The Battles of Antiochus the Great

The Failure of Combined Arms at Magnesia That Handed the World to Rome

by

Graham Wrightson

 Antiochus III, or the Great, was a ruler of the Seleucid kingdom from 223 to 187 BCE. He ascended the throne at eighteen years of age after the assassination of his brother Seleuces III. His throne was not secure by any means. The provinces in the east had left the empire a few decades before. He was also faced with a revolt by the satraps of Mesopotamia, Medea and Persia. The Ptolemies had almost crushed the Seleucid kingdom a few years before. Syria was also lost to the Ptolemies at the time of his ascension to the crown.  The author informs us of all of the history written above at the start of the book. He also goes into the state of the nations around the Seleucid kingdom so that we readers know exactly where the Hellenistic world, and beyond, stand at this time.

 The book describes itself thusly:

"The author analyses Antiochus' major battles, Raphia, Arius, Panium, Thermopylae and, of course, the disaster at Magnesia which opened the door to Roman dominance of the region."

 The author's take on the militaries of the later Hellenistic kingdoms is that they had not learned the lesson of Alexander or the Diadochi very well at all. He extols that the militaries of the later kingdoms were just a pale comparison to the great armies that had conquered the Persian Empire and beyond. Not just because there was no longer an Alexander to lead them, but because they did not understand what made those armies invincible for their time. The book shows how the percentage of infantry to cavalry, approximately 3 to 1, had changed so that it was more than 10 to 1 by Antiochus' time. The main idea of the book is that these newer rulers did not understand the combined arms approach that was needed to win with a Hellenistic army. He uses the battle history of Antiochus to prove his point. In this the author easily succeeds.

 However, the book gives the reader much more than the above. He goes into the tactical uses of each of the parts of a Hellenistic army. The author shows us how to use a Hellenistic army and where Antiochus went wrong. Antiochus was a singular unlucky king. He ruled at a time when Rome was branching out to make the Mediterranean Sea a Roman lake. It did not help that one of the greatest Roman generals, Scipio Africanus, was present with the Roman forces. While he deserved his appellation 'Great' by reconquering all of the Seleucid territories in the east, Antiochus ensured the death of the Seleucid kingdom by his loss to Rome. This is a tour de force about the military history of Antiochus' reign. I can easily recommend the book to anyone who wants to learn about him and the militaries of the Hellenistic kingdoms. Thank you, Casemate Publishers for allowing me to review this excellent book on an era that hardly ever has some light shed on it.

Robert 

Book: The Battles of Antiochus the Great: The Failure of Combined Arms at Magnesia That Handed the World to Rome

Author: Graham Wrightson

Publisher: Pen & Sword

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

Storm Over Jerusalem

The Roman Siege

by

Multi-Man Publishing

 Jerusalem: for many people down through the ages it was, and is, considered the center of the world. The first Roman siege of Jerusalem was in 63 BCE. Pompey the Great had just finished the Third Mithridatic War. Mithridates of Pontus was finally dead, and Pompey was now making a leisurely stroll through the territories that had now become adjacent to Roman lands. That siege actually lasted three months before the entire city was taken. Now, we go forward more than 100 years to the Jewish Revolt of 66 CE. The Jewish freedom fighters had almost completely thrown out the Romans from the whole of Judea. Nero then gave the task of reconquering it to the future emperor Vespasian. We are very lucky in the fact that Vespasian captured a man called Josephus who proceeded to write down the history of the revolt and the following Roman campaign. Jerusalem has probably a greater history of sieges than any other point in the world. The sieges started pretty much right after King David made it his capitol and have continued down through the roughly 3000 years since. Assyrians, Babylonians, and so many others have tried to make the city theirs. This game deals with the siege that Vespasian started, and his son Titus continued, in 70 CE. Strangely, with so many sieges, there are not many games about them, ancient sieges that is. For some reason wargame designers do not think to develop too many actual siege games. 

