Archon – The Light and the Dark

Thoughts by std (13 00 2003) – C64

Have you ever heard about Napoleon? Yeah, the genial goblin-like garlic-eater. It’s strange how along the time, the good games that had a look at this formidable person…simply failed to appear.

On the other hand, excellent games that had a look at fantasy are so many that I can write a few hundred titles right now. And Archon is one of them.

In fact, Archon is not only one of the best fantasy games. It is one of the best strategy games, and, by far, one of the most genial (but simple) ideas ever to populate the face of earth. A chess game with goblins and sorcerers, now here’s an idea!

As I said, Archon is, foremost of all, a chess-like strategy game. I say “chess-like” because it is tile-based, but harshly tile-based since the primary battlefield is a chessboard. The metaphor is subtile, but it is simply astonishing (one of the things that make this game so good): the battle is taking place between good and evil. And this is exactly like a game. A continuous duel between those who command. However, unlike in a chess-game, the king is much more powerful. In fact, we have an equivalent of the king and the queen for each of the two sides (the units are different, but well-balanced). And while the queen fights, the king uses his magic. The number of spells is not exactly huge, but the spells are well-thought and can work wonders.

However, winning a game is not only a matter of strategy. Of course, the strategy plays a huge role in the game. But whenever two enemy units come in contact (occupy the same square), the fight between them begins. In that moment, you take control of the unit and fight the other just like in a duel. In that moment, strategy is not all, because you need the skill. This way, the strategical skill is not enough: you must be a good melee fighter, a true warrior if you want to win. Indeed, the power of the units is not all that counts. Units need a time to “reload”, and the battlefield is full of obstacles, therefore balancing the duel between units with long-range fire and those with close-range attacks.

Indeed, the units are well-balanced, and each unit has a counterpart in the enemy side. Each of the two sorcerers can summon an elemental power, can heal units, teleport, exchange units and so on. Your warriors have a limited number of squares, but the direction is at your option. This way, you have no limit in your strategy.

Archon also has a multiplayer option, which works well (I tried it on my C64 and works well, with an emulator it’s a bit strange because the keyboard layout is different). However, playing Archon with a human opponent is not too different from playing with a computer, because the AI is extremely good. Having ten years of playing chess and reading about Napoleon behind me, the computer managed to battle very well against all my strategies, and even defeated me a few times (of course it didn’t happen too often…). Anyway, as a conclusion, Archon is, by far, a great, great strategy game and one of those games you need to play. Very entertaining.

Thoughts by Pheonix (24 00 2014) – Archon – The Light and the Dark – PC (Booter)

This is the PC port of the great game Archon. I played this game for hours at a time on the Commodore 64. The PC version plays identically. The graphics are, in my humble opinion, much better on the Commodore.

Basically, it is a fantasy chess game with a twist. Instead of pieces automatically taking the piece they land on, the two sides fight it out for dominance of the square. This is done in a two dimensional battle arena that expands from the chess board. Each arena is randomly generated and includes randomly placed obstacles that block movement and projectiles. Every battle continues until one side or the other emerges victorious by destroying their opponent. All damage taken by the victor remains. A wounded piece is easier to defeat. A piece will heal slowly over time, faster on a power square, or can be healed fully with the Heal spell (cast by the players Wizard/Sorceress piece.)

Every piece on the board has its own strengths and weaknesses. Some are fast, some are slow. They also have varied ranges for their attacks. Some can only attack nearby opponents directly in front of them. Some have an area around themselves they attack. Finally, others fire attacks that can cross the entire board (these can be blocked by the obstacles mentioned.) The pieces are different for each side, though the powers are generally similar.

The name The Light and the Dark is very appropriate for this game. The 2 sides consist of a light side and a dark side. The shade of a square represents the side that square will strengthen. A light side piece will be stronger on a light square and weaker on a dark one. The reverse is true for the dark side. There are also 19 squares that cycle back and forth from fully dark to fully light.

There are 5 “Power” squares on the board. Control of a Power square allows your Wizard/Sorceress to regain magic points (used for the casting of spells.) Also, controlling all 5 Power squares is one method of winning the game. The other methods are to destroy all apposing pieces, or to have all apposing pieces unable to move (with the use of the “Imprison” spell).

Overall, this is an excellent game consisting of both strategy and action elements. Good reactions can be offset by poor strategies, and vice-versa. It takes a balance of both to defeat your opponent.