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American History Lux

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Developer: Sillysoft Games
Publisher: Sillysoft Games
Genre: Strategy > Board Game
Released: Apr 12, 2006
Players: 1

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- American History Lux Review

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Sillysoft's Lux games are a series of titles closely resembling the popular board game Risk. American History Lux wraps the game principle into a strategy game with a loose historic background, in this case various Wars the USA participated in, from the French-Indian-War all the way to the Persian Gulf Wars.

The game is offers one single player only campaign with 10 wars to fight, in several difficulty levels. Just like in the board game, you reinforce your troops at the beginning of a turn, and then attempt to conquer viable territories that may give you bonus troops in your next reinforcement phase. Battles are resolved through means of simple die rolls with a bias depending on your own and the enemy's strength factored in.

As opposed to the board game, which usually ends up in a die-rolling extravaganza, American History Lux battles are reduced to a minimum as the computer secretly makes the necessary die rolls in a fraction of a second and you are instantly presented with the result.

The maps to play on represent simplified, but generally accurate renditions of the various war theaters, though Risk's game mechanics form a thick layer of abstraction between you and the military conflict on the playfield. They have about as much resemblance to an actual war as a game of checkers; it doesn't really matter whether it's Iraq or the southern Confederation you're up against �€“ it still feels exactly the same.

Notably, the AI plays quite aggressively and the historical background info presented prior to each level is rather neat. It even includes links to Wikipedia for further reading!

The game's doesn't provide a multi player mode, which would have spiced up the game significantly. The AI opponent moves extremely quickly and it's hard to consider him a true adversary, because it just makes its moves, and then it's your turn again. No special events, no mistakes to gloat over.

Graphics:
The maps are detailed and in vibrant colour, aiming to resemble the actual board game as closely as possible, it seems. The explosion effects during combat look a bit like fireworks, and there's only one set of troop icons, which change depending on your troop's strength. In longer games at higher difficulty levels, these icons may be inappropriate for the period you're playing in. An Abrams Main Battle Tank icon for a 100+ troop strength looks quite misplaced when defending Tennessee against the Confeds.

The icons and the GUI are very large and legible; Sillysoft did an excellent job at making these work. Among board game conversions and Risk adaptations in general, American History Lux stands out as one of the better looking games.

Sound:
The game constantly loops one fairly nice track of background music, which has a somewhat unexpected change of pace near the end. The sound effects are an absolutely minimalist set of clicks, bangs, and booms. While better sound does not make a better strategy game, it still enhances the user experience.

Game Play:
All right, it's single player Risk with one or more computer opponents. At first, the user interface and mouse button mappings may seem counter-intuitive, but after a few turns they feel just perfect. The AI is aggressive and constantly tries to ruin your hard-earned reinforcement bonus by attacking your territories. The difficulty settings seem to mostly influence your probability to win in battle or the amount of troops the enemy has, probably by means of a handicap factor of sorts. This means that in higher difficulty modes, you often face more troops than you can handle, and need to fight a more defensive war.

Unfortunately, Risk-style games do not favour defensive players, as territory bonus plays a decisive role each turn. That means if your opponent controls more territories than you at the end of a turn, your situation in your next turn will further deteriorate.

The player is notified of victory and defeat in a simple dialog window; it would have been nice to have a strategical analysis and a short text on the (hypothetical) historic effects this victory (defeat) had.

Value:
A somewhat fair price of $20 for a well-built game is offset by the lack of content American History Lux offers. Ten somewhat short battles, an AI that seems to draw a lot of its strength from simple handicap factors determined by the difficulty setting �€“ it doesn't feel like much. Multi player support, preferably a hot seat mode, would have opened new venues to popularity and replay value. The short historical background notes hardly help to justify the price tag, either.

Concept:
Board game adaptations are a staple among independent games, and American History Lux is no exception. However, it is obvious that the game was made with much attention detail to resemble the original Risk games. The idea of a multi-epoch strategy game is not entirely new, but Sillysoft goes through with it nicely, because all war theaters are related to America and its History.

American History Lux also includes a bonus card feature, which unfortunately seems like an addition that wasn't fully implemented. On the bottom line, it's just another army bonus to get during the reinforcement phase of the game. The original Risk's bonus and mission cards offer a lot of variety where American History Lux offers none.

Fun:
I enjoyed the game, especially since it kept beating me soundly on all but the lowest difficulty levels for a while. Strategical and tactical restraint are virtues that Risk-style games teach, as it is quite easy to burn up one's entire army in one turn by advancing too aggressively. There is no true limit to the number of attacks each turn, but of course, your army is weakened with every battle. You can theoretically reach the enemy capital in the first turn, but you will not have any troops left to defend your own territories. Total war usually results in total defeat.

The historical scenarios are fun to look at, and while Risk wars are quite abstract, it's still possible to sense the true nature of the individual wars underneath this blanket of simplification.

Needless to say, the game's decent control scheme and simple mechanics make it easier to like it from the first game on.

Overall:
American History Lux is a good looking historical variant of the board game Risk. It has been adapted nicely to be played with a mouse and keyboard, and the illustrations are quite fancy. Its weaknesses are the absence of multi player modes, and the fact that the AI's moves all happen within fractions of a second, leaving you quite 'alone' in the game. If you like the game Risk and don't always have a worthy human opponent to play with, Sillysoft's Lux series is something you should definitely try. Friends of abstract strategy or puzzle games may also find American History Lux to be quite enjoyable!

By: Moritz Voss
Posted: Saturday July 15, 2006