 So, here we are in 70 A.D. and about to either try to take the city or defend it. This is what Multi-Man Publishing says about the game:

"By the year 70 of the Common Era (CE), the province of Judea had been in revolt against Rome for nearly 4 years. The protests and riots that began in 66 CE had quickly turned into open rebellion. The standard Roman punitive force under Syrian legate Cestius Gallus, having failed to capture Jerusalem, was wiped out at Beth Horon. General Vespasian was given command of the Roman army in the region and ordered to crush the rebellion and restore order. Turmoil in Rome, however, saw Vespasian recalled to become Emperor. In early 70 CE, Emperor Vespasian dispatched his son Titus (a future Emperor) along with four legions to end the rebellion in this important province. Titus arrived in Jerusalem in April to find the city still at war with itself. Throughout the rebellion, differing Judean factions had fought a bitter internecine war among themselves. The primary factions fighting each other in Jerusalem at this time were controlled by Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala. With the arrival of Titus and his legions, however, they were now faced with a common threat to their immediate survival.

The brutal siege of Jerusalem lasted nearly five months. During the siege, city walls were breached one-by-one, much of the city devastated, and the Temple—central to both the Jewish religion and the defense of the city—destroyed and burned. With the capture of Jerusalem, Titus had effectively ended the Judean revolt, with the last of the rebels finally cornered and eliminated in the legendary siege of Masada in 73 CE.

Storm Over Jerusalem is a card-assisted, area-movement game based on Multi-Man Publishing’s Storm Over series of games (Storm Over Stalingrad, Storm Over Dien Bien Phu, and Storm Over Normandy). Cards augment the game play and increase the tensions and choices faced by each player.

As the Judean player, you are outnumbered and surrounded; you must use your forces wisely to hold out as long as possible behind the Walls of Jerusalem. As the Roman player, you must breach the Walls to capture the city, eliminate the rebels, and end the Judean rebellion before time runs out."

 So, we see that the game's pedigree comes from the highly acclaimed games in the 'Storm Over' series. We also see that it is card assisted and has area movement. Let us take a look at the components. This is what comes with the game:

One 22"x34" full-color map

Two full sheets of counters (162 3/4" counters and 88 5/8" counters)

Full-color rulebook with examples

Two double-sided player aid cards

Card deck with 55 full-color cards

4 six-sided dice

 For those of us who have any knowledge of Jerusalem, be it secular or not, the map is an amazing piece of time travel. We get to see the city exactly as it was laid out at this time in history. Other than being completely historically accurate, the map was designed as a wargame map. It was not designed as a piece of art that you would hang on your wall. However, that does not detract one bit from it. The colors and illustrations are perfect for its use. The artist has truly given you the image of an oasis in the midst of desolation. The map paper comes with a coating that will help with its longevity. No, do not bring your different beverages around the game table to see if it endures; it will not. The counters are what my daughter used to call as a child "big huge". All of the Jewish and Roman units, along with a few of the gameplay ones, are 3/4" sized. They have a nice picture on them to denote their weaponry. The numbers on them that are needed for the game are very large. Their very physical and number size bring tears to an old grognard. There are two identical full-color Player Aids. They are made of light card stock. The writing on them is not large, but it is also not really small as some I have seen. The fact that some of the parts/tables are in different colors helps you find what you are looking for. The two decks come together in cellophane, but they are also in a cardboard holder. That is a nice touch so that you do not have to find something yourself to keep them from sliding around the box. The decks are different colors on the back; red and blue is the game's theme. The front of the cards is done in a gold coloring, and each has a very nice piece of artwork as the background. The cards' covering makes them pretty slick and they do try to get away from you. The information size is comparable to any others. The Rulebook is only twelve pages long. It is easy to read and understand. It comes in full color and has a great many examples of play. That is pretty great for only twelve pages. The components are very well done as a whole. 

The Sequence of Play is:

Each turn the following sequence is performed:

A. Draw Phase: The Roman and Judean players draw 

enough cards to fill their hands. If a player has more cards in 

hand than their hand size, they must discard down to their 

hand size. The Game Turn track indicates the hand size of 

cards each player has for that turn. Note that there is one value 

for the Roman player and another for the Judean player. Control of Area 19 (Tyropoeon South) or Area 30 (Lower City) with 

no enemy units in the area provides one additional card to the 

controlling player (see 5.1) for each area.

