Subject: Re: KREMLIN, a review.. From: rri1@aol.com (RRI1) >Has anybody played KREMLIN? Sure. >How is the game? Is it any good? It is different. It was originally published in Switzerland(?) I do not know th e company and then republished in the US by AH. Basically the idea of the game is each player represents a faction trying to control the Soviet gov't, purging one's enemies and advancing your people to the top slots. Each player at the start allocates secretly influence points to 10 politicians (out of 26 in the game with such humorous names as Boris Badenuff and Sergei Krakemheds) giving one 1 pt. another 2 pts. etc up to 10. In each phase of the game, the faction who has declared the most influence on politician (you may declare some of your points, but you don't have to declare all--declaring 3 pts on a politician to whom you allocated 8 pts, for example.) performs the actions of that politican. You can declare influence literally at any time--even to just before that politician is to act. The second idea in the game is that polticians age more quickly when given stressful tasks to do--purge some one, get older; hold a trial, get older; promote people, get older; rehabilitate people from Siberia, REALLY get older. The older a politican is, the more likely he/she will get sick or die of disease. In all cases, if a politician cannot perform a task, there is specified order of succession for each task Each turn is played in 8 phases: 1) Cure: Each politician may either chosse to cured at a sanitorium (which greatly increases the chance of survival/recovery)) but then that poltician can perform no actions AND is more vulnerable to purges and trials. In addition, sick and ill politicans age 1 or 2 years. 2) Purges: KGB head conducts purges on various politicans by rolling a die. The higher the rank they are, the more mopre difficult it is purge them. Each succcessful purge, ages the KGB head 1 year, failed attempts, 3 years. Purged politicians go to Siberia where they stay until rehabilitated. 3) Investigations and trials: Defense Minister may conduct a trial on the people he has investigated on a previous turn. 2 votes can acquit and he ages 3 years if there is an acquittal. He ages with 1 year for each investigation oprned or closed. Instead of a trial, he may banish a candidate (lowest ranking politician) and age 2 years. Convicted politicians go to Siberia. 4) Health phase: Each member of the Politburo rolls on the health table to see if gets sick, gets ill or dies or even maybe recover. Those that took the cure roll on an easier table, 5) Promotion to Party Chief: If the party chief dies (or was purged or convicted), the Foreign Minister nominates a high level politican for Party chief, to be put up for vote. If the vote fails, he'll nominate another until some one gets the nod. 6) Reassignment: Party Chief starts by promoting and or demoting people or reassigning them on the same level. Each promotion or demotion ages you 1 year. Reassignmenmts at the same level do not age you. When he is done if there is spot at the highest level left open, the oldest politician at the next lower level is promoted at no age cost. Then the next lower politican may promote (but not demote or reassign) any politicians they choose, etc. Until all spots in the politburo are filled. 7) Rehabilitation: A politician may free a disgraced politican from Siberia, but this ages him 5 years for doing so. 8) Parade: The Party chief now waves at the May Day parade. If he sick or ill, he will age and must roll a die to see if he is successful at waving. The object of the game is to have a Party chief under your control wave successfully 3 times. The game is definitely tongue in cheek and it is pretty fun--if you do not get shut out of any actions as sometimes happens. Takes about 2 hours to play. It is not may favorite but it can be entertaining. AH added an advanced set of rules which added event cards (to make the action more choatic) and some somewhat more complicated rules (specialties/weaknesses for each of the politicians, etc.) Generally I play the basic game, but I am mainly playing with one or two newbies and I try to make the game simpler. They also published a "Revolution" variant which simulates the situation just after Lenin's stroke. It adds real politicans such as Stalin, Trotsky, etc. Richard Irving rri1@aol.com Made with recycled electrons!