Introduction

Zambala is a turn based strategy game based on a fictional nation on the cusp of a civil war, where various factions, leaders and their international backers all vie for control and dominance of the nation, its resources and the hearts and minds of its people.

There are seven players, six provincial warlords and the incumbent government president. The computer AI will play the role of all other players not under control of the human player. Warlord players begin the game in a semi-random town based on their starting province, and the government player always begins the game in the Capital city, Kampala.

Each warlord player begins the game with a small starting force of military and political resources, while the government starts the game with control of the nation’s facilities (mines, power stations and airstrips)

The game is played over a set number of random turns, with the winner being the player with the highest National Will score when the game ends. National Will is earned by achieving various in game objectives such as combat success, your leaders reputation, control of population, facilities and international influence.

Screen Shots

Overview of Gameplay

The Map

The country of Zambala is represented by a map containing 39 by 43 hexes of varying terrain types including plains, hills, forests, mountains etc.

Scattered throughout the country are urban centres where the population lives.

There are also a few special hexes which are “off map” which include:

The United Nations

The World Banks

The Churches

NGOs

The Arms Markets

Terrain Types

Each hex contains one dominate “Terrain Type” which describes the geographical features of the area of land contained with the hex. Hex types can be one of the following:

1. Clear
2. Woods
3. Hills
4. Jungle
5. Water
6. Swamp
7. City
8. Village
9. Town

Resource Management

The player must manage resources such as urban centres, national infrastructures and foreign aid to fund and supply their factions logistical and human resources needed to prevail over competing tribes.

Resource Points (RPS) – Loosely represents cash, gold and drugs – used to procure arms, bribe officials etc

Influence (IPS) – Influence is your standing in the national political, international communities and the common people’s hearts, which can in turn be used to influence political events, population groups and international factions.

Facilities – The important wealth generating operations for the nation. Control of a facility will result in your faction gaining RP’s, IP’s in varying ratios depending on the nature of the facility.

Factions, Leaders, Calling and Political Alignment

The player can elect to play as the government or as a warlord seeking to overthrow the government.

Leader Units

Leader units represent a game based player avatar which can be one of the following callings:

1 Politician (Political leader) (bonus population loyalty)

2 Bishop  (Religious leader) (bonus population loyalty and morale)

3 General (Military leader) (bonus combat)

4 Diplomat (Diplomatic leader) (bonus foreign aid and espionage)

5 Economist (Economic leader) (bonus arms prices, foreign aid and income)

6 Humanitarian (Humanist leader) (bonus population loyalty and foreign aid)

Engineer free repairs

Cartel free agents, better sabotage

Bonus effects are generated at the end of the turn for the hex the leader unit is in.

Each leader selects from a political alignment –  Right Wing, Centrist or Left Wing.

If a leader is killed, a new leader will rise from the tribes people to fill the void. The new leader will be a random type, and placed in an uncontested population centre/installation, the HQ, or stacked with a unit.

Headquarters

Each player starts with a nominated hex as their Headquarters and command post. The players leader unit can carry out a “Move headquarters” movement order to relocate the headquarters to the leaders current hex location.

Several orders require the unit to be located within the headquarters hex, for example “Train’ order.

Urban Centres

Urban centres represent the villages, towns and capital city of Zambala, and it’s where the majority of the people live, work and get taxed for the benefit of the warring factions.

Urban centre’s start the game controlled by the government, with the exception of the warlords start towns.

An urban centre is controlled by the player who has the highest influence for that centre. That player is said to have “political control” over the centre. That player receives full benefit for the resources produced by that urban centre.

If units hostile to the player with political control of the urban centre are occupying that hex, the hostile player is said to have “military control” of the centre. In this instance, both the player with political control and military control will each receive half the resources produced by the contested urban centre.

If the hostile units later vacate the contested hex, military control reverts to the player with political control without the need for them to move units to the hex.

Village Produce 2 RP, 1 IP and a recruit every 5 turns (20% Max 1)

Town Produce 6 RP, 4 IP and a recruit every 2 turns (50% Max 3)

Capital City Produce 20 RP, 12 IP and a recruit every turn (80% Max 3)

Ports  Any urban centre adjacent to a lake hex is considered a Port for the purposes of supporting navel units.

Recruits

The population within each urban centre that is loyal to you will slowly accumulate volunteers and fresh recruits each turn.  Each Urban centre has a chance of generating a “Recruit Point” and can accumulate up to a maximum amount of recruits based on the urban centre size. Recruit points are reduced to zero when the loyalty of a population centre changes ownership.

Facilities

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, Zambala was a bustling, productive nation with a number of prestigious facilities boosting GDP, providing income and resources to the corrupt government and its privileged cronies.

Each facility provides income to the player with military control of the hex. Influence has no effect on facilities, and cannot be used to gain control of them. Control always remains with the player who last occupied the hex with a military unit.

Facilities can be sabotaged by the owning player, or hostile players, which renders the facilities income to nil, until such time as the facility has been repaired by the owning player. Only units with military control of a facility can pay the repair cost to restore the facility to full function and income production. Repair cost varies for each facility.

Each facility has a Security Rating the lower which represents the ease by which the facility can be infiltrated and sabotaged by hostile parties. The Security Rating of a facility can be boosted by the presence of garrisoning units, and the expenditure of RPs to enhance security. The current security rating of a facility is only known to the controlling player. The starting security value is six, or four airfields.

Airfields

Airfields arespecial facilities which provide the owner with air power points each turn.

Ports

Any urban centre adjacent to a lake hex is considered a Port for the purposes of supporting navel units.

Agents

Agents are spies, informers, secret agents and agitators loyal to your cause.

Operative units do not require a recruit unit to be created.

You can Post an operative unit to any hex on the map, at a cost of 2IP and 4RP.

