COSMOPOLY The game of Cosmopoly is a board game which abstractly represents interplanetary war in the Solar System during the latter part of the 21st Century. The board is composed of forty squares laid out in a rectangular path along which each player must travel. The squares on the board represent most of the colonizable worlds of the solar system (those with solid surfaces), man-made colonies, physical features, and local conditions (including luck). When a marker lands on a square, the game progresses and certain changes take place. The computer handles most of the work in Cosmopoly: it determines the length of each move, moves the marker, and computes any adjustments to be made resulting from the move. It will also ask for inputs when required. A player's marker is made up of the number of turn. Name and credit appear on the board. Two to four people can play Cosmopoly. Each turn is made up of a move and one of three other options. A player can BUILD (press B and ENTER), or FIRE (press F and ENTER), or SELL (press S and ENTER). A player can sell any of his worlds on any turn to any other player for any amount. Only one of these options can be used each turn. If a player just wishes to move normally, press ENTER. The goal of Cosmopoly is to force your opponents into bankruptcy while still maintaining your own solvency. This is accomplished in several ways. Purchasing squares: If you land on either a world, a station, or one of the corners, you can purchase the square if you have sufficient funds. Subsequently, if another player lands on that square, he is obligated to pay you a ransom (the computer does this automatically). This increases your funds and decreases his. When you purchase a square, your number appears adjacent to it. 3-letter abbreviations can be used when ever you input a name. Acquiring systems: When you have purchased all the worlds in a system (represented by the colored bars on each world square), you have enough security to build a base. Building a base increases the ransom charged for landing on a world square, and, under certain conditions, allows you to shoot projectiles at other world squares. These projectiles destroy opponents' bases systematically. Building bases: Each world can have a base with four levels of security. When you build a base, a symbol appears adjacent to the square that symbolizes its status. A base gets a gun, followed by three levels of shielding. Firing projectiles: When you have a base, and it is your turn, you can fire 5 projectiles at opponents' properties for 30 credits per shot. When you fire, a compass appears on the square from which you are shooting, and its needle spins, pointing successively around the board. The square you hit depends on the direction it is pointing (Note: Since the compass does not have as many directions as there are worlds, you must use accurate timing.) If your projectile hits a world that has a base, there is a good chance that it will be reduced one level. You can not shoot at worlds that are on the same edge of the board as the world from which you fire. There is a chance, however, that the shields will protect it. Aside from the world squares, there are several other kinds of squares on the Cosmopoly Board. The square in the lower left hand corner of the board is Sun. Markers start at Sun, and each time they pass Sun, they can receive a salary of 220 credits. The other 3 corners of the board, and the last square before Sun, are Lagranges, Asteroids, Rings, and Comets. These squares can be purchased, but no bases can be built on them. Ransom for these squares is randomly determined. There are also four Stations on the board. These can be purchased as well, and ransom is determined by the number of stations you hold. The remaining squares on the board can not be purchased. When a player lands on one of them, various things can happen. On Heat, your ship is damaged by proximity to the sun, and you are charged a certain amount. On Solar Wind, you receive another moving turn. On Bureaucracy, a player is charged a certain amount of money. On Fortune, a player either gains or loses a randomly determined amount. On Radiation, Jovian radiation causes damage and the result is loss of money. All of these effects happen automatically. If a number is generated for a move that will cause a player to pass Sun, the message Rolling Obstacles appears. These will appear on either side of the player and begin to move. The SPACEBAR must be pressed when they cross the square on which he is situated, or the salary received upon passing Sun will not be awarded. If the SPACEBAR is pressed when no Obstacle is on the correct square, the player will also lose the salary. These Obstacles can be tricky! Ransom — 1/25th of purchase price plus 2/5ths of purchase price for each Base Level. If entire system is owned, an additional 1/25th is added for each world in the system. Station Ransom — 30 times 2 raised to the number of stations owned. Lagranges, Asteroids, Rings and Comets — 4 times a random number between 1 and 6. Penalties Heat — A random amount between 1 and 50. Bureaucracy — 1/3 of worth of all worlds owned plus 1/10th of credits. Radiation — 80 credits. Fortune — A random amount between +100 and 100 credits. Base Costs — Increase with distance from Earth. THE NAMES OF THE SQUARES STARTING FROM THE SUN AND GOING CLOCKWISE; SUN HEAT MERCURY SOLAR WIND VENUS 1ST STATION EARTH MOON BUREAUCRACY FORTUNE LAGRANGES (CORNER). MARS PHOBOS DEIMOS FORTUNE 2ND STATION JUNO FORTUNE PALLAS VESTA ASTEROIDS(CORNER). IO EUROPA GANYMEDE 3RD STATION RADIATION CHIONE TITAN IAPETUS RINGS (CORNER) MIRANDA ARIEL OBERON NEREID 4TH STATION TRITON CHARON PLUTO COMETS.