Game: Borderlands

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

Adeptus — 2008-10-26T15:17:08+00:00

Lindsey wrote:
As for new themes -- I know! They could set Borderlands in the TI universe, too. They could call it "Twilight Imperium: Borderlands"!

That name already exists, as an expansion to the 1st edition of TI:

Twilight Imperium: Borderlands

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pirtrom — 2008-09-23T20:32:28+00:00

Pocket Borderlands downloadable in the files section

Thread: Re: What a great ending!

pirtrom — 2008-09-21T16:01:05+00:00

I just can't wait for the FFG edition.

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pirtrom — 2008-08-27T09:45:34+00:00

This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands.

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pirtrom — 2008-08-27T09:44:58+00:00

This is what happens when you have too much time on your hands.

Thread: Re: Borderlands on a Risk board?

GaryP — 2008-06-17T20:04:05+00:00

Hmm... based on that Medieval Borderlands link, I may have finally found a good use for my Castle Risk board!

Thread: Re: Borderlands on a Risk board?

garygarison — 2008-05-15T02:43:36+00:00

ddubin wrote:

Sure, so maybe try the standard map first. Or not!

I dabbled a bit with the Lords of Conquest program. Seeing that it creates randomized maps makes me think my Risk board idea might have promise. I'll make up a set of tokens and give it a whirl the next chance I get.

Thread: Re: Borderlands on a Risk board?

ddubin — 2008-05-15T02:23:23+00:00

garygarison wrote:
Thanks for the link, Dave. I should probably mention now that I've yet to play Borderlands in its aboriginal form. It's been on my DIY list for some time, however. So I'm approaching this idea from a state of pure ignorance.

Sure, so maybe try the standard map first. Or not!

Thread: Re: Borderlands on a Risk board?

garygarison — 2008-05-14T23:10:51+00:00

ddubin wrote:

Lords of Conquest allowed custom maps, and it worked pretty well. But LoC dropped the riverboat/ship distinction, and you'll probably want to do that too.

I suggest that as a starting point you read the variant rules for Medieval Borderlands.

Thanks for the link, Dave. I should probably mention now that I've yet to play Borderlands in its aboriginal form. It's been on my DIY list for some time, however. So I'm approaching this idea from a state of pure ignorance.

Thread: Re: Borderlands on a Risk board?

garygarison — 2008-05-14T23:02:11+00:00

Following up on my own post. The 2-4 player Borderlands map has 36 regions. The Risk map has 42. However, the tiny islands of Iceland, Madagascar, and Japan could be ignored. Likewise, the conveniently detached three Australian regions of New Guinea, E. Australia, and W. Australia could also easily be disregarded. That leaves a total of 36 Risk regions, same as in Borderlands.

Thread: Re: Borderlands on a Risk board?

ddubin — 2008-05-14T23:02:01+00:00

garygarison wrote:
My Risk-playing days are over. But it seems a shame to let this charming map board go unused. Could Borderlands be played on it? Naturally, additonal bits would be necessary. But I'm not opposed to desecrating the Risk board with stickers or Sharpies. Any thoughts?

Lords of Conquest allowed custom maps, and it worked pretty well. But LoC dropped the riverboat/ship distinction, and you'll probably want to do that too.

I suggest that as a starting point you read the variant rules for Medieval Borderlands. Those pages are no longer available from their original site, but you can still find them via the Wayback Machine:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060302040844/http://rockford.com/donhesso/MedBLand/MedBLand.html

Be sure to let us know how your adaptation works out.

Dave

Thread: Borderlands on a Risk board?

garygarison — 2008-05-14T22:17:09+00:00

I recently picked up an early copy of Risk, one with the happy whale on the map up by Greenland.

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My Risk-playing days are over. But it seems a shame to let this charming map board go unused. Could Borderlands be played on it? Naturally, additonal bits would be necessary. But I'm not opposed to desecrating the Risk board with stickers or Sharpies. Any thoughts?

Thread: Re: What a great ending!

ddubin — 2008-05-14T16:49:43+00:00

luckacs wrote:
Do you speak spanish? Even in my country they forget to put the tick.

No, I'm afraid I don't speak Spanish. But I'm interested in writing systems and text encoding standards. And I try to spell people's names properly when I can.

Thread: Re: What a great ending!

luckacs — 2008-05-14T03:51:06+00:00

I just hope that the new FFG edition come with the same instructions, because for me, there is no possible change.

Thanks for the congratulations, i'm the proud second owner, and thanks for the tick in my name. Do you speak spanish? Even in my country they forget to put the tick.

Thread: Re: What a great ending!

ddubin — 2008-05-13T20:13:00+00:00

luckacs wrote:
At first, because it is a home made game, both Pedro and Cristian didnt like the idea of playing it. How could this ugly game be good. But while the game progressed it was an amazing experience.

After twenty five years, my original copy keeps getting uglier, but the game keeps getting more interesting. Hopefully the FFG edition will convince more people that this outstanding game is worth a try.

Congratulations, Sebastián, on being the second owner of the (fittingly ugly) Borderlands microbadge.

Thread: What a great ending!

luckacs — 2008-05-12T21:48:34+00:00

The last thursday was a strange day. I came back from the hospital, and i wasnt sick. I m a med-student. So, i got home tyred of long day of working with patients. While i was eating alone, a great friend of mine, Cristobal, called me to have a drink in a bar. Instead i offer him to go to my home for playing a boardgame, it would be cheaper.

So, an hour later, three friends, Cristobal, Pedro, Cristian and me, were sitting around my table to play my home made copy of Borderlands. Because only Cristobal and me had played the game, it took me a while to teach them all the instructions.

At first, because it is a home made game, both Pedro and Cristian didnt like the idea of playing it. How could this ugly game be good. But while the game progressed it was an amazing experience.

There were clearly to gruops, Pedro and Cristobal versus Cristian and me. And because of a lot of great resources management and area control, we made the first weapon. And it was great to have it, because with it we coquered a lot of important regions for the game. Then we made the first city. And we built it in the middle of a lot of production sites, so we were able at the next turn to have another city made very quicly. At that moment, they were very upset with us. But then, with a lot of very good moves made by them, they made a city, and got the resources for making two more cities. So they were winning!!

But before that, i had just made a ship, and put in it a weapon and a horse, and with it, at the end of the game, we conquered one of their cities and win!

This was one of the best games that i have ever played. It was just amazing!

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luckacs — 2008-05-12T02:57:18+00:00

This copy is home made!

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luckacs — 2008-05-12T02:56:23+00:00

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luckacs — 2008-05-12T02:55:43+00:00

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pirtrom — 2008-04-28T06:29:11+00:00

My second Borderlands sheet easy to cut out.

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LeBon — 2008-04-28T01:32:25+00:00

tokens

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LeBon — 2008-04-28T01:25:20+00:00

tokens

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LeBon — 2008-04-28T01:24:16+00:00

tokens

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

Amsjay — 2007-12-24T07:28:12+00:00

DSpangler wrote:
In a BGG audio broadcast interview with Christian Peterson, the CEO of FFG, he says that they're working with Peter and othes of the original designers of both Borderlands and Cosmic Enconters for the new editions. To have the original designers involved in these projects is very good news indeed, for it increases the probability that the final products will be excellent and will capture all the fun and innovation of the originals. Not that FFG would do a bad job of it on its own, but hey....!

I agree. I wouldn't want them to ruin these classics by trying to update them in the wrong ways.

Thread: Re: Bookshelf Games Video Review

Amsjay — 2007-12-23T07:06:09+00:00

Great review, and very informative. It seems kind of like an elagant version of Diplomacy.

Thread: Re: Review of Borderlands: A Game Ahead of its Time

Amsjay — 2007-12-21T07:33:51+00:00

This has been dead for a while, but I just wanted to say: Great Review!

Thread: Bookshelf Games Video Review

Subhuman — 2007-12-10T00:19:59+00:00

Video Review for Borderlands. This video is about 17 mins long and covers the basic gameplay.

