1.0 introduction. The following is a set of rules for conducting
miniature battles of the Pre-Hispanic Mexican (300-1500 A.D.) era.
This era saw the rise and fall of many Indian empires and kingdoms
from the great to the petty. The Mesoamericans developed a method of
warfare unique and totally independent of Western European influence.
In some respects it is primitive and in others it is highly advanced.

The game is played in a series of turns in which the opposing sides
make simultaneous moves in an effort to capture or kill as many of the
opposing army as possible. It is recommended that a referee be on hand
to run the game, settle disputes, and so forth. Each turn follows the
sequence of play:

1) Weather determination
2) Sacrifices
3) Projectile Firing & Effect
4) Movement
5) Hand-to-Hand Combat
6) Prisoner Declaration

Each of these will be explained in their sections.

2.0 scale. Each unit or figure represents 20 men, each man in
the unit having the same weapon and strength. One turn equals two
minutes. One inch of horizontal distance equals 25 yards and one inch
of vertical distance equals five feet. The bases on each unit should be
1.5 x 1.5 cm except for Spanish Cavalry which should be 1.5 x 3.5 cm.

3.0 set up. A playing field should be set up according to the
above scale taken from either real sources or the reader’s imagination. It
should have the terrain divided into clear, uneven (including forest),
rough (mountains), and swampy for purposes of movement.

3.1. Each of the opposing sides has a value assigned called its Military
Prowess number. This determines their units strength (see Table 1).
The number ranges from 1 to 5.

Table 1

Military Prowess	1	2	3	4	5
#Ratio	1	.9	.75	.6	.5
Die#	-	-	-	-	-
1	1	2	2	3	3
2	2	2	3	3	4
3	2	3	3	4	4
4	3	3	4	4	5
5	3	4	4	5	5
6	4 elite	4 elite	5 elite	5 elite	6 elite

Determine the Military Prowess number for each side, either by
chance or by agreement. The number of units available to each side is
then determined by the ratio # of Table 1. (example: If one side of M.P.
#1 has 500 men then a side of M.P. #5 would have 250 men.) For each
20-man unit the player rolls a die and consults Table 1 which gives the
strength of that unit and whether or not it is elite. This should be recorded
for reference later.

Each side then chooses which side of the field to enter. They may
also determine which side had access to the field prior to the battle.

3.2. Each side should now choose the weapons for each unit. Each
army should have a leader and a priest unit. The leader unit is always 6
elite and priest unit is 1 elite. Over half the combat units should be
armed with hand-to-hand weapons and of these there should be a 1 to
2 ratio of club units to war club units. Of the projectile tiring units over
half should be armed with atl-atl.

3.3. Leader units consist of 20 men armed with war clubs with a
strength value the maximum for their Military Prowess. When attacked
or shot at the leader is the last man caught or killed.

All projectile firing units and priest units are armed with swords if
they are engaged in hand-to-hand. The projectile units drop one in
strength value when involved with hand-to-hand and priests are 1.

3.4. The Mexicans had a form of quilted cotton armor known as
Ichahuipilli. Players may designate 25% of their forces as having this
armor. Such units should halve the figures in Table 4 or shift the
enemy’s odds column one to the left in Table 8 for the appropriate
combat situation.

3.5. Each army should be broken down into 10 unit (200 man)
divisions. Each unit in a division should be within 2” of another member
of the unit, and so on until there can be traced a chain of such association
linking all members of the division together. At least one member of
each division must be within 24" of the leader unit. Any violations cost
each member of the division one morale point.

3.6. Any side having prior access may conceal five elite units in any
area of rough or uneven terrain. The side does so by informing the
referee which units will hide where. These units remain hidden
throughout the battle until they move or an enemy unit passes within
2”.

4.0 weather. Every 15 turns the referee will roll a die and consult
Table 2. This will determine the weather for the next 15 turns. The
weather affects morale and projectile firing.

Table 2

Season:	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Die#	-	-	-	-
1	Snow	Rain	Thunderstorm	Thunderstorm
2	Snow	Rain	Thunderstorm	Rain
3	Clear	Rain	Rain	Rain
4	Clear	Clear	Rain	Clear
5	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear
6	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear

Clear: No effects
Rain: All morale numbers down 1
Snow: All morale numbers down 1, projectile ranges halved
Thunderstorm: All morale numbers down 2, projectile ranges halved
The effects last for the full 15 turns.

4.1. Either side may sacrifice 60 enemy men in 3 consecutive turns
and change the Weather to Clear for the rest of that 15 turn period.
However these sacrifices may not contribute to morale raising (see Prisoners
& Sacrifices).

5.0 projectile firing and effect. There are three projectile firing
weapons available. They are the bow and arrow, sling and stone,
and the atl-atl (javelin). In order for a projectile firing unit to fire on an
enemy it must be able to sight the enemy and it must be in range.

