Lords of the Middle Sea; America: Atlantis
The Chaosium (1978, $9.95)
Designed by Lynn Willis
Players 2-4
Period Science Fiction
Scale Strategic
Turn 3 months
Map 72.5 miles
Unit 600-3000 men, 5-15 vessels

Components
1 ziploc container
1 22"x34"unmounted mapsheet
252 die-cut counters
13 page rulebook
4 colored sheets of charts and tables (each with 11 uncut nation-specific counters)
1 sheet of terrain tables, errata sheet, Chaosium order form

Die-Cut Counter Manifest
53 gray (7 libraries; 8 fortresses; 8 supply; 8 artillery; 8 dirigibles; 10 arks; 4 with numeric values)
51 yellow (1 capital; 23 gangs; 12 levies; 6 hordes; 3 emissaries; 6 sea-raiders)
47 pink (1 capital; 19 gangs; 12 levies; 6 hordes; 3 emissaries; 6 sea-raiders)
51 orange (1capital; 19 gangs; 12 levies; 1 0 hordes; 3 emissaries; 6 sea-raiders)
50 purple (1 capital; 19 gangs; 12 levies; 6 hordes; 3 emissaries; 9 sea-raiders)

Unmounted Counter Manifest
11 yellow "Revenge on Nahua"
11 red "Revenge on Mexico"
11 orange "Revenge on Trans-Wyoming"
11 purple "Revenge on Wardoms"

The Chaosium says:

“2021 - High plains of the United States collapse ... New cycle of continental volcanism begins to lower planetary temperatures from obscuring smoke and dust ... 2025 - Thermonuclear exchanges wipe out most central governments ... 2060 - Oceans rise 30 feet a year; lowland cities, farms, and refineries long-flooded ... 2100 -Volcanism abates; world temperatures steady.

All important population centers in North America are in central Mexico, now a handful of warring city-states ... 2200 - Vicious religious wars between a dwindling Catholicism and syncretic versions of pre-Conquest Meso-American beliefs sweep Mexico ... 2396 -The Salvaree Council disbands in acrimony; individual arkmasters begin a series of conflicting land-linked alliances ... 2401 - The game begins.”

The reviewers say:

“Nuclear holocausts have been credited with causing many a future North America, but none so delightfully bizarre as that described in Lords of the Middle Sea ... it is a well-balanced presentation of medieval forces doing battle with the aid of supernatural and technological help. While this is a fairly simple strategic game, there is enough of substance to warrant several playings.” Eric Goldberg in Ares 1.

“The components are of fair quality ... The Basic Game is, nevertheless, good. Six pages of rules explain how to fight and move and you’re ready to play ... The four nations are TRANS-WYOMING (present-day Washington, Idaho and Montana), MEXICO (based in the industrial capital of the world ... Utah), NAHUA (where Mexico used to be before it migrated), and THE WARDOMS (the islands of New England, across the Nebraska Sea.) Each nation has its personal advantage ...

This is a game which tries to hard. It has no tactical richness, despite the pretty pictures in the rulebook. The role-playing is trivial and gets in the way ... Just ignore the unfortunate parts of it and play the decent parts of it.” W.G. Armintrout in The Space Gamer 21.

Comments

A game of strategic post-apocalyptic conflict between the four nations surrounding the former central United States which has subsided and flooded to create the “Middle Sea.” Another unusually imaginative topic from designer Willis.

Collector’s Notes

An odd game which does not seem to attract much interest (could it be the cover art showing a sailing ship firing a barrage of missiles at a dirigible?) Boone 4th lists low/high/average auction prices of 9/26/14. In Boone 3rd, auction prices were 8/16/12 and sale listings were 19/35/26.

Other games by this designer

Bloodtree Rebellion (GDW), Godsfire (Metagaming/Task Force), Holy War , Olympica (both Metagaming).

Capsule Profiles:

Longest Day
LA Lawless
Last Frontier
Laser Tank
Lesnaja 1708
Legend of Robin Hood
Lords of the Middle Sea
Luftschiff