B. Impulse Phase: Both players perform alternating impulses (see 6.0). The Roman player takes the first impulse on each 

turn.

A player may pass if he does not wish to perform any actions 

for their impulse. If a player has no units that can perform 

actions and does not have any cards remaining in their hand, 

they automatically pass.

If the Roman player passes the turn enters the end phase, 

unless the Judean player immediately discards one of their 

tactical cards (the card is not played, just placed in the discard 

pile). Exception: Judean card #54 (Romani ite domum) can be 

immediately played after the Roman player has passed, it does 

not require another card to be discarded. If a card is discarded, the game turn continues normally, with the Judean player 

taking their impulse, and then the Roman player taking their 

impulse, and so on.

C. End Phase: Both players perform the following sequence 

listed below.

• Cards may be discarded (see 5.3), with the Roman player 

discarding first.

• Remove any Out of Supply markers from the map.

• If the Roman player controls areas 1 through 11, the Roman player rolls a die to see if the Judean Supply Restrictions will increase on this turn (13.3).

Then the Judean player must check the Judean Areas Unable to Refresh (13.3) to determine how many areas containing spent Judean units will not flip to their fresh side 

during this End Phase. The Judean player should mark 

the affected areas with an Out of Supply (OOS) marker. 

If there are not enough locations with spent Judean units, 

any excess OOS locations are ignored.

• Next, players should flip all spent units and siege towers 

to their face-up (“fresh”) side, other than the units in areas 

that the Judean player designated as OOS in the previous 

step.

• The Roman player may remove any Siege Towers from 

Roman controlled areas.

• The Roman player now receives up to 6 reinforcement 

units for the turn and places them on their fresh side in 

any area adjacent to their Reinforcement Zone (see 11.0). 

Roman reinforcements do not all have to come from the 

same Reinforcement Zone. If there are no units in any of 

the Reinforcement Zones, this step is skipped.

• If the Roman player controls both Area 22 (Temple Mount) 

and Area 27 (Herod’s Palace) the game ends with an automatic Roman victory. 

• Each player that controls Area 22 (Temple Mount) or Area 

27 (Herod’s Palace) gains 1 Victory Point for each area. If 

the Judean player controls all city areas (12-31), they gain 

1 VP.

• The Roman player gains 1 VP for each Judean Leader that 

was not placed on board this turn. After this, remove any 

Judean Leaders on board so they can be placed during the 

next turn.

• At this point the turn ends. If it is not turn 8, the turn 

marker is advanced one space on the Game Turn Track, 

and the sequence of play is repeated. If the current turn is 

turn 8 (or 7 if the Judean player played Judean card #54), 

the game ends. Both players must discard all cards and all 

Escape the Siege cards discarded at this time will trigger 

as an event.

 The gameplay is great. The game actually feels like a historical siege. One of my grail games is the Art of Siege by SPI. So, it shows that I find wargaming sieges as not only viable as a wargame but very entertaining as far as gaming. Each player is situated under his own Sword of Damocles. The Romans only have at most eight turns to take the city, or to accumulate enough victory points. The Roman player also has only so many options based on the cards and game length. He has to build Siege Towers and these cost both a card and an impulse. However, the walls of Jerusalem when undamaged give the defender a +4. The Roman player also has cards, Onager, Catapult, Battering Ram, and Siege Ramps, that will help him to breach the walls. Conversely, the Judean player can repair that wall using a card to do so. The Judean player has to decide when to attack or just wait for the Romans. The game makes counter attacking a really bloody part of the game at times. That is why the player has to really think about each attack. Because if it is a failure or does not really hurt the enemy, those attacking units are placed on the backside of the counter. These leave them extremely open to the other player's counterattack. 

 To add to the historical side of the game, the Judean player has to deal with having two leaders and their supporters. The Roman player has no leaders, but the Judean player has both a John and Simon counter. These represent Simon Bar Giora and John of Giscala. Historically before the siege started, and a little while after, there was serious fighting between the different factions in the city and even between the zealots themselves. A player has to use them wisely. They give both defense and attack bonuses to the Judean player. However, if they are eliminated in battle each of them is worth one point to the Roman player for every subsequent turn. 

