Roundheads

Roundheads is a 1 - 2 player strategy game for the BBC Micro and Spectrum.

It is October 1642. England has been plunged into civil war. After a long dispute with Parliament, King Charles has gathered his Cavalier forces for a military showdown. Parliament has brought together an army of its own (nicknamed 'Roundheads') under the leadership of the Earl of Essex, before the rise of Oliver Cromwell to prominence.

Each side has its standing army, but it must also rely on trained bands from the towns. The trained bands can be ordered out to fight in open battle, but they have different degrees of allegiance to their side and they are liable to defect to the other side if they move from their home town, or if enemy armies move too close.

War is fought on two levels. On the strategic level played on a map of England, each side must jockey for position and territory, laying siege to key cities and towns, and moving food hungry armies around so that they may forage for supplies.

Battles are fought at the tactical level. Each side may lay down a challenge to battle when hostile armies or trained bands are close to each other. If accepted, the action shifts to the tactical mode, and the field of action appears on the screen. Here the player sees their units positioned on the field of battle. Battles can be fought at the strategic level, but the defender is at the advantage.