Mohawk
Mohawk Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Mapboard
The map shows that part of what is now Lower Canada and the Eastern United States where almost all the conflict took place. On the map are a number of points linked by lines of communications. At the beginning of the game French territory is everything west and north of Fort Duquesne. British holdings extend through Iroquois land to Lake Ontario and include Fort Oswego and Fort Bull. Iroquois land itself is neutral at the beginning. The British hold Fort George and everything south of that. The French hold Carillon and points north.
Transportation Lines: Points are connected by transportation lines. All movement is point to point along red (roads), green (Indian trails), and blue (waterways). There is also British Sea Movement which is from port (anchor) to port (anchor).
Insert Maps: There are six inserts #1-6 indicating the different terrains and the sea chart.
Playing Pieces
Forces in the war are color coded. British are red, French blue and Indians green. They are organized as follows:
The British: consist of British Regulars (numbered, gold bordered), Colonial Regulars (numbered), Colonial Militia (place named), Rangers (Rogers', Gorham's, the 80th: named). Each piece represents a battalion of about 600 men. There are also 5 British Naval pieces: two naval squadrons, a troop convoy, an appointments and supply convoy and a Sea Lift counter.
The French: consist of French Regulars (named, gold bordered), Colonial Regulars (called Troops of the Marine), Colonial Militia (place named), Couriers de Bois (French Rangers, blue and green). There are also 4 French naval pieces; a naval squadron, a privateer, a troop convoy and a gifts and supply convoy.
The Indians: consist of twenty six named and numbered tribes. Pieces 1-6 are the Iroquois and are covered under special rules. 7-26 are the non-confederated tribes which can be used by the French. Each piece represents about 500 warriors.
Types of Troops: For the purposes of the game there are three types of fighting unit. REGULARS are all European and colonial regulars. MILITIA are all British and French militia. INDIANS are all 26 Indian tribes, the Couriers de Bois and the Rangers.
Setting Up the Game
The French: have the following places automatically fortified: Beaujour, Louisbourg, Quebec, Montreal, Frontenac, Niagara, Duquesne and Crown Point. There is an Acadian militia at St. Jean and two at Beaujour. There is a town militia at Tadousac, Quebec, Trois Rivieres, Montreal, Levis, St. Jean and Louisbourg. There is a Troop of the Marine at Louisbourg. The three Couriers de Bois are each on an Indian 7-26 counter which they activate as the game begins.
The British: have the following fortifications: Fts. Cumberland, Ligonier, Oswego, Necessity, George, Lawrence and the eight eastern towns of Alexandria, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Trenton, New York, New Haven, Boston and Portsmouth. There is one appropriate militia each at the eight towns and at Albany and Johnson Hall. The 40, 45 and 49th regular battalions are at the three locations in Nova Scotia. The sealift piece is at whichever port the British player wishes.
Sea Chart: at the start of the game in 1754 and beginning of the first turn of each year after that, the French player sets his naval pieces face down at the four anchor spots on insert map #6.
Playing the Game
There are twelve turns spread over seven years. On the first turn of each year, the sequence of play is:
- I. Naval Combat/Maneuver
- II. Landing Reinforcements/Recruiting
- III. Rolling for Movement
- IV. Musters (if any)
- V.* Movement
- VI.* Combat
- VII.* Promotion
- Iroquois (During March or After Battle)
The other five turns are the same but minus the Naval Combat and Reinforcement/Recruiting and Musters.
All actions of one sequence must be completed before the next begins. (Example: all movement ends before combat begins).
I. Naval Combat/Maneuver
All reinforcements come from overseas. To determine how much each side will get past the other's navy, the French player puts his four pieces face down. The British player then places one of his next to a French piece. Both pieces are flipped over and both players roll a die. The number on the ship is added to the die roll. The player holding Louisbourg gets a plus 1 on whatever piece he places in that area. High dice on each roll gets through to the New World. French reinforcements are put down at whatever friendly port he wishes them to come on. British reinforcements go on the turn track to come on during his turn. Each British Naval piece is used once during this sequence.
French Sea Lift: If both Louisbourg and Quebec are in French hands, they may move stacks between them at the cost of one Regular/Militia march per stack.