  So, we have a game that historically feels like a siege and is also fun and nail biting to play. What more could a grognard ask for. The short and easy to understand Rulebook, coupled with simple but innovative rules help to make this game as great as it is. This has everything that I would want in a wargame. It is about ancients and features a siege. Kudos to Multi-Man Publishing for doing an ancients game and to Scott Blanton for designing it. 

Map close-up

 Thank you very much Multi-Man Publishing for allowing me to review this great game. It has been a long time since I played a 'Storm Over' game, and it looks like I will have to dig one or two of them out. This game is part of MMP's International Game Series. There are also Storm Over Stalingrad and Storm Over Dien Bien Phu available from MMP.

P.S. I have really warmed up to the map since I started playing. It is a piece of art that you would hang on your wall.

Robert 

Multi-Man Publishing:

Multi-Man Publishing (mmpgamers.com)

Storm Over Jerusalem: The Roman Siege:

Storm Over Jerusalem [IGS-STOJ] - $86.00 : Multi-Man Publishing (mmpgamers.com)

 The Grass Crown

by

Hollandspiele

  The Grass Crown was the Roman Republic's highest honor. It was given for actions that saved a legion or the entire army. Some of the Romans honored with it are: 

Quintis Sertorius

Scipio Aemillianus

Lucius Cornelius Sulla (Felix)

Publius Decius Mus (received two Grass Crowns)

 The Grass Crown continued through the whole of the Republic to be thought of as the greatest achievement of a Roman. That is, until it was sullied and thrown in the mud when it was given to Octavian for being Caesar's heir or throwing up the most in his tent during a battle (sorry, just a bit bitter). This is why Hollandspiele chose the name The Grass Crown for their second game in the 'Shields and Swords Ancients' series. The Grass Crown is about battles during the Roman Republic.

Contents

 This is what comes with the game:

17" x 22" Mapsheet

(3) Countersheets

28-page Rulebook

12-page Battle Book

A Brief and Digressive (But Mostly Accurate) Military History of the Roman Republic, With Jokes, a 28-page supplement

(2) eight-sided dice

 This is the Hollandspiele write up about the game:

"This second game in the Shields & Swords Ancients series recreates ten battles spanning nearly three hundred years of Roman history. As was the case with the first game, With It or On It (2019), The Grass Crown is a fresh, innovative taken on familiar material. The primary unit of maneuver is a "Wing" which itself consists of ten or so individual counters. Losses can be resolved by flipping the individual unit that was attacked, or by flipping any unit adjacent to it. Unrelenting pressure in the right places can prompt a Rout Check, causing the line to collapse. As the result of a single attack, multiple units can find themselves in your dead pile.

This simple but compelling theme sees many variations thanks to special rules that chart the evolution of Roman warfare, and contrasts them with the rigid Greek Phalanx, the sophisticated army of Hannibal, and the ferocity of the Gauls.

The ten battles are: Heraclea, Asculum, Trebbia, Zama, Pydna, Second Citra, Vercellae, Pharsalus, Thapsus, and Munda."

The three counter sheets

 So, we have two battles with Romans against Pyrrhus. Then two with Romans versus Hannibal. The next two battles are of Romans versus Jugurtha in North Africa, and then against the Cimbrians. The group of ten is rounded out by three battles of Caesar versus the Republicans (Pompey, and Cato etc.). I understand the choice of battles, but I would have preferred to have one where Sulla is in charge and not just an underling to Marius (wow, that puts a bad taste in my mouth). The battles show the Roman Legions against a wide variety of different enemies. They face phalanxes, barbarians, and then other Romans, with various allies. I would also have liked to have Magnesia in the group, but it is essentially another battle against phalanxes. The game is also setup like the almost fifty year old SPI PRESTAGS games. Meaning, that with some reading you can come up with forces to play out any battle you want from these eras. 

