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Crawly Crypt Collection 2
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sumaria
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sumaria.ptr
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1995-03-13
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6KB
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199 lines
SUMARIA
An historic strategy game
reworked by
Steve J. Collins
Overview:
Based on a very early computer game, this 're-mix' lets you
take control of the running of a village in ancient Sumaria.
Starting with 1000 acres of land, you are given a random
populace and a random amount of grain for sowing and feeding
to your people.
The Game finishes when you have increased your land ownership
to 2000 acres. Dealing with rats which destroy your
stockpiled grain, and plagues which can decimate your
population, are just two of the challenges you must meet.
Some help is given in the form of shortfall-insurance, which
coughs up if you do not have enough grain to feed all your
people and sow all your available acres, but at a cost - and
with the inevitable small print! (see below).
Do not feed the animals
Each individual in your village requires at least 20 bushels
of grain per year to remain alive; eg: 100 people require
2000 bushels between them. One person dies for every 20
bushels below the optimum. Alternatively, supplying more
grain than required means your people become much better fed,
and consequently more fertile - producing increasingly more
children the better fed they become.
Don't fear the reaper
One person can sow, tend and reap 10 acres of land every
year; eg: if you have 100 people you can only properly
utilise 1000 acres - any surplus is unusable. Yet, on the
other hand, if you have 120 people but only 1000 acres, 20
people will be idle - a drain on your resources, as they will
consume 400 bushels of your precious grain each year they
remain unemployed!
Against the grain
As well as requiring 20 bushels of grain to feed each person,
you also require one bushel of grain for every acre of land
to be sowed; eg: with 100 people and 1000 acres, 2000 bushels
are required for food and 1000 bushels are required to sow
the fields.
Insure early for Xmas
If, heavens above!, disaster strikes, (from rat-strike or
insufficient crop-yield), and you are unable to procure
enough grain to both feed and supply your people and lands,
help is at hand if you are foresighted enough!
While issuing your orders concerning how many will be fed and
how much will be sowed, you will be asked if you require
shortfall-insurance. If you answer 'yes' to this, ten acres
will be deducted from your lands as payment, and this will
ensure that whatever befalls you the coming year, enough
grain will be supplied to feed all your people and sow all
your lands...
That is: only for the number of people you fed, and the
amount of land you sowed in the immediately preceding year to
your purchasing the insurance!!!
Duckin' and a-divin'
If you are unlucky enough to get caught short of a bushel or
two at harvest-time, and you weren't insured, you have two
options:-
a) starve a few inhabitants (you have to be cruel...)
b) sell some land.
Buying and selling land is what the game is all about - well,
nearly - you have to buy land in order to achieve your 2000
acre target. You can, either, do this safely by only buying
land when you have spare bushels - say, after a bumper
harvest. Or you can speculate, and sell land when the
exchange rate is high, and then buy back when the price drops
low.
However, if you do decide to speculate, WATCH OUT! It is not
uncommon to be totally ruined by a plague of rats gobbling-up
all of your acquired assets, while they sit pensively in
their silos!
The last round-up
If this seems all very complicated, take heart, it isn't as
bad as it seems.
The simple upshot is: a) feed the people, b) plough the
fields and scatter..., c) buy land when you can afford it,
d) sell land and/or starve citizens when you're a-can-short-
of-a-six-pack, e) HAVE FUN.
Ending the program
Typing an 'x' at the first prompt ("How many acres...?") will
stop the program cleanly; or:- hold down the CONTROL key and
press the 'C' key at the same time to terminate the program
at any point.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HACK
If you liked this program, then please show your support by
sending a small registration fee of five pounds (sterling) to the
address listed below.
You will receive:- a) any new updates, b) program listing, c) a
signed thank-you letter from the entire Boughton-and-Entwistle
rugby-league football team - namely: ME.
Please send registration, (comments, suggestions, fault-reports
and patent writs welcome), to:
Mr SJ. Collins
4a Hartington street,
Handbridge,
Chester,
CH4 7BW
England.