From: Roberto Chiavini <mumaye@mail.dada.it>
Subject: Three Reviews

Khyber Rifles (3w on Wargamer 34)

This game is an attempt to recreate the feeling of british colonial
warfare in the middle of the nineteenth century, in a magazine format
with two small half size maps and 100 counters.

The graphics of this game are dated, but there really bad (especially
the maps - the counters, with soldier icons on them are nor very good,
but neither terribly bad) even for the mid-Eighties.

Each combat unit is rated for Fire, Melee and Morale, also for Effective
range and Maximum Effective Range (the double of the Effective range,
but you may use only half of your firepower to that distance). Leaders
have a morale factor, a leadership bonus range and a leadership bonus
(fundamental for all the morale checks - and there are many - you need
to roll in the game). 

The countermix is not exactly kaleidoscopic in variety: you have
infantry, cavalry (mounted and dismounted) and gutling guns for the
British player (which may also use Sepoys on his side, but they may
desert); only two kinds of infantry troops for all the Tribesmen the
British have to fight.

This was an attempt to create something similar to Squad Leader for the
frontier wars of the Victorian Era, but, probably also for the limits of
the magazine format, it was a failed design, lot of confusion in the
rules, to make the things worse an almost illegible map (Kevin Zucker is
in the credit for that. I can't believe it…) which push each player's
patience to the limit.

Anyway, the sequence of play is clear enough:

each turn starts with a rally phase (usual stuff here, with leaders
playing a part very similar to that used in Squad Leader for example -
i.e. you need leaders to rally your units), then the British player got
a Volley fire phase (in practice, all of the British troops that forms a
line may fire, but they move only one hex in the following movement
phase), then the first player moves his units (trigging opportunity fire
each time the units move adjacent to an enemy unit capable of fire -
there are no ZOC, so a single unit may trigger several opportunity fire
from the enemy and each enemy unit may fire several time with
opportunity fire even against the same unit, if you continue to move it
adjacent to the same target), then there is a defensive fire phase, an
offensive fire phase and at last a melee phase.

Each CRT is heavily depended on terrain, and you have to roll to dice to
have a result. This may be no effect, morale check or unit elimination
plus morale check.

There are eight different scenarios with the game, plus easy rules to
make others, if you want.

The system doesn't really works as a simulation, but it could be fun, in
a strange sort of way. Unfortunately, the maps are really a pain to look
at and to play with. It's almost impossible to understand which hexes
are blocked by LOS in several situation and this severely affects the
pleasure you may have playing this game. With better graphics the game
could be playable, but as it stands is too painful to get to conclusion.

I rate this game 6 out of 10 for the system, 4 out of 10 as it stands
for the graphics.