Vimeo Video

http://www.archive.org/download/BookShelfGamesBSGEp18Bordela...

(link opens straight to media or right click and hit Save Target as...to download.)

Corrections:

Thanks to Dave Dubin for the following rule correction.

1) Your example of moving the weapon in support of the attack is
incorrect. Moving a weapon (and/or horse) as part of the attack
move (per section 5F on page 4) must bring the weapon and/or horse
into the attacked territory. The weapon in your example is too far
away to reach the attacked territory by foot.

There is a more detailed explanation of this rule and other points that may not have been clear on the permalink for the video. http://bookshelfgames.com/Permlink/Ep018.html

Thread: Re: Is it possible to make a copy of this game?

craniac — 2007-11-09T13:21:46+00:00

playersgc wrote:
I'm having trouble printing the 5 and 6 player maps because they are large jpg's. How do I tile the jpg so it will print on multiple sheets of letter-size paper?
(I'm using a Mac.)

There is a way to do this that doesn't involve selling your children and buying Illusrator. Try installing Gimpshop for the mac. You will first have to install the developer tools on your install disk, specifically X11.

http://plasticbugs.com/?page_id=294

Thread: Re: Is it possible to make a copy of this game?

toku42 — 2007-11-09T07:20:35+00:00

playersgc wrote:
I'm having trouble printing the 5 and 6 player maps because they are large jpg's. How do I tile the jpg so it will print on multiple sheets of letter-size paper?
(I'm using a Mac.)

It's not exactly a cheap solution, but I believe Adobe Illustrator does that (not photoshop though). If you have access to that, great, otherwise I think you might just have to cajole a windows-using friend into printing it for you with the humble MS Paint, which tiles oversized jpegs automatically, surprisingly enough.

Thread: Re: Could anyone please add an unobstructes image of the map

luckacs — 2007-11-05T23:10:24+00:00

I have recently added one printable image of the original 2 to 4 players map. I´ll aprecciate some geekgold tips!

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

Lindsey — 2007-08-23T18:59:14+00:00

Very cool. I've only played the similar computer game (Lords of Conquest), which was a lot of fun. It'll be nice to have a chance to play the original.

As for new themes -- I know! They could set Borderlands in the TI universe, too. They could call it "Twilight Imperium: Borderlands"!

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

DSpangler — 2007-08-23T06:30:59+00:00

In a BGG audio broadcast interview with Christian Peterson, the CEO of FFG, he says that they're working with Peter and othes of the original designers of both Borderlands and Cosmic Enconters for the new editions. To have the original designers involved in these projects is very good news indeed, for it increases the probability that the final products will be excellent and will capture all the fun and innovation of the originals. Not that FFG would do a bad job of it on its own, but hey....!

Christian also said Borderlands may be rethemed to something other than the barbarian motif, but was not specific about this and was not even sure it would happen. It was more that FFG and the EON folks wanted to take a fresh look at a classic game and see how it might be updated and improved. The plan was to include all or most of the expansions for this game.

To hear the interview, go to http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/198748

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

Livtraser — 2007-08-22T22:22:49+00:00

Zapata wrote:
Just when I finished my own copy of Borderlands, with some additional card driven alliance and events mechanics. Could have spared me some efforts !
According to FFG, it will not hit the shelves until summer 2009, and probably even later. So there's plenty of time to play your homemade copy

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

Zapata — 2007-08-21T07:52:49+00:00

Just when I finished my own copy of Borderlands, with some additional card driven alliance and events mechanics. Could have spared me some efforts !

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

docreason — 2007-08-20T21:08:34+00:00

DSpangler wrote:
FFG announced at GenCon 2007 that is has acquired the rights to Borderland, Cosmic Encounter, and Dune and will be reprinting all of them.

Hooray!

(They failed however, to get the license for the Dune material from the Herbert estate, so basically with the boardgame of Dune they got the game mechanics and design but not the right to use the Dune theme. It will be rethemed for publication, perhaps set in their Twilight Imperium universe.)

Cool. Maybe make Mercatol Rex or whatever for Dune.

