TAKEOVER
For 2 Players
Game Instructions
Takeover is a strategy game where the objective is to capture your
opponent's capital city. This is accomplished by a coordinated effort
of the armies, fleets, cities and roads at the player's disposal. The
game is played with five different scenarios and randomly situated
capital cities which form constraints to each player's basic strategy.
Almost everything is represented by a colored square with the
exception of fleets and road builders. Armies are represented by red
or dark green squares depending on which player they belong to and
they settle territory which is represented by tan or green squares
respectively. Roads are indicated by yellow squares, cities by black,
ocean by blue and unsettled territory by light green squares. The
map is determined by the initial keypad input with the numbers 1,
2, 3 and 4 corresponding to the maps of Europe, Great Lakes,
Australia and swamp land map with any other input defaulting to
the map of Europe.
The game begins with each player possessing his capital city, its
associated army and a road builder all at the same location. The
army is selected by pressing the clear key which selects the army
nearest the player's cursor or the next sequential if the cursor hasn't
moved since the last selection. A selected object is indicated by a
rapid flashing of the object on the screen and army selection is
facilitated by movement of the army cursor which is controlled by
the wheel. Once the army is selected it can be stopped by pressing
the 5 key which causes the army to settle adjacent territory or it
may be directed to move by the keys 1-9 which represent eight
basic directions. The army will move square by square in the
direction specified at a rate dependent on the type of territory it is
currently on. The relative rates from fastest to slowest are
movements on roads, friendly settled territory, unsettled territory
and enemy territory. A trail of settled territory is also left behind if
the army isn't travelling on a road.
Cities are created by pressing an upper action key when an army is
selected. For city creation to take place the following conditions must
be satisfied: that the army isn't on a city or adjacent to another city,
that the army isn't on the edge of the screen and that only 20 cities
may be created by each player. Each city supports one uniquely
associated army and will generate or regenerate this army at a rate
dependent on the amount of friendly territory immediately
surrounding the city and the total amount of territory settled by that
player. Enemy territory will hinder or prevent the generation of
armies if it is surrounding the city. If a city is on the coastline it is
designated a port city which also has an associated fleet. There can
only be two port cities for each player and these are defined as the
first two cities that are created on the coast. If a port city is
destroyed during the course of a game, it may only be replaced by
creating a new port after the previous one was destroyed.
Fleets are selected by the key 0 and are moved in the same manner
as armies. They also have the capability of carrying up to two armies
per fleet and may engage other fleets in battle. If a fleet is loaded it
experiences more risk in battle when compared to a fleet which is
unloaded. The loading of a fleet is accomplished by directing an army
on the coast towards a fleet which is adjacent to the coast. The army
moves at a normal land rate onto the fleet and successful loading is
indicated by the fleet changing colors to the color of the army.
Unloading is achieved by selecting the fleet and directing it aground
when it is next to the coast. The army is unloaded at this square if
there is no other army present at that location and the fleet changes
back to it's original color.
Road builders are selected by the enter key and are moved by the
direction keys 1-9. Their movement is different from armies and
fleets in the respect that they move immediately with keypad input
if the road builder has accumulated a sufficient amount of road
builder points. These points accrue at a fixed rate and have an upper
bound. Since the road builder moves instantaneously there is no
stop key needed. This key (number 5) is used to toggle between the
road builder's two modes which are movement only mode and build
mode. The movement only mode is indicated by a normal selection
flash rate and requires and requires less road builder points for each
square moved. The build/destroy mode requires more points and
builds roads if it is moving onto an unpaved area and destroys them
if a road already exists there. This mode is indicated by a slower
flashing rate. Road builders only move on land, expend more points if
moving on enemy territory relative to unsettled territory and a
lesser amount if on friendly territory. They may move through
friendly armies but are instantaneously returned to the capital city
when they move on an enemy army. Armies are capable of following
roads in the if they are straight or have gentle 45 degree turns. An
army will always travel preferentially straight ahead and will turn
right instead of left at forks in the road.
Battles occur when enemy armies or fleets occupy a surrounding
square next to a friendly army or fleet. These are indicated by a slow
flashing of the objects in battle. Fleet battle calculations are done by
checking whether it is loaded or not to determine the relative risks
of sinking. Army calculations are significantly more complex due to
the fact that an army's risk increases depending on the number of
enemy armies it is surrounded by and decreases if it has friendly
armies surrounding it which lend support. It is optimal to move
armies as a coordinated front so they will support each other. When
an army dies there is a short time which must elapse before its city
will begin attempting the process of generating a new army.
A city is captured when an enemy army occupies it by moving onto
it. The game is ended when the enemy's capital city is occupied. To
aid in the location of these critical cities during the course of game
play the lower two action keys are used to place the player's army
cursor onto the two capital cities. Upon the capture of a capital city,
the game ends and all territory is occupied by the winning player's
color.
KEYPAD SUMMARY:
1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9: Move in key direction (up, down, left, right,
diagonals)
5: Stop / Change Road Builder Modes
CLEAR: Select Army
0: Select Fleet
ENTER: Select Road Builder
Upper Action Keys: Create City
Lower Left Action Key: Locate Home Capital City
Lower Right Action Key: Locate Enemy Capital City
Disc: Move Army Cursor
NOTE:
Because this game is a bit difficult to first pick up and play, a
suggested handicap for a new player is to allow him a few extra
minutes to set up cities, etc., before the more experienced player
even begins.
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(c)1999 Intellivision Productions, Inc.
www.intellivisionlives.com