World conquest was a play by mail wargame published for play in 1988 by Prime Time Simulations. It was an "operational level game of land, sea and air warfare".Herriman 1993. p. 20.

Development Prime Time Simulations published the game in 1988.Prime Time Simulations 1992. p. 15. By 1992, the publisher had released its successor, Modern World Conquest, while World Conquest was still active.Milliken and Hart 1992. p. 29.

Gameplay World Conquest was a "fast paced simulation of combined arms conflict."Black 1992. p. 19. Each game comprised 12 players in a World War II setting, with players governing a nation on a 50×60 grid map with 30 types of available combat units.Prime Time Simulations 1992. p. 15. The object of the game was to "be the first player to capture twelve cities and hold them for one full turn".Herriman 1993. p. 20. The game allowed players to choose strategies such as: land-based, sea-based, air-based, technology research-focused, and others.Prime Time Simulations 1992. p. 15.

Players began in their capital cities which were at the center of their territories. As these territories were unmapped, exploration was a central part of early play, in order to capture neutral cities.Herriman 1993. p. 20. The primary element of gameplay was the unit, of which there were thirty types. Players could produce units with "buildsteps" generated by cities or villages, all of which produced different numbers of buildsteps.Herriman 1993. p. 20. Unit costs ranged from two at the low end to twenty for battleships at the top end, while most units cost between two and six.Herriman 1993. p. 20. Other unit types included: artillery, basic infantry, fighters, mechanized infantry, paratroopers, rocket, special forces, and tanks.Herriman 1993. p. 20–22. Each unit had an experience level from green, trained, veteran, crack, to elite.Herriman 1993. p. 22.

Turns were divided into five phases, during which players accounted for a number of variables when moving and conducting combat operations.Herriman 1993. p. 20. Combat could be a fairly simple affair between two units or it could be a "highly complex and mind-boggling affair" with multiple players and unit types involved on a single game square.Herriman 1993. p. 22.

Reception In 1991, reviewer Mark Macagnone stated in Paper Mayhem magazine that the game was "good, with a little more effort it can be great!"Macagnone 1991. p. 16. In the same issue, Randall E. Black also reviewed the game, stating that he "really enjoyed the game, and felt it gave great value for the money." Out of a possible 5, he rated the game a 4 for its rule book and enjoyment, 5 for dollar value and gamemaster response, and 3 for playability, while placing its complexity in the medium to complex range.Black 1991. p. 20. Reviewer Jack Herriman II said in 1993 that World Conquest was "made for inventive people" in that it allowed many different possibilities for force generation to pursue campaigns.Herriman 1993. p. 22. The game was listed as the #9 of 84 play-by-mail games in the Sep/Oct 1992 issue of Paper Mayhem magazine, and was listed in the same issue as the #1 play-by-mail game for games with over 100 voting responses.Paper Mayhem 1992. p. 52.

See also List of play-by-mail games Paper Mayhem Play-by-mail game

Notes and references

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