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

Zopper-Alf — 2007-08-20T20:46:11+00:00

Any ideas if they include the expansions (I almost bet not but wonders happen )?

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

Larry Levy — 2007-08-20T20:44:55+00:00

That is TREMENDOUS news! Thanks for posting this, David. Hail Borderlands!

Too bad about Dune, though. As good as the game is, a big part of that is how well the mechanics mesh with the theme. I can't imagine it will be nearly as good with another setting.

Thread: Re: FFG to reprint Borderlands

GamesOnTheBrain — 2007-08-20T20:43:47+00:00

Yes! Yes! Yes!!!!!!

Thread: FFG to reprint Borderlands

DSpangler — 2007-08-20T20:23:07+00:00

FFG announced at GenCon 2007 that is has acquired the rights to Borderland, Cosmic Encounter, and Dune and will be reprinting all of them.

Hooray!

(They failed however, to get the license for the Dune material from the Herbert estate, so basically with the boardgame of Dune they got the game mechanics and design but not the right to use the Dune theme. It will be rethemed for publication, perhaps set in their Twilight Imperium universe.)

Thread: Re: Is it possible to make a copy of this game?

badinfo — 2007-06-11T04:28:19+00:00

There is a version on VASSAL that may be helpful

www.vassalengine.com

Thread: Re: Is it possible to make a copy of this game?

playersgc — 2007-06-10T23:35:05+00:00

I'm having trouble printing the 5 and 6 player maps because they are large jpg's. How do I tile the jpg so it will print on multiple sheets of letter-size paper?
(I'm using a Mac.)

Thread: Re: Review of Borderlands: A Game Ahead of its Time

jokersmiley — 2007-02-24T08:10:40+00:00

Isn't the first multi-player boardgame to rotate the Starting Player the veritable Mah-Jongg?

In Mah Jongg the "East Wind" (starting player) starts the round, and if during the round she can collect a set of "East Winds" will earn double the normal bonus.

Might be safer to say Borderlands is the first boardgame developed and published in the US to have this mechanic ...

Thread: Re: Is it possible to make a copy of this game?

clearclaw — 2006-12-12T00:42:02+00:00

I made a copy as above, except that I didn't bother with duplicating the tiles. Instead I printed the board on a large format inkjet plotter and cold laminated it. For resources I used glass bits, small wooden spoons for the river boats, metal typewriter keys for the cities etc. It looks quite good and plays well.

Thread: Re: Is it possible to make a copy of this game?

craniac — 2006-12-11T20:24:17+00:00

Thank you!

Thread: Re: Is it possible to make a copy of this game?

crackedlcd81 — 2006-12-11T19:25:18+00:00

I made one. Sorry EON, I would have loved to give you money for this awesome game but it isn't in print.

It's actually pretty simple and the end result will likely be MUCH better quality than the original game, which is in a tiny box with a crap paper map and a couple of counter sheets.

I believe everything you need is here on BGG, including the two expansions and rulebooks. The standard, 4 player map seems to have a problem in the scan as there's a gap when you put it all together but I've mostly been using the five player map anyway.

Just get the files, print them on color, full-sheet labels, stick them on artist board or a similar high-grade, dense cardboard and cut 'em out. It cost me about $20 all told. It's a great game, don't hesitate to make your own!

Thread: Is it possible to make a copy of this game?

craniac — 2006-12-11T18:36:28+00:00

Using the files here on the BGG? Are there full english rules and a counter manifest floating about? Thanks.

Thread: Re: Review of Borderlands: A Game Ahead of its Time

Larry Levy — 2006-10-16T21:15:40+00:00

But each hand in traditional card games is an independent unit. You rotate the dealer, which increases the fairness of the game, but it has no other ramifications. In boardgames, however, it means skipping a player's turn. Consequently, it seems much more natural to just retain turn order, even though the initial first player continues to get an advantage each turn. AFAIK, the Eon designers were the first to tamper with this, sacrificing the sanctity of the player order in order to even out the first player advantage. Obviously, this was a good trade-off, as many other designers have included it in their games.

