Map idea: Star of Africa

[natty dread]

Ok, I realize this is a sort of obscure subject for a map - but it would simply make such an awesome CC map that I don't think it matters.

So, there's this Finnish boardgame called "Afrikan Tähti" (lit. Star of Africa) which was first published in 1951.

Read the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikan_t%C3%A4hti

Here's how the game board looks (the image is of the norwegian version:)



So basically, the red dots are cities, which contain random game chips, which can either be 3 types of gemstones (topazes < emeralds < rubies) or robbers who take all your money, or blanks. There's also 2 special chips: the star of africa diamond and the horseshoe.

Basically, each player gets to start either in Tangier or Cairo, and has to travel through the board, mining in the city regions which costs money, and trying to find the star of africa. Gemstones give you more money (different sum for each type), robbers take away all your money, blanks do nothing.

The game is won by finding the star of africa and taking it back to Tangier or Cairo. Alternatively, if another player finds it, you can win the game if you have the horseshoe and reach Tangier/Cairo first.

The game also contains various different travel routes: land routes which are free to use, sea routes which cost money, and air routes which cost even more money.


I've been thinking for some time now how this could be implemented as a CC map, and I have some ideas:

• Since we can't change the features of territories randomly, each city would have a set type of gemstone, and holding these cities would give you troops based on the gemstone types. All cities start neutral.
  
• The robber territories would give you a negative bonus if held. They could be placed strategically so that you would have to go through them to get to certain places easily, so they wouldn't stay neutral for the whole game.
  
• The star of africa would be the game objective and would have a big stack of neutrals. To win the game you need to hold this territory and either cairo or tangier. Cairo & Tangier would also start as neutrals.
  
• Land routes, sea routes and airlines would all be territories connecting the cities. No cities would be directly connected to each other. Land routes would be regular territories, and start with a random drop between them. Sea routes and air routes would be killer neutrals to simulate the cost of using them. Air routes would have more neutrals.
  
• Not sure how to implement the horseshoe though... maybe better just to forget the horseshoe.

So, what do you think?

[Aalmeida17]

is this another raly africa?

[natty dread]

is this another raly africa?

I don't know what you are talking about, sorry.

[tokle]

I was a big fan of this game when I was a kid.
Sounds like good fun.

[Victor Sullivan]

Okay, so you know this game but not Sorry!?? Anyways... This sounds like a sweet concept for a map! You should come up with a rough draft and post it.

[natty dread]

This sounds like a sweet concept for a map! You should come up with a rough draft and post it.

Well, maybe...

[Victor Sullivan]

This sounds like a sweet concept for a map! You should come up with a rough draft and post it.

Well, maybe...

No confident in your idea anymore?!?

[natty dread]

This sounds like a sweet concept for a map! You should come up with a rough draft and post it.

Well, maybe...

No confident in your idea anymore?!?

Well I can't properly work on it yet anyway, what with the 2-map-limit of the Foundry, so I might as well take my time with it and let the idea stew...

[Victor Sullivan]

Ah. Yes.

[Industrial Helix]

I'm sold. It sounds awesome.

One solution would be to have a city with three spaces, one for each gem. Each gem is a bonus on its own, but all three gives a monopoly on the region?

What about 8 starting positions? Perhaps various cities in Africa or off map world powers?

[ender516]

is this another raly africa?

I don't know what you are talking about, sorry.

My guess is that he meant Rail Africa.

[natty dread]

My guess is that he meant Rail Africa.

In that case no, this is far from the same thing. Totally different gameplay.

I'm sold. It sounds awesome.

One solution would be to have a city with three spaces, one for each gem. Each gem is a bonus on its own, but all three gives a monopoly on the region?

Hmm, something to consider. However I'd rather keep the one gem per city feature of the original game. They could be made as a collectable bonus: +1 autodeploy per gem, hold 1 of each gem for +3... or something similar.

What about 8 starting positions? Perhaps various cities in Africa or off map world powers?

Hm, I think this would work better with a random drop...

[Industrial Helix]

Ah, in my late night scan of the rules I read it as each city has more than one gem.

I guess, stick to the original gameplay, but I kind of want to see a sort of draft with the rules of CC version explained.

[natty dread]

I guess, stick to the original gameplay, but I kind of want to see a sort of draft with the rules of CC version explained.

I'll try to have a draft made soon-ish...

[MarshalNey]

I've thought upon this and it seems all really good, but I keep thinking that there has to be a better way to do the robbers... like a negative/positive bonus possibility similar to the Gas Chamber in SuperMax.

[natty dread]

I've thought upon this and it seems all really good, but I keep thinking that there has to be a better way to do the robbers... like a negative/positive bonus possibility similar to the Gas Chamber in SuperMax.

Hm, yes... I can see your point. Perhaps the horseshoe could give you robber protection? Though it doesn't quite make sense, really:

(robber comes and points a gun at you:)
- give me all your money!
- no way man, see this horseshoe?