II. Reinforcement and Recruiting
As follows. The number in parenthesis is added to the die roll.
- Troopship (0): Five European Regulars at any friendly port.
- Naval Squadron (3): Two European Regulars at any friendly port for each squadron.
- Appointments and Supplies (1): A Muster of four militia pieces out of the available (alive and not in play) counter mix at any friendly point in the original British holdings. Also two Colonial Regulars at either Philadelphia, New York or Boston.
- Privateers (2) and Gifts and Supplies (1): EITHER five Indian counters to rendezvous with Couriers de Bois at any friendly point or points in the original French holdings, OR a muster of three French militia out of the available counter mix at any point in the original holdings.
III. Rolling for Movement
The French move first, landing their reinforcements and rolling two dice, one for Indian movement the other for Regulars and Militia. Couriers march on the Indian roll. They then go through the Sequence of Play and it is the British turn.
The British land their reinforcements and roll two dice, one for Land Movement and the other for Sealift. Two marches are automatically added to the land march. Sea lift follows the land movement.
IV. Musters
(See Special rules-Militia). Each side may have one Muster of Militia in addition to any obtained through reinforcement. This occurs at the beginning of Movement on the first turn of a year. 4 British or 3 French militia pieces already on the board may be moved to any point in the original holdings still in friendly hands. Militia units return home at the end of every year.
V. Land Movement
There are three modes, Road (red), Indian Trail (green) and Waterway (blue). All movement is point to point and a march consists of moving the piece or stack at one point to one or more other points. If pieces starting from one location move in different directions all extra movement after the first one is charged to each stack individually (example: parts of a stack starting in New York could move to Albany and Philadelphia at a cost of one march point. If the Albany stack moved on to Fort George it would cost one more).
March Limits: There are no limits on Couriers and Indians. No other troops may expend more than two march points per turn.
Over Runs: The following may be over run on the line of march at the cost of one march point: unoccupied forts (captured or burned) and enemy stacks outnumbered by six to one or more (killed). This does not count against the two march limit. Unoccupied, unfortified enemy points are free.
March Chart (Double means Point to Point to Point)
| Road | Indian Trail | Waterway | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulars & Militia | Double | 1 | Double |
| Indians, Couriers & Rangers | Double | Double | Double |
EXAMPLE: New York to Boston is one march by road for all types of troops.
Special Rules: Regulars and militia may not split a Double March between two modes. They may also not make more than one single march on Indian trails per turn. Regular and Indian marches are not interchangeable and stacks with both must pay movement costs separately. NO ONE MAY MOVE THROUGH IROQUOIS VILLAGES BEFORE THE SIX TRIBES ENTER THE WAR.
English Sea Lift: The second British die roll determines the number of sea lift moves available to the British. The Sea Lift piece must begin and end its turn in a port with no troops aboard. The minimum necessary for sea lift is three: to embark, to sail to the destination, to disembark. Extra actions require more points. For example: The British wish to move stacks in New York and Halifax to Louisbourg. They would need five points of sea lift if the Sea Lift marker started in one of the two ports (embark, sail, embark, sail, disembark). It would require six if the Sea Lift marker had to move from a third British port. Land moves can be used to gather troops for embarkation. Retreat to a port of origin is FREE. Only troops sea lifted in may retreat that way. THE ENGLISH CAN NOT SEA LIFT TO QUEBEC UNTIL LOUISBOURG IS IN THEIR HANDS. SEALIFT COUNTER BUMPS TO NEXT FRIENDLY PORT IF THEIR LOCATION IS CAPTURED.
VI. Combat
Battles: If at the end of movement any point holds units of both sides there is a battle. The player whose turn it is, is the attacker, the other is the defender. Battles continue until one side is eliminated or retreats.
Setting up the Battle: The attacker chooses the order in which he wishes to conduct the battles if there is more than one. Pieces are taken off the board and placed in the appropriate terrain. The defender sets up first and the attacker lines up opposite him. Extra pieces can be used to double against the enemy. No piece can triple until all his pieces are doubled against the enemy and so forth. The defender goes first, each of his pieces firing against the ones opposite him. The attacker then returns fire. Every piece rolls a die every turn. THE COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS CHART determines whether or not it has scored a hit. The player must indicate which enemy unit he's firing at if there is more than one opposite.
