For over 700 years, Spanish Christians
tried to exterminate the Arab kingdoms of southern Spain.
This great "Reconquista" fired the crusading zeal of countless
generations. The Arabs, or Moors as they were known to
the Spanish, saw the Spaniards as backward barbarians
and fought ferociously to protect their sophisticated
civilization. Finally, in 1482 King Ferdinand of Aragon
embarked on the last campaign, to take fabled Granada
from its Islamic rulers.
This quick-playing, physically beautiful game re-creates
the final 10-year struggle for Granada. Players take command
of the Christian and Moslem holy warriors. God is on your
side. Will you prevail?
Granada: The Fall of Moslem Spain is a two-player
game based on the 1481-1492 campaign between Ferdinand
and Isabella of Aragon and Castille on one side (the "Spanish
player") and Muhammed XII and later Muhammed XIII on the
other (the "Moorish player"). The game's designer is Robert
Markham, known for Soldier Kings and dozens of
other game designs.
This is Avalanche Press' first "Euro-style" boardgame
production, lavished with lovely artwork. The box has
an original painting by Lorenzo Sperlonga, best known
for his work on Avalanche's role-playing
books and in Heavy Metal magazine.
The game is not overly complex. The game board (mounted,
22x17 inches) shows southern Spain including the Kingdom
of Granada and surrounding areas. A network of key points
is laid over this map, with castles, ports and unfortified
areas connected by roads. Troops move along these roads
from point to point.
The object of the game for the Spanish player is to conquer
the Moorish kingdom — Granada herself and five other
important Moorish sites. The Moorish player seeks to prevent
this, or to force peace on the Spaniards by taking their
key cities of Cordoba and Lorca.
Each player has troops with which to carry out these
tasks — knights, cavalry, and foot soldiers plus
warships. The Spanish player also has siege cannon. Both
players have leaders to move their troops and assist them
in battle, with Ferdinand for the Spaniards and Muhammed
al-Zagal for the Moors being much better at this than
other leaders.
The playing pieces are one inch square and much thicker
than standard game counters. Each sports an original painting
by Terry Moore Strickland showing the type of unit represented.
In battle, both players place their units on a combat
display and roll dice to determine how many "hits" are
achieved. Four hits will eliminate a typical unit. The
best units in the game are the Moorish Jund armored cavalry
and the fanatic Spanish Knights of Santiago and Calatrava.
A well-manned castle is very difficult to capture, but
the Spanish siege guns can make an enormous difference.
At sea, the Spanish player is trying to deny the Moor
reinforcements from Africa. Many Moorish troops are volunteers
from overseas, who must arrive at ports. The Moor can
also gain aid from the Ottoman Empire, but only if he
or she has kept the ports open.
The game takes about two hours to play, probably less
between experienced players. The rules — which bear
some similarities to other Rob Markham games such as Soldier
Kings and Montcalm and Wolfe — are
eight pages in length.
Links:
 STK
#0501
Status: Out of Print
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