Science of Arms

The Art of War in the Century of the Soldier 1672 - 1699

Volume 2

by

Stephen M. Carter

 This volume continues where Volume I left off. Here, there are 146 pages of an idiot's guide to cavalry during this time period. From its duties in the army as a whole to its use on the battlefield and everything in between is shown the reader. The book even has insights into how to quarter your cavalry for the winter. Training your troopers is gone into in depth.

 The next 50 pages or so goes into, and just as in depth, about how to train, handle, and use your artillery. This part goes into all of the myriads of different artillery sizes and guns that were in use at the time and each one's specific use. For the military modeler and wargamer this information, as is the two volumes as a whole, is invaluable.

 The last 140 pages or so was, to me, the best parts of the book. This takes the reader and explains exactly how to use your army. This goes from the mundane to how to fight a campaign. The chapters in this part of the book are:

Starting the Campaign

The Army Command

Maxims on Moving the Army

Maxims on Lodging the Army

Maxims on Forcing Passages

Maxims for Defensive Marches

Maxims on Standing Camps & Garrisons

Maxims on Guarding Places

Maxims on Offensive Marches

Giving Battle 

 The last chapter also has a two-page illustration of an army in the line of battle with all of the frontages of the different troop types. It not only informs you of what to do if you won the battle, but also how to deal with a defeat. 

The frontpiece also has a wonderful picture or engraving of Louis de Bourbon Prince de Condé (The Great Condé). 

 This is a marvelous two book series on the complete ways that armies were raised, trained, and fought in the late 17th century. The author has done so many of us a wonderful service by releasing these in a clear and easily read manner. These volumes are for any reader who is interested in military history, a wargamer, or someone who does historical modeling. Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for the chance to review this excellent addition to the military history genre. 

Robert Peterson

Book: Science of Arms: The Art of War in the Century of the Soldier 1672-1699 Volume 2 

Author: Stephen M. Carter

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 

1793 Patriots & Traitors

The French Revolution, Year II

By

Sound of Drums

 To get us into the correct mood, here is a compilation of songs from Marat/Sade by Judy Collins:

Judy Collins - Marat/Sade

 The above is a paean of praise to Jean Paul Marat. He was a central figure in the early years of the French Revolution. At times, he was forced to hide in the Paris sewers from the Old Regime pre-revolution. In doing so he contracted a nasty skin disease that not only covered him in sores, but he also released a very malodorous odor in the area around him. Apparently, modern science has stopped the debate of what it was by analyzing some of his blood. Thank you, Charlotte Corday; more on her in a minute. It appears to have been a fungal infection with a secondary bacterial infection. They believe it might have been Seborrheic Dermatitis. Whatever it was, even his friends in the National Assembly kept a wide berth from him. 

 The French Revolution was the first of its kind in the Western World. Wait, you say, what about the American Revolution. Sorry, they were completely different animals. The American Revolution was more about taxation and representation than about real freedom, thanks to the Magna Carta and Charles I for losing his head. Englishmen, and the American Colonials, had much more freedom than in other countries at the time. The French Revolution happened because of basic human rights that the average Frenchman did not have. They effectively were all chattels to the Crown and nobles. Just as Sam Colt made every man in the United States equal, the Guillotine made every Frenchman equal. Oddly, it was designed by a man who did not like the death penalty and was looking for something much more humane. So, back to dear Charlotte Corday. She removed Marat from his suffering with a large knife to the chest. She was absolutely fearless at her trial in the National Assembly. She had struck down Marat because she felt he was guilty of the death of the most prominent Girondins, moderates that you can play in the game. When she was brought to the Guillotine by Charles-Henri Sanson, first the royal executioner and then the high executioner during the Revolution, he tried to shield her from its sight. She asked him to please move out of the way because she was naturally curious about the machine. When Sanson was asked who was the bravest soul to meet the Guillotine, his answer was always Charlotte Corday. I happen to like Mr. Sanson very much. He ripped off the bandages on Robespierre's face before relieving him and that young Angel of Death Saint-Just of their heads (my apologies if the designer is somehow related). 

