Do you mean current versus past versions you might pick up on boardgamegeek or ebay?

Oh, if there's only one version currently available, then presumably my decision just got easier. I didn't realize past versions had been retired.

Yeah, you can only buy the latest model of your favorite sports car from a new car dealer and only the latest version of the boardgame from the manufacturer. But with various flavors of A&A and what not out there, I could see how that could be confusing. Dip only comes from the manufacturer in one flavor, no variants, no anniversary editions, no special collectors editions that I know of.

I like the ones with the old wooden pieces. A fleet was a long thin rectangle, an army was a smaller thicker one.

Past versions can be found on ebay.

If you are going for different versions of the board, I've done a classroom set in two ways both have their advantages and disadvantages.

First the current Hasbro version of the board game is fine. The metal monopoly cannon and battleships are very durable and the colors are well done. It takes about a day of explanation of the rules (you might want to allow for two, a practice round and then restarting the game when everyone has the mechanics).

The second way was Mr. Nik's situation room:

I used an overhead projector and kept the board beside the projector. I made an overhead transparency of a negotiation map and projected that on the wall. I had different colored gels (squares for armies and circles for fleets) and placed them on the transparency so that students could see them from anywhere in the room. This facilitated discussions and allowed for more intrigue. Be prepared to be the final arbiter (and don't succumb to the temptation of giving strategic advice).

I like that one, CA! Did you play as "teams" or were there just seven players and everyone else was the peanut gallery?

The second sounds better to me, interesting.

I'll always have a soft spot for the first board I used. Plastic pieces, stars for armies, anchors for navies. So much more elegant than the clunky wooden blocks and ridiculous metal monopoly pieces.

I have the same board bought it back in 89.The board is in 2 pieces now from being folded and unfolded over the years.

I bought an old version on e-bay. Avalon Hill published the Colonial map into a board game.

The overhead projector sounds good. The new digital ones would be better, since I could project the board itself, but considering I'm doing Americorps, I doubt the school will have them. Any advice, Crazy Anglican, for teaching rules and strategy and diplomacy? Should I start them on Gunboat, move to public press, and finally regular press?

If anyone else has advice, it'd be welcome. Kids'll be in middle school.

Stukus, I had a teacher a few years ago that introduced interested students to the game. He had one week that (during the break/ homeroom time inbetween second and third periods) he would play a mock game and explain what was happening and, to a briefer extent, why. When he started open play the following week, he had fourteen players paired up (this proved disastrous; either half the players stopped playing or conflicting movements were submitted by the partners). After that game, he had open play for seven players at a time on a 24hr/phase cycle. This lasted until the administration shut it down. (That was a sad day.) (oh yeah, and retreats were handled on an ASAP basis, as were builds. This worked well since we were all going to see him at some point during the day, so moves/retreats/builds always went through before the school day was out.)

Hope this helps!

I was (vaguely) taught the game at the age of 13, but another 13yo who was a terrible at explaining it.
The first thing to explain is the general idea (kinda obvious there) - everyone moves at the same time, supports to overpower others. Then explain why you need diplomacy.

I would suggest that you *DONT* start with gunboat, because if you do I think you risk the whole game being played as such, with negligible communication.

The very best version of the game is the of which I have two copies. It comes in a lovely, large purple box and has wooden pieces. I used them when I taught 8th grade back in 73 or 74. Of course, I'm reallly old. Edi Birsay had a set with miniatures pasted on wood(tanks for armies, ships for fleets) whcih he created I think. But then, he's reallly old too.

They shut it down? How fucking moronic... I picked it up in the late 70s on Junior High and then moved on to minatures on a classroom floor played in a similar manner in High School. We called it Conflict Simulation and it was a real extracurricular activity sponsored by the school and run by the the guy who taught Military History as a subject.

@ Stukus

From a teaching perspective, be prepared for some resistance early on. It was uncanny for three years straight I had the same situation. A kids would say something along the lines of "This is a dumb game why didn't you bring in monopoly!" and the same kid would say on Wednesday "This is great can we do it next week too!"

Basically think about the simplicity of the rules. Make sure everyone knows order of play in a round, how to write orders, & how to resolve combat. Be sure to tell them about tricky places on the board. I like to play a year and then start over. THat way the kids who didn't get it immediately have a chance to practice the mechanics without getting into a hopeless situation.

My habit was to address everyone as the "ambassador from..." even if I saw them in the hallways that week. I wandered the room and was there to let them know about potential problems with rules and adjudication before they submitted orders but did not offer advice about the moves they should make. If you wander around and listen in on all the conversations you can alleviate a lot of problems.


You have to let them know up front that stabbing is part of the game and that it might happen. Kids tend to take it personally (it never happened with my high schoolers, but depending on the age of your students it might be a problem).

I never taught gunboat or public press. The point of the assignment was to introduce them to secret treaties and how they drew everyone into WWI. My class size was pretty small so I was able to have one or two students play on each country. I'd probably do groups of four or five and advise them to identify ambassadors.

For instance a five student team would have a leader to decide and wirte the orders.

Then four ambassadors with each one assigned one or two countries.