Hoplite 2nd Printing

by

GMT Games

 

 

  The Greeks developed their own unique way of warfare somewhere in the depths of time. Other nations and peoples had similar warriors as the Greek Hoplite, but none are as ingrained in our minds as the Hoplite. Most of the Mediterranean cultures ended up using the Phalanx. Was it thought up all at once by several different nations or was it disseminated throughout the area from one source? If you read enough books about the beginning use of the Phalanx you will find many authors in both camps. To be perfectly honest, there is still a raging fight over whether the spear was used under or over-handed. Due to the mists of time and the wanton and accidental destruction of libraries and artworks there is really precious little to answer all of our questions. There are only a handful of artistic representations of the Greek Phalanx. These really show us nothing of how it was actually used. The Greek authors never really mention the mechanics of it. I have read that this is because their audience would have seen their very own cities Phalanx practicing with their own eyes. Again, much of what we read and know about this warfare comes from each different author's idea of how it actually worked. What happened when Phalanxes crashed into each other is a mystery. Did the men in the back rows just push against the back of the man in front of them or was some other tactics used. Was the Phalanx as sophisticated as the Legion and were they able to exchange places or rows during the battle? We read about some of these battles taking hours to be decided. Did the enemy Phalanxes separate to catch their breath before beginning again, as I have recently read, or just struggle against each other and over the fallen until one side broke? Whatever is the truth of the above, we are definitely given two hard facts. That the designers Richard Berg and Mark Herman are two of the most esteemed and prolific wargame designers ever and that Roger MacGowan was the grand old man of wargame artistry. Let us see what manner of game they brought forth no matter what your views on the questions above.

 This is the 15th game in the Great Battles of History Series (GBoH). Once again with a GMT game, I am stuck on the horns of a dilemma. I really like all of the other games in the series. So, I am worried I might be too lenient in my review or too harsh. This is a list of all the games in the Great Battle Series:

Volume I (first edition): The Great Battles of Alexander

   Diadochoi: Great Battles of Alexander Module/1st edition

   Phalanx: Great Battles of Alexander Module/1st edition

Volume I (second edition "Deluxe"): The Great Battles of Alexander: Deluxe Edition

  Diadochoi: Great Battles of Alexander Module/2nd edition

  Phalanx: Great Battles of Alexander Module/2nd edition

  Tyrant: Battles of Carthage versus Syracuse

Volume I (third edition "Expanded Deluxe"): The Great Battles of Alexander: Macedonian Art of War includes Phalanx Module & Diadochoi Module battles

Volume II (first edition): SPQR

  War Elephant: Battles of the Diadochi 217-190 B.C. – SPQR Battle    Module

  Consul for Rome: SPQR Battle Module III

  Pyrrhic Victory: King Pyrrhus in Italy 280-279 B.C. – SPQR Battle    Module IV

  Africanus: SPQR Battle Module V

  Barbarian: Rome vs. The Gauls and Samnites, 315-200 BC –  SPQR Battle Module

  Jugurtha: Guerrilla Warfare in Numidia

Volume II (second edition "Deluxe"): SPQR (Deluxe Edition) includes Pyrrhic Victory, Consul for Rome, Africanus, War Elephant and Jugurtha Module battles

  Barbarian: Rome vs. The Gauls and Samnites, 315-200 BC – SPQR Battle Module

  Jugurtha: Guerrilla Warfare in Numidia

Volume III : Lion of the North: The Dawn of Modern Warfare, 1631-1632

Volume IV : CAESAR: The Great Battles of Julius Caesar – The Civil Wars 48-45 B.C.

The Great Battles of Julius Caesar: The Civil Wars 48-45 B.C. – Dictator

The Great Battles of Julius Caesar: The Civil Wars 48-45 B.C. – Veni Vidi Vici: The Battles of Nicopolis 48 B.C. Zela 47 B.C.

  Jugurtha: Guerrilla Warfare in Numidia

Volume V : Samurai: Warfare in the 16th Century Japan

Volume VI : Caesar: Conquest of Gaul

  Caratacus: The Roman Conquest of Britain

  Gergovia

  Battles of the Warrior Queen

Volume VII : War Galley: Naval Warfare in the Ancient World

Salamis

Volume VIII : Cataphract

  Attila: Scourge of Rome

Volume IX : Caesar in Alexandria

Volume X : The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol War Machine

  Mamluk

Volume XI : The Siege of Alesia: Gaul, 52 B.C.

Volume XII : RAN

Volume XIII : Chandragupta: Great Battles of the Mauryan Empire – India, 319-261 BC

Volume XIV : Chariots of Fire: Warfare in the Bronze Age, 2300-1200 B.C.

Volume XV : Hoplite: Warfare in the Persian-Hellenistic Age 4th-5th Century BC

 As you can see, the games allows us to simulate more than 3000 years of warfare.

 Some of the games, mostly the ancients, have another interesting expansion or more correctly a different set of rules. These are available in:

Simple GBoH

Simple GBoH Battle Manual

 The battles that are included in the 2nd edition are:

Ephesus

Marathon

Plataea

Mycale

Tanagra

Delium

Cunaxa

Nemea

Coronea

Leuctra

Mantinea

 This is another blurb from GMT Games about the battle of Plataea:

"And you get to fight what was the biggest land battle in European history up until Napoleonic times, the immense Battle of Plataea (truly the deciding engagement of the Greco-Persian Wars):  two maps and about 250 combat counters covering The Greek Contingents from 26 City-States under Pausanias, Spartan Regent and General, vs. The Persians, Medes, Asians (Bactrians, Scythians, Indians and a whole lot of others) and seven Medized Greek city-states, under Mardonius, Persian Commander and son-in-law of The Great King, Darius I."