5.1. In order to sight an enemy one must be able to hold a straight
edge from the center of the firing unit to the target with no intervening
objects five feet or taller (relative to the firing unit’s height). Forests may
be considered 20 feet tall relative to their own level. Units in hiding or in
a forested area may not be sighted.

5.2. To find the maximum ranges of the weapon consult Table 3.
Don’t forget possible halving due to weather.

Table 3

Weapon	Max Range	Rate of Fire	% Hits
Bow	4"	12/turn	100% x (2”/R) x (s/6)
Sling	3.5"	8/turn	100% x (1”/R) x (s/6)
Atl-atl	2"	4/turn	100% x (1”/R) x (s/6)

After an appropriate target has been selected the firing unit refers to
Table 3. The number of men in the unit is multiplied by the rate of fire
(all rounds in a turn must be shot at the same target). Next the % Hits is
calculated by placing the range in inches in R and the firing unit’s
strength in s. Multiply % Hits with the total number of shots to give the
number of hits (Note: % Hits may not exceed 100%, and 10% should
be subtracted if the target will be moving this turn). Now multiply the
number of hits by the appropriate % in Table 4 to get the number of
fatalities (round off) and, in the case of the sling (in parenthesis), the
number rendered unconscious. These remain unconscious until the
beginning of next turn, and should the unit move before then they are
lost to that unit. Such abandoned men may be claimed as prisoners by
the enemy unit moving over the spot in this turn. If not, they are just lost
from the game.

Table 4

Weapon	Normal Men	Elite
Bow	2%	1%
Sling	1.5% (3%)	.75%(1.5%)
Atl-atl	5%	2.5%

(example: a 15 man, 3 strength unit fires sling at an elite unit 1.5” away.
That is 15 man x 8/turn or 120 stones fired at 100% x 1”/1.5” x 3/6 or
33% hits which is 39 hits with .75% fatalities or 0 killed and 1.5% unconscious
or 1 out.)

5.4. To round off .5 or higher is 1. and .4999 or lower is 0.

5.5. Units which fired in one turn may not move during that turn.
However a unit may fire only half its rate and then move half its rate.

5.6. Projectile firing units may fire at 1,2,3, or 4 targets per turn (at
least one round of fire at each target). For multiple targets the % Hit
should be halved, thirded, or quartered as appropriate.

6.0 movement. The amount of movement allowed a unit is dependent
on the terrain it is moving over (see Table 5).

Table 5

Clear	Uneven	Rough	Swampy	180 degrees
4"	3.75"	2.5"	1.5"	.5"

In order for a unit to turn 180 degrees around it must expend .5” of its
movement.

6.1. When a unit moves from one terrain to another the referee
should calculate how many inches of movement are left to the unit
(example: a unit moves from clear to swampy after moving 3”. The
inches left is equal to 1/4 times 1.5 which is .38”).

6.2. A unit may not move through an enemy unit, and if it passes
within 1/2” of an enemy unit it must stop. If it passes within 2” of a
concealed enemy the enemy is exposed but the unit may continue with
its move.

6.3. A unit moving up a hill expends 1”. A unit moving down a hill
gains an extra 1”.

7.0 hand-to-hand combat. At the end of the movement turn if
any opposing units are within 1/2” of each other they may engage in
hand-to-hand combat The players then calculate the strength ratio between
the two units starting with their units’ strength and using the multipliers
given below. The unit with the lower number is called the defender
and is given three options: defend, aggressive, or disarm. If the
option is defend the strength of the unit is doubled and the turn passes
to the aggressor. If the option is one of the others then the appropriate
CRT is consulted (see 7.4).

When the aggressor’s turn comes he may choose either aggressive
or disarm and then consults the appropriate CRT.

7.1. A facing multiplier is given to the attacker if its unit faces the
back (hind 180 deg.) of the defender. In this state the attacker is given a
3/2 multiplier.

7.2. If a unit was not engaged last turn or under fire, and this turn it
traveled its full movement to engage a stationary enemy it is given a
shock multiplier as follows:

Table 6

Ratio of strengths	Shock Multiplier
less than 1:1	x1
1:1	x4/3
more than 1:1	x5/3

7.3. Multipliers are given due to differences in weaponry as given
below

Table 7

Player 1:	Sword	Lance	Club	War Club
Player 2	-	-	-	-
Sword	x1	x5/3	x1	x4/3
Lance	x1/3	x1	x1/3	x2/3
Club
War Club

7.4. When either the attacker or defender chooses the aggressive or
disarm option they consult the appropriate section of Table 8 and look
under the modified strength ratio for his weapon. A die is then rolled
and if the attacking unit is an elite unit it subtracts 1 from the roll. The
number given is the percent of men killed. Those given in parenthesis
are the percent disarmed.

