Maori: Warriors of the Long White Cloud

Manufacturer: Compass Games

The Time: about 1450 A.D.
The Place: The Polynesian island chain of Aotearoa, now know as New Zealand.

The clan chiefs have always struggled for control of your island, since it was fist discovered (totally uninhabited) many generations ago. But now, population pressures have added new impetus to these clashes, and the traditional divisions of the North Island are ready to collapse into the chaos of war. Will you succeed in becoming New Zealand's sole paramount chief? Or will you and your warriors be on the menu of your opponent's victory celebration?

Māori: Warriors of the Long White Cloud is a card-drive war game that puts you in charge of a complex society as you try to impose your will on your neighbors - using essentially stone-age technology. Players begin the game on the North Island of Aotearoa, in charge of only a single iwi (or tribe). Other players are scattered across the map, with the many intervening iwi still neutral in this power struggle.

Also on the map, there to give your production boost, are populations of seals and moa, the giant flightless birds that once roamed the islands. You, too, might drive them to extinction. You must use your force of will to recruit neighboring iwi, using their people and resources to increase your power base. You begin with almost nothing, so you must train the population into a fighting force, build war canoes, and expand your base by building and fortifying new villages. Should you focus on building a large land force, or building a fast and flexible war canoes? You decide!

 • Complexity: Low-Medium
 • Time Scale: Variable
 • Map Scale: Area Movement
 • Unit Scale: Individual Leaders, 30-50 Warriors per Unit, Individual Large War Canoes
 • Players: 1 to 4, best with 4
 • Suitability for Solitaire: High
 • Average time to play: 1-2 hours

Contents:
1 Mounted Map (22" x 34")
5 Countersheets
110 Event Cards
4 Player Aid Cards
1 Rules Booklet
4 Six-sided Dice

Ages: 12+
Players: 1-4
Game Length: 60-120 minutes

Mechanisms: