Navajo Wars is a solitaire card driven game which places the player into the role of the Diné (Navajo) from the time of the Spanish incursion in 1595 through the time of their subjugation at the hands of an American Army led by Kit Carson in 1864.
“Diné” (pronounced 'dih-nay') is the word the Navajo use to refer to their tribe. It means “the people.”
The term, “Navajo” comes from a Spanish rendering of a Tewa (one of the Pueblo tribes) word for “planted fields.” The Diné were and are still known for their planting of corn in the high desert of New Mexico and Arizona.
The objective for the Navajo player, hereinafter referred to as "player", is to avoid being subjugated by either the Spanish, Mexicans or the Americans, hereinafter referred to as "enemy". The player will be taking actions during the course of the game to try and increase both culture and military tracks. If both of those reach zero at any time during the game, you will be subjugated by the enemy and immediately lose the game. There are also cultural developments, in the form of a tech tree, that the player will have to develop to increase his chances of winning. The developments are; weaving, horsemanship, religion, masters of the Mesas and sharp trades each having three levels of development. Navajo Wars also has historical event cards for each period. These cards have their own rules and effects that really add a historical feel to the game.
As the player, you will be trying to get your family units, "counter" on the map. Your family units could consist of a man, woman and child. With those counters you will be conducting individual actions with your families that are on the map. These actions could include, raids on New Mexico, raids on an outpost, tribal warfare & tribal diplomacy both conducted against the Comanche or the Ute. Create trade goods, husbandry and travel.
During the enemy portion of the turn, the enemy will be conducting operations against the Navajo tribe. These operations could include: to subvert the natives (player), build outpost, build and subvert, raids (the enemy will try to send raids deep into the Navajo territory) and many other actions.
The enemy receives their orders by a unique order matrix. As the player, you are never sure what will be coming next.
Navajo Wars can be played as individual scenarios for the Spanish, Mexican and American periods. You can play all three periods as a campaign game.
- Seen as a standout title within non-traditional war games
- Represents a distinctive perspective within historical wargaming
- Not as mainstream as some euro-leaning or classic war games
- North American conflicts involving Navajo nations and colonial powers
- Comancheria
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I think onboarding is the key here and maybe that's a lesson every company and designer should take to heart.
- People are hungry for heavy games. If you present it in a way that is going to be accessible enough, they will come if you design it.
- Go play war game.
References (from this video)
- deep historical subject
- high strategic depth
- heavy rules burden
- long play time
- Native American history and frontier conflict
- 19th-century American Southwest, Native American history
- historical simulation
- Comancheria
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — control hexes or regions to gain influence
- long-form strategic planning — extended decision trees and scenario progression
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- we together are the horsemen of the apocalypse
- the solo mode is the same rules you're just using one bot
- Concordia solitaire is so good you can play it with any map and any expansion
- the expansion for Star Wars Outer Rim tweaked the solo mode nicely
- Baseball Highlights 2045 I freaking love baseball
- Final Girl is ultimately going to be the more palatable one
- I love root solo; it's a bear but worth it
References (from this video)
- diverse historical scope
- two-player mode adds flexibility
- some complexity for newcomers
- area control and defense
- North American frontier, Navajo conflicts
- historical, scenario-driven
- Pax Premier
- D-Day at Omaha Beach
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — contest territories and influence
- Two-player mode — supports solo or two-player variants
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- D-Day at Omaha Beach is number one.
- Pavlov's house is number three I feel like that's probably one of the more accessible ones in the top ten.
- Mr President was actually tied for six with enemy action or dens.
- the list is all over the place.
- the engagement level matters and newer games look damn good on the table
References (from this video)
- Deep, rewarding experience
- Rich multi-genre design
- Difficult to learn
- Rulebook can be dense
- War, strategy, resource management
- Navajo conflicts in the American West
- Long, weighty strategy with learning curve
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- resource_management — Strategic use of resources to win battles.
- states of siege — Blends siege-style mechanics with empire management.
- war_game — Grand strategic conflicts with tactical layers.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the Congo is a great example of Brit box design by combining area control root building the economics of resource management and speculative Trading and even conflict and event- driven AI
- it's a joy to ear and a joy to play
- Distributors asked of Hersh or post production presumably to make game scale better for more players
- I relish the puzzle that the game offers challenging you to choose between short-term gain or long-term development
- what these guys are good at doing is finding ways to present very interesting themes