Isle Wars

[Spedius]

Ave

Does anyone know of, or remember, William Soleau's Isle Wars?

It was a DOS shareware turn-based game that came out in the early 1990s.

If you've ever played RISK, Isle Wars is a similar game.

You can find it here http://www.soleau.com/index.html

Download, install and play the game and report back to us your thoughts.

Warning!!!

This is an extremely addictive game.

Have fun.

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Praefectusclassis]

*disregards warning*


oooh, fun!

[Spedius]

*disregards warning*
oooh, fun!

Ave Jasper,

What did you think of the game, details please?

For those of you who have looked but not tried out this captivating little game, here are some further details for you.

"The object of Isle Wars is to conquer all nine islands with your armies. You play the Blue army and the computer plays the other three adversaries, the Red, Green and Brown.

Isle Wars is totally Mouse controlled, so you will never need to touch the keyboard. Isle Wars is quite simple to learn and offers different levels of play. The game rules are very similar to the classic game of 'Risk', however, there are many other elements that you will have to contend with in order to conquer all nine islands."

Enjoy.

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Praefectusclassis]

It's fun, addictive and essential you're lucky in the beginning, esp. on Hard level.

[Spedius]

It's fun, addictive and essential you're lucky in the beginning, esp. on Hard level.

Ave Jasper,

Too true.

My advice, for what it's worth, is to play 10 winning games with the settings on EASY and the armies on TEN. This will give you time to work out the computer's strategies and your own answers.

Once you have your ten then move up, or down, to the next level and so on.

There are numerous variations for you to experiment with.

Have fun.

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Praefectusclassis]

It seemed to me the computer players have different varieties. Correct? Red seems to be the usual loser.

[Spedius]

It seemed to me the computer players have different varieties. Correct? Red seems to be the usual loser.

Ave Jasper,

It does seem that each of the other three colours has a different personality or style of play.

AFAIR the objective is to stop the other three players from getting ahead.

Here are some tips that I developed from many hours of playing Isle Wars.

Index - Word - Meaning

1. Blockers - Blockers have a dual purpose (A) Prevent attacks (B) Launchpad for counter attacks.

2. Cards - Keep your eye on the enemy's cards, they determine what additional armies the enemy will receive each turn, if you can stop them getting any more their options for attack/defence are limited.

3. Production Centres - If possible always capture these as quickly as you can, always have at least 2 armies on them, even if safe from attack. 2 doubles faster than 1.

4. Sacrifice - If you have a situation with two Blue grids faced by one enemy grid, ie. 2x10 versus 10, move 9 from 1 grid to another, then it's 19 to 10. If you are lucky he might attack your remaining 1 and weaken himself. You can then attack him and have more chance of success.

5. Spoilers - Spoilers are isolated grids occupied by Blue in enemy territory. If they are strong enough they can prevent the enemy's total control of an island.

Finally, I've attached a copy of the map.

Enjoy

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Narukami]

Greetings Spedius!

Is this game MAC compatible or PC only?

(This will determine which computer I download to.)

As it is a "mouse only" interface has there been any thought given to producing a version for the PlayStation or Xbox?

Thanks.

Narukami

[Spedius]

Greetings Spedius!
Is this game MAC compatible or PC only? (This will determine which computer I download to.) As it is a "mouse only" interface has there been any thought given to producing a version for the PlayStation or Xbox?
Thanks. Narukami

Ave Narukami,

I do believe there is a MAC version as well.

If you google ISLE WARS one of the results will be the MAC version of Isle Wars Pro v.1.

I've only tried the old DOS version for a PC so have no idea if any major changes have been added to the MAC or Windows iterations.

May I suggest downloading the DOS version initially, trying that and then deciding what to do next.

I'm unsure if any thoughts have gone into developing the game for any further platforms.

It's a pity that Soleau Software seem to have no Forum in which discussions such as this could be initiated.

Please let me know how much you enjoy playing the game.

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Spedius]

Ave,

Here are a couple of reviews of Isle Wars.

"Isle Wars is a cool game like the classic risk game, however, here you have many other elements to contend with such as floods, productions centers and other things always keep the game interesting. You won't even need directions because the game is so simple to play, and the mouse interface makes it very easy to quickly play a game in about 10 to 15 minutes. A very successful example of taking a classic and making it better. (7/25/2002)"

"Fun little game, just like risk but I thought it would be nice to have a level playing field option for normal difficulty. (It's a bit hard especially with the high degree of randomness). (8/24/2002)"

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Praefectusclassis]

Yes, I recognize the feel of perhas a too high degree of randomness. Oh well. Still very addictive. So much in fact, I deleted it off my laptop again for my own safety.

[Spedius]

Yes, I recognize the feel of perhas a too high degree of randomness. Oh well. Still very addictive. So much in fact, I deleted it off my laptop again for my own safety.

Ave jasper,

It's a shame that you deleted Isle Wars from your laptop. In spite of that element of randomness, it's still an enjoyable and a relatively quick game.

We could have had a good discussion about the pros and cons of the game. The best tactics and how to win on the various levels, stuff like that.

Let's hope others are more inclined to keep the game on their computers for much longer.

Being shareware, it initially costs nothing, the developers are relying on your conscience or sense of right and wrong to register the game. The only initial cost is your evaluation time whilst you give the game some severe play testing. If after that you decide to register and also tell your friends about the game, this is what the developer wants and encourages you so to do.

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Praefectusclassis]

Hi Jim,
I know it's a quick game. It's just that you want to play many games back to back which eats time.
I played the 'pro', windows-version which allowed less leeway in the setting of levels, so I'm not sure about the various tactics per level. What I did find corresponds with some of the pointers you gave earlier though.

[Spedius]

Hi Jim, I know it's a quick game. It's just that you want to play many games back to back which eats time. I played the 'pro', windows-version which allowed less leeway in the setting of levels, so I'm not sure about the various tactics per level. What I did find corresponds with some of the pointers you gave earlier though.

Ave Jasper,

Yes, I've played the 'pro' windows version too, some of the options have been 'turned off' as it's an evaluation version. They can be re-activated once Isle Wars is registered though.

Please let me put your mind at rest, I have absolutely no vested interest in Isle Wars.

IMHO we live in an age where most computer games are mind-numbingly complicated and you need a Master's degree in advanced logic or mathematics to be able to play them. OTOH Isle Wars is a quick, simple and enjoyable alternative so as to give your tired brain a temporary change of pace.

Isle Wars is neither being proposed as a replacement for, nor as a permanent alternative to, the plethora of splendid games which are currently available.

I will look forward, with interest, to your comments.

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Praefectusclassis]

Hi Jim,
I realize all that, no worries.
I found Isle Wars to be indeed a fun little game, with sometimes a frustrating influence of randomness. Also, just like real risk, there seems to be a sort of breaking point beyond which you can still stretch the game, but the outcome seems determined.