 It is also one of the most interesting battles to refight because the sheer size of the armies means that you are dealing with lots of different terrain. Almost all of the ancient battles were fought on level plain terrain.

 This is what GMT Games has to say about it:

"Hoplite, the 15th volume in the Great Battles of History series of games, allows players to recreate classic battles from the pre-Alexandrian Persian-Hellenistic Age, the heyday of the Hoplite (heavy infantry fighting in packed formation). This period is often considered to feature the birth of Western Warfare, as opposed to the Persian/Eastern style, which relied on archery , light cavalry, and mobility.

Exactly how hoplite warfare was fought – what really happened when “the bell rang” – is highly disputed by ancient military historians, even today. Hoplite allows you to test out your theories (well, our theories, using your dice) with eleven of the great battles of this era, from the Battle of Leuctra, featuring the huge 60-man deep phalanx of Beotarch Epaminondas … to the classic confrontations with the Persian missile-armed troops against the classic Greek hoplite phalanxes.

Hoplite uses detailed mechanics meant to convey all the possibilities of this style of warfare, from The Hellenic Law of Inertia, to Drift to the Right, to the special capabilities of the Persian Light Cavalry (Harassment and Dispersal) to three different levels of Hoplite advance to Combat (the Run Don’t Walk rules) and a whole lot more.  We even still have some good old chariots!

The package includes Simple GBoH versions for each of the battles along with special rules that highlight the hoplite style of warfare."

This is what comes with the game:

4 full-color countersheets

3 backprinted 22"x34" mapsheets

2 Player Aid Cards

Rules booklet

Scenario booklet

Simple GBoH Player Aid

Rout Point Tracking Aid

One 10-sided die

The Phalanx Counters

 Due to the nature of Hoplite warfare, the maps have to be a bit plain and without too much contour. This is nothing against them it was just the nature of Greek Hoplite battles. The Hoplite Phalanx was even less maneuverable than the Macedonian one, or so we are led to believe. So, the maps have to show us the exact nature of the different battlefields. Indeed, six of the maps have no terrain or contours at all, but this is definitely historical. The maps that do have differences in terrain and some vegetation are nicely done. The counters are the older standard 1/2" in size, with Phalanx counters being 1"x 1/2" in size. Then there is one large counter that is 1"x 1". This represents the double-sized Theban Phalanx, with the Sacred Band included in it, that was used in the two Thebes versus Sparta battles. Because of the sheer number of battles included the hex and counter size we as wargamers were accustomed to are used. They are a bit busy with both a picture of the leader or troop type along with all of the different values needed to play. I did need to hold them close to look at them before I memorized the different troop types etc. 

  The Rules Manual is 32 pages long. It is your standard fare GMT rulebook. It is in full color and uses double-column printing. It is also chock full of examples of play. Only the normal rules for the game are included in this Rules Manual. You would need to have your own copy of the Simple Great Battles of History 2nd Edition rulebook to use the Simple GBoH versions of each scenario. The Scenario Book is 46 pages long. It is identical to the Rules Manual as far as looks and setup goes. Each of the 11 scenarios/battles starts with a Historical Background write-up. Then we get into the meat and potatoes of the setups and special rules for each one. They also include a 1/2 page or better map with all of the units depicted in their starting position. This really helps with the setup of each scenario. The last four pages are the Simple GBoH rules changes for the game. The Scenario Book is very well done. It is written and shown in a style to get the player up and spearing the enemy in no time.

 There is a one-sided player aid that is 8 1/2" x 11" and is made of card stock. It has the Rout Points for both sides along with the turn track. There are six other player aids. These are 11" x 17"fold outs. So, each one has four separate player aid sheets. Each player aid has a twin so that both players can have their own. There are two that are used with the normal rules and one that has the Simple GBoH Charts and Tables.

 All of the components together make a grand ensemble to lead even the tyro to the battlefields of Ancient Greece.

More Counters

 This is a GMT Games synopsis of the Simple GBoH rules:

"Simple GBoH is designed for players who want a faster, less die-roll-heavy version of the GBoH system, while retaining as much of the historical flavor and insight of the original rules."

The Rules Manual

 The scenarios in the game really make this game one of the best, if not the best, game of the GBoH Series to learn the ropes with. While two of them are quite large, most of the other ones are very small battles as far as counter density. The lack of any different terrain in those same battles makes it even easier. GMT Games has the complexity listed as six on the scale, and a solitaire suitability of eight on that scale. Both scales top out at ten. So, it is an in-depth game but not a game where you would have to read a doctorate thesis to learn how to play, even if you do not use the Simple GBoH rules. Yes, there are a lot of die rolls. There are also a lot of markers. However, the markers do make it a lot easier to keep track of where you are and what you are doing. One of the rules I really like is 6.22 which discusses the Advance to Combat Table to find the rate of movement of your Hoplite troops (This does not affect Spartan Hoplites because of their training and moving to music). You can start your planned move with your Hoplites to find that they have either walked, trotted, or run towards the enemy, throwing your perfectly aligned line of troops into confusion.  

