Viva!: Revolution in Mexico

Cover art by Norm Caddo

Viva!: Revolution in Mexico is a board wargame published in 1975 by Flying Buffalo that simulates the 19th-century revolutionary years in Mexico.

Description

Viva! is a 2-player board wargame in which one player controls federal Mexican forces (federales) and the other player controls opposing forces.[1] The rule system uses a simple "I Go, You Go" alternating system of movement and combat, and deals with issues of supply with a simple "attrition" die roll each turn.[2] Leaders play an important part of the game.[2]

The game has three scenarios:

  1. "Revolution!": A non-historic skirmish between rebels and federal soldiers.
  2. "Pancho Villa!": Rebels versus federales with the addition of American General John J. Pershing
  3. "French Campaign": The French invasion of Mexico involving British, Spanish and French units[1]

Publication history

Viva! was designed by Russ Beland, and was published by Flying Buffalo in 1975 with cover art by Norm Caddo.

Reception

In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Martin Campion noted the game's focus on only combat; the political situation in Mexico plays no part in the game. Campion felt that as a result, Viva! was not a good educational tool for the classroom, saying, "It would be well to have a good game on this subject; a game like this that ignores the politics of the situation is not very valuable."[2]

Other reviews

References

  1. ^ a b "Viva!: Revolution in Mexico".
  2. ^ a b c Campion, Martin (1980). "Viva!". In Horn, Robert E.; Cleaves, Ann (eds.). The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training. Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications. p. 520. ISBN 0-8039-1375-3.
  3. ^ https://spotlightongames.com/list/reviews.html [failed verification]