The goal of Confusion is to move a token from the center of the
gameboard to the opponent’s home row. Since some of your pieces can
never move backward, you need to be careful about blitzing the other
side of the board should the opponent take control of this piece.
Confusion first appeared from German publisher Franjos in 1992 as a
thematically abstract game. The Stronghold Games edition will be
subtitled "Espionage and Deception in the Cold War," with the pieces now
being spies in the CIA and KGB who are trying to move a briefcase of
nuclear secrets to the opponent’s capital. Says Stronghold's Kevin
Nesbitt, "[The game] will return 95% faithful to the exact original
rules, with only minor updates/enhancements. The Cold War spy theme ties
in really well, as it abstracts some of the 'confusion' that a spy
agency would have to think about, i.e., 'How much do we really know
about this agent?'"
Update, July 20, 2010: Nesbitt has posted two articles about
Confusion on BoardGameGeek. The first details how the pieces move and
how players can deduce which piece is which based on moves allowed and
denied by the opponent. The image below shows one of the player
notebooks included in the game; erasable pens are included so that
players can take notes as needed to eliminate choices or remember what
an opponent has learned.
Nesbitt's second article explains how movement is even trickier than a
player realizes thanks to the presence of a Double Agent on his team.
This piece is marked with a question mark instead of specific allowed
directions for movement, and your opponent can allow or disallow
movement of this piece as he desires, thereby keeping you always
second-guessing as to whether a piece is what you think it is. When will
the Double Agent turn against you? Whenever doing so is most convenient
for your opponent, of course.
Update, Sept. 12, 2010: Stronghold Games noted in its September 2010
newsletter that Confusion might be delayed due to a change of supplier.
From the newsletter:
Description written by W. Eric Martin and used with permission of BoardgameNews.com