Rout and Turn Track

 My favorite battles to play are the two that match Sparta against Thebes several decades after the Peloponnesian War was won by Sparta. These two battles would be Leuctra and Mantinea, although Coronea is another good pick. I like playing the Spartans and try to beat Epaminondas and the Theban Sacred Band. Why? I have actually no idea at all. I just do. Both are also on the smaller side so you can play them out quicker than the larger scenarios. Time in the 21st century is not on our side. I do prefer to use the Simple GBoH rules also. Not that the full rules are bad, it is again just a time thing.

 The game will teach you that your light troops (Light Infantry, Peltasts, Skirmishers, Javelinists, Archers, and Slingers) are not to be disregarded. They can help by causing casualties, cohesion hits, and possibly wound or kill an opposing leader. The cavalry, both light and heavy, are pretty much seen as the red-headed stepchild during this period of warfare in Greece and its environs. In Asia both of them came into their own. In fact, the Persians were horse lords like the Medes before them. They too can be much more useful than you might expect. True, they do not have stirrups but even before they were invented the cavalry was a major arm in Near Eastern Armies. Leaders, and their survival, are essential to your armies. The Activation and Orders parts of the game are simpler than the other GBoH games. The designers wanted to make these as simple as possible in this game. The game is won by making your opponent's army withdraw. This is accomplished by accumulating rout points against your opponent. Each scenario has a Withdrawal Level listed for each side. Once that number is reached or surpassed that army loses. Different troop types and leaders have different rout points assigned to them.

Simple GBoH Charts and Tables

 This is the 2nd Edition of Hoplite. However, other than fixing some errata this is pretty much identical to the 1st Edition. If you have any interest in the time period at all or you just want to play a great wargame and learn somethings in the process this is your game. So, put on your greaves, cuirass, helmet, and Hoplon and then pick up your spear and join me.

 Thank you, GMT Games, for allowing me to review the 2nd edition of this really excellent game, from an excellent series. Take this from a man who was reading Plutarch when my first child was being born. The nurse suggested I put the book down and watch the birth. 

Robert Peterson

GMT Games

Hoplite 2nd Printing

Sound of Drums

 

 This is just a brief look at Sound of Drums and their upcoming games. The pictures are about their Eylau 1807 game that is coming soon.

"For thousands of years soldiers all over the world followed the sound of drums marching into battle or marching far away from their homes into unknown territory following a leadership. The Macedonian fighters followed Alexander the Great to India, the French Grognards marched into battle following the “pas de charge” up the hills at the Battle of Waterloo. Military drums have been used for martial music, communication, drill, honors music and military ceremonies."

 

 

  "My name is Uwe Walentin, born in 1970 in southern Germany and playing games since I can remember. I love history, books and board games."

The Gorgeous Map

"At the age of 13 I discovered my first wargame (“Waterloo” by international team). From there my wonderful journey of learning about (military) history with the help of games started. A fascinating hobby.

From 1993 to 1997 I worked for different French game publishers before creating my own game company: PRO LUDO. We published and distributed a huge range of games (like “Ticket to Ride”) but I had never the courage to publish what I really love: Strategy games with a historical context and wargames. In 2006 I sold my company and in 2008 I quit the gaming industry to work as a professional football coach in different countries in Europe."

Map Inset

 "During these years I did not lose my passion for board games and had many ideas working in my mind.

In 2021 I decided to found my company SOUND OF DRUMS to design and publish the games I always wanted to. Dedicated to traditional strategy and wargames with a lot of experience in quality (i.e. components) “Eurogames-style” publishing, I am convinced that we will find a new way how to design and publish wargames. We will break with a couple of traditions (no ZOCs, please!) and will implement new procedures and game components to our designs. The goals of our designs are highly interactive game play with a minimum of downtime and although being epic in scale keeping the games playable."

Setup at the Beginning of the Game

 "We are shipping as we speak the game series “History of the Ancient Seas” and will publish this summer “Battles of Napoleon – Volume I: Eylau 1807”. The first part in a game series covering the major battles in the Napoleonic era on a tactical level. Eylau will be followed by Quatre Bras, Ligny, Waterloo, Borodino, Austerlitz."

Lestocq is Arriving

 "This fall we will present a fantastic game about the French Revolution by Jason St. Just and late fall a game series by Carl Paradis.

We have many more titles in the pipeline like “Roma Victoria Semper” and “Neither King Nor God”. All epic in scale, highly playable, with gorgeous game components."

 I want to thank Mr. Walentin for allowing me to show these pics from Eylau 1807. Please take a look at their Ancients games also.

Sound of Drums – we develop and publish thrilling historical boardgames

 

Peloponnesian War  431-404 BC

by

GMT Games

 The Peloponnesian War, which is really the apotheosis of Ancient Greek History, needs no introduction. Where else could you find Socrates while fighting at the Battle of Potidaea saving Alcibiades' life. Let alone the life of Alcibiades himself, one of the most successful Generals for both Sparta and Athens! The War was the culmination of Athenian and Spartan ambitions after the Greeks successfully defeated the Persian Empire in the Greco-Persian war. The Athenian Empire, quaintly called The Delian League, was by 431 BC growing ever larger. Sparta and Athens had already clashed once before, but the status quo was upheld. Now, this war would be to the death, or more correctly to the humbling of the loser.

