From: for1fan@aol.com (For1fan)
Subject: Age of Renaissance by Avalon Hill

This is part of what Don Greenwood wrote in the latest issue of the
GENERAL:

     Age of Renaissance is a strategy game for 3 to 6 players which traces
western civilization from its origins in the early Middle Ages to its
establishments as the world's dominant culture during the Age of
Enlightenment.
     Age of Renaissance is even less of a wargame than Civilization.
Although military concerns are present in the form of weaponry advantages,
the Crusades, civil wars and generic warfare representing everything from
minor rebellions to the 100 years war, conflict primarily occurs in economic
terms with players posing as merchants competing for riches and expanding the
horizons of civilization through trade.
     When a  player cashes in a commodity  card, it triggers an instant
payoff for all players who dominate provinces containing that commodity
(controlling its trade). The decision to allow the commodity trade is thus
a matter of weighing not only what you stand to gain, but how much you stand
to lose in relation to the gains made by your opponents.
     The wealth thus gained via commodities and by credits from Personality
cards are used to purchase Advances in their repective civilizations. Each
advance has an attribute which allows its owner some heretofore unobtainable
benefit. The choice of which to acquire first is exquiste torture because you
simply want them all and you have to have them now.
     Calamities are still a big part of the game but are no longer borne
as hidden gifts secured in bad trades. Instead they are drawn as usable
weapons in equal measure with the commodities and personalities that are
earned by each player as the game is played. Certain advances, purchases
and map expansion yield still more cards which help each player control
his destiny by selecting the eventual victim of each calamity card he controls.
     Once a piece is placed on the map, it never moves until it is
dislodged. Each player repaints the map in his own colors to the best of his
ability. Players determine movement order by purchasing expansion tokens.