I was fortunate enough to secure a pre-production copy of the new Avalon Hill version of History of the World.

The game was sent to me so that I could playtest it with our Westbank Gamers gaming group, as well as other gamers in the vicinity. The folks on the Hill were looking for feedback and suggestions concerning the game.

First, let me state that I continue to applaud the new Hill's efforts to revise, upgrade and release some of the old Avalon Hill classics. Few could argue with the outstanding production qualities of these new releases. They are truly a joy to admire and play.

I just wish mother Hasbro would back up these great games with some money and intelligent marketing. Otherwise, I fear the future of the new Hill will be bleak and short.

After extensive consultations and work with the game's original designers, the Ragnar Brothers, History of the World has been slightly revamped. I say "slightly" because, in spite of several changes and modifications, the game retains its original feel and flavor. The changes which have been made have been mostly minor, most with an eye on shortening the game's length and helping make it more accessible to a wider audience. If one keeps these overall objectives in mind, then the end result is much more palatable and understandable.

So, what's changed? First, let's look at the overall appearance of the game:

1) Miniatures: Gobs of 'em. Each player has different miniatures for the seven different epochs. Yes, each epoch uses the same type of miniatures (so the Russians look exactly like the British!), but they are different for each epoch. The detail is very nice and they seem reasonably sturdy. A BIG plus is that they are not attached to plastic frames, so one need not spend hours punching out hundreds of toy soldiers.

With one glaring exception (the choice of 'forest' green and 'olive' green), the colors are vibrant and easy to distinguish. We have called the 'green' problem to AH's attention and they will try to correct this if the miniatures have not yet been shipped from the Orient. Hmmmm ... perhaps we could have used the AH order for these miniatures as part of our bargaining arsenal when negotiating the release of our American flight crew! :o)

In addition to the figures, there are really cool pieces for the capitols (with gold roofs!), cities, forts and monuments. Sure, all of the monuments are tiny representations of the 'Arch die Triomphe', but they still look cool. Further, the pieces all fit snugly together, so a city nestles comfortably inside a fort and the soldiers also rest atop these buildings. Very, very nice.

2) Map: I'm not so fond of the changes which have been made here. The colors scheme is much brighter and, in my opinion, a bit garish. A few new territories and oceans have been added, but everything seems to have been crammed into a limited space. North and South America, in particular, seem to have been squeezed in along the edge of the board. Still, there is enough room for all of the pieces, so this is an aesthetic complaint, and not a functional one.

Further, they have shrunk the victory point table to practically unreadable dimensions. Well, unreadable for my nearly 40-year old eyes, that is. To be fair, they have also added little scoring placards for each region, which clearly reveals the points scored for Presence, Control and Domination of a region.

My initial impression of these charts wasn't favorable as I felt they were unnecessary and added clutter to the board. In practice, however, they did make scoring a bit easier and were a nice aid to players when calculating their potential moves. We have suggested providing player aid cards with a victory point chart depicted, but will have to settle for a larger chart printed on the back of the rule book.

Now, let's examine some of the rules changes and modifications:

1) Combat: When rolling dice, ties formerly resulted in re-rolls until the highest die won. Now, if a tie results, both sides lose an army. Very bloody. This often results in an area being vacant following an initial combat, so the attacker can simply place a soldier there, provided he has units remaining.

2) Occupation: Each territory can only be occupied by one unit, plus cities, forts and monuments. Thus, territories are a bit easier to conquer. This is another 'speed of play' issue.

3) Forts: Forts still add the +1 modifier to the defender's die roll. However, if the defender loses a combat roll, the fort is removed first. This means the remaining soldier must still be defeated before the attacker can occupy the territory. This is a neat change which benefits the defender and adds value to a fort. Fortresses have been eliminated.

4) Amphibious Invasions: When being attacked from across a sea or ocean, the defender now rolls 3 dice instead of 2. This makes naval invasions VERY tough. Further, there are no issued concerning control of an intervening ocean when attacking across straits. This, too, was done to eliminate fiddily rules and simplify the system somewhat.

5) Ships: Ships no longer remain from Epoch to Epoch. If a nation has naval capabilities, generic ship tokens are placed in the appropriate seas and/or oceans. That nation ... and ONLY that nation ... can use these ships. Following the completion of that nation's turn, the ship tokens are removed. Thus, they do not earn victory points.

6) Event Cards: The event cards are now divided into two decks: Greater Events and Lesser Events. Each player receives three Greater Event cards and seven Lesser Event cards. This has resulted in some unbalanced distributions, so, upon our recommendation, the rulebook will now contain options for evenly distributing the cards.

7) Preeminence Bonus: In the original HotW, it was oftentimes unwise to be the leader. The leader was usually the target of weak nation cards and attacks by his opponents. Thus, one well tested strategy was to 'hang back' in second or third place and avoid being the leader following an epoch.

8) Nations: The strength of many nations has been reduced, mainly due to the 'one army per territory' rule change. However, they've also given the United States more naval capability as they are now able to navigate the Pacific Ocean. Now, they are no longer the 'kiss of death'. Hurray!

The new version introduces Preeminence Bonus chits. These chits have values of 3, 4, 4, 5, 5 and 6. If a player is the sole leader following an epoch, he receives one of these tokens, but does not look at it. At the completion of the game, these chits are revealed and added to his score. Thus, there is now an incentive to be the leader.

At first I balked at the idea of including such a random element in the game. However, after detailed discussions with Hill representatives, I see why they were included. I'm still not completely sold on the idea, but, as with nearly all of the changes, if you don't like 'em, don't use 'em.

That's just about all the significant changes. Fortunately, AH has been very receptive to our suggestions and ideas and will be incorporating many of them into the final product.

One thing I'm very pleased about is that they will include a page of rules for 'Experienced' players. These rules will restore just about all of the original HotW rules, so veterans who prefer the original will be able to play the same game they know with these vastly improved components. Bravo!

So do all of these changes accomplish what AH set out to do, namely reduce the time it takes to play the game and make it more accessible to a wider range of gamers? No and yes.

The two games I've been involved with have both clocked in at over four hours. Two others I moderated also exceeded four hours. With a group of experienced players, you might be able to shave off 20 to 30 minutes, but it won't ever be a two-hour game. In my opinion, however, that's completely fine. I don't mind a four hour game if it is engaging and fun. HotW is both.

I do feel the game could have wide market appeal ... PROVIDED it is marketed forcefully and correctly. It won't be. It will be shipped to hobby shops and sit on their shelves, relying on eye-catching graphics and superb box art to sell it. What a shame. Marketed properly, this game could be a BIG hit, one easily learned and played by adults and teen-agers everywhere. Wake up, Hasbro! Spend some money and market these games properly!

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