''Borderlands'' is a board game for 2–4 players published by

Eon Products Eon Products was an American game company that produced board games and game supplements. History In 1972, Peter Olotka, Jack Kittredge, Bill Eberle, and Bill Norton came together as the game design cooperative Future Pastimes. Seeking to publ ...

in 1982.

Gameplay

In designing ''Borderlands'', the Future Pastimes team at Eon Productions wanted to create a simpler and shorter version of '' Diplomacy'', without the need for written orders or the need to leave the table for negotiations. The game is set on an abstract continent, and players represent barbaric tribes who conquer territories, trade gathered resources, and construct cities, boats and weapons. The first player (or alliance of players) to conquer or build three cities is the winner. The game components are: * a 20" x 24" map divided into 36 irregular-shaped territories * 16 counters representing available resources (coal, gold, horse breeding grounds and forests). Each resource token can be "broken" into a number of smaller tokens to be used for trading. * 80 army counters (20 per player) * Other counters representing horses, river boats, cities, and weapons. The first step is to distribute the 16 resource tokens randomly across the map (no more than one per territory). Players then place their army counters on the map with regard to capturing resources, offensive and defensive operations. After set-up, each turn is divided into five phases: # Development (always happens) # Production (may not occur) # Trade (may not occur) # Shipment (may not occur) # Attack (always happens) For Phases 2, 3 and 4, a 6-sided die is rolled; on a 1–4, the phase occurs, on a 5–6, that phase is skipped. Each player can participate in each phase. Although the game is designed for four players, there are rules for 2- and 3-player games. Games generally last 45–60 minutes.

Legacy

Eon published two expansion sets, with rules for five and six players respectively that also included new resources and map expansions. The software division of Eon created the video game ''

Lords of Conquest ''Lords of Conquest'' is a strategy video game published in 1986 by Electronic Arts. It is based on the 1982 board game ''Borderlands'' by Eon Productions and developed by Eon's software division. It was marketed with the slogan "Better than '' ...

'' based on ''Borderlands''. It was published in 1986 by Electronic Arts for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

, and

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

Reception

In the December 1982 edition of '' The Space Gamer'' (Issue No. 58), Allen Varney commented that "If you like ''Diplomacy'', but you've always had trouble getting that fifth or sixth player, you must have ''Borderlands'' at any cost. If you're a more conventional wargamer, you'll still find it exceptionally fun and challenging, though the price is a bit stiff." In the August 1983 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' (issue 76), although Tony Watson had issues with the high price ($20), he called it "a very good game. Its combination of simple rules, engrossing strategy, and attractive graphics make it a sure winner. Its simplicity and short playing time (a game can be finished in about two hours) make it a fine choice for an evening’s play." Ten years later, in a retrospective article in the December 1993 edition of ''Dragon'' (issue 200), Allen Varney called ''Borderlands'' "a gripping contest of strategy, diplomacy and resource management... Intense and suspenseful."

Reviews

*1982 Games 100 in ''

Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

'' *'' Asimov's Science Fiction'' v7 n13 (1983 12 Mid) *''

Jeux & Stratégie ''Jeux'' (''Games'') is a ballet written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé" (literally a "danced poem"), it was written for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the ...

'' #19https://archive.org/details/jeux-et-strategie-19/page/10/mode/2up

References

{{reflist Board games introduced in 1982