Flipping Over Units: All units except the 7-26 tribes (who take only one hit) have two sides for battle casualty purposes. On the first hit, a unit is flipped over onto its undecorated side. On the second hit it is removed from the board. Pieces that have been flipped do not lose effectiveness.
Reinforcements: At the end of a player's firing turn, he may draw, at the rate of one per turn, units from points adjacent to the one where the battle is taking place. Units at adjacent points which are involved in battles may not reinforce any other battle.
Retreats: At any turn after the first one, either side may retreat, indicating that it is doing so by not taking its firing turn. Units cannot retreat to points from which the enemy has come or to points controlled by the enemy. All units should, if possible, go back the way they came, remain in one stack and should be closer to their base of operations (The Seaboard for Britain; the St. Lawrence Basin for France) than before the battle.
Dressing Your Lines: During the battle, units that have no enemy in front of them may be placed against enemy units as in Setting Up.
Recovery: After the battle, any units of either side which have been flipped but are still on the board can be flipped back to full strength.
VII. Promotions
At the end of the battle the victor, the one who holds the ground, if he has militia present, promotes one of them. The militia goes back in the Available Counter Mix and an American Regular or Ranger is brought on for the British, a Troop of the Marine Battalion or Couriers for the French.
Counter Mix: All eliminated units except Militia and Indians go back to the available counter mix. For promotions, the off board counter mix is final. If suitable counters are not available, promotions do not take place.
Building, Burning and Capturing: At any place on its march, a stack can, at the cost of one march point, build by placing a Fort Marker, destroy a fort or overrun any place held by 1/6 or less its strength of enemy. EXCEPTION: these things cannot be done by an attacker in a place where he engages the enemy. But a victor burns or captures any enemy fort at the point of battle at no cost.
Unit Effectiveness
All units are basically a 6, that is they will put a casualty on a unit opposite them on a die roll of 6. This is modified by the terrain on which the action is fought. The numbers below are added to/subtracted from unit's die roll in each of the following situations:
Combat Effects Chart
| Attacking Fort* | Defending Fort | Open Ground | Wood | Landing** | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulars | plus 1 | plus 2 | plus 2 | 0 | plus 2 |
| Militia | minus 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Indians, Rangers & Couriers | minus 1 | 0 | 0 | plus 2 | 0 |
*Attacking a Fort: Any attacking unit which wishes to add 1 to its effectiveness gives up one turn of fire and moves up to the walls of the fort. This is indicated by not firing and pushing the unit up to the fort. Without this militia and Indians can't get a hit.
**Landing: All defending units at a landing get to fire one free volley after which they may fall back to the other terrain at that point or fire their next volley and be fired on. The retreat to other terrain can take place at the beginning of any defender turn.
Terrain
Choice of terrain is the defender's UNLESS the attacker expends 2 additional marches. This indicates that he has outmaneuvered his opponent and can choose the terrain.
Choice of Terrain: The type or types of terrain on which the battle can be fought is determined by the symbol at the point where the battle takes place, the presence of fort or burn marker and the color of the transportation lines leading up to it.
To Determine Choice: Look first at Map Symbol Chart, then at Transport Chart. If they are the same there is no choice of terrain. If they differ right of choice comes into play.
Map Symbol Chart
| Symbol | Place Designation | Terrain | Insert # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort counter | Fort | Fort | 2 |
| Burn marker | Destroyed fort/town | Determined by transport | |
| Circled red spot | Fortified town/city | Fort | 2 |
| Circled white spot | Town | Determined by transport | |
| Teepee | Indian village | Woods | 1 |
| Anchor | Port | Landing* | 5 |
| Square |
Transport Chart
| Line | Type | Terrain | Insert # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Road | Open field | 3 or 4 |
| Green | Indian trail | Woods | 1 |
| Blue | Waterways | Woods | 1 |
| Red meeting blue/green | Open field | 3 or 4 |
*The defender always has the option of the free landing volley, though it is possible for the attacker to determine the terrain available for him to fall back on.