 The components are your typical Hollanspiele ones. This means that we are going more for functional, rather than pieces of artwork. The map is a terrain free green one, made up of squares instead of hexes (more on this later). The counters are large at 9/16", and are both color and alphabetically coded. They are not 'busy' at all, and are very easy to read. The Rulebook is twenty-eight pages long and the insets are in color. The Battle Book is twelve pages long, and has the setups for the different battles. The last page of both the Rulebook and the Battle Book has the Sequence of Play, Combat Results Table, and other reference material. The Military History of the Roman Republic is twenty-eight pages long and is worth the price of the game alone. The illustrations in the book were done by John Leech (1817-1864). He was known for his work in the magazine Punch. They were originally used in the book 'The Comic History of Rome' published in 1851. They, and the writing, are hilarious. While the author, Amabel Holland, has her tongue firmly embedded in her cheek, it is nonetheless an accurate history. I read a history book of Rome by Isaac Asimov, and it is just as informative and entertaining as his book was. The components are all up to snuff. So, what about the game itself?

 As was mentioned, this is the second game in the 'Shields & Swords Ancients' series. After a while I fell in love with the first design. The non-use of hexes threw me at first, but it made a ton of sense in the end. You cannot expect phalanxes, or legions, to operate as 21st century skirmishers. 

  The first game, 'With It or On It', was about battles in Greece before Alexander the possibly Great. So, besides two battles that had the Persians in them (Plataea and Marathon) it was phalanx versus phalanx battles. The designer explains that the rules had to be increased for this game because of the difference between battlefield tactics and changes compared to the older battles in the first game. This game does show the growth and change that took place in the legions between the time period shown. Marius's Mules are much more competent and deadly than the Roman Armies faced by Pyrrhus, and possibly Hannibal. Rome was an eclectic society one all levels. Be they Gods, or battlefield tactics. The manipular legion though can be placed at the feet of Roman intellect, and it enabled them to rule most of the known world. 

 This is the Sequence of Play:

1. Command Phase

2. Action Phase

    a, Skirmish Phase

    b. Rally Phase

    c. Move Phase

    d. Combat Phase

3. Victory Phase

4. Initiative Phase

  There is way more to this game than meets the eye. When you first open the box, you might be thinking that this is a beer & pretzels game. In no way, shape, or form, is this one of those. One of the best things about the scenarios and the rules is that you can see the progression of Roman battlefield tactics, and their actual formations. I absolutely love it when a game can teach a player something. This does not mean that the game is just a boring rendition of history. There is just enough friction of war put into the mix to make the battles seem fresh each time. I admit I am a sucker for anything that games the Macedonian phalanx against the Roman legion. This game lets you play out those encounters to see the strength and weakness of each of those formations.

 One of the many innovative rules deals with 'brittle' units. When checking in combat if a unit receives an exhausted result the owning player must turn one of his units, or that one, to its reverse side. If it has two stripes, it is a brittle unit and is immediately eliminated. Just when things seem to be going your way a bit of friction will reduce you to a Nervous Nellie.

 I want to say thank you very much to Hollandspiele games for letting me review this, and other, games. I want to especially congratulate Amabel Holland for her design acumen and her sense of humor. This series of games is a must own for anyone who has the ancients bug. I see on BGG that an expansion is already planned with more battles and different units. Please take a look at all of their games, but especially the 'Horse & Musket' series. You will find many battles that have never been gamed before.

Robert

Hollandspiele:

Hollandspiele

The Grass Crown:

The Grass Crown – Hollandspiele

With it or on it:

With It Or On It – Hollandspiele

 Cradle of Civilization

Includes Two Games:

Sumeria to Persia

&

Alexander vs. Darius

by

Compass Games

 

 The ancient Near and Middle East had a deep and centuries long history. Three of the West's largest religions had their birth there. The first law codes were written down and implemented there. The area had two of the four places around the world where civilization started to flourish first. It is pretty amazing to think that Cleopatra is closer to us than the people who built the pyramids. 

 So, Compass Games has bitten off a lot with two games in one box. We are used to having two games using the exact same rules in one box, but this is different. They have a civilization building game that goes from Sumeria to the Persian Empire. Then there is a totally different game about Alexander's successful attempt to conquer the Persian Empire. The first is listed as easy to medium on difficulty, and the second is listed as medium difficulty.