[ender516]

If you have a horse attached to the shoe, then you can gallop away from the robbers. I had the impression that in the original game, the horseshoe did imply the ability to travel rapidly back to an endpoint.

[natty dread]

If you have a horse attached to the shoe, then you can gallop away from the robbers. I had the impression that in the original game, the horseshoe did imply the ability to travel rapidly back to an endpoint.

Interesting... I always thought the horseshoes were just good luck charms... you know, someone else found the diamond, but you can still get lucky if you have a horseshoe for good luck



edit: ah, if only the xml would allow objectives based on what other players are holding. We could make an objective like "if another player holds the star of a. and you hold horseshoe +cairo/tangier you win." that'd be so cool...

[Victor Sullivan]

I've thought upon this and it seems all really good, but I keep thinking that there has to be a better way to do the robbers... like a negative/positive bonus possibility similar to the Gas Chamber in SuperMax.

Hm, yes... I can see your point. Perhaps the horseshoe could give you robber protection? Though it doesn't quite make sense, really:

(robber comes and points a gun at you:)
- give me all your money!
- no way man, see this horseshoe?

- OH MY GOD you have a horseshoe!! Here's all the money I robbed from people!

[ArtAboveall]

So would there be a list of what cities are what on the side or would that be completely unknown and you have to use logic to figure out?

[Backside]

Sorry. Haven't rly had time to think (something complex like) this, but maybe it's not so big loss since my head just oveflows with ideas about this and can't decide how best way to go and yeh i have just completely different variations in my head so can't rly even pin point anything. gah u rly had to pick this game xD

I'll try to come up with sumttin before u've advanced too far with idea or after u've got sum general idea decided ^^

It's long time that i've played this (10-15 years i guess) ^^

[natty dread]

No worries, we have lots of time to refine this... this will have to wait until one of my current maps gets to FF.

And yeah, I also haven't played the game in over 15 years... have fond memories of it...

[ender516]

So would there be a list of what cities are what on the side or would that be completely unknown and you have to use logic to figure out?

Most CC maps label regions directly, that is, as close to the location where the troop number appears as possible. Occasionally, pointer lines connect regions with labels, but those can lead to confusion, as they can be mistaken for assault routes. Abbreviations with a key on the map are used occasionally, too, but they are generally kept to a minimum, because too many CC players find it a tremendous chore to read more than the absolute minimum that they can imagine.
If you are asking about knowing which cities have which jewels, this sort of thing is often done with icons, which are explained in a legend. The Jamaica map makes extensive use of this technique.

[Backside]

No worries, we have lots of time to refine this... this will have to wait until one of my current maps gets to FF.

yeh catched that. was just saying ^^

Wasn't quite catching which way u were going. I guess u were leaning towards random drops, but I just assumed that u aren't using all the dots (only bothered count sea routes and if i remember right; there was like around 100 so i guess over 200 total with planes and splitted areas) so didn't rly catch what type of dynamics/map size there would be. Besides that cities won't connect each others. So that for guess planes are like return to neutral type of things and count depending on flight distance or sumttin. Well that also depends on the goal or if there is one and if it's random drop or starting point type (well ok everything does so that's that xD)

What I mean is that there is so much floating ideas working solutions, but i'd like to hear if sumone has like at least a rough gameplay/map dynamic plan so i can give it some judgement/thoughts

Only thing that i know for sure is that Tangier, Cairo and Capetown should have some role (and like said i assume that plane routes are sumwhat like i said), but yeh that's quite rough (and obviously that there would be big stacked Star of Africa that would give win if held with Cairo or Tangier)

I couldn't rly get anywhere with idea (well more of one of my ideas) that Tangier and Cairo were split to 4 or 8 each giving 1 or 2 set-up starting points besides maybe if all of those had like 1 city that they can one way attack or sumttin like that, dunno or that sum cities are starting points and those 2 are neutrals.

With random drop iI find it that holding places thing problematic and anyways I dunno rly which areas should have em with all the game dynamics what respecting original game creates. Well it's gonna be tricky to respect the original one while creating working one ^^

O yeh i put one random thoughts here ^^ Well if u make sea routes "killer" neutrals then those routes should be more usefull than land routes and i haven't rly figured how they are. Yeps one silly random idea xD Horse shoe could be only place where u can attack or bombard to all of three places to be hold for victory or summtin like that. Yeps didn't rly know either anything smart(/sumttin that'd makes sense to original game and works in cc) to do with it ^^

okay forgot half the things already at this point so i end ^^

[Backside]

So i can do double post if someone won't bother read that longer one ^^

I'd just like to hear at least very raw roundabout mapsize, dynamic, maybe neutral count.... just to give me some direction where to go with this/ what u rly wanted to do with this. (I mean; map size could vary like hella lot with this one ^^)

Obviously anyones ideas for that case would help to figure bonuses and other dynamics more ^^ (,but i'd like to hear natty's opinion on mapsize you were planning. guess around 70 would be almost like absolute minium ^^)

and like i said earlier any very raw ideas work ^^