Thread: Re: Review of Borderlands: A Game Ahead of its Time

wmshub — 2006-10-16T17:55:56+00:00

Another innovation is the idea of letting the first player in each round rotate clockwise. This excellent idea is now commonplace, particularly in German games; to the best of my knowledge, Borderlands was the first game to incorporate it.This is common in traditional card games. Borderlands may have been the first board game to do it (I can't say for sure), but I wouldn't call it a huge innovation! Probably it wasn't done much before because most older board games don't have "phases" within a round that players cycle through. For example, in Monopoly or Risk, play rotates around the board continuously, so rotating the starting player would make no sense. But in poker, hearts, etc., starting player rotates with each hand.

Thread: Re: Review of Borderlands: A Game Ahead of its Time

crackedlcd81 — 2006-10-16T15:25:13+00:00

Here, here! I just recently started playing Borderlands myself (with a homemade copy) and I was amazed that it isn't held in the same esteem as Dune and Cosmic are- truly an innovative and original game that deserves to be in print today.

Thread: Re: Review of Borderlands: A Game Ahead of its Time

pitris — 2006-10-16T14:11:56+00:00

Excellent review! Somebody should reprint Borderlands!

Thread: Re: Review of Borderlands: A Game Ahead of its Time

mi_de — 2006-10-16T11:38:30+00:00

Awesome review of an awesome game.

Thread: Review of Borderlands: A Game Ahead of its Time

Larry Levy — 2006-10-16T04:08:59+00:00

(Note: This review originally appeared in Counter magazine)

BORDERLANDS (Eon, 1982)
Designed by Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka, and Bill Eberle

Back before I discovered German games, in the dark ages of the eighties, there was one American design which was unquestionably my favorite. Since then, I've played some amazing games and I've re-evaluated my feelings about them numerous times. Still, of all the games I've played, I only rate four of them a 10...and one of them is my old favorite from the eighties. That game is Borderlands.

Many Geeks will recognize the trio of Kittredge, Olotka, and Eberle as the designers of the justly acclaimed "Cosmic Encounter". These three men formed Eon to produce CE and then went on to create half a dozen or so more games in the late seventies and early eighties, all of them notable and none of them like any other games of their time. Borderlands was the last of their Eon creations.

Borderlands is a game of conquest, although it deals with much more than just tawdry warfare. It is played on a board that shows a continent divided into 36 territories. The territories bear such colorful names as Ham's Landing, Anneconda, and our group's favorite, Ellen's Bight. A single long river snakes through this continent, running adjacent to most of the territories.

In each game, a subset of the territories can produce resources. There are 16 resource disks: 4 Timber, and 3 each of Gold, Horses, Coal, and Iron. The disks are assigned randomly to 16 of the territories at the beginning of the game. Thus, each game has a unique initial setup. The players then take turns claiming territories one at a time until they are equally divided among the participants. This completes the setup of the game.

The initial selection of the territories is critical. You want to claim a variety of resources, while at the same time establish a connected set of territories that you can readily protect. One tactic is to make your first few selections such that a larger group of territories are inferred to be in your control. When done properly, this can allow you to effectively control more than your share of the continent. If you are too aggressive, however, your territories will be too centrally located to easily defend.

Borderlands revolves around the proper management of the resources. Resource tokens are produced in the player's territories. If the appropriate tokens are assembled in the same territory, they can be exchanged for development tokens. For example, a Weapon, which is useful for attacking, can be produced from either a Coal and an Iron or from two Gold resource tokens. Players can also develop Riverboats, which are helpful for moving resources, as well as for combat; and Cities, which increase production and resource movement and are also good for defense. In addition, the first player to occupy three territories with Cities at the end of a turn wins the game. Ultimately, Borderlands comes down to acquiring the right resources, maneuvering them properly, and exchanging them for the most useful developments. All these skills, along with a keen tactical combat sense, are needed to win the game.

Each turn of the game consists of five phases. Every player performs his actions in a phase, beginning with the Lead Player, before the next phase begins. After all five phases have been completed, the next turn begins, with the player to the left of the previous Lead Player becoming the new Lead Player.

