The Lost World of Game Design is the Indian subcontinent and its remarkably rich and diverse history. Can anyone think of a game that has alighted -- even briefly -- on this surface, other than some WWII potboilers covering Japanese efforts out of Burma. Well, as if to repair this oversight, Avalon Hill, and designer Craig Sandercock, have given us Maharaja, virtually all of India's history -- from the Harrapans of the dim, distant past (like 2500 BC) all the way to the joyful excesses of the East India Company -- in one box and four hours, and woebetide the gamer who attempts to stray from its chosen path.
One of the more mystically enduring games in AH's line has been Britannia, as mechanistic and determanistic a waver of the Design for Effect gonfalon as ever existed. Obviously, I have never quite understood exactly what joys Britannia held, a view not helped by some truly mediocre graphics. Well, someone must like it, because Maharaja is Indian history laid over the Britannia system. If you liked the latter, you'll love Maharaja, which is far more colorful, both physically and metaphysically. Even if you raised your left upper lip in that knowing sneer at the jejeunosity of Britannia, you might want to take a look at its younger sister. The worst that can happen is you get a pretty good Cliff Note-style lesson in Indian history.
Actually, the worst you can do is gaze too long at the box cover: The Return of Study Hall Art. I particularly enjoyed the Euro-type at the bottom. He was probably meant to be a Greek, but his helmet is strictly Gallic/Roman, and he appears to be holding a large serving plate on which is emblazoned a crude picture of Joan Baez. Artist Kurt Miller has done better; cf. the boxcover for Colonial Diplomacy. That said, the rest of the game is most attractive. Despite AH's insistence on using pastels as background colors for its counters (lots of that old AH staple, purple, showing up here), they all contain some rather interesting and evocative icons. The Victory Condition cards - more of which, below - are also well done, and the map is very attractive, even if attempting to read the pseudo-Hindi manuscript of the area names is a game-within-a-game. (It also doesn't help that the card for the Rajputs has them as the "Bajputs".)
As for the game, this is Design for Effect in all its full-blown glory. You have but to read what Mr. Sandercock says in his Designer Notes to know where you're heading: "… it is impossible to force players to do exactly as their nations did historically [Ed. but not for lack of trying]; but the game is designed so that a player who indulges in bizarre and pointless moves, from a historical viewpoint, will fail to score many points." One man’s “bizarre” is another’s “bazaar”.
Heed that warning literally, because Maharaja is less a game of strategy than one of those Road Rallies where each contestant has to hit his checkpoints in order to gain points. If you don't follow the straight-and-narrow for your Marathas, you'll find whatever else you do with and for them a worthless exercise in counter placement. It's something akin to playing a Bulge game in which the German Player wins, not by reaching the Meuse or disrupting the Allies, but by holding Bastogne on turns 4 and 11 (but not in between), St. Vith on turns 2 and 6, and eliminating five infantry brigades on Turn 3. The height of this sort of folly is when the player simply replaces all his Mauryan pieces with his Gupta pieces, only to remove virtually all of them three turns later. Doesn't make any difference how you've done with them; you simply remove them. No Cause; just Effect.
Each player gets a bunch of "peoples" - 4 players is truly best, as the rules are quick to point out - covering the 4500 or so years of history (and 16 turns of play). For some reason, the distribution of peoples is not "even". The "D" Player, who gets to run the Mauryans, Guptas, Sinhalese and then the Dutch, pretty much shoots his wad in the first 5 or 6 turns, then waits around for another half dozen or so turns before he gets to do anything noteworthy. This is not a bad thing, as Player "D" is now free to go out and pick up the pizza, or call in for Chinese delivery, report the scores of whatever games are on the tube, and complete his paper on animal imagery in Shakespeare. Whatever he does, though, he should make his co-players foot the bill, because Player “D” has as much chance of winning as I do of making the front cover of Command.
Play, itself, is fast and easy to grasp; the basic mechanics are quite similar to History of the World. You get a bunch of "armies", you move them, and, to attack, you roll dice, one for each army. Get a '5' or a '6' and you get to remove an opponent, with some minor variations. The "wave of invasion" effect is quite pronounced, and quite well done, in terms of simulating the ebb and flow of Indian history … so much so that the box's boast that the game is an excellent introduction to India's history can be taken at face value.
The object, though, is not to take several peoples and see if you can establish them in India as the “dominant” group - although that is what appears to be the goal - it is to gain Victory Points acccording to what the game has pre-designated should happen. For example, Player “B” starts the game with a bunch of Harappans. He gets points for destroying Mauryans (at any time) and, on Turn 4, for occupying certain areas of Northern India. He also gets similar points in Turns 7, 10, 13 and 16. Problem is, by Turn 3, if you can find a Harappan anywhere, “…you’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din.” It’s a lot like one of those escorted tours of a foreign country; you know, the ones where you never get out of the bus. You see what THEY want you to see; you never go where YOU want to.
It all moves rather rapidly and - except for the quirk of having one player or another have little to do for several turns - it’s so easy to play and so clearly and well presented that its not an altogether unpleasant experience. Just how far into “pleasant” depends mostly on how much you want to spend your See India Now Tour in a bus, eating catered meals.
CAPSULE COMMENTS:
Graphic Presentation: Excellent. Has that “Play Me” feel.
Playability: Clear, concise rules; accessible system. 4-5 hours tops, but no solitaire.
Replaybility: Depends on your tolerance level for the Deterministic Victory conditions. Balance may be a problem.
Wristage: Except for combat resolution, none.
Creativity: More an expression of adaptive skills.
Historicity: Quite good, from the point of overview.
Comparisons: Britannia in a different country; no more, no less. History of the World is more interesting and involving. Civilization is more difficult, but more fun.
Overall: If you liked Britannia, you’ll love this. For others, the curry is certainly not vindaloo.
from AVALON HILL
24” X 22” mounted mapboard, 2 sheets of counters of various shapes and sizes, 17 Victory Cards, 1 Nation Control Card, bunch ‘o’ dice; boxed.
Avalon Hill, Baltimore MD. c. $35
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© Copyright 1993 by Richard Berg
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