Much to my delight a new version of Conquest was released several weeks ago. It retained the easier interface and more polished look of the preview without retaining the nasty tendency to crash. I immediately switched from Ackwire to Conquest.
So what is this game I like so much? It's basically a turn-based real estate strategy game with up to six players (you and one to five computer opponents). Each player is dealt a series of cards that map to certain positions on a 12x9 grid. Seven spots are randomly filled at the start of the game. In turn, each player places a card on the board. Valid placements are marked by an X. If you place a piece somewhere that doesn't touch any other squares nothing happens. Anytime you place a piece next to an occupied square you create a new company. If you place a piece next to an existing company, that company grows and goes up in value. If you place it next to two companies, they merge and the larger one survives.
After placing a piece, you are allowed to buy up to three shares of any company on the board. Each company has 25 shares available. There are two reasons to buy stock - to increase your net worth as the companies grow larger and to get bonuses when companies merge. Basically, when two companies merge the majority and largest minority owner of the company that doesn't survive receive a bonus. At that time they are also given several options on how to redeem their stock. They can sell it for the market value at the time of the sale, trade it for shares in the company taking over (if shares are available) or hold on to the shares. If a player holds on to the shares, they are worthless until that company is reformed (by placing a piece next to an occupied square that isn't part of a company).
The game interface is quite nice, and quite similar to the interface used in Power Players. The main grid board is shown throughout the game with the computer players moves and purchases presented underneath. The companies you form are marked on the board with the first letter of the company name for easy distinction. When it's your turn each available move is denoted with an x and two buttons appear to the right of the main board - You and All. When you tap on the You button, you see the current stock you own, the price of every stock in play, the number of shares of each you own, and the bonus granted the majority shareholder if the company merges with another. The All button leads to a table that shows how many shares of each company each player owns.
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