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In the beginning there were still army-counters, dice and no cards. One year later all elements of the game were already existing. Nevertheless it took another two years to complete and harmonise the rules.
The bigger part of the test-games have been played in a military camp of the United Nations peace keeping force on the
Golan-heights between Syria and Israel, where approximately 500 troops and civilians from all over the world do their duty.
Since the beginning of the mission the game has been played at about ten-day intervals. Since a last minor completion of the rules in october 2004 no further changes have been made.
Statistics
The test-players come from many different social backgrounds and are 20 to 40 years of age. To be mentioned: Younger test-players with a higher level of education show the most interest in the game. To my regrets the choice of female test-players has been very limited. I found out, however, that women like to play the game as well and that they are very successful at it. (I assume that is because they are clever at marrying their ladies to the knights while men tend to waste their strength in ruinous feuds against each other.)
From time to time I asked players after a game to fill in an assessment form. This is the result of 20 forms so far:
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Average duration of the game: Beginner's game: 160 minutes Advanced player's game: 120 minutes |
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| These are the average results on a scale from 1-9:
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| Complexity: | 7.6 | (1 = simple / 9 = complex) | |
| Random-factor: | 7.3 | (1 = high / 9 = tactical) | |
| Excitement: | 8.2 | (1 = boring / 9 = exciting) | |
| Originality: | 8.3 | (1 = boring / 9 = witty) | |
| Design: | 7.8 | (1 = bad / 9 = good) | |
| Game's rules: | 6.9 | (1 = incomprehensible / clear = 9) | |
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That it is possible to buy appointments at the start of the game and then influence the game holding them. That there are several ways to win the game. |
What the players wanted to have altered most:
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The land-stones should be easier to distinguish from each other. Some players wished to have more feuds in the game. |
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my friends in Austria, especially
My thanks go also to the United Nations soldiers of Camp Faouar who tested the game and provided me with lots of ideas and suggestions. I am sorry that I cannot mention them all here.
Especially I would like to mention the comrades of LOGBATT Signals Detachment in Camp Faouar, who have helped me a lot to translate the rules of the game into proper english.