The first phase of each turn is Development. Each player in turn has the option of acquiring development tokens for the appropriate resource tokens. The second phase is Production. Each territory with a resource disk produces one resource token. If your territory has a City in it or is adjacent to one of your territories with a City, two resource tokens are produced instead. However, production in a territory only occurs if a resource token of that type doesn't already exist in that territory.

The third phase is Trade, in which you can trade resource tokens in your territories with the other players. This not only allows you to obtain resources you may need, but, since the resources you receive can be placed in any of your territories, also lets you get resources where you need them to be. Trading also allows you to get resource tokens out of the territory which produced them, which is necessary if you want that territory to produce another token next turn. Making a lot of trades that help both you and your opponent is usually better than being conservative, but you have to be careful that you're not allowing the other player to develop a critical item.

Phase four is Shipment, which continues the process of moving resources. There are three types of shipments. You can ship by foot, by moving tokens from one territory to an adjacent territory you own. You can also ship by horse. Horse resource tokens can move up to two territories, as long as you own the territories moved through. You may pick up and drop off tokens along this route. Finally, you can ship by boat. Riverboats can be moved along the river (with some restrictions). You may pick up and drop off tokens from any of your territories adjacent to the Riverboat's route. Normally, each player can only make one shipment per turn, but they can earn more if they possess a large number of territories.

Combat, which occurs in the final phase of the turn, is the heart of the game, and has a unique mechanic. There are no armies per se; every territory contains exactly one unit, called a Warrior, which signifies its ownership. In addition, a territory can contain no more than one Horse, one Weapon, and one City.

During the Combat phase, the active player chooses an enemy territory to attack. The resolution of the attack depends upon the number of points that can be brought to bear in attacking and defending that territory. Warriors are worth 1 point, as are Horses. Both Weapons and Cities are worth 3 points. Riverboats are worth 2 points by themselves, but they always carry a Warrior (to show who owns it). They can also carry up to one Weapon and one Horse (obviously we're dealing with something a little roomier than a canoe). In an attack, the attacker adds up the points in all the territories he has adjacent to the attacked territory. The defender does the same thing and also includes the points in the attacked territory itself. Any other players with adjacent territories can ally with either side or with neither, at their discretion. If the attacker's total is at least equal to the defender's, he wins the battle and replaces the defender's Warrior in the territory with his own. Any Horse, Weapon, City, or resource tokens in the territory now belong to the new owner.

All very logical, but hardly enough to get the pulse racing. Here's the twist. The attacker is allowed to make one shipment into the attacked territory. This might be with a horse up to two territories away, possibly carrying a weapon. Or it might be with a Riverboat from down river, also possibly laden down with armaments. Obviously this opens things up quite a bit and lends an element of fluidity and surprise to combat which really sets the game apart.

Unlike typical wargames, in Borderlands there's no such thing as a losing attack. The attacker states what territory he's trying to take over. Allies declare themselves and the attacker may be able to add to his strength through a shipment. If the attacker's strength is at least equal, he wins. If not, he is free to attempt an attack on another territory. This continues until he is successful or until he decides he will not attack this turn.

Players can make up to two successful attacks per Combat phase. However, in lieu of a second attack, a player can choose to make a shipment instead. Players often choose this option because the first attack (particularly if it included a shipment) may have left them in a vulnerable position. However, consecutive attacks can bring down the most unassailable of positions--aim the first attack at a less heavily defended supporting territory, then use it as the keystone to take on the real prize.

There is one other key combat rule. Prior to announcing attacks, a player gets one free shipment for every City he controls. Taking all of this together, you can see that even though Borderlands is a game of perfect information, there's plenty of opportunity for the unexpected.

The object of the game is to occupy three territories containing Cities at the end of a Combat phase. This means that if a player builds his third City during a Development phase, the other players have a full Combat phase to try to take over one of them. In the standard game, if two or more players meet the victory condition with the same number of Cities, then they are joint winners. Our group always plays with the optional winning conditions: the game continues until a single player has at least three Cities and more Cities than anyone else. This obviously can add to the length of the game but definitely increases the tension and can make for some strange alliances toward the end of the game as the players struggle to balance the City holdings. The standard game takes about two hours, while the optional version can usually be completed within three hours.

