that holds Louisbourg may add one to that combat. The French deploy face down in Louisbourg, Brest, Rochefort and Toulon. The Brits oppose each squadron with another, turn them over, roll two dice, add Combat Values and highest gets through to the New World. Naval Squadrons tend to get through but only carry two battalions of regulars. Troop Convoys carry five battalions (and usually cause a major offensive). The others, for the Brits, raise fresh militia and colonial regulars, for the French, raise fresh militia or cause an Indian muster (five tribes). As Indians and militia cannot come back from the dead availability is important here. If your navy fails you, you may be left defending with Indians or militia and you get the real feel of being a colonial governor.

If you attack a town which has available but unrecruited militia they immediately flood to the colours. Combat is determined by terrain type and if the attacker "spends" extra march points he may get a choice (a bit of an old outflanker here). For example, an Indian stack wishing to engage a frontier garrison may oblige it to fight in the woods rather than have to assault the stockade. Combat consists of lining up your units and killing with a 6. Most units have two steps and are not reduced in combat until both are destroyed. Half-destroyed units recover after the battle, giving an element of progressive disintegration. Combat continues until one side dies or retreats. Retreating forces receive one volley of fire unanswered. Regulars add two to the dice when defending forts, facing landings or fighting in the open, attacking forts they still get plus 1 and may increase this if they take an unanswered volley in "closing". Militia get no advantages at all and are minus one attacking forts, and so must close up if they are to engage. Indians are minus one attacking forts but plus two in woods.

You will soon have determined that pursuing Indian raiding bands is a job for other Indians and rangers, whereas regulars are needed to clear fortresses. Militia are little use, but are as good as regulars in the woods and Indians in the open! When I first realised this I experienced a visceral disbelief - militia as good as regulars! Yes, the spirit of General Braddock lives.

Indians although good in the woods have several problems (the Six Nations apart). Firstly they have one combat step and tend to melt in combat. Secondly, they have to be activated and led by Courers de Bois from their wilderness fastness. Thirdly, after combat they go home (still activated) up to the number of British units killed (scalps having been taken). The game gives one twenty-six tribes spread all over the map but mostly on the Ohio/Great Lakes section. In our game they burnt most of the towns of inland Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as raiding Nova Scotia.

The Iroquois are different. The Six Tribes are activated only by victory. Each victory or captured post turns a tribe over to you, but you need all six at the beginning of your turn so your opponent will do his damndest to stop you and the Iroquois rule often determines the speed of operations. Why bother you ask? Well Iroquois are double step units, do not go home after victory and get free marches and musters. The side that gets the Iroquois is going to be able to maintain a nice little offensive for free.

Mohawk gives you a wide range of strategic possibilities and then imposes limitations of available troops or marches. There is never enough of anything in Mohawk and every decision is correspondingly important.

The French must hold Louisbourg as with it the British cannot land at Quebec. Both sides may wish to block (or exploit) the Champlain route and the Mohawk Valley but what about the Monongahela to Lake Erie route? The French may find themselves having to prosecute a fierce Indian war to balance the lack of regulars while the British are faced with the difficulties of fighting in the. woods and both sides live in fear of losing, too many of their militia. The masted dicing combat can irritate but it does make combats uncertain. The victory conditions require the British to take Quebec, or Montreal and three of Quebec, Montreal, Louisbourg, Frontenac, and Duquesne. The first three are the most likely but the essence of the game is multiple threats to catch the enemy if he gets a low march roll. The parity in naval strength until Louisbourg falls probably favours the French but is. acceptable in terms of play.