As Written by: Jason Lenox
April, 2006
"Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans
drank Atlantis and
the gleaming cities, and the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there
was
an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the
world
like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia,Hyperborea,
Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted
mystery,
Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered the pastoral lands
of Shem,
Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore
steel and silk and gold.
But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning
supreme in the dreaming west.
Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword
in hand,
a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic
mirth,
to tread the jeweled thrones of the earth under his sandled feet."
- The Nemedian Chronicles
As a fan of REH’s
Conan since I was about 14, whenever I read that introduction,
I got chills. I know that when I read all of that, I would specifically
imagine not only Conan’s adventures, but the great warring
factions and kingdoms relentlessly fighting in the world that
Conan exists in. REH gave us in that simple paragraph a glimpse
into a fantastic world where wars were won and lost on a dagger
in the night, by the dark hand of magic, and the strength of armies
clad in steel. In the mid 1980’s a company in Arizona worked
to make a complete “world war” simulation of the world
of Conan as laid out in the books as well as the great maps given
to us by Howard. This game, called “Hyborian War”,
goes on to this day some twenty years later!
A
few years back (2002) I was going through some old Savage Sword
Marvel Magazines, when I saw their old full page advertisement
on the back for “Hyborian War”. Always wondering about
the game, and wishing I had given it a chance in the 80’s
or 90’s, I looked online to see what was going on. Discovering
that it was still going strong, I signed up to play, and have
played in several games since. Since this is a review, let me
give you my personal opinion first: If you love REH’s Conan,
and you love strategic level war games played out over a few years,
this game is the best thing you will ever see. Since it is played
via mail, you get a “turn report” every 16-20 days
(a complete game goes 35-40 turns to completion), while this is
completely opposite the current trend of online real time gaming
it does two things 1) it becomes more like running a an ancient
kingdom: you send out courier orders, and a few weeks later you
get the results 2) getting your turn is the most exciting thing
in your mailbox and it builds the anticipation for every move
that is coming.
There are several fan
based web sites where players go to “talk shop” on
game play as well as role playing in character to the other players
in their given game. I would encourage you to check out there
web sites and give this classic retro game a chance, it is really
fun and I would recommend it to any war gaming REH fan out there.
I’m including some of the links to the company that runs
it as well as the fan web sites. In addition, I’m sending
a nice graphic of the game
map for everyone to download
and take a look at. Call RSI (480) 967-7979 to get yourself set
up with a kingdom and placed in a coming game when you get a minute.
I look forward to seeing some of you in future games!
Jason Lenox
Hyborian War
Links
RSI’s web sitewww.reality.com
The Road of Kings Fan site www.warbarron.com
Hyborian
Organized Game Site
Art
of Hyborian War
Harry
Tennison’s Hyborian Downloads
