Wehrlegiges Spiel

In Pax Pamir, players take on the role of nineteenth-century Afghan leaders trying to forge a new state after the collapse of the Durrani Empire. Western histories often refer to this period as "The Great Game" because of the role of the Europeans who attempted to use Central Asia as a theater for their own rivalry. In this game, those empires are viewed strictly from the perspective of the Afghans who attempted to manipulate the invading ferengi (foreigners) for their own purposes. In terms of gameplay, Pax Pamir is a fairly straightforward tableau builder. Players spend most of their turn buying cards at a central market and then play those cards in front of them in a single row called a field. Playing cards add units to the game and provide access to additional actions that can be taken to disrupt other players and influence the flow of the game. That last point deserves attention. Although everyone is building their own row of cards, the game offers many ways for players to hinder each other directly and indirectly. To survive, players will organize themselves into coalitions. During the game, the dominance of the different coalitions is evaluated by the players when a special card, a so-called "Dominance check", is resolved. If a single coalition has a commanding lead during any of these checks, players loyal to that coalition receive victory points based on their influence in their coalition. However, if Afghanistan remains fragmented during any of these checks, players will instead receive victory points based on their personal power base. After each Dominance Check, the game is partially reset, giving players a new attempt to realize their ambitions. The game ends when a single player can gain a lead of four or more victory points or after the fourth and final Dominance check is resolved.

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