ROUNDHEADS
==========

It Is October 1642. England has been plunged into civil war. After a long 
dispute with parliament. King Charles I 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. The Roundheads have their greatest strength in 
the South and East and they are lobbying for military support from the 
Scots. Each major city has been forced to back either the Roundheads or 
Cavaliers in the war. 

Up and down the country, people have deserted their work in the fields to 
fight. A key problem for each army is to secure adequate food supplies. 
Each side has its own regular army, but it must also rely on trained bands 
from the towns. These bands can be ordered to fight in open battle, but 
they have different degrees of allegiance to their side. They are, 
therefore, liable to defect to the other side if they move too far from 
their home town, or if enemy armies move too close. At the beginning of 
the war, the Royalist army is slightly stronger and better trained than 
the Parliamentarian, and it is in the interests of the Royalists to 
exploit this advantage before the entry of the Scots. The war is fought 
on two levels. On the strategic level, 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.

In general, 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 will shift to tactical mode. The 
field of action will appear on the screen, and forces will appear in 
random form. After the battle, action will shift back to the strategic 
level. It is possible for battle to take place at the strategic level, 
but in this case, the attacker is at a disadvantage unless the defending 
force is relatively weak. It is advisable to make battle at the tactical 
level. The command cursor(s) are the flashing red or green crosses (BBC) 
or flashing red or blue squares (Spectrum). These are moved using the 
joystick or keyboard. 

Giving Orders (At both strategic and tactical levels) 
Move the cursor onto one of your army or trained band icon, and press 
"fire". The computer will emit two tones, and await the next part of the 
order. The icon will flash to show that it is awaiting a command. If the 
"fire" button is held down too long, and the computer emits three tones, 
the order will be rendered ineffective. 

The order can be to move or to attack.
To Move: Direct the cursor to the required position, and press "Fire" 
again. Two tones will follow, and the icon will stop flashing. 
To Attack: Move the cursor onto an enemy icon and press "Fire". The range 
is 5 squares at the strategic level, and 10 squares at the tactical level. 
If the attacking icon is artillery (tactical level only), it will open 
fire immediately. If it is another icon, the order will be acknowledged 
with two tones, and the enemy icon will be pursued until an attack or the 
order is changed. 

Battle at the Tactical Level.
A close artillery barrage on an enemy icon in open territory will reduce 
its strength by 1 point if it is a weak unit, or by slightly more if it 
is strong. With a more distant barrage, no more than 2 points can be lost. 
The strength of the firing artillery icon is reduced by 1 point each time 
it is fired.

Cavalry icons are more destructive in attack than infantry, particularly 
against other cavalary. Infantry are best in defence or against weaker 
units. Attack your enemy with artillery and cavalry first. All combat in 
the game is governed by a slight element of chance. This is most crucial 
when the unit icons are large and of roughly similar strength. However, 
don't trust in luck! Your tactical skills matter most of all. Another 
element of uncertainty is that the strength of unit icons is revealed 
only when it is given an order, or after an attack. You must remember 
the strengths of your opponents icons.

Artillery cannot move into defensible areas. In defensible areas unit 
icons can be bombarded by artillery and attacked by another infantry 
icon, but not by cavalry.

When in a defensible area, an infantry icon is stronger against attack. 
The effect of artillery on the infantry icon is much reduced, and it can 
result in a zero reduction of a defenders strength. Also, damage done by 
an infantry attack is much reduced. Incidently. . . as food supplies 
dwindle, troops are liable to revolt! 

Moving from Strategic to Tactical Level.
1. 3 minutes must have elapsed.
2. Your cursor must be placed on one of your unit icons.
3. Either the "Copy" or the "Shift Lock" keys (BBC) - "W" or "U" keys 
   (Spectrum) must be pressed.
4. An enemy icon must be immediately adiacent to your chosen piece.

Moving from Tactical to Strategic Level.
1. 15 minutes must have passed.
2. The "Copy" or the "Shift Lock" keys (BBC) - "W" or "U" keys (Spectrum) 
   must be pressed.

If both players agree a rapid move from the tactical level to the strategic 
level, then this can be achieved by simultaneously pressing the "Copy" and 
"Shift Lock" keys (BBC) - "W" and "U" keys (Spectrum).

Two players may play the game, using keyboard or twin joysticks. There is 
an option for a single player to take the part of King Charles (Cavaliers), 
against the computer, which plays on the Roundhead side.


Keyboard Controls (BBC)

Direction 		Roundheads		Cavaliers
Left 			A			L
Right 			S			+
Fire 			D			*
Up 			Z			>
Down 			X			?

Key 			Strategic Level		Tactical Level
P 			Pause game and give	Pause game 
			points count
Return 			Restart game		Restart game
Escape 			Record game and		None
			Edit (during pause)
Copy 			Cavalier move from	Cavalier move from
			strategic to tactical	strategic to tactical
			level			level 
Shift Lock 		Roundhead move from 	Roundhead move from
			strategic to tactical	strategic to tactical
			level			level

Keyboard Controls (Spectrum = Redefinable)

Direction 		Roundheads		Cavaliers
Left 			N			Z
Right 			M			X
Fire 			J			S
Up 			Y			Q
Down 			H			A

Key		Strategic Level		Tactical Level
Space or Break 	Pause game		Pause game
W		Cavalier move from	Cavalier move from
		strategic to tactical	tactical to strategic
		level			level 
U 		Roundhead move from 	Roundhead move from
		strategic to tactical	tactical to strategic
		level			level

Strategic Level
Armies			Strength 1-90 Each about 20-21OO men 
Trained Bands		Strength about 1-60 Each about 25-1658 men

Tactical Level		
Infantry		Strength 1-100 Each about 50-500 men		
Cavalry 		Strength about 1-10 Each about 15-150 men
Artillery		Strength 1-10 Each about 5-50 men
Supply Wagons		Food contents about 1-10
Hills
Cities/defensible areas 
Woods 
Rivers