 This game is a remake of  Mark Herman's 1991 Peloponnesian War. This was the first solitaire game that had the player switching sides, depending upon how well the player was doing at that moment. The player sometimes had to switch several times throughout the game. It also had the usual two-player and an optional multi-player setup available to play. For those of us who have the 1991 version, what would be the reason(s) to buy this new version? First and foremost - aesthetics. This new version's components are the usual top notch ones found in GMT Games. The second is that the original was produced twenty-eight years ago, so any kinks in its armor have been worked out. Third is a bit of a surprise that I will be talking about in a bit. let us have a look at the components:

Rules booklet
Play book
Mounted Game Board: 22x34 inches
2 Counter Sheets
1 pad of VP Record Sheets
1 Athenian Strategy Matrix
1 Spartan Strategy Matrix
2 Player Aid Cards
2 Six-sided Dice 

 The first thing we will talk about is to me the greatest part and selling point of the game. GMT Games has lied. The Peloponneian War not only contains the War from 431-404 BC, but comes with two extra special treats. These are only found if one reads the info on the back of the box. The Player also gets a scenario about the 1st Peloponnesian War which runs from 460-443 BC. Just like some TV ads: 'but wait there is more'. There is a third scenario called the fall of Sparta which goes from 400-362 BC, and shows the growth of Thebes to become the military powerhouse of the Greek peninsula. This allows the player to use counters representing Epaminondas and Pelopidas on the Theban side, and Agesilaus on the Spartan. For those of us who keep a copy of Plutarch's life always within in reach, this is a dream come true.

 This is the sequence of Play:

Political Phase [3.0] (not conducted on the first turn)

◦ Side Determination Segment [3.1] 

◦ Event Segment [3.2] 

◦ Delian League Rebellion Segment [3.3] 

◦ Leader Selection Segment [3.4] 

Strategic Planning Phase [4.0] (not conducted on the first turn) 

◦ Strategy Determination Segment [4.1] 

◦ Confidence Reset Segment [4.2] 

Operations Phase [5.0] 

◦ Player Side Initial Operation Segment [5.1] 

◦ Non-Player Side Initial Operation Segment [5.2] 

◦ Continuing Operations Segment [5.3] 

◦ Going Home Segment [5.4]

 Combat Phase [6.0] 

◦ Siege Determination Segment [6.1] 

◦ Battle Resolution Segment [6.2] 

◦ Siege Resolution Segment [6.3] 

◦ Going Home Segment [6.4] 

Rebellion Phase [7.0] 

◦ Continued Rebellion Segment [7.1] 

◦ Rebellion Expansion Segment [7.2] 

◦ Helot Rebellion Segment [7.3]

 Administration Phase [8.0] 

◦ Revenue Collection Segment [8.1] 

◦ Unit Construction Segment [8.2] 

Armistice & Surrender Phase [9.0] 

◦ Bellicosity Adjustment Segment [9.1] 

◦ Surrender Determination Segment [9.2] 

◦ Armistice Determination Segment [9.3] 

◦ End of Turn Segment [9.4]

 Even though this is a long and involved game, the actual rulebook is only 21 pages long. This includes the rules for solitaire play. The playbook is separated into two parts. The first is twenty-four pages long and includes the setups for each of the scenarios and the rules for two-player games. The second is twenty-two pages long and includes a background and history of the Wars included in the scenarios. It also includes an excellent 'The Game as History' section. This compares the game setup and play in each of the two-year turns throughout the Peloponnesian war scenario from 431-402 BC. The historical write up is a great refresher or introduction to those of us who do not dream of fighting as a hoplite.

 The components, as have been mentioned, are first class. The addition of a mounted mapboard is always an excellent touch to a wargame. The map is a point-to-point move type. I always prefer hexes, but this leads to the designer having to do a lot of extra work on movement. The two Strategy Matrix cards are also hard mounted on cardboard. The counters are thick and come pre-rounded. This is no big deal to me either way. I would rather spend the outrageous cost of buying a clipper on another game anyway! The pictures and info on the counters are easy to read and understand. The game strangely does not come with an AAA price attached to it. For a mere $65 US you can pick this up at GMT Games. This might be a nice price point for those of us who already have the first 1991 edition. 

 The game play in many ways can represent, or bring to life, the history of the age. If this isn't a plus in any historical game then what is? However, the game allows the player to do whatever strategy he feels like. It does not shackle the player to only play a certain way. Some games do that to make it feel 'historical', but not Peloponnesian War. What if Sparta decided on its own early in the war to implement a strategy like Alcibiades talked them into using only much later in the war. What if Athens instead of playing turtle decided to actually force a confrontation with Spartan hoplites? This one is not recommended, but hey its just a game. You do not have to worry about dying or being exiled if you lose a battle, let alone the war.

 Oddly perhaps, at least for me, we have to talk about the cover art on the box. Some appear annoyed at its non-historical look. The ships look much too large. The ship in the foreground looks like it is getting ready to ram the one you are looking from, and its sail is also up. Naturally the sail would be stowed and only rowing power should be used in battle. To me it is also a bit odd because the marines on your ship do not seem poised for battle, nor are there any projectiles in the air. However, if it is meant as a friendly ship it seems to be sailing much too close for comfort. I guess we will have to ask the artist Eric Williams just what is happening. To my way of thinking it could have a picture of a rusty nail on the cover and I wouldn't bat an eye, as long as the game inside was to my liking. 

 Leaders are very important to the game, and are a bit of a two edged sword for the player. Leaders are chosen randomly, and there is the rub. For every great leader you can pull there is an equally mediocre one waiting for your fingertips. Talents (money) is what makes the Peloponnesian War go round. This is the first war in history that we have records of how much it cost to wage war and send expeditions. Pericles had amassed enough talents to see Athens through a five year war. Once that money was drained the exorbitant taxes that Athens imposed on the Delian League went a long way to losing the war for them. The higher taxes they imposed, the more cities that revolted from the League. Sparta being essentially an agrarian society based on slave labor did not have the same problems putting an army in the field. The cost of running a naval war was ruinous to both sides. In reality Persian gold is what won the war for Sparta. The Persian gold is represented in the Event Segment as a large plus to Sparta if rolled. There is a possibility of Sparta getting 1000 talents added to their treasury by Persia. The game rules also give you a reason to invade Sicily if you are playing the Athenian. If the Athenian player can conquer all of Sicily it is worth 1000 talents to them.

