Java Man: A societal simulation game
Pardine, Inc. (1979, $5.00)
Designed by Alexander P. Brown

Players 1 or more
Period Prehistoric
Playing Time 2 hours
Scale tactical
Turn 3 months
Map 75 miles
Unit tribe of up to 800 people

Components
1 ziplock bag
1 8 1/2"x11" unmounted mapsheet
1 16 page rulebook
104 1/2" cardstock counters
2 double-sided tribal record sheets
1 optional 3"x5" counter storage ziploc

Counter Manifest
5 tribes (Asadi, Dako, Disit, Makra, Mirvis)
5 "PC"
5 "ATK"
5 "RUN"
24 "No Food"
60 arrow markers

The designer says:

“Java Man is a simulation game of tribal politics and survival in the pre-historic, pre-agricultural, pre-civilized era. Each player attempts to control a single tribe, to ensure the survival of his tribe, and to boost it along the road to civilization. Towards this end, players work to control the normally random movements of their tribes across a hexagon grid representing a typical area of the pre-historic world, so as to avoid or destroy hostile tribes, contact friendly tribes, and gather as much food as possible.”

“The success or failure of previous actions influences a tribe’s willingness to obey a leader’s orders. Tribes may be ordered, among other things, to go on the warpath against other tribes, to strip the immediate area bare of food, or to conduct mystic rituals, which may have dire results. A unique aspect of this simulation is that, theoretically, a player may win by ordering nothing at all. Of course, victory is more likely if the leader seizes control of the tribe and leads it boldly into the future... or perhaps into a tarpit.”

Reviews

No mention at all in any of my resources, except there is a listing for it in the GamesMaster Catalog (p. 76) in which part of the ad copy states: “conceivably, it can be won by a player who makes no decisions at all.” (Some sales pitch!) There was also an ad in The Dragon magazine.

Collector’s Notes

Java Man is very tough to find. I first read about the game in the GamesMaster Catalog. I know of one other copy out there. I am not aware of reliable production figures for the game. Finally, Java Man is not listed in Boone’s Internet Wargames Catalog. Turn sequence 1) Orders Writing Phase 2) Obedience Phase 3) Organizational Changes Phase 4) Movement and Combat Phase 5) Medicine Phase 6) Forage Determination Phase 7) Natural Disaster Phase 8) Attrition Phase 9) End of Turn / Yearly Interphase

Rulebook headings

Orders and Lack of Orders
Controlled Movement (normal movement is random wandering)
Force March
Organized Hunt
Intensive Forage
Obstacle Crossing
Warpath
Preparation for Organizational Change
Medicine
Tribal Organization (3 types: Anarchy, Oligarchy, Dictatorship)
Obedience (organizational level affects ability to follow orders)
Use of the Anarchy Matrix
Modifiers to Oligartchy obedience die rolls
Organizational Change
Duels and Leaders
Forage, Food Points and Starvation
Simultaneity, Tribal Meetings and Combat
Tribal Meetings (encounters between opposing players’ tribes)
Simultaneity
Meeting Decisions (attack, peaceful contact, run)
Combat
Combat Strength Modifiers
Combat Results (no result, retreat, or % strength lost)
Winners and Loser of Combat
Peaceful Contact
Hasty Retreat
Natural Disasters
Attrition
Tribal Extinction
Interphase
Victory Conditions (winner determined by victory points after fixed number of turns {16 minimum suggested} -- awarded based on tribal strength, organizational structure, and number of peaceful contacts made during the game.)

Other background info

Here are some of the names listed in the credits — perhaps there are some leads here for additional info? Testing: John Coffey, Tim Jones, Matt Kraft, and the UNH Simulation Games Club. Inspiration: William Golding and Chuck Perry. Physical Production: Jeanclaire Dperschuk and the staff of Minuteman Press, Boston MA.

Ad in The Dragon 42

COULD YOU LIVE WITHOUT METAL, POTTERY, FARMING OR FIRE?

Well, Java Man could ... sometimes. Java Man is the colloquial term for Homo Erectus, the earliest of our ancestors to deserve the title “man.” Remains of Java Man were first discovered in Java, where the species did not survive, and later in Africa, where it did, although no one really knows why.

Now, Java Man is a challenging simulation game for one or more players. As leader of a tribe of Java Men, can you gather enough food to keep the tribe alive? Can you conjure up good medicine to make the tribe grow? Can you avoid natural disasters and the depredations of other hungry tribes? And, if the answer to all these questions is “yes,” can you persuade the tribe to let you try? Find out now; play Java Man.

Java Man features die-cut counters, four-color map, rules booklet and player record sheets packaged in a rugged, 4-mil ziploc bag. Send check or money order for $5.00 per copy, or ask your local retailer for Java Man.

Caveman Games

Sticks and Stones
Tribes
Land of Og
Java Man