 I know that I have jumped around a bit and only scratched the smallest surface of the French Revolution. My love for the subject and some of the personalities is unbounded. My disgust toward Robespierre and his cronies also knows no bounds. So, as you can see, I do know a lot about the historical period and have some strong biases towards the events and people. Which leads, finally, I know, to this game in question. I am pretty giddy about having in my hot little hands a game where I can try to right all of the wrongs, in my eyes, that happened during the Terror. This phrase the Terror was for the longest time associated only with the French Revolution. It has only been in the latter half of the 20th century that the phrase has been associated with many more horrible historical happenings and periods.

 So, what comes inside the box:

1 Paris board (62x 62cm)

1 France board (30 x 30cm)

5 faction sheets

10 location tiles

150 wooden influence cubes

95 Tarot sized playing cards

47 customized wooden pieces

1 multiplayer rules manual

Solo / 2 player rules manual

4 player Aid Sheets

5 Cotton bags

 This is what Sound of Drums has to say about the game:

Hist. period: French Revolution

Game length: 30 – 120 minutes+

Players: 1 – 5 players

Age: 14+ years

Complexity: 5 / 10

Solitaire: yes

"For more than three years now, the banner of Revolution has been fluttering over France. Sure, the old structure has fallen but still the people clamor for change. There is a shortage of bread and on the borders the Austrians and Prussians are ready to invade. The press has become mighty popular, publicly denouncing traitors and calling the populace to arms. There are some that believe that the Revolution has gone far enough, but for others it has yet to begin. The land bubbles with intrigue and unrest. These are dangerous times. Now that the monarchy under Louis XVI has fallen who will dare to take the reins as the nation crumbles? 

1793: Patriots & Traitors recreates the chaos that tore up France in the years 1792-1794 as it has never been done before! 

Each of the players belong to a political faction, each with their own objective. Although engaged in a brutal political tug-of-war, they WILL have to work together to prevent the armies of Austria, Prussia and Sardinia-Piedmont from reaching Paris, thereby crushing the Revolution and ending the game prematurely…for everyone!

1793: Patriots & Traitors is a very compact CDG game that makes use of multi-functional playing cards to allow the players a broad range of decisions…and rest assure that every decision made has its consequences. With them, the players will be able to influence a number of areas in Paris (National Convention, Palais-Egalité, the Paris streets…) or the provinces. Each controlled area offers certain benefits…or will help them to perform a Coup d’Etat or Civil War if things turn for the worse…  

Also included are the various revolutionary protagonists such as Robespierre, Danton, Marat, Brissot who can help their faction to achieve their objective IF they are not arrested or assassinated in the meantime! 

Core mechanic is the possibility of making of laws for the new Republic which will change the game rules or even alter the board…of course: it’s a Revolution! 

Be prepared for a warm and asymmetrical game of high replayability that will allow you and your fellow patriots to relive the French Revolution: from the heated discussions in the National Convention to the angry streets of Paris and from the cheering crowds around the bloody guillotine to the gun smoke filled battlefield of Fleurus!

1793: Patriots & Traitors is a true aristocratic banquet for 1 to 5 lovers of history by the hand of Jason St. Just.

Marc von Martial, one of the best graphic artists in the business, is in charge of the artwork. Gamers can expect beautiful era style maps and beautiful customized wooden meeples! They will not be disappointed by his skills and love for the detail."

Three of the five different player boards of the factions

 So, we have a CDG (Card Driven Game) that has definitely been manufactured in the Eurogame fashion. I mean it actually has meeples. How much more Eurogame can you get. 

 The Map/Board is really a rather bland street map of Paris at the time and is mounted. The top of the board has two circles marked Oui!/Non!. These are for voting in the 'Convention Nationale'. Across the bottom of the board is the turn record track. This is a stylized calendar with the new months of the Revolution. These are a series of circles with period pieces of art inside them. The track 'Tracé du Temps' starts with the Month 'Frimaire' (November/December) to ' Thermidor' (July/August). There is a total of 21 months in the calendar. Next up is the ten Location Tiles that fit into the Paris board. Two of these are marked as the Convention Nationale and the Place de la Révolution (the place where the Revolution split both hairs and necks). These tiles are placed on the board due to gameplay and setup. They all have a very nice period artwork of each respective area. Once these are added to the board it really spruces up the board. There is a smaller mounted board with a map of France and some cities near it from the time. This is used for the various attempts of the other European states and their royals to end the Revolution and put a fat Bourbon back on the throne in France. 

