It is usual for wargame newsletters and magazines to review new boardgames, or miniature rules, but P & P is neither. Plague and Pestilence is a cards and dice game that allows 2 to 6 players to "recreate" the experience of the Black Death as it spread across Europe beginning in 1348. Each player represents a kingdom in medieval Europe, your object is to be the last player with any population left. The game starts in the Prosperity phase, you roll two D-6 and receives the number of population as shown on your reference card. Then draw a card from the dock. You are allowed only six cards in your hand, so a card must be played or discarded. These cards represent both good and bad events, such as wars, natural disasters, raids, or kingdom improvements such as sewers, aqueducts, city walls, and so on. At this point in the game it is wise to try and kill your neighbor's population (through wars, raids, etc.) because they are trying to do the same to you. This mayhem and slaughter merrily continues until someone in the game draws the dreaded Death Ship card. This card represents that fateful day in 1348 when a merchant ship from Kaffa in the Crimea lands at your port, carrying rats with fleas that carry the horrible Black Death plague. Now the game enters the Pestilence phase. Now when players roll the dice they consult their reference cards to see how much population they LOST that turn. The game tends to get frantic at this point as players scramble to minimize their population loss by building more improvements, while ' trying to destroy their neighbors' city works, and kill off his population. Inevitably, players start to fall out of the game as their kingdoms are wiped out. Finally in the end, there are only two players left for one climactic struggle. P& P is a good "Beer and Pretzels" game. It is also one of the very few games out that doesn't cater to the Fantasy crowd. There is no magic, no spells, no dragons., trolls, elves, orcs or other fantasy stuff. The game is involved enough to keep historical gainers interested, but not forcing you to 'bear down" and seriously focus on the game. In the games I've played there is usually a running discussion on the latest figures from manufactures, new terrain etc. This a good game to play at conventions; while waiting for a table or killing off the rest of the evening. Unlike many of the new card games out, you don't need to buy other packs of cards to expand the game, such as Magic. The game is sold completed. The marvelous artwork by Paul Dale is designed to look like medieval wood cuts, and adds a lot to the game. I recommend it. The game can be purchased for $14.95 at many local hobby shops, or order direct from Hillas' Toy Box P.O. Box 1954 Orange, CA 92666. Back to Table of Contents The Messenger October 1994 Back to The Messenger List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by HMGS/PSW. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com