Just before Christmas I bought a card game called Maponimoes, with the intention of developing it into a quick and simple pseudo-wargame. Today I wrote some rules and tried it out.
The cards each depict one county of the United Kingdom and those counties that surround it. Coastal counties also have a ship icon. There are also 14 “Transit” cards in the pack. Also required are several dice in different colours.
I have only tried this with two players, but I am sure it will be adaptable for more. And so to the two player game.
Players take turns in drawing a card from the pack. Unless it is a coastal card or a transit card it is discarded. The first to draw either a coastal card or a transit card lays it on the table, rolls a die and places it on the card.
If it is a transit card this player is the Invader. The other player becomes the Defender. If it is a coastal card the player becomes the Defender and the other is the Attacker. The Attacker may only place new dice on the table on transit cards. The Defender may only place new dice on the table on new county cards.
After the first coastal card is laid new transit cards may be moved to or laid beside any coastal card.
Henceforth each player in his turn draws a card. If it can be laid adjacent to any card on the table he lays it, rolling a die and placing it on the card. He may then move one die from any card to an adjacent card. If the adjacent card is occupied by the opponent the dice values are compared. The lower is removed and the higher is reduced by the value of the lower.
When a transit card is vacated it is discarded.
Play continues until the pack is exhausted. The game can end here and the scores compared, or may continue by shuffling the discard pile and continuing until one side is eliminated.
The photo below shows the situation after one run through the cards. Blue has 20 points on the table and Red also has 20 points. The game continues.
General Whiskers' semi-historical wanderings 