 Then we have the five mounted Faction sheets. These give all of the pertinent information the player needs to know about each faction. The factions are:

Jacobins (Radicals)

Royalists (Ultra-Conservatives)

Cordeliers (Ultra-Radicals)

Girondins (Moderates)

Feuilants (Conservatives)

 The game comes with two Rulebooks. The first is for one to two players and is 12 pages long. It is in full color and the rules are typed in double columns. It also comes with a good number of play examples. The second Rulebook is for Multiplayer games. This one is 32 pages long. In all respects it looks like its smaller sibling. 

 There is a Leader card Players Aid that strangely shows all of the Leader cards and their effects etc. For those of a historical bent these are some of them:

Marquis de La Fayette (Yes, that one)

Jacques Brissot

Camille Desmoulins

Mme Roland

Joseph Fouché (Yes, that one)

Georges Danton (Yay!)

Louis de Saint-Just (Boo!)

 There is a three-page fold out that lists all of the Action Cards and their uses. There is a two-page fold out that lists all of the Law Cards that you can vote for or against. The Paris Board Player Aid shows all of the Paris Location Tiles and their benefits. There are five bags of colored wooden cubes (red, gray, yellow, blue, purple) that are used to show influence in the different boards. The 47 other wooden pieces represent everything else needed to play and even include a balloon. Then there are five cotton bags to keep all of the pieces from the separate factions.

 The 95 'Tarot' sized cards are a sheer pleasure to behold. These include the Laws, Actions, and Leaders cards that are used to play the game. The cards are nice and large. They also come with either a period piece of artwork or the portrait of the Leader they represent.

 This is most definitely a Eurogame and you can see and feel it in the wonderful production standards of all of the game pieces and boards.

 

This is quite a hand of historical cards. You have Robespierre(ugh!), Marat (sans his odor), and even Napoleon.

 One thing about the game that you should know before playing is that it does have a 'sudden death' feature that makes every player lose without any recourse. This is true if you are playing solitaire, two-player, or multiplayer. If any of the reactionary armies surrounding and attacking France take Paris, the gig is up. I assume the reason being is because of the actual historical situation that France found itself in this time period. France was split by many parties with many different agendas. It was also surrounded by almost the entire continent of Europe who declared war on France to stifle the Revolution before any of its horrible ideas (at least in the other Royals eyes), were exported into the other countries of Europe. Kings and Queens are like that, they are none too fond of revolutionary ideas and the like that could possibly make them lose not only their fortunes but also their heads. The historical situation was extremely volatile for both the citizens of France and Europe as a whole. Only the complete ineptitude of the anti-revolutionary armies, and some extremely good luck, allowed the Revolution to continue. So, the chance of the Revolution being squashed by reactionary forces was in reality pretty high. This was probably put in by the designer to try and make the game as accurate as possible. Considering the lengths he took to be historically accurate in the rest of the game leads me to this conclusion.

Aww a cute little Guillotine

 It does help with a game like this to have a grounding in the actual history of the period. To attempt to make this game friendlier to a wider audience would mean that it would have to, in essence, be dumbed down. If you do not know who Ms. Corday is, or what 'The Mountain' in the Convention Nationale was, would put you behind the eight ball while trying to play this game. There are CDG games that are very simple and only scratch the surface of what they are representing. Please be aware that this game is not one of them. 

 So, the entire essence of the game is to put your faction into power. However, as mentioned, you also have to defend France's borders. Becoming the first faction means nothing if the Prussians or Austrians are marching down Paris's streets. Above all in the game do not lose your head both literally and figuratively. The game gives you myriads of ways and decisions that you can make to win. It can also be a harsh mistress and back you into a corner.

 After the 21st turn victory is determined by the player who has the most influence in the Convention Nationale, Caserne/Champ de Mars, and in the Provinces. 

 Victory is automatic in one of three ways. These are:

Paris is overrun by one of the Coalition Armies.