 I will tackle the Alexander game first. You have to read the designer's notes to understand the game. Their belief that Alexander's winning is not the cut and dried outcome that most have been taught. They think that Darius III had a good shot at beating Alexander except for getting some bad breaks. The worst of these was the death of his general Memnon very early in the contest. Memnon did not, unlike the Persian Satraps (governors), want to battle it out with Alexander. He wanted to use a Fabian type strategy against him. Memnon knew that in a straight up battle between the two forces the Macedonians would win. What he wanted to do was attack Greece with the huge Persian Navy, then always shadow Alexander and try to cut him off from home and getting supplies. In this game you get to see if it would have worked.

 The other game, Sumeria to Persia, is an altogether different  beast. Compass Games always knows where my armor is thinnest. I am a wargamer at heart, and they will have to hit a home run for me to get interested in this kind of game. I have played more than a few of this genre on a board or on the computer, but none so far has been able to keep my interest. So, let us see how they do. The Map board is the same for both games, and the counters only differ in what is pictured on them. Therefore, my assessment of the components will be done together. 

 This is the official Compass Games take on the two games:

Components:

One mounted map (22 X 34 inches)

Nine full sheets of large 0.65” counters

Two rules booklet

Six player reference cards

Forty-Eight Nation/City/Epoch tiles

Twelve 6-sided dice

One box and lid set

Complexity: 2 out of 10 (Sumeria to Persia), 4 out of 10 (Alexander vs. Darius)

Solitaire Suitability: 1 out of 10 (Sumeria to Persia), 7 out of 10 (Alexander vs. Darius)

Players: one to six

Playing Time: 3 hours

Game Credits:

Designers: Sean and Daniel Chick

Artists: Bill Morgal and Shane Hebert

 The box is both heavy and large. It is the size and girth of a game that delights us gamers to open. Of course, you should never judge a book by its cover. However, we all do it. We love to spread out all of the box's contents and glory over it like a dragon over its hoard. 

 As you can see above, the mounted map goes from Macedonia to the eastern parts of modern Iran. It folds out completely flat the first time you spread it out. The map is also very sturdy, so it should last through many games. Its colors are easy on the eyes, and still make it easy to see the different areas on it. It is subdivided for area movement instead of hexes. The counters have beautiful pictures on them. They are also large, and they come with the corners already clipped. As far as thickness, these are some of the thickest counters I have ever held. These are very easy to read and see even with old eyes. Now we come to the cards, or should I say clay tablets. The cards are the same thickness as the counters! I assume that they were made to look and feel like millennial old clay tablets. If that is what they were striving for, then Compass Games hit the nail on the head. If you sharpened the edges of the cards you could have some useful shurikens. The game comes with four sets of Player Aids: Two different ones for both Alexander vs Darius, and Sumeria to Persia. These are done in very hard stock, and could be easily used to swat flies. The writing is in large print and the sheets are colorful. Both games have their own Rulebooks. Alexander vs Darius Rulebook is twenty pages long. The rules are only nine pages long. The rest is taken up by the setups, Events Table, and the Designer Notes etc. Sumeria to Persia Rulebook is also twenty pages long. The rules for this game run a little over nine pages. A small write up about each culture in the different Epochs (there are six of them) makes up the rest of the Rulebook. As far as components, Compass Games has hit it out of the park. 

 These are two tidbits from the Designer Notes:

 "The idea for this game was born out of a moment of gaming frustration. In all my readings and studies on history and 

warfare I’ve found at least one historical truth: war is messy and its outcome uncertain. Alexander the Great is always held 

in such a certain esteem among military historians for his bravery and daring. He pulled off one of the most ambitious 

invasions in history and succeeded. His victory over the Persian empire is stunning in its entirety. Yet, Alexander’s victory 

is almost seen as inevitable. Persia is in disarray. Darius lacks military skill and daring. The Phalanx is dominate in the 

field. Therein lies a contradiction: How is Alexander’s victory over Persia simultaneously a great military endeavor and 

inevitable?

The design of this game was kept simple and accessible in order for it to be picked up quickly. The design of the battles 

are also kept simple, but also very bloody in its losses. I wanted a game that was fast enough to make sure almost every 

decision you make matters and must be weighed carefully but not too carefully. Playing it too safe will not win you the 

game. I hope I have succeeded in doing that and I also hope you enjoy this game.

