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1  INTRODUCTION


1.1  GAME START  There are up to sixteen players in each game. Players are allocated to kingdoms by preference in the order of joining (when you sign up for a game you get a free choice of the kingdoms that are still available). If there are fewer than sixteen players then the remainder will be operated as "dummy players" under computer control.

1.2  START POSITIONS  The kingdom codes, kingdom names, start locations, codes,  and nationality for the various kingdoms are given in the table below.
At the start of the game each kingdom controls the area indicated (usually a city), one area adjacent to the start area (if the start area is a city, then this must be the area in which the city is located), two areas adjacent to this area, and two further areas adjacent to any of the previous ones. Start positions may include sea areas. Each land area and city contains one army and each sea area contains one ship.
Exception: The Scots start location is DAL (Dalriada), and their next area (which should normally be adjacent) is ANT (Antrim).

TABLE OF START POSITIONS

Nation Code Kingdom Start City & Code
English EAS East Anglia Norwich, NOR
English MDA Middles Angles Northampton, NTH
English MER Mercia Tamworth, TAM
English NMB Northumbria York, YOR
English WSX Wessex Winchester, WIN
English ESX Essex Colchester, COL
English KNT Kent Canterbury, CAN
British CMB Cumbria Carlisle, CRL
British WWL West Wales Exeter, EXE
British DFD Dyfed Carmarthen, CRM
British GWD Gwynedd Carnarvon, CRN
British STR Strathclyde Dumbarton, DUM
Gaelic IRI Irish Galway, GAL
Gaelic SCO Scots Dalriada, DAL
Gaelic PIC Picts Moray, MRY
Viking VIK Vikings Hebrides, HEB
Viking DAN Danes not included at start
Viking NRS Norse not included at start

1.3  SETUP  At the start of the game there are no trade levels, and no armies other than those belonging to the sixteen kingdoms. Each city has a fortification level of one. Each of the major Roman cities (Colchester, London, Gloucester, Chester, Lincoln, York and Carlisle) has a population of four. Each of the other start cities  has a population of three, and each other city has a population of two. The population in other areas is two in lowlands and one in mountains, forest, wetlands, islands and hills.
Each kingdom starts with a few extra build points for the first turn and a few extra build points in the treasury. Standby players (players who join later, usually as replacements for players who dropped out) normally get some extra treasury BPs.
Balance: The start positions are not balanced in terms of initial population or geographical advantage (or the additional rules available to some kingdoms). If you think an opponent has a better starting position, then it's up to you and the other players to do something about it. "Dark Age" is first and foremost a game of player interaction, and you should be able to convert a geographical or military handicap to a political or diplomatic advantage.