 Playing as Athens you must try to use your naval assets to attack the Spartans and their allies where they don't expect it. You will also have to deal with numerous revolts from your 'Empire'. Try to douse those flames as quick as possible. This is not easy and you might end up playing whack-a-mole throughout the Aegean. The Spartan player has the advantage and it shouldn't take him twenty years to understand that Athens can't feed itself. Park your army right in front of Athens and then try to pick off the Athenian Allies and close off the northern Aegean to them. 

 One of the other questions is what if you already own 'Pericles' from GMT. First, consider yourself lucky, then understand that they are two entirely different games. The Pericles game is at least half devoted to the politics of both sides. This game is more devoted to the actual wargaming aspect of the war. Though both are great solitaire games, Pericles can also be played by one to four players, making it a good game if you can get a group together for game night. Peloponnesian War is a one to two player game.

 So is it worth it? Does a bear, never mind. Yes, Virginia it is worth every penny, even if you already own its sire. The addition of the two additional scenarios, especially the 'Fall of Sparta', make it incredibly easy to recommend this game to anyone. Show me where you can game the rise of Thebes in any game, except as tactical battles from the era. The history of Greece is in your hot little hands, especially when playing solitaire. Does Athens and its 'ahem' empire continue to grow or do the hoplites of Sparta bring an end to the glory of Pericles? Again, not to belabor the fact, does the Theban Sacred Band crush any Spartan that comes up against it or fall in glory as it finally did at Charonea? Here are some links to the game etc.:

Peloponnesian War:

https://www.gmtgames.com/p-710-peloponnesian-war.aspx

Peloponnesian War Rulebook:

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/gmtwebsiteassets/PeloponnesianWar/PW_Rulebook.pdf

GMT Games:

https://www.gmtgames.com/

Robert

With It Or On It

by

Hollandspiele

"With it or on it". This is what Spartan mothers would tell their sons, meaning bring back your shield or die on the battlefield. This is an excellent name for a tactical battle game based in Ancient Greece. Quite a few games have tried to recreate hoplite warfare for the wargamer. Let us see what is in the box:

17" x 22" mapsheet
176 counters
8-page rulebook
16 page Battle Book
1 eight-sided die

 As usual, minimalism is the key word when describing a Hollandspiele game. This one seems to have more counters than their other games, but that is the only thing that differs. The counters are large at 5/8", and the artwork on them is workmanlike. They are done in a manner that makes it easy to distinguish the different types of units. Speaking of the units, there are only four different types. These are:

Hoplite

Heavy Infantry

Light Infantry

Light Horse

 You will notice the absence of archers, slingers, and javelin men. This is a design decision that we will get into shortly. The map is as plain as plain can be, and it is made up of squares, not hexes. There is also absolutely no terrain at all except clear hexes. The rulebook is only seven pages long with the CRT etc. on the back page. The Battle Book is larger, and is filled with the background history of the battles and the setups for each of the scenarios.  The historical write up about the background history and the battles is well done. These are the battles that are included:

Marathon 490 BC

Plataea 479 BC

Tanagra 457 BC

Olpae 426 BC

Delium 424 BC

Mantinea 418 BC

 You will notice that these battles are either from the Greco-Persian Wars or early in the Peloponnesian War. This game is designer Tom Russell's first game in the Swords and Shields II ancient series. Swords and Shields I was based on battles from the Middle Ages. 

This is the sequence of play:

1. Command Phase

2. Action Phase

  a. Skirmish Phase(s)

  b. Rally Phase

  c. Move Phase(s)

  d. Combat Phase

3. Victory Phase

4. Initiative Phase

 Now to the rules; these are exceedingly short and sweet, but a bit deceptive. The rulebook, although well written, has no examples of play. The game mechanics are so different from other ancient games that at least one or two would have been a good addition to the rulebook. Mr. Russell has done some very good videos about the game, and there will be links below. These were a godsend. Remember the lack of skirmishers? Well the design decision behind that is they are actually present on the battlefield, but not actually represented by cardboard units. All units have a skirmimish zone that extends three hexes in front of them. So when your troops enter the skirmish zone they must stop and take die rolls against their exhaustion (exhaustion is used instead of casualties in the game). Your command decisions, movement, rally, and combat are all given to your separate 'Wings'. These are units that are color coded the same. These are the commands that can be used for each wing:

Move/Combat

Skirmish/Rally

Strategos/Bonus

 As you can see, you cannot move and initiate combat at the same time. The Strategos counter allows you to give one command for all of your wings. This however lowers your Rally Limit by one (each scenario has a Rally Limit listed for each side to begin with). The Bonus counter gives you a few different pluses, from combat to rally. Leaders are also handled quite differently from the norm. In each scenario, both sides are given a set amount of leaders for each wing. Thus, the player knows how many leaders he has in a wing. However, during setup the leader side of the counter is put face down, and the player sets up not knowing where they are. When a unit is picked by the player to suffer exhaustion due to the CRT, the counter is then flipped over to its obverse. At this time you might find that it just suffers losses, or routs (it was brittle to begin with), or find a leader underneath. I will quote from the rulebook on the rule for elimination and rout:

 "9.5 Elimination & Rout Units that are Eliminated are removed from play, scoring Victory Points (VP) for the opposing player; the opposing player should group these Units off to the side of the map in whatever way makes it convenient for them to keep count. If a Revealed Leader is Eliminated, its side's Rally Limit is reduced by one.
 Whenever a player's Unit or Leader is Eliminated as a result of Combat, it immediately triggers a simultaneous Rout Check for all Foot Units (not Horse) in all of that player's Wings. Units that fail the check are Eliminated; Units that pass the check are not.13 Units Eliminated via a Rout Check do not themselves trigger another Rout Check, but if multiple Units are Eliminated as a result of Combat, multiple Rout Checks will be triggered.