Just as they had for Cosmic, Eon released expansion sets for Borderlands. The two expansions only add marginally to game play. The first allows the game to be played by more than four players by including movable islands, each composed of several territories. Bridges to connect these land masses to the continent and Ships which ply the oceans are also added to the mix. The changes seem artificial, however, and our group never plays with them. The second expansion, which includes some really wild rules, is more successful. Temples, Universities, and Blimps(!) are added to the game. Temples convert enemy territories, which means that their strength can't be counted against you. Universities counter the effect of Temples and increase production. Blimps are the ultimate fighting machine, with a strength of 5 and unlimited movement. These rules are nice when you want a change of pace, but the original rules make for a better and less chaotic game.

So why do I think that Borderlands is a great game? Well, for one thing it has so many things I look for in a game. Little or no luck. Lots of player interaction. A tremendous amount of tactical and strategic decision making. A game that's long enough to involve you, but not so long that it drains you. Multi-dimensional game play. There's so many different aspects to the game: combat, trading, resource management, diplomacy, development. With the trading and alliance rules, players stay involved even when it isn't their turn. And the combat rules are just marvelous. There are other games that achieve this kind of gaming experience, but they usually take a whole day to play. The fact that Borderlands accomplishes it in a two to three hour time frame is what puts it in my personal top spot.

Does the game have any weaknesses? About the only one I can think of is that the game can really only be played by four. The designers recommend the two player game as a chess-like affair and it is not without interest. But you lose so much without the trading, alliances, and other multi-player aspects that the game for two just doesn't stack up. The three player game includes all those aspects, but as is the case with many other games, Borderlands for three too often becomes a two versus one affair. Here, the problem is that two players will usually butt heads, leaving the third player with a fairly easy path to victory. You really seem to need four players for the multi-player dynamics to work. As for five and six player games, the islands give you enough room for the additional participants, but the extra real estate seems so remote that this is not a popular option. I've never tried this, but if I were to attempt a Borderlands contest with more than four, I'd probably try to squeeze everyone onto the 36 territory continent and see how it played. This version might play particularly well with the second expansion. However, the vast majority of our Borderlands games have been with four players and that is the only version of the game I can wholeheartedly recommend.

Like all of the Eon creations, Borderlands' design was well ahead of its time. While the game was probably not well known enough for it to be influential, it anticipated many future gaming concepts. For example, territorial games with resources are very popular today. Borderlands wasn't the first game to use resources, but it was the earliest game I've seen that featured a sophisticated resource subsystem. Another innovation is the idea of letting the first player in each round rotate clockwise. This excellent idea is now commonplace, particularly in German games; to the best of my knowledge, Borderlands was the first game to incorporate it. And while it's unlikely that Klaus Teuber has ever heard of Borderlands, his stupendously popular Settlers of Catan *does* feature random starting positions, territories with resources, uncertain production, territorial improvement through development, trading, and a specific victory condition--just like Borderlands.

Borderlands' physical design was adequate for an American game of the eighties. The counters were of sturdy cardboard, distinctive, and reasonably attractive. Having so many resource tokens on the board at one time could have presented a problem, but the designer made good use of color to ensure that the counters were easily distinguishable. The only complaint could be with the game board, which was a folded, laminated paper affair, no doubt deemed a necessity to keep the price down. It does the job, however, and my copy shows little signs of wear after fifteen years and scores of games. I doubt anyone would be lured into playing the game because of its design, but it certainly doesn't detract from the game in any way.