Special Terrain Rules: Inland (i.e. non ocean port) points that give the defender the landing advantage against any attacker are the Islands of Montreal and New York. Defenders against attacks coming across the St. Lawrence receive the advantage. Movement can be made from point to point across lakes instead of around the shoreline but any defenders receive landing advantage.
Supply
At the end of a year, all Regular and militia units must be able to trace supply by roads or waterways to their base of operations (Montreal or Quebec for French; New York, Boston or Philadelphia for British). Units which cannot do this, starve and are removed. They cannot end the year on a spot which does not have a town or fort or is not connected by a red road. If they do, they starve. There are no restrictions on Indians, Couriers or Rangers. EXCEPTION: SEAPORTS CAN BE HELD WITHOUT TRACING SUPPLY LINES.
Iroquois Adjustment
The Iroquois, a powerful confederation of six tribes, controlled the area that is now upstate New York. Both sides' Indian agents courted their support or at least their continued neutrality. Their sympathies swayed back and forth with the tides of war. Historically, their entry on the side of the British sealed the fate of French Canada.
All six tribes numbered 1-6 are two sided, one being red (British) the other blue (French). At game's beginning three are turned to each color indicating complete neutrality. After each battle, the victor turns one of the tribes of his opponent's color to his own. Any time a player begins his turn with all six of the tribes face up with his color, the Iroquois have gone onto his side. They are his permanently. They are not replaced if they are destroyed but unlike other Indians can be flipped over and continue fighting on their first battle hit. Recovery rules apply to them. Iroquois receive a separate and automatic two marches each turn that they are in the game, plus a free muster in any one of their villages on their first turn. For this purpose, a victory is defined as any battle win, capture of any fort, town, point or village previously held by the enemy anywhere on the map. Iroquois do not go home after victories.
Special Rules
Indian Tribes
The other twenty tribes begin the game number side up on their respective villages. The three who are with the Courier de Bois are immediately activated (turned name side up) and are ready to move. Activation of a tribe may occur in two ways. First: a Courier piece goes to the village and spends one march turn activating them. Second: the French player decides to use his Privateer or Gifts and Supply shipment, or both, to activate musters of 5 Indian tribes. For each muster five tribes selected by the French player can be placed with any Courier or Couriers still in the original French territory. Already activated units back in their villages may be gathered up by a Courier passing through the village with no march expenditure.
Indians will only leave and stay away from their village with a Courier and have a stacking limit of five. After a French victory at which Indians are present, a number of Indians equal to that of the British units destroyed at that battle return to their village and remain there still activated. This is to indicate that they have taken scalps and returned home in triumph. Indians who end a turn without a Courier return to their villages. Already activated units may be used for the musters. Indians attacked in their villages are automatically activated and may neither retreat nor be reinforced by neighboring tribes not led by Couriers. Indians cannot be mustered if a supply line cannot be traced through to Quebec, or another port.
Militia
All militia have place names indicating their points of origin. If a point is attacked, any militia with that name in the Available Counter Mix come on to defend. A MILITIA MUSTER is the placing of 4 British or 3 French pieces in any spot in the original holdings still in friendly hands. It can occur either as a result of Reinforcement (See) or at the beginning of each year when units already on the board can be mustered at the cost of 1 march. This can be important as militia returns home before supply determination at the end of every year. British militia to the counter mix return from the dead pile at the rate of one at the start of each year. Militia cannot come on in towns no longer held but will return at the end of the year to neighboring points.
Sea Combat/Louisbourg
Louisbourg provided a shelter and safeguarded the St. Lawrence. It gives a plus one to whoever holds it on the naval die roll for the ship counter placed at Louisbourg. This counter, if victorious, may land at any friendly port. The British cannot trace supply past a French held Louisbourg to Quebec.
Victory Conditions
For the French: It is to begin a turn or to end the game holding Albany and either New York, Boston or Philadelphia or to end a game having denied the British their victory conditions.
For the British: It is to begin a turn or end the game holding 3 of the following 5 points: Montreal, Quebec, Louisbourg, Frontenac and Duquesne. The 3 points must include Quebec, Montreal or both.