Game: Battle of Seattle

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powwowdancer — 2008-07-17T13:04:28+00:00

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powwowdancer — 2008-07-17T13:04:04+00:00

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powwowdancer — 2008-07-17T13:03:27+00:00

Thread: New map

ltmurnau — 2008-02-07T19:07:19+00:00

A new map has been produced by user "jomokenyatta".
It is an area-movement map, in full colour, with an arrangement of areas rather different from the original "web" version.
Feel free to download and use this variant map!

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jomokenyatta — 2008-02-07T10:52:45+00:00

Alternate map

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The Maverick — 2007-06-21T16:09:13+00:00

Moderators who rejected this last time: As already stated, this image is LARGER. Much larger. And you can read it, unlike the present version.

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The Maverick — 2007-06-20T17:50:29+00:00

Counters

Thread: What DO we want?

InShaneee — 2006-10-25T16:52:12+00:00

Once again on the hunt for some good printable Freeware games, I came across this one. Intreagued by its hippy beating/police harrassing dynamic, I decided I couldn't not give it a try. Here's my impressions:

Components:
I'll start off by saying that if you plan to play this, do yourself a favor and grab the fan made counters on the Geek. The official counters are not only ass-ugly (most are so low resolution it's really impossible to tell what's being represented), but you're required to color them in yourself, which strikes me as a pretty absurd request. The board isn't anything to write home about (the spaces are overlayed over a metro map of Seattle), but it serves its purposes. Personally, though, I did find it a pain to print out, as most programs resize large images, and I could find no indication of how large the board is supposed to be originally.

Gameplay:
Historical reinactment buffs and social dissenters alike are going to be pleased here. The game reinacts the 1999 Seattle WTO riots, with one player as the police and one as everyone else. Victory is determined by the "Exposure Index", which reflects the effect the media's portrayal of each side is having on the public. The police start out with 30 points, and have a difficult time gaining more. The protesters start out with 0, but don't lose points easily. This is where it gets interesting: The protesters and the police have very different goals. The protesters can fight off the police, but the police are stronger, and since they can't be permanently removed, this becomes counterproductive as the game wears on. What they really need to do is swarm the city and 'be seen' in as many places as possible to sop up Exposure points for doing that. Conversely, the police have to try to contain protesters. While this is difficult at the outset, once they get to break out the riot gear, combat becomes a breeze for them. The two different goals make for a sense of chaos appropriate to the setting. The only problem here is simply that it is a historical reinactment; the police are screwed from the outset. While it is possible for them to win, the game is naturally biased against them.

Replayabilty:
I myself didn't find much, though I'm not big on historical reenactments. While it is still fun as a wargame, I found the historical accuracy simply limited the strategic possibilities in the long run.

All in all, I did enjoy this game from my playings of it. The fact that publicy wins the day I found very cool (along with the rest of the loving attention to historical detail), and I enjoyed that there was still a wargame to be had in here. While it might not stand the test of time play-wise, it is free, so there's little to lose in trying it.

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powwowdancer — 2006-07-15T23:12:19+00:00

Here's a shot of the playing board. My printer chose to print it out in shades of black and green.

Thread: Eminently Playable.

powwowdancer — 2006-07-15T23:06:35+00:00

I've really come around to enjoying "print and play" games. Zombie Plague, The Patriot Act Game, and now Battle Of Seattle are on my gaming shelf. For you grognards, the "units" are set up like normal wargame units, i.e., square chits with a silhouette representing the type of unit, (as well as being color-coded, but you have to do that yourself), with three single digits that provide the following information:

2-4-3

The first number is that unit's attack strength, the second number is the unit's "morale" and the third number is it's movement. But you've got to remember that it's not about fighting and winning battles, or the cops would win every time... they have access to state troopers and even national guards as backups, and they can use special munitions like tear gas, rubber bullets, hoses, dogs, etc. No, gentle pilgrim, the way you win this battle is in the press. In addition to a turn counter track, there is what is called an "Exposure Index." For all intents and purposes, you could just as well call them "victory points," since as either the authorities or the protestors, you will live or die by these numbers. At the beginning of the game, the authorities start out with 30 E.I., the protestors with 0. Protestors get E.I. points for every police unit sent away in disarray, (hard to do, but it does happen) and differing amounts points for occupying strategic locations downtown. The police seem to be able to only lose E.I., whereas the protestors seem only to be able to gain them. There are logistical problems for both sides: the protestors aren't allowed to "stack" more than two crowd units per location hex. The crowds all disperse and go home during night turns, and you have a fractious bunch of folks to work with, at best. Everything from anarchists, liberals and environmentalists, to looting "yahoos," extremists and organized labor. You can never rid Seattle of a police unit permanently, (like they can do to you!), and you tend to be both weaker, and your crowds have pitiful morale. As the Authorities, you have to mind your manners. If you shoot at ants with an elephant gun, it'll cost you MAJOR E.I. points. Only YOU can escalate, (which opens a whole 'nuther can of worms... if you escalate to stage three, you cannot win, only prevent a MAJOR ass-whoopin' by the protestors. You start at stage one.) Every time you do what will rid Seattle of the most protestors the quickest, you are penalized E.I. for it. BUT, there is a carrot as well as a stick, you get big, honkin' freakin' boat-loads of E.I. points if you rid the map of all CROWDS (in a daylight turn) or of protestors completely. That is much easier said than done, but it can be done. Add to this precarious mix, the "Random Event Table," and you get a real feel for the kind of organic, living entity that any massive scale confrontation with the authorities can become. This game, however you feel politically, is meant as a satire, and it should be played with tongue planted FIRMLY in cheek as such. The rules are short and sweet, with only a few minor ambiguities, (I had to hunt a little to find out if protestors got points for location hexes they shared with cops at the end of a turn, and I wondered about what to do if you ended a turn with protestors and police in the same location, but I got it all sorted out!) All in all, Battle Of Seattle is both fun and funny, with realistic mechanics and I'll definitely be playing it again.

powwowdancer out

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powwowdancer — 2006-07-15T23:06:30+00:00

early in the game... lookin' bad for the cops, and it never got better.

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powwowdancer — 2006-07-15T23:04:34+00:00

Note the cheesy "crayon-colored" tokens! Excellent.

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shumyum — 2002-09-26T01:01:25+00:00