Table 8
AGGRESSIVE

Weapon	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sword	1:4	1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1	6:1	7:1	8:1
Club	1:5	1:4	1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1	6:1	7:1
War Club	1:6	1:5	1:4	1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1	6:1
Lance	1:7	1:6	1:5	1:4	1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1
Die#	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
0	-	-	5%	5%	10%	10%	20%	20%	30%	40%	50%
1	-	-	-	5	5	10	10	20	20	30	40
2	-	-	-	-	5	5	10	10	20	20	30
3	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	10	10	20	20
4	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	10	10	20
5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	10	10
6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	10

DISARM

Weapon	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lance	1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1	6:1	7:1	8:1	9:1
Club	1:4	1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1	6:1	7:1	8:1
Sword	1:5	1:4	1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1	6:1	7:1
War Club	1:6	1:5	1:4	1:3	1:2	1:1	2:1	3:1	4:1	5:1	6:1
Die#	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
0	-	-	-	5% (10)	5% (10)	10% (20)	10% (25)	20% (30)	20% (40)	30% (45)	40% (50)
1	-	-	-	-	5 (10)	5 (10)	10 (20)	10 (25)	20 (30)	20 (40)	30 (45)
2	-	-	-	-	-	5 (10)	5 (10)	10 (20)	10 (25)	20 (30)	20 (40)
3	-	-	-	-	-	-	5 (10)	5 (10)	10 (20)	10 (25)	20 (30)
4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5 (10)	5 (10)	10 (20)	10 (25)
5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5 (10)	5 (10)	10 (20)
6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5 (10)	5 (10)

(example: a 15 man unit, strength 3, armed with war clubs meets face to face with a 10 man unit, strength 5, armed with clubs and no shock
strength. The first unit’s modified strength (due to weapon difference) is 4 and elects to fight aggressive against the other unit’s strength of 5. The
ratio of 1:2, war club, aggressive, and die roll of 2 gives 5% of 10 which rounded up is 1 man killed. The other unit elects to fight disarm and rolls a 1.
A club ratio of 1:1, roll of 1 yields a blank and no men are killed or disarmed.)

7.5. No more than six units may attack an enemy unit in one turn. A
unit may not attack an enemy unit if it is being attacked by a different
enemy unit. If more than one unit attacks an enemy unit each attack is
calculated separately with damage being cumulative and the order of
attacks at the aggressor’s choice.

8.0 prisoners and sacrifices. If at the end of the Hand-to-
Hand phase two opposing units are within 1/2” of each other and one
or both units have either unconscious or unarmed men then the opposing
unit may claim these as prisoners provided they have the same
number of active, armed men plus at least half the number of enemy
active, armed men to act as a covering force.

(example: Two units face each other, one has five unarmed men and
ten armed men; the opposing force must have five plus five or ten ac-
tive, armed men in order to take prisoners.) It is possible for 2 facing 
units to take prisoners from each other.  

8.1.    Any unit that has taken prisoners in 1 turn must on the next 
movement turn retreat from combat and move to the nearest, friendly 
priest unit.  Should there be none, then the unit must move off the edge 
of the field that it entered.  It must wait 1 turn with the priest unit or 2 
turns off the field in order to turn over its prisoners.  After that it is free to 
move and fight again.  The player must keep track of the number of 
prisoners taken. 

8.2.    Sacrifices may be made to change the weather (see weather)
or to improve morale. In order to do this a priest unit must sacrifice 20 of
its prisoners in one turn (which is the maximum rate at which they may
do this). For each turn in which a priest unit sacrifices 20 men all friendly
units add 1 to their morale level. This effect ends at the end of the turn
and is not cumulative. Prisoners taken off the field may not be sacrificed.

8.3. Any unit that captures prisoners goes up 3 levels in Morale
when it returns to combat. This effect lasts for 15 turns.

9.0 morale. A unit will have its morale level checked if it either
comes under fire, engages in hand-to-hand combat, or an enemy unit
leaves concealment within 2” of it.

9.1. The following formula is used to compute morale level:
Previous level (0 at start) + # of friendly units within 2” - # of enemy
units within 2” + (unit’s strength - 3)/2 + (men left in unit -10)/5 + any
appropriate additives

The additives are:
-1, -2 weather
+1 sacrifices
-1 under fire
-1 enemy units out of hiding 2"
+3(-3) Enemy (Friendly) leader caught or killed
+2(-2) Retreating enemy (friendly) units in sight
+2 Friendly leader engaged in combat

Table 9

Morale level	Combat option	Controllability
M4	Must advance	No new orders
M3	Must advance 3"	No new orders
M2	May advance 2"	New Orders
M1	May advance 1"	New Orders