Valley of Wonders Map Submission Form For Age of Wonders, 1.0

Map Name: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Grinch.hsm)
Map Author: Dr. Seuss
Author's E-Mail: lcheng@engr.mun.ca
Playable Races: Halfing, Goblin
Unplayable Races:
Map Size: Small
Levels: Surface
Difficulty: Normal
Spheres: 3
Leaders? Starting Level:  Y, 1 (Halfling)/30 (Goblin)

Map Description:
  The evil Grinch and his reluctant dog, Max, have invaded the
  peaceful valley of Whoville to crush the Who holiday festivities.
  As the Mayor of the Whos, can you stop them with only the
  happy Who spirit of Christmas? 

Background Story:
  Refer to Dr. Seuss' story, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"
  (or the TV special).  Or read it online at
  http://www.daveonline.com/cool/grinch/

Author Comments:
  This is a basic scenario, which can be very short or very
  long depending on your strategy.  It is best played solo, with
  you as the Halflings (Whos), using the default heroes (Mayor
  Who and Cindy Loo-Who).  If you want to play one-on-one, the
  weaker player should play the Grinch and Max, since they
  are very powerful.  If you just like seeing the Whos squirm,
  then, by all means, you can play solo as the Grinch...
  
Author Hints:
  If you play very aggressively, using careful management, and 
  exploiting holes in the AI, you could defeat the Grinch by Day 5 
  (or less).  The final tactical mode showdown, however, is 
  still somewhat tricky.  

  Be careful when starting.  Your starting heroes are very
  weak, and there are many dangers.  Max is very fast, and 
  could wipe you out in the first few days.

  Seize control of as many resources, nodes, towns, etc. as
  early as possible.  Put up walls as quickly as you can.  

  If you examine the Grinch and Max, they may be very formidable
  enemies, but they have some noticeable weaknesses you can
  exploit.

  On Day 1, you can recruit almost all of the troops in Whoville,
  secure the central area and treasures, and many of the towns,
  if you move units individually and using their movement points
  to the fullest.

  Keep your higher level units alive - most of them are 
  irreplaceable, and can be very useful.

  Cindy Lou Who has Snow Concealment, making her an effective
  scout.  Keep the Mayor out of harm's way at the beginning.

  It will help you greatly if you can "persuade" Max to join
  you.  Once you do, however, keep him under a tight leash. 
  as he could turn on you.

  There are several strategies to beating this map.  You could
  get Max to join you, and have all your recruited troops 
  attack all at once.  You could try mass producing troops
  in all of your towns, and create a huge army.  You could seek
  out the lost city of Boohoohoo, rebuild, and upgrade it, and
  produce higher level units.  You could wander around and
  build up experience from slaying monsters and exploring
  dungeons before confronting the Grinch.  And so on...       

---------------------------------------------------------------
Map Submitted to Valley of Wonders
http://www.strategyplanet.com/aow
Map Section
http://www.strategyplanet.com/aow/maps
Message Board
http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~aow/ultraboard/UltraBoard.pl
---------------------------------------------------------------
