Maharaja Avalon Hill Game Company, $35 Maharaja is a historical game of conquest covering 35 centuries of conflict in India, from the first Aryan invasions in 1,500 BC to the unification of India under Britain in 1850. The game is for three to five players. Length of play is 16 turns, each covering 50 to 500 years, and encompasses armies of 17 different indigenous or invading (including colonial) nations. Maharaja's historical accuracy and broad action will please history buffs, military gamers, and gamers who favor long play. Maharaja's game board is a beautiful full-color map that shows the Indian subcontinent divided into 36 areas, six adjacent "foreign" areas, and the surrounding bodies of water. Turn-by-turn instructions are conveniently printed on the southern edge of the board. The 240 colored counters are about 3/4 inch in size, and fans of Osprey's "Men-at-Arms" book series will recognize many of the drawings. The counters comprise the land forces and boats of the various nations, their historical leaders (e.g., Ashoka, Alexander, Clive), their factories and arms, and "Raja" counters for players ruling large tracts of land. Illustrations of firearms, blades, and a large range of other weapons decorate the 20-page manual. The booklet includes five pages of rules and seven optional pages on the historical background of each turn. The game also includes individual cards with victory conditions for each nation, a nation control chart (for dividing armies among the players), and five six-sided dice. Combat resolution is simple, with few modifiers (i.e., presence of a leader, terrain type, Indian/colonial army), and may not appeal to gamers who favor complex combat systems. The combat system is, however, appropriate to the scale of action represented and allows rapid resolution of large and numerous conflicts. Maharaja'sminimum of three players can present a difficulty, since a pair of friends in a gaming mood might have to scrounge for a third victim. Maharajais ideal for four players, an arrangement reflected by the color coding of the counters. In a three-player game, each player will have a mix of different-colored counters, which can be a bit confusing and can even give a player conflicting goals for his various armies. Maharajais entertaining, simple to learn, and educational without being overbearing. The military situation is complex enough to make it almost impossible to guess the ultimate winner before the final blows fall. Part of the fun in the multi-nation squabble is seeing how historically close or outrageously different an outcome will result. Maharaja rates 5 pips on a 6-point scale. --Sharon Daugherty