The New Game screen allows a user to create a new game of LandGrab.
Screen Layout
The screen is laid out into four main sections:
- Game settings
- Game options
- Players
- Computer players
Game Settings
The game settings includes the game name and the map to use.
Game Name: This is the name that is shown for the game in the Home screen and in status boxes.
Game Map: There are a
number of maps to choose from, you can click the "About Map" button to
see a brief description of the map and a small thumbnail image.
Game Options
The game options section includes all of the options used while creating the game.
Initial Army Size:
This is the number of armies that each player will receive before the
territories are randomly distributed. After the territories are
randomly distributed to each player, 1 army will be placed onto each
territory from this reserve of armies. Whatever armies are left
over are used during initial army placement.
Wild Card Ratio:
Specifies how many wild cards there will be added to the deck.
The base deck includes one card for each territory, evenly
distributed over the three card types (circle, diamond, star). If
the map has 40 territories, there will be 40 standard cards.
Adding a wild card ratio of 1 per 10 standard cards will add 4
wild cards to the deck.
Card Trade-In Value: Specifies how many armies are received for trading in a set of cards. There are two basic card trade-in options:
- Based on the type of set: the number of armies received is based
on the type of set traded in. Each type of set can be worth a
different amount, specified here. Usually, the order of value is:
3 circles worth the least, then 3 diamonds, then 3 stars, then one of
each, then 3 wilds. Wild cards can be substituted for any of the
other cards to make a set, or can be traded in together to make a set
of 3 wilds.
- Graduated or revolving scale: In this trade-in option, the type
of set traded in does not matter; all sets have the potential to yield
the same number of armies. There are four different options for
the graduated or revolving scale:
- 4, 6, 8, 10, 4 ... : This option is a revolving scale.
The first trade in is worth 4 armies, the next is worth 6, then 8
and then 10. After 10 armies are reached, the next trade-in is
worth 4, and the cycle continues.
- 5, 5 ... : All card trade-ins are worth 5 armies no matter when they are traded in or what type of set.
- 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 ... : This is a graduated scale. The
first trade-in is worth 4 armies. Every trade-in thereafter is
worth 2 more armies than the previous.
- 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... : This is a graduated scale identical to the
one above except that each trade-in is worth 1 more army then the one
previous.
Forced Card Trade-In:
So that the game does not run out of cards, players are forced to trade
in cards at some point. This number selects the maximum accrual
for each player.
Card Trade-In Time: Selects when a player can turn in cards. The two options are:
- No restriction: A player can turn in cards at any time, it does
not need to be the player's turn. Although they may trade in at
any time, the armies received from trading in cannot be placed on the
board until the beginning of their turn, during reinforcement placement
mode. See the interesting note on the cards help page about this option in conjuction with trade-in bonuses.
- Only at the beginning of the turn: A player can only turn cards in at the beginning of his or her turn.
Trade-In Bonus: If,
when trading-in cards, a player owns the territory refered to on a
traded-in card, the player can get a bonus number of armies (per
owned-territory card). Enter zero to disable this option, or
enter a number of armies that will be given for each owned-territory
card. Additionally, you may specify whether or not the armies
will be placed onto the referred territory, or if they will be added to
the player's reserve to place during the next reinforcement phase.
See the interesting note on the cards help page about this option in conjuction with the trade-in time / no restriction option.
Fortification Type:
During fortification, a player has the option to fortify any number of
armies from one owned territory to another. The allowed
territories are chosen with this option. The three options
include:
- "Path" : The player may move any number of armies from one
territory to another, provided there exists an owned path of
territories connecting the two.
- "Border" : The player may move any number of armies from one territory only to another bordering territory.
- "Any" : The player may move any number of armies from one territory to any other territory.
Capitols: Whether or not to use capitols in the game. See "about capitols" on the board help screen for more information about capitols.
Fotresses: Whether or
not to use fortresses in the game. Note that the map may not
contain fortresses, selecting this option with a map which doesn't
contain fortresses will do nothing. See "about fortresses" on the board help screen for more information about fortresses.
Leaders: How many leaders each player receives. Select zero to disable leaders. See "about leaders" on the board help for more information about leaders.
Players
This text entry area is used to invite players to your game.
Enter each player's email address, seperated by a comma.
Note that this email address does not need to be the email
address used by the invitee in previous games; this is simply where the
invitation will be sent. The invitee has the option to join or
decline the game. Players can be added or removed later, while
the game is still in registration mode (before all invitees have
responded), by going to the game details screen for the newly-created game.
If you wish to enter a text message to append to the invitation email, you may do so in the second text entry area.
By default, you will be added to the game. If you do not wish to
be in the game, uncheck the "Include yourself in the game" checkbox.
Nickname: If you are including yourself in the game, enter the nickname you would like to use for this game.
Color: Select your desired color for your character in this game.
Computer Players:
You may add computer players for an added challange, or if the game
doesn't have enough players. Each computer player needs the
following options:
Name: The nickname used by the computer player.
Color: The color of the computer player.
Difficulty: How challenging the computer player will be. 1 is the easiest, 100 is the most difficult.
Click the "Add Computer" button to add the computer player.
You can add any number of computer players to the game by repeating the steps above.
Game creation
When you have finished supplying the game and player details, click the
"Create Game" button to create the game. If there are any errors
or problems with the details you have chosen you will be notified
immediately and can modify the details accordingly.