 To pass a Rout Check,  it must be adjacent to at least two friendly Units in the same Wing, or  it must be adjacent to at least one friendly Unit in the same Wing, that itself satisfies the first condition."

 So if you have a unit by itself that is eliminated (through exhaustion or poor play), it can take a whole slew of other units with it. This is a part of playing that seems very historically accurate, but is also extremely troubling for the player in question.

 I was fully prepared not to like the game, and in reading the rules I really didn't see how they could actually work. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see that they actually do work and the results seem to match history. I am not saying the battles all play out the same way, but the results seem to fit with the history we know about these battles, especially the fact that one minute you have a line of infantry and the next a routed wing. Thank you Hollandspiele for letting me review another great game. For those of you who may be put off by the lack of hexes, no terrain, and skirmishers please look at the rules and watch the videos. You might be as surprised as I was.

Here are the links to the games and videos:

Hollandspiele

https://hollandspiele.com/

With It Or On It:

https://hollandspiele.com/products/with-it-or-on-it

Play:

https://boardgamegeek.com/video/220409/it-or-it/exhaustion-and-rout-checks

https://boardgamegeek.com/video/220408/it-or-it/movement-and-facing

https://boardgamegeek.com/video/220407/it-or-it/commands

Robert

Two Deaths at Amphipolis

Cleon VS Brasidas In the Peloponnesian War

by

Mike Roberts

 Ah, the Peloponnesian War; what would be a better day than to sit back and just read a book about it. What would make it better is to read a great book about it, like this one. Firstly, it is misnamed. The book goes back into history before the Peloponnesian War, and then continues with a full history of the war up until the duel at Amphipolis. The book then naturally goes through the history of the war in that period. What follows is an epilogue about what happened right after the death of both men.

 In the book, Brasidas is described as pretty much an unusual Spartan. He has many ideas that are not very Spartan in nature. He also appears to be rather quick thinking. This is another trait that the Spartans were not known for at the time. Cleon, on the other hand, shows up as a typical Athenian crowd pleasing type of politician. 

 Brasidas is really the main character in the book once he shows up in the war. The clash between Brasidas and Cleon is at the end of the book, right before the epilogue. Brasidas and his very un-Spartan ways of conducting war, and his successful campaign in the north of Greece to attack the Athenian allied cities there, is gone into detail. Brasidas is an explorer and a man who seems to love adventure. He has in many ways an Athenian outlook, and not a Spartan one. The Athenians were very lucky that Brasidas died when he did. They were also lucky in that no other Spartans were willing to take up his mantle at the time. 

 I have actually read this book about two times in the short time I have had it. This was mainly because it really gives the best information on the beginning of the Peloponnesian War. The book is also very clear and concise on the above history. I have read other books by the author and am looking forward to reading many more. Mr. Roberts co-wrote the two volume 'The Wars of Alexander's Successors'. He also wrote 'Hannibal's Road', a history of the Second Punic War in Italy. Do yourself a favor and pick up a book of his; you will not be let down. 

Robert

Book: Two Deaths at Amphipolis

Author: Mike Roberts

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

A Naval History Of The Peloponnesian War

by

Marc G. Desantis

 I love books, but once in awhile you will come across a book like this that is very memorable. The Peloponnesian War was one of the seminal conflicts in the history of the Western World. It is hard for us to imagine, but Athens was able to bloody the nose of the Persian Empire. This is after the events of the last Persian invasion of Greece. In the process, she gained numerous allies in her fight against the Persians. Athens had a chance to lead, and did for a bit, a crusade against the Great Kings. Unfortunately in her hubris Athens started to look at her allies as conquered people belonging to an Athenian Empire. Without this, Sparta would never have been able to fight a war to 'free the Greeks' from Athenian despotism. In a nutshell, this is the cause of the war. There were many other smaller reasons that also made the Peloponnesian War seem inevitable. It might also have been possible that if the Greeks had not fought each other to exhaustion, that Macedon would still have remained a backwater. 

 This book is filled with everything a history lover would like to know about the era. From its in depth delving into the monetary cost and upkeep of the navies, to the actual tactics used by both sides during the war, it is all here. The actual history of the trireme is shown to the reader. The author also goes into the day to day maintenance of the ships; from why too dry ships were slower, to the Teredo Navalis (shipworm), it is in the book. How many talents Athens had on hand at the beginning of the war is shown. Then it is broken down to show how long this surplus would last under wartime conditions. On hand cash, is shown to be as important in warfare then as it is now. The reader will see how the massive funds, although dribbled out to Sparta, of the Persian Empire helped to tip the scales against Athens. 