As Alexander himself said “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.”

 I love, worship, and adore Ancient Wargames, and I have noticed exactly what the designer has. Alexander's Uncle went so far as to say, " I have fought men and Alexander faced women" (when he invaded Italy). However, I still accept the "great men" thesis of history. What happens if it wasn't Darius III on the Persian throne, or if Memnon hadn't died from illness? This is an excellent game to find out. It is also fast paced, so you can try more than one strategy on game night, or even have a few more games. The rules are simple to learn, while still giving you the flavor of the war. You also get to play with the world beating Phalanx, and Persian Cavalry (which if handled correctly could have given Alexander a run for his money). I think it says a lot that Alexander wanted to seem to be a legitimate King of Kings in the Persian Empire's eyes, and not just some barbarian usurper. He adopted almost everything of the Persian customs, and this is what probably got him killed (if not a pickled liver). Alexander vs Darius is fun even playing on the losing side. The Events Table adds a certain doubt in your mind for every move you make. This is the Sequence of Play of the game:

The game is divided into 20 turns. These turns represent 

each season over a 5 year period. Each player will take 

turns taking certain actions during these turns. The number 

of actions you can take will depend upon the amount of 

treasure you have to spend.

Phases

1. Generate Treasure

2. Take Actions Until Both Players Pass

3. Supply and Recruitment

4. Spartan Rebellion (Starting turn 3)

5. Maintain Armies and Navies 

 These are some of the events that you can get on the Event Table die roll:

Crete Aids Alexander

Illyrian Raids

Egypt in Revolt

Persian Court Intrigue

Poris Invades

Scythian Raids

 You will have to deal with rules about these and other subjects:

Sieges

Force March

Leaders

Out of Supply Armies

Maintaining Your Forces

 Sumeria to Persia is a different game. Here is Mr. Chick again with some designer notes about it:

"Sumeria to Persia is an update of sorts to the mechanics of History of the World, adding rules for wonders, colonization, 

and old civilizations still enjoying steady growth. The system, without modification, breaks down a bit with the Neo-Assyrian and Persian Empires. Both were massive. Indeed, Neo-Assyria enjoyed two periods of particularly robust growth, 

while Persia all but covered the map by the time the Persians were defeated at Marathon. The answer was to have both 

periods of Assyrian growth simulated, while Persia would cover only Cyrus the Great’s conquests. The Persian army is 

large, but its growth is erratic, making the choice of Persia a calculated risk. Any player who is behind will want them, but 

that is no guarantee of victory."

 This is the games sequence of play:

The game is played in six Epochs (or Turns). Each Epoch is 

divided into three phases:

 1) New Civilization Allocation Phase

 2) Strategy Phase

 - Player Civilization Rounds

 - Player Scoring

 3) End of Epoch Phase

Sumeria to Persia was not really the type of game I thought it would be. It does have civilization growth and fall in it. However, it is also a game about conquering territory, which is right up my alley. My favorite part about the game is its sheer scope. I have seen games that had ancient Egypt, Babylon, and Israel in them as playable. have you ever seen a game where you could play the Mitanni? Here is a list of some of the nations/city states that you can play:

Sumer 

Elam 

Old Kingdom

Akkadian Empire

Minoans

Hittites

Hyksos

Mycenae

Troy

Assyria

Sea People

Urartu

Archaic Greeks

 Besides conquering, you also get Victory Points for building a Wonder, colonization, and advancing your culture. To try and build a Wonder you must take one of your armies out of play and challenge the fates with a die roll. 

 Once again, Compass Games has taken me to a place I never really had interest in before playing this game. Then they didn't just take me there, but ensured I had fun doing so. 

 Naturally, because of my wargaming bias, I prefer to play Alexander vs Darius. That is not to say that Sumeria to Persia is not a good game. The Epochs that it represents, especially the early ones, I am extremely interested in from a history point of view. How the 'Land of Two Rivers' became so important to the budding world is great stuff. Thank you, Compass Games for allowing me to review both of these games. I was very interested when I found out Sean Chich was one of the designers. I have a good number of his other games, and I felt with him you cannot go wrong, at least so far. On the games' websites below you can read both of the Rulebooks of the games. Peruse the site at your leisure. I have a ton of their games, and am in the queue for a good many more. 

