TAKEOVER
For 2 Players
Game Instructions

Takeover is a strategy game where the objective is to capture your opponent's
capital city. This is accomplished by a coordinated effort of the armies,
fleets, cities and roads at the player's disposal. The game is played with five
different scenarios and randomly situated capital cities which form constraints
to each player's basic strategy.

Almost everything is represented by a colored square with the exception of
fleets and road builders. Armies are represented by red or dark green squares
depending on which player they belong to and they settle territory which is
represented by tan or green squares respectively. Roads are indicated by yellow
squares, cities by black, ocean by blue and unsettled territory by light green
squares. The map is determined by the initial keypad input with the numbers 1,
2, 3 and 4 corresponding to the maps of Europe, Great Lakes, Australia and swamp
land map with any other input defaulting to the map of Europe.

The game begins with each player possessing his capital city, its associated
army and a road builder all at the same location. The army is selected by
pressing the clear key which selects the army nearest the player's cursor or the
next sequential if the cursor hasn't moved since the last selection. A selected
object is indicated by a rapid flashing of the object on the screen and army
selection is facilitated by movement of the army cursor which is controlled by
the wheel. Once the army is selected it can be stopped by pressing the 5 key
which causes the army to settle adjacent territory or it may be directed to move
by the keys 1-9 which represent eight basic directions. The army will move
square by square in the direction specified at a rate dependent on the type of
territory it is currently on. The relative rates from fastest to slowest are
movements on roads, friendly settled territory, unsettled territory and enemy
territory. A trail of settled territory is also left behind if the army isn't
travelling on a road.

Cities are created by pressing an upper action key when an army is selected. For
city creation to take place the following conditions must be satisfied: that the
army isn't on a city or adjacent to another city, that the army isn't on the
edge of the screen and that only 20 cities may be created by each player. Each
city supports one uniquely associated army and will generate or regenerate this
army at a rate dependent on the amount of friendly territory immediately
surrounding the city and the total amount of territory settled by that player.
Enemy territory will hinder or prevent the generation of armies if it is
surrounding the city. If a city is on the coastline it is designated a port city
which also has an associated fleet. There can only be two port cities for each
player and these are defined as the first two cities that are created on the
coast. If a port city is destroyed during the course of a game, it may only be
replaced by creating a new port after the previous one was destroyed.

Fleets are selected by the key 0 and are moved in the same manner as armies.
They also have the capability of carrying up to two armies per fleet and may
engage other fleets in battle. If a fleet is loaded it experiences more risk in
battle when compared to a fleet which is unloaded. The loading of a fleet is
accomplished by directing an army on the coast towards a fleet which is adjacent
to the coast. The army moves at a normal land rate onto the fleet and successful
loading is indicated by the fleet changing colors to the color of the army.
Unloading is achieved by selecting the fleet and directing it aground when it is
next to the coast. The army is unloaded at this square if there is no other army
present at that location and the fleet changes back to it's original color.

Road builders are selected by the enter key and are moved by the direction keys
1-9. Their movement is different from armies and fleets in the respect that they
move immediately with keypad input if the road builder has accumulated a
sufficient amount of road builder points. These points accrue at a fixed rate
and have an upper bound.  Since the road builder moves instantaneously there is
no stop key needed. This key (number 5) is used to toggle between the road
builder's two modes which are movement only mode and build mode. The movement
only mode is indicated by a normal selection flash rate and requires and
requires less road builder points for each square moved. The build/destroy mode
requires more points and builds roads if it is moving onto an unpaved area and
destroys them if a road already exists there. This mode is indicated by a slower
flashing rate. Road builders only move on land, expend more points if moving on
enemy territory relative to unsettled territory and a lesser amount if on
friendly territory. They may move through friendly armies but are
instantaneously returned to the capital city when they move on an enemy army.
Armies are capable of following roads in the if they are straight or have gentle
45 degree turns. An army will always travel preferentially straight ahead and
will turn right instead of left at forks in the road.

Battles occur when enemy armies or fleets occupy a surrounding square next to a
friendly army or fleet. These are indicated by a slow flashing of the objects in
battle. Fleet battle calculations are done by checking whether it is loaded or
not to determine the relative risks of sinking. Army calculations are
significantly more complex due to the fact that an army's risk increases
depending on the number of enemy armies it is surrounded by and decreases if it
has friendly armies surrounding it which lend support. It is optimal to move
armies as a coordinated front so they will support each other. When an army dies
there is a short time which must elapse before its city will begin attempting
the process of generating a new army.

A city is captured when an enemy army occupies it by moving onto it. The game is
ended when the enemy's capital city is occupied. To aid in the location of these
critical cities during the course of game play the lower two action keys are
used to place the player's army cursor onto the two capital cities. Upon the
capture of a capital city, the game ends and all territory is occupied by the
winning player's color.

KEYPAD SUMMARY:

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9: Move in key direction (up, down, left, right,
diagonals)
5: Stop / Change Road Builder Modes
CLEAR: Select Army
0: Select Fleet
ENTER: Select Road Builder

Upper Action Keys: Create City
Lower Left Action Key: Locate Home Capital City
Lower Right Action Key: Locate Enemy Capital City

Disc: Move Army Cursor

NOTE: Because this game is a bit difficult to first pick up and play, a
suggested handicap for a new player is to allow him a few extra minutes to set
up cities, etc., before the more experienced player even begins.

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(c)1999 Intellivision Productions, Inc.
