Front 1901 rules

Europe, 1901. Seven Great Powers fight over the continent. No dice, no luck: everything depends on your orders, your opponents' orders… and the promises each side keeps or breaks.

Goal

The map has 34 supply centres. The first power to control 18 wins the game. You may then keep playing; the game ends by itself when no enemy centre is left. If your power loses all its units and centres, it is eliminated. In a short game, play stops at the end of 1910 and the power with the most centres wins. The daily challenge gives everyone the same power, level and luck each day, so you can compare results.

The map

Europe is divided into 75 territories: 56 land provinces (inland or coastal) and 19 seas. Switzerland is impassable. Each power starts with three home centres, four for Russia; the twelve other centres are neutral (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Tunis, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Rumania).

Split coasts and straits

Spain and St Petersburg have a north coast and a south coast, Bulgaria an east coast and a south coast: a fleet is always on one of them and can only move along that one. Denmark and Sweden are neighbours, for armies and fleets alike; however, the Skagerrak and the Baltic do not touch, so a fleet passes through Denmark or Sweden. Likewise, the Black Sea and the Aegean only connect through Constantinople. Kiel, thanks to its canal, touches both the Heligoland Bight and the Baltic.

Armies and fleets

An army moves across land provinces. A fleet moves across seas and coastal provinces, following the coast. A province can hold only one unit. All units have the same strength: what counts is the number of supports.

How a year works

1. Spring: everyone writes orders in secret, then all orders are revealed and carried out at the same time. Dislodged units retreat.
2. Fall: the same again. At the end of the fall, any power occupying a centre takes control of it (and keeps it until another power occupies it in a later fall).
3. Winter: everyone compares centres and units. With more centres, you build new units in your free, still-controlled home centres; with fewer centres, you must disband units.

The four orders

Resolving conflicts

Each move has a strength of 1, plus 1 per valid support. A holding unit defends with 1, plus its supports. The stronger side wins; on a tie, nobody moves (a "bounce").

• Two units trying to enter the same province with equal strength both bounce.
• Two units trying to swap places without a convoy block each other, unless one is stronger: it goes through and the other is dislodged.
• Units moving in a circle (A to B, B to C, C to A) all move, if nothing stops them.
• You can never dislodge your own unit, nor help it be dislodged.

Supports and cuts

A support is cut if the supporting unit is attacked by another power, even unsuccessfully: it has to defend itself and helps no one. One exception: an attack coming from the province the support is aimed at does not cut it, unless it dislodges the supporting unit.

Convoys

A coastal army can cross the sea if a fleet, or a chain of fleets, at sea carries it. Two orders are needed: the army moves to the landing coast, and each fleet along the way orders the convoy. In the game, just click the army and then the landing coast: your fleets at sea along the way are given the convoy order automatically. If a fleet on the route is dislodged, the convoy fails and the army stays put. A fleet on a coast cannot convoy, only a fleet at sea.

Retreats

A dislodged unit must withdraw to a free neighbouring province, other than the one the attacker came from and other than a province left empty by a bounce. If two units retreat to the same place, or if no retreat is possible, the unit is disbanded.

Winter builds

You can only build in your home centres, if they are free and still under your control: a centre conquered elsewhere counts towards your total but does not let you build. A fleet can only be built in a coastal centre; in St Petersburg you choose the coast.

Diplomacy

Negotiation is the heart of the game. In this solo version, every turn, the "Negotiate" button lets you, with each power:

• propose a non-aggression pact;
• ask for support for one of your moves;
• split centres ("Belgium for me, Holland for you");
• propose an alliance against another power;
• ask for a neutral zone around one of your centres.

The other powers write to you too: proposals, requests for support, demands, and news of their alliances and wars. Each nation has its own character: some almost always keep their word, others much less. A promise kept improves relations for good; a betrayal comes at a price. And if you grow too strong, expect a coalition.

Levels and help

Three levels are available. On Easy, the other powers play cautiously and keep their promises more often. On Normal, they coordinate attacks and defences. On Hard, they anticipate your moves by simulating several scenarios before deciding, and they are less trustworthy in diplomacy. To help you: a strength estimate under each order, a threat map, a summary after each turn, the full game history and a button that suggests orders.

Tips for getting started

Golden rule: a neutral centre taken in the fall is one more unit in the winter. And a well-placed support counts for more than an extra unit.

Play Front 1901