





                            Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021
                                 Basic Version 1.30
                           Copyright (c) 1988,1991 by TMA

            Welcome to Anacreon!

            Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021 is a game system set in a dark
            future governed by the shades of Clausewitz and Machiavelli.
            As the absolute ruler of a powerful world, you must forge an
            empire that will challenge the wave of barbarism that has
            swept the galaxy. Though you will have only a single world
            at first, you must conquer the surrounding planets to set up
            bases that will build more ships, mine metals to build up
            industry, and develop the technology for more powerful
            weapons, all while defending your home worlds from the
            inevitable attacks of your enemies.

            I must admit that this game is not for everyone. If you like
            war games or detailed role-playing games, you will almost
            certainly like a Anacreon. Because it is played on a
            computer, Anacreon can have layers of detail unattainable on
            simple board games. But because it demands intelligence over
            hand-eye coordination, it can challenge you more than a
            simple video game. My goal in writing this game was to
            create a universe detailed enough to seem real, yet
            interesting and challenging enough to be enjoyable.

            SET UP

            The .ZIP file should include the following files:

                 README              This file
                 ANACREON.EXE        The main program
                 ANACREON.OVR        An overlay program file
                 ANACREON.HLP        Help file
                 ANACREON.CNF        Configuration file
                 ANACREON.TXT        Instructions manual
                 INTRO.SCN           Basic scenario
                 JAKARTA.SCN         Basic scenario
                 PRINCES.SCN         Advanced scenario

            To play, all you have to do is read the instructions and run
            ANACREON from the DOS prompt. All support files should be
            kept in the same directory as the main program, but you can
            designate the directories for the scenario (.SCN) files and
            any save files.

            PLAYING

            Anacreon is admittedly difficult to learn, but the best way
            to learn is simply to try out different commands. The on-
            line help should give you some hints, and the instruction
            manual is useful as a reference, but nothing will beat
            experimentation. Here are some basic hints that should help
            you a bit:

            FUNCTION KEYS: Each of the function keys is tied to a
            different information window. You cannot ruin anything by
            pressing these keys, so you can always try them if you want
            to know something. If you want to close the windows and
            return to the menu bar, press <Esc> or <F2>.

            ESC: The Esc key always gets you out of a command. Pressing
            <Esc> if you panic is generally helpful.

            ABBREVIATIONS: Abbreviations and symbols can usually be
            found in the reference section of the instructions manual.
            The on-line help also has several lists of frequent
            abbreviations.

            ADVANCED ANACREON

            If you enjoy playing Anacreon, you might want to consider
            buying the Advanced Version. Advanced Anacreon contains
            features not available in the Basic Version and includes a
            printed manual and instructions for creating your own
            scenarios. See the instructions manual for more details.
            Note, however, that the Basic version of Anacreon is a
            complete game and provides all the necessary features for
            complete galactic conquest.

            NOTES ABOUT THE GAME

            Anacreon evolved out of an acute dissatisfaction with games
            like Empire (The War Game of the Century!) and Strategic
            Conquest (A recent Macintosh game). It was a love-hate
            relationships from the start. Games in which you could
            conquer the world or the galaxy fell into two categories:
            simple and poorly implemented. Games like Risk or Galactic
            Empire (an ancient TRS-80 and Apple II game) were too
            simple. One was left with a burning desire to increase the
            detail in the game. Why not have many different kinds of
            ships? Maybe each planet could produce something different?
            Games like Empire, on the other hand were of pretty high
            complexity but very poorly implemented. Why can't the map
            scroll? Why is moving your pieces so difficult? And why
            can't somebody write a decent galactic conquest game? I hope
            that I have been able to write just such a game, and that
            Anacreon will prove to be more successful than its
            predecessors, but above all I hope that you will enjoy this
            game in the spirit in which it was written.

            QUESTIONS

            If you should have any questions, comments, or criticisms,
            please feel free to write to:

                      TMA
                      15 Whittier Rd.
                      Natick, MA 01760


