The Last Stand

My bad! Before I begin to describe the gory details of how the cards work in this game, something I forgot to mention in my last riveting update was the Last Stand option that player’s units can exercise in combat. So, among the thousands of in-person interviews we conducted in order to bring you this highly realistic simulation, we kept coming across the same stories about the amazing last-ditch stands that many groups of Plum Island’s finest pulled off during the three day siege. Incredible tales of struggles against impossible odds and seizing victory from the jaws of defeat. Sure, we quietly guffawed at these ludicrous claims and discounted them. They had to be just the wild rantings of some seriously damaged individuals who were putting a brave, but highly imaginative, face on humans getting their butts kicked by vicious lumps of deteriorating flesh. Yet there seemed to be the smallest (sub-atomic, to be honest) kernel of truth to these stories, so we had to include the possibility of these acts being pulled off in the game as well. Therefore, whenever a unit suffers its final Hit and would thus normally be eliminated, it will attempt a Last Stand. The owning player draws a Fate Number and if that number is less than or equal to the unit’s Bravery Rating, the unit will survive! Instead of being horribly devoured, it will instead retreat (actually, flee while screaming incoherently) to an adjacent area – just like a phoenix rising from the ashes! Better to run away and live to fight another day, as they say. So, there you have it – we’ve actually tilted the game-balance scales in favor of the players with this one, as unjustifiable as it is. But hey, at least no one can call me a devilish, heartless game designer now … well, not until you see what’s coming up in the next sections. Sorry …