If Borderlands was such a great game, why isn't it better known today? At the time of its release, the odds against an American game from a small publisher catching on were almost infinitesimal. Even a game as famous as Cosmic has gone in and out of print several times since its introduction. Borderlands was sufficiently impressive to make the Games Magazine Top 100 list five years in a row, but, then as now, that was by no means a guarantee for success. When Eon closed its doors in 1984, Borderlands faded quietly away. An inferior version resurfaced as a computer game called Lords of Conquest, but that didn't catch on either. There was a German version in the mid-eighties called Ascalion, but given most German gamers' distaste for contests involving conflict, it was doomed to fail. Borderlands was never in the right time or place to succeed, and so, like so many of its brethren which deserved a better fate, it is now gone. Gone, but as this review shows, not forgotten.

And what of the men who created this wonderful game, Messrs. Kittredge, Olotka, and Eberle? After shutting down Eon, they tried their hand at computer games, but once again they were ahead of their time--the machines weren't sophisticated enough to play the kind of games they wanted to create. They contributed one last design (Star Trek: The Enterprise 4 Encounter) for West End Games and then went their separate ways. They left behind an enviable legacy. Although their professional career lasted less than ten years, they are responsible for some of the best and most distinctive games ever created in the United States. Games which are so good that they continue to resurface from time to time. Indeed, in the last few years, we've seen republications of several of their games, such as Cosmic, Dune, and Hoax. But of all their wonderful designs, the one that truly stands out for me--indeed, as one of the all-time greats--is that little known classic, Borderlands.

Thread: Cover art

mevans444 — 2006-05-14T20:08:25+00:00

The box cover art is by fantasy artist Dean Morrissey.

Thread: Re: Cites count 3 points for attack?

ddubin — 2006-03-09T18:45:49+00:00

knyte wrote:
Cities count for 2 points (+1 for the territory, for a total of 3 points)
So a city attacking would worth a base of 3 points. That goes for all cities touching the territory you are attacking in question.

With all due respect, I believe you are mistaken. Page 3 of the rules, section 5.C (Point values in a territory):

"The maximum number of points that a territory can have is is 8: 1 for the Warrior, 1 for a Horse, 3 for a Weapon, and 3 for a City."

So a cities count for 3 points + 1 for the warrior (or for the territory as you put it) for a total of 4. And, to be precise, you count all allied cities touching the territory under attack -- your opponents and their allies count against you, and the neutrals don't count at all.

Thread: Re: Cites count 3 points for attack?

knyte — 2006-03-01T00:00:30+00:00

Cities count for 2 points (+1 for the territory, for a total of 3 points)
So a city attacking would worth a base of 3 points. That goes for all cities touching the territory you are attacking in question.

Thread: Cites count 3 points for attack?

havoc110 — 2005-11-11T00:26:52+00:00

In the attack phase, do cities count for attacking purposes. The same question can be applied for allies. Do their adjacent cities count towards total combat strength?

thanks

Thread: Re: Borderlands vs Ascalion?

ivefa9 — 2005-10-12T03:23:35+00:00

Thanks a lot for your answers..It is appreciated!

Thread: Re: Borderlands vs Ascalion?

dakarp — 2005-10-11T16:26:05+00:00

The Ascalion and Borderlands artwork are not identical, especially with regard to the sea spaces. I owned Ascalion (sold it, since I didn't enjoy the game that much), and I'd say that it is probably the better version. Be aware, though, that the rules are in german only. There is a lousy translation (I can say that, because I did the translation), or you can use the Borderlands rules, which are not quite identical.

Thread: Re: Borderlands vs Ascalion?

Eggo — 2005-10-11T16:09:40+00:00

Hi,
I'd say "Ascalion" is the better version. The board and counters have the same artwork as the EON version, but are of sturdier quality, and the rules have been slightly revised to avoid misunderstandings. In addition "Ascalion" already contains the expansion set (including counters) to "Borderlands" as optional rules, so you basically get two games in one. I own "Ascalion" and find it superior to the EON version that I know as well, but for collectors the original "Borderlands" is of course worth much more, and "Ascalion" has only German rules.
Hope that helps,
Moritz Eggert (Eggo)
www.westparkgamers.de

Thread: Borderlands vs Ascalion?

ivefa9 — 2005-10-11T15:06:21+00:00

Hi,
Which one is the better? Do Ascalion has different rules?
Thanks for your help!
..Yves