Once you have chosen a state to try to sway, you will enter the "Choose Battle Options" menu to start the special state battle.  Each battle will be uniquely different, with it's own specified battle map (pre-made or randomly made) and special background mission that you must successfully complete while also winning the overall fight for VP points.

 During state battles, the bottom center part of the options menu will show a list of various resistance aspects for the battle.  The higher the resistance of the state on the Region map, the more specific obstacles you will face in the battle.  The minimum number of resistance aspects will be equal to the higher of either the state's current resistance level, or half of it's original resistance level (before perhaps being reduced by the swaying of states adjacent to it).

 These resistance aspects can take many forms:

• Lower than normal starting forces for you.
• Higher than normal starting forces for the enemy.
• A higher target "win percent" for you to reach to win the normal fight for Victory Points.
• More numerous tasks for you to complete in the special mission for that state.
• And a variety of special events that could happen anytime in the battle, such as:
• Reinforcements for the enemy forces arriving somewhere along the edges of the map.
• Spies revealing the location of some of your ships to the enemy.
• Saboteurs causing some of your ships to not be able to move for a turn.
• Traitors causing some of your ships to mutiny and join the enemy.

 Again, the number and severity of these potential problems depends on how high the resistance level of the state is.  Fortunately you can use bribe points to soften the effects of these events.  For every bribe point you spend, one level of resistance will be removed.  You can often spend more bribe points than the current resistance, which will have the effect of making the mission easier than normal for you to win.  Effects of "over-bribing" can be:

• Higher than normal starting forces for you.
• Lower than normal starting forces for the enemy.
• A lower target "win percent" for you to reach in the fight for VPs.
• Extra turns to use to complete the tasks for the special mission in.

  Learn more about the nature of the special mission here.  Also note that sometimes a state will not have a specific mission they want done.  Instead they will want you to win by an even larger percent than normal, often as much as 70% more "over-win" percent points.

 You can buy extra turns to complete missions in using State and Bribe points.  This opportunity comes up on the last turn of a special mission if you have not yet won the mission.  So you might want to keep a reserve of five State points and or five Bribe points to use when you want a few more turns for the mission.

 In the next chapter, you can learn more about specific strategies and approaches to use on the Region map, and during special battles.

  Always keep in the back of your own mind that these challenges are part of the Admiral's mental "Naval Chess", so you can expect surprises and twists that might not be seen in our everyday real word life...

Questions?  Suggestions?  Email thurston@fogstone.com with your feedback, questions, and suggestions!

You can also visit our forum and talk with other players about the STA campaigns.