 This war has had many books written about it. In actuality Thucydides, an Athenian general, wrote the first history of the war. The book we are looking at is one of the best on the subject, but also one of the best books about any war. As the author points out, Greece's coastline is actually longer than Italy's. So almost all of the fighting took place fifty miles or less near the Aegean or Ionian Seas. This was a well written and fascinating book on ancient warfare. From the physical problems that the rowers themselves endured (read for yourself), to how the Corinthians strengthened their bows, it is in this book. I am looking forward to reading more from the author.


Robert

Book: A Naval History of The Peloponnesian War
Author: Marc G. Desantis
Publisher: Pen & Sword
Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Pericles

by

 GMT Games 

 Pericles, oh Pericles, why oh why did you lead us to this point, oh Pericles? Pericles is said to have been the guiding force behind the greatness of Athens and its empire. According to Thucydides, he was also the person most responsible for the Peloponnesian War in Athens. Conversely, had the Athenians followed his advice and played their cards cautiously during the war, they could really not be beaten. As an example, see the Athenian expedition to Sicily. Even suffering the effects of a plague that twice rampaged through Athens, and also killing Pericles, the Athenians were still doing well in the war.

Back of the box

 The game is a bit unusual in that it can be played as a four, three, or two player, but also has rules to play it solo. This is a great mechanic that means the game can be played for game night or when you cannot find anyone. I think more games should have this many options. 

Player shields that also include game info

 Physically the game weighs in at more than four lbs. The box is roughly the size of the old 'soap box' game boxes from SPI. It contains the following:

Four Player Shields - Two Athenian: Aristocrat, Demagogue
                                   Two Spartan: Agiad, Eurypontid (Spartan  
                                                          Kings' families)
Pericles rules Of Play Booklet
Pericles Playbook
One Sheet Of Counters
Two Athenian Player's Aid Cards
Two Spartan Player's Aid Cards
One Phormio Decision Chart
One Phormio Athenian And Spartan Strategy Matrix
Three Card Decks  -  Athenian, Sparta, and Aristophanes 
One Six Sided Die And One Twenty Sided One
190+ Various Wooden Pieces

Play map

 The map is beautiful as well as functional. Two thirds of it is a map of Greece, along with small insets for Persia and Sicily. The other third is for the Spartan and Athenian political play. The game itself is the second in the 'Great Statesman Series' ( the first was the highly regarded 'Churchill') designed by Mark Herman. The complexity is listed as a six. Naturally with solo rules it is rated a nine on the 'solitaire suitability' chart. The cards are very interesting and informative. The 'Aristophanes' cards all have a play of his listed on the top of the card. He was naturally a playwright, but he also fought in one of the wars. The counters are 1/2" and are easily readable and well done. They also come with the corners pre-rounded. The colors of the wooden blocks are bright, and the pieces themselves are precision cut with none that are misshapen, etc. These blocks represent the various bases, along with naval and land forces of the different leagues and cities. The play aids are also nicely done and easy to use. They are invaluable with a game of this size and, I don't want to say complexity, but there is a lot going on for the players to keep track of. The rule book is only twenty-four pages long. It is in color and has many examples of play and record keeping. The play book is forty-four pages long. The contents are as follows:

Scenarios, Solitaire and two, three, or four player rules, a full thirteen pages of play examples, five pages of 'Card Personalities' (this is a short bio of important people in the game), Strategy guide, and finally Designer Notes.

Spartan Player Aid Card

 The game is played in six year turns. The game is interesting because it includes the issue of each side's 'Assemblies'. You are not put in the position of a ruler or omnipotent eye in the sky. This part of the game really shines. The political infighting in the different cities was almost as intense as the actual warfare between them. There are twenty-three historical scenarios to choose from. These run the gamut of small one turn scenarios to 'The Suicide of Greece 460-400 BC' one. Just as in the actual history of the war, there is a chance for plagues to affect play. Alcibiades (the man who helped defend Socrates at the Battle of Delium) even gets his own wooden counter. What more could you ask for in a game about ancient Greece? If I made the game out to seem too complex, in truth it really isn't. All of the books and aids pretty much hold your hand while getting your feet wet in this great game.

 I will use the game rules posted on GMT's website (the link is posted below) to show the sequence of play: 


" • Aristophanes Card Segment (5.1)
◊ Reveal and resolve the next card from the Aristophanes
deck (and optionally read the play quote out loud in your
best thespian voice)

• Political Cards Segment (5.2)
◊ If player has his Entourage available, discard 0-3 Entourage
Cards (5.21)
◊ Refresh hand to 9 cards, or 6 cards if Entourage used for
Brain Trust option (6.31)
◊ If hand size of 9 create new Entourage of 3 cards (5.23),
else use all 6 cards dealt (6.31)
◊ Add Faction Leader card to 6 cards to create a 7 card hand

• Boule Segment (5.3)
◊ If Hostages available, Controlling Faction has the option
to place War/Peace issue on other City-State’s Opposition
Faction track two space (5.33)
◊ Controlling Factions pick one issue (2 space, 5.32A), except
Ostracism and War/Peace issue (5.32E), which is placed in
the center (zero space).
◊ Opposition Factions pick one issue (1 space, 5.32B), except
Ostracism and War/Peace issue (5.32E), which is placed in
the center (zero space).
◊ Controlling Factions pick three issues (zero space, 5.32C)
◊ Opposition Factions pick two issues (zero space, 5.32D)