Operative units can only be detected and attacked by other operatives and special units (Secret police etc.) but they are difficult to detect.

Operative units increase their levels based on successful missions and actions.

Arms Caches

Players can purchase arms and equipment from the international arms dealers, and have it delivered onto the map in order to recruit and raise new military units. Arms Cache units represent unarmed, non-military delivery personnel, and can be given movement orders similar to military units. Arms Cache units can not perform military functions such as garrison, training or enter combat. Arms Cache units are captured by any enemy military unit that enters their hex, unless they are protected by a friendly military unit stacked with them.

There are two types of Arms Caches:

Heavy Equipment Cache (cost 8RP)

Players can create a heavy equipment cache in a population centre which is over the border from Zambala in a neighboring country. Heavy equipment is considered to be transported in trucks and follows a wheeled movement type.

Small Arms Cache (Cost 4RP)

Players can create a Small Arms cache in any hex over the border from Zambala in a neighboring country. Small Arms cache is considered to be transported on foot and follows an infantry movement type.

Stacking

Units can elect to Stack. Stacked units move at the rate of the slowest movement allowance in the stack.

There is a stacking limit of 8 units per individual hex.

Units can Unstack freely, by selecting an individual unit and moving it away from the stack.

Zones of Control

All active and effective military units exert a zone of control in each adjacent hex, which will end any hostile units movement phase.

Special unit types:

1.  Assault Troops

Assault troops grant +20% Attack strength to all units stacked when attacking.

2.  Special Forces

All units stacked with a Special Forces unit negate any urban terrain combat modifiers when attacking. Special Forces units attack strength is doubled when attacking an enemy facility.

3. Engineers

Units stacked with engineers have no attack strength penalty for attacking across a river.

Engineer units attack strength is doubled when attacking an enemy facility.

Engineers can detect adjacent minefields, ending their movement phase.

Engineers can move into or through a minefield without taking damage. They can expend their movement phase to demine a hex.

Engineers can create a minefiel hex at a cost of 2RP.

4. Marines

Units stacked with marines have no attack strength penalty for attacking across a river.

Marines can execute a cargo move from an special hex adjacent to a lake, but this move still costs 1NP.

5. Paratroopers

Paratroop units starting their movement turn in a controlled airstrip in good order can use an “Air Drop” move to parachute into any hex on the map that contains favorable terrain (not woods, water of city hex types) at a cost of one Air Power point.

6. Military Police

Increased garrison order value = 40% + 5 * Units Experience.

Chance to discover enemy agents in hex during a garrison order = 10% + 5 * Units Experience.

7. Guards

Guards grant +30% Attack strength to all units stacked when defending.

8. Reconnaissance Units

Reconnaissance units can detect adjacent minefields, ending their movement phase.

Reconnaissance units can move into or through a minefield without taking damage..

9. Partisans

All units stacked with a Partisan unit negate any non urban terrain combat modifiers when attacking.

Air Power

Players who have military control of airfields gain an Air Power Point (AP) per turn, with the Entebbe International Airport generates 4AP per turn. Air Power Points abstractly represent the aircraft, facilities and infrastructure enabling fixed wing transport capacity.

Players can use Air Power to carry out special movement orders as follows:

1. Heavy Air Lift – Deliver a heavy equipment cache directly to a controlled airfield.
2. Small Arms Drop – Deliver a small arms cache to a population centre under military control. 
3. Air Drop – Relocate a paratroop special unit type currently in an airfield hex to any hex on the map. Paratroops that attempt to deploy in hexes containing enemy combat units will enter close combat. During close combat the defending units will each attack the paratroops, before they in turn will return fire. The side taking the highest losses will retreat into an adjacent valid hex.
4. Air Lift Troops – Relocate an infantry unit between any airfields owned by the player.

Naval Power

Naval Power Points abstractly represent the boats, transports, barges, facilities and infrastructure enabling aquatic transport capacity.

There are 4 huge lakes within the borders of Zambala, Lake George, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga and the mighty Lake Victoria.

Towns adjacent to a lake contain a Port. Players who have military control of a port  gain a Naval Power Point (NP) per turn, while Kampala City Port generates 4NP per turn, and the Murchison Falls Safari Centre provides 1NP per turn in sight seeing boats.

Players can use Naval Power to carry out special orders as follows:

1. Heavy Cargo Drop – Deliver a heavy equipment cache directly to a controlled port.
2. Cargo Transport – Relocate any unit starting its movement phase in a port hex to any Lake or connected coastal hex. If the target hex is occupied by enemy units a close combat will ensue.
3. Blockade – Player uses Naval power to harass and limit opposing players naval operations within the same Lake.

Each Naval power point spent blockading has the following effect, in order of priority:

1. Blocks an opposing tribes Blockade orders, so that only the player investing the most Navel power points in a Lake will move to the next effect.
2. Blocks opposing players Heavy Cargo Drop orders.
3. Blocks opposing players Cargo transport orders.
4. Reduces Ip and RP income from any urbane centres or facilities on or adjacent to the lake, at the reduce rate of 10% per Navel point higher than second highest players blockade order.

 

Sequence of Play

Economic Phase

Random Events

Lobbyists

External factions have a confidence level with supported faction which determines what level the support them, this goes up and down based on performance and activities (sabotage etc)

Each turn every player receives foreign aid, based on their leaders, national will, and standing with external factions.

Movement Phase

Move units.

Special Movement orders

Combat Phase

Fortifications: (expressed as a level 0-3 higher the better)

Each turn a unit spends increasing fortification level reduces damage taken by 10%

Ambush – free attack by defender

Minefields

Download Map Hex Tiles

A zip file containing 54 Hex tile images in png format, 509 x 443 x 32.