Robert

Cradle of Civilization:

Cradle of Civilization – Compass Games

Compass Games:

Compass Games – New Directions In Gaming

While you are at Compass Games check these two upcoming games:

Western Front Ace: The Great War in the Air, 1916-1918 – Compass Games

Pontiac’s War: Frontier Rebellion, 1763-1766 – Compass Games

I am drooling over both of them.

The Wars of Alexander's Successors 323-281 BC

Volume I: Commanders and Campaigns

by

Bob Bennett & Mike Roberts

 Their names resound down through the ages: Perdiccas, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Antogonus 'Monopthalmus' (the One-eyed, the greatest of them all). You also have a large supporting cast that includes  Cassander, Antipater, Demetrius 'Poliorcetes', with even Pyrrhus making an entrance. These are the wars and campaigns of the Diadochi (Successors) for the realm that Alexander left on his death. Alexander had famously said that he wished he was able to see the 'funeral games' which would take place after his death. This is about those very funeral games.

 The book was one of the first in 2008 of a spate of books on the Hellenistic period after Alexander's death. This book and Volume II are still two of the best on the subject (I am doing a review of the newly released paperback copy). The authors gave themselves a tall order. They wanted to do an overview in the time period of almost fifty years since Alexander's death. They also wanted to show the military aspect of that time period in greater depth than other books had to date. Luckily for us they succeeded beyond the readers hope. From the first breakout of hostilities between the various 'Satraps' to the assasination of Seleucus, the full history of the era is included.

 The various dealings and double dealings between the different power players are shown. The book's main area of expertise is on the military history of the period. From Perdiccas's invasion of Egypt, to the ultimate battle royale of the Diadochi at Ipsus, the panoply of the times is painted for the reader. The history of the different successors to try and reconquer the entire empire, and the final realization that no one man was able to actually do this is shown. The fact that Alexander was probably the luckiest general ever to have this many great to very good generals under him is also shown to the reader. 

 If you have any interest in the Hellenistic period, as far as historically and especially militarily, this is the first book that should be in your library. However, it is written in a style so that even the novice to the time period can follow along easily. 

Robert

Book: The War of Alexander's Successors 323-281 BC Volume I: Commanders and Campaigns
Authors: Bob Bennett & Mike Roberts
Publisher: Pen & Sword
Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 

Plutarch's Lives of The Noble Greeks and Romans

by

Guess Who: Plutarch

 I wasn't going to advocate for any particular version of his work, but this one from Amazon looks pretty good, and has many good reviews. It is:

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Plutarch-Illustrated-Ancient-Classics-ebook/dp/B00C456HGU/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1489353390&sr=8-13&keywords=plutarch+lives

 Another thing it has going for it is that it is only $1.99 for the Kindle edition.

 The volume that I have is from when books were built like tanks. I paid more for it, but it has lasted more than forty years. It is not meant to be a straight biography of all these great, and not so great, men. It is meant by the author to show his own morals and how these men stacked up to them. The very great part about his books is that they are really the only biographies from anyone near the actual time they lived. Plutarch does get his moralizing in, but for the most part you also get the full biographies of his subjects in it.

 To those of us who are into Ancient history maybe you can relate. I was reading this book when my first child was being born. This was after the husband couldn't be in the room, and before we had to take classes to be in the room (I am still confused about the classes, because my role was pretty secondary to the action going on). The birth was imminent and my wife was surrounded by nurses and doctors. This birth was the only one during the daylight, so we had a lot of hands on deck. It was so crowded around my wife's bed that I couldn't even see her if I wanted to. So I stayed on the couch and read page after page of Plutarch. That is until a nurse came to me and said "Mr. Peterson you may want to see this". She was both right and wrong. Some of it was glorious to see, and some not so much. Anyway, the book has been with me during all of the most important times when I have had to wait around. I hope you find as much enjoyment out of it that I have.

Robert