 Assembly Phase (6.0)
• Starting with the Controlling Faction each City-State sequentially
conducts six debates (6.11, 6.14)
Political Phase (7.0)
• Oration Honor is determined (7.1, Honor 10.0) and Controlling
Faction is determined (7.2)
• Strategy Board Segment (7.3)
◊ Controlling Factions reveal 7th card and receive Strategy
Board Strategos
◊ Opposition Factions reveal 7th card and receive Strategy
Board Strategos

• Political Issues Segment (7.4)
◊ Resolve all non- military, league, diplomatic, and oracle
isues in the following order: War/Peace (7.41, 7.42), Games
(7.43), Citizenship (7.44A), Colony (7.44B), Krypteia
(7.45A), Agoge (7.45B)
◊ Determine if the status change from War to Peace ends the
game (see Scenario instructions)
• Theater Issue Award (7.5)
◊ All Factions substitute their military, diplomatic, league,
and oracle won Assembly issues for their corresponding
Faction colored marker plus their two rumor markers

Theater Phase (8.0)
• Theater Issue Placement Segment (8.3)
◊ In Honor Order (8.1), each player sequentially places facedown
one military, diplomatic, league, oracle or rumor
marker on one of the twenty Theaters and potentially Persia
◊ The placement of a second marker in a Theater or Persia
creates a stack of markers hereafter referred to as a LIFO
(last in, first out) queue (8.31)
◊ Continue sequence until all issues are placed in Theaters
or Persia

• Theater Resolution Segment (8.5)
◊ Reveal and resolve issues (Diplomatic 8.51, League 8.52,
Oracle 8.53, Military 9.0) one at a time to completion in
Honor Order
◊ A player must reveal one marker from his side that is at the
top of any Theater queue
◊ A player who has no markers from his side available to be
revealed passes his turn to the next player
◊ A player who passes still takes his next turn in the Honor
sequence and a player can pass multiple times
◊ In all cases the marker belongs to one of the players and
in all cases the owning player resolves the issue revealed,
regardless of who revealed it
◊ All Theater queue markers must be resolved
◊ After all Theater queue markers have been resolved, move
to the end phase

End Phase (11.0)
• Victory Determination Segment (11.1)
◊ Automatic Victory Determination (11.11, 11.12, 11.13)
◊ If last turn of scenario, determine winner (11.14); otherwise
continue
• Maintenance Segment (11.2)
• Redeployment Segment (11.3)
• Resolve Will of the Assembly (11.4)
• Start new turn"

 It seems like an overwhelming mouthful at first, but like many great boardgames the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. 

Counters

 
 The game is one of the very few on BGG that has a rating of over 8 (8.10 to be exact), and also has a good number of voters. The game is that good and deserves every decimal point. I will admit to have not had the pleasure to play it in four player mode, but solo and two player are also great gaming fare. The amount of background of history and actual personalities stuffed into the box is an Ancient Greek geek's dream. You should be able to get a credit or two for college for playing the game. Certainly there have been some corners cut in the mechanics of the game compared to real life, but after all it is meant to be a game to be enjoyed. The game plays out, if you use the correct strategy, as the war did. Sparta is the heavyweight on land, and Athens is the heavyweight at sea. It is almost like two fighters, one in an earthen ring and one in a pool beside it. Athens must harass and disturb Sparta by raiding. Sparta desperately wants to come to grips with its enemy. The only way they can is through their different surrogates. Each city of Ancient Greece is up for grabs in this melee. Athens is a super power with an Achilles heel: its citizens' stomachs. Athens cannot feed itself without imports. Sparta has two problems of its own. The first is 'Helots'. These slaves are always on the verge of rebellion. The second is that there are only so many actual Spartans. Their killing off of their own and the extremely hard process to adulthood in Sparta meant that there were never enough full citizen male Spartans.

Examples of the three decks

 Pericles hits the sweet spot between a wargame and a political game. It also represents the fight for honor that the leading citizens of both sides felt was so imperative. It somewhat resembles the race through the Cursus Honorum of the Roman Republic except that it was much less regulated in the Greek city states. Totally wiping out your opposition, be they demagogues or aristocrats, happened much more frequently in Greece than in Rome. For all our love of the Greek civilization and what it brought us, it was a rough place. 

 Phormio is the name of the bot or AI that you play against in solo games. Some people have suggested that playing solo is really just a way to learn the mechanics in parts of the game. Others have had an enjoyable time playing solo and still do. While I agree it is a good way to learn the game, it will still give you a run for your money. The design along with all of the components are all top notch. It looks like I will have to pick up the game 'Churchill' soon.


 My hat, or pileus, is off to the designer and GMT games for this excellent portrayal of this period in history. The games I have played have pretty much all come down to the wire. So much can happen that, just like in Chess or any good wargame, you always have to have a plan B,C, or D ready to put into play. I must thank the designer for another bit of gaming greatness. It seems (among many others) he was involved with designing 'The Art Of Siege', my favorite wargame of all. So if you have any interest in the age at all, or just want to play a cutthroat wargame, pick this game up. For anyone who is having trouble with the rules or just wants to play well, Mr. Herman has posted some excellent Youtube videos on the game. The only problem I have seen mentioned with the game is to find people who have enough time and commitment to learn and play it. Of course, that is where the alternate number of player rules comes in.

Play blocks

 This is a link to the final rules:
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/gmtwebsiteassets/pericles/PericlesRulesFinal.pdf

 This is a link to the final Play Book:
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/gmtwebsiteassets/pericles/PericlesPlaybookFinal.pdf

 This is a link to 'Just Ask Phormio ; or How to Teach Pericles By Mark Herman:
http://www.insidegmt.com/?p=17470


Robert