The Conquistadors: Spanish Conquest of the Americas 1518-1548

Manufacturer: Compass Games

The Conquistadors simulates the era of Spanish conquest in the Americas. Each player controls a group of conquistadors, seeking to end up with the most gold and power. The game pieces includes twenty famous individual leaders from history - Francisco Pizarro, Hernán Cortés, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, and many others - plus small groups of Spanish troops (horse, foot, and cannon) and larger bodies of native forces. The game system shows both the advantages the armored and mounted Spaniards enjoyed, and the enormous uncertainties they faced. A basically simple system of game procedures is enhanced by the use of cards to allow a great deal of game variation and strategy.

The game maps depict the outline and terrain of Central and South America as known in 1520. Your first task will be to seek out and discover the great Indian cities and empires, whose locations you do not know at the start. Once you discover them, it is time to gather gold.

In some cases you will do best to fight battles and plunder; in other situations it will be wiser to attempt diplomacy and enlist the natives as allies, especially if you have an interpreter in your expedition. Like Pizarro, you might try a Sudden Shock Attack to capture a native king. Always you must be sure to keep the colonial Governor happy, or he may issue a warrant for your arrest. Beware of native uprisings, painted warriors, and poisoned darts around the next corner, watch or for defection in your own ranks, and try not to fall victim to either mosquitoes or human sacrifice.

If you fall behind in the race for gold, you might try to win fame by descending the Amazon or discovering the Fountain of Youth. And when you are really in a tight places, perhaps you can appeal to Mano de Dios (Hand of God) to bail you out.

The Conquistadors is playable from one to five players, with an introductory Basic Game, a more involved Standard Game, some optional rules, and a special solitaire module.

Contents:
2 Mounted Maps
  ‣ 22" x 17"
  ‣ 25" x 22"
4 Countersheets (5/8" Size)
130 Conquistador/Strategy Cards
26 Asset Cards
4 Player Aid Cards
2 Six-sided Dice
1 Rules Booklet

Ages: 14+
Players: 1-5
Game Length: 120-360 minutes

Mechanisms:
• Dice Rolling
• Point to Point Movement