Knights of Justice
The Siege of Malta - 1565

Original Game by 3W, 1986 (The Wargamer #50) 
ADC2 version by Joe Oliver (Jaydeeo@aol.com), 2000
Created with ADC2 version 2.11; P200/64mb


INTRODUCTION

Knights of Justice is a tactical siege game originally published in The Wargamer #50.  It is notable for several reasons.

First, depending upon ones interests and viewpoint, it is either a fascinating or an immensely boring game and/or simulation.  The situation is simple.  A huge force of Ottoman Turks, under Suleiman I ("the Magnificent") besieges the 9,000 man Christian force of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem defending of Malta, and it must crack the defenses before either reinforcements or the coming Fall's bad weather arrives.  Having run the Knights out of Rhodes in 1522, Suleiman is confident, and if he wins quickly, will Sicily or the Italian mainland be his next target?  For some, the game is an interesting companion to the old Historical Perspectives/TAHGC Siege of Jerusalem and SPI Siege of Constantinople.  For others, it may be simply a very complex rock-throwing contest.

Next, the original map is unique, to say the least, and it tends to elicit extreme opinions.  Black colored water hexes, 3-D perspective fortress walls and buildings, and antique-style woodcut embellishments are seldom seen in consim maps, and almost never together.       

Finally, while superficially the game would seem to be of modest complexity and has a single map and only 200 counters, theoretically it can take a very l-o-n-g time to play to completion.  Fifteen turns, each of seven days, each of twenty-four hourly phases/pulses of assorted assault preparation, fire and shock combat, and movement, translate into an enormous potential amount of time.

NOTE:  As with many tactical level games, PBEM really is not very practical with this game.  However, this set can function quite well for solitaire play, and it was actually quite fun just to make it.


CHANGES FROM ORIGINAL

The following are the changes found in this ADC2 set.

The map has been done entirely by hand bitmapping, with no scans, but I have attempted to reflect the spirit and flavor of the original.  The water hexes have been done in a very dark blue rather than in black, and I have not tried to duplicate the 3-D perspective of the fortress hexes and enceinte hexsides, opting instead for a cleaner and hopefully much clearer traditional overhead style.

The off-map turn and "Storm" tracks and the Muslim Camp holding boxes are changed, but they are located approximately in their original positions.  I have added new holding spots for the marker counters and a new "Marsamuscetto Penalty" area.

The counters are unchanged, but for the following.  Each unit, except for the single one-step Christian "1-5-0" artillery unit, has a contrasting color added to the field of its type symbol on its front (two-step) side.  I've added some color to the wall "Damage" and "Breached" markers, and I've created a new similarly styled "Mine Attempt" counter.  Also, for any who may prefer to use them, new "Disordered" markers and a new "Drawbridge" marker have been created.  Finally, I've added some color and corrected the original misprinted Knight counters (the shields were upside down in my original countersheet!).


HOW TO USE THIS SET

First, make certain that your current ADC2 version is 2.11.  Next, after unzipping the files into an appropriately named folder and opening the ADC2 "play game" module, the following four different OPS files are available:

St_Elmos_Fire.OPS = the short 7-turn game scenario, with Christian artillery & game markers deployed, and with the balance of the required counters in clearly named pools (all unneeded units are deleted)

The_Great_Siege.OPS = the long "campaign" game scenario, with Christian artillery & game markers deployed, and with the balance of the countermix in pools

KofJ_Master.OPS = map empty, with entire countermix sorted into pools

KofJ_Sample.OPS = an artwork display file

The class/piece data fields are simple and obvious:

1 - Shock combat strength; numerical
2 - Fire combat strength; numerical
3 - Movement allowance; numerical
4 - Morale rating; Text 
5 - Disordered; Yes/No ("No" initial setting)

Notes:  As mentioned previously, separate "Disordered" markers have been created and can be used, but given the stacking level permitted, direct edit of pieces' "5" fields will certainly be much easier.

Also, rather than add the complexity, those units lacking fire combat ability have a "0" entered in their #2 data field.  Of course, the original "*" is shown on the counter artwork.

Flip definitions have been made for all units, eliminating the need for swapping to and from force pools to satisfy step reductions. 

Because of game rule complexities, neither the ADC2 Line-of-Sight feature nor the Combat Summary has been used, but anyone wishing to try them is welcome to do such modification.

Have fun.