The Royal Family is saved which results in an immediate win for the Feuillant player.

One of the players has initiated a Civil War or Coup d'Etat and also emerged victorious.

Handy little tote bags to carry your swag from the Revolution home

 Besides being as historically accurate as possible this game is also fun. What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon or evening than destroying your enemies and seeing their heads presented to the crowd? You get to pass laws, or defeat them, to hem your enemies in before the final blow. You can dress like a Roman and pray to the Goddess Virtue. Okay, you cannot really do that. Unless of course the other players have no problem with it. I am once again enthralled by a game that gets history correct and makes it enjoyable while doing it.

 Thank you so very much, Sound of Drums, for allowing me to review this seemingly simulation built into a CDG. The game to me is a wonderful labor of love from Mr. St. Just. Even if it does stick in my craw that I have to congratulate someone with that name. If at all possible, in your playthroughs make it so Danton, even though strictly a Jacobin, and the Girondins live through that prig Robespierre's and Saint-Just's Terror.

Robert Peterson

1793 Patriots and Traitors

Sound of Drums

This is a link to my review of Sound of Drums game Eylau 1807: Battles of Napoleon Volume I:

Eylau 1807 Battles of Napoleon Volume I by Sound of Drums - A Wargamers Needful Things

 Science of Arms

The Art of War in the Century of the Soldier 1672-1699

Volume I: Preparation for War and the Infantry

by

Stephen M. Carter

 

 For those of us who are very interested in the history of warfare this book is a Godsend. This is not just the author's idea of what took place or was thought of about both the preparations and how the infantry worked in the last years of the 17th century. As the author states:

 "This Science of Arms series is based on the original French military treatises and the translated versions published in London by Charles Bill, Henry Hill and Thomas Newcomb in the 1670s and 80s. These cover more than formations and weapons drill. They explain the military practice of the age and when combined, we gain a fresh perspective on warfare. By comparing the details held in the treaties to battle plans and eye-witness accounts, the reader can plug the unsaid gaps that were taken for granted but long forgotten."

 The book has a large amount of information, from preparing your magazine, to the artillery of the time and even its construction, and what you should seek to find and see in your Captain General, General Officers, and your General Staff. At this point we have only gone through half of the book! Then we go through a whole section on 'modeling' your infantry, cavalry, and artillery. The book uses the word modeling to show the formations, usage, and even the costs incurred with these three types of arms.

 The last part of the book is all about the infantry. From weapons, various exercises, and even to the duties of Sergeants etc. it is all here. It will show you how to advance the 'Swedish way' and how to correctly 'volley attack with your grenadiers'. 

 So, if you happen to have about 50 friends, and the money, you can equip them and then the book will show you how to put them through the paces. You can teach them all of the steps to arm and fire their muskets and how to use their pikes correctly.

 The book is a gold mine for both the military history lover and the wargamer. Thank you, Casemate Publishers, for allowing me to review this excellent addition to my library. I will have a review of Volume 2 of the series coming up.

 

Robert Peterson

Book: Science of Arms: The Art of War in the Century of the Soldier 1672-1699 Volume I: Preparation for War and the Infantry

Author: Stephen M. Carter

Publisher: Helion & Company

Distributor: Casemate Publishers

 SONG FOR WAR

MEDITERRANEAN OPERATIONS

FROM 

INVICTA REX

In 2023, I had the good fortune to encounter Invicta Rex games and their prototype for their first game, Song for War: Mediterranean Theatre.  I was able to experience the game through play with the designers on Tabletopia and reviewed the game here on the blog.   

I followed their progress and initial Kickstarter, which I immediately pledged for, and was majorly disappointed when it didn't reach its target goal. 

Fast forward two years and the expected and heralded new launch on Kickstarter rapidly passed its target and unlocked several goals.  This time there has been the opportunity to select one of two pledges.  The major pledge is for a revamp of the original game with its massive two mounted boards.  This has been greatly augmented by including two closer focused Operational scenarios: North Africa and Italy.  Each of which is played out on individual maps, each printed on the reverse side of one of the main maps.  If I say that each single map is 31"x27", you get the size of the two-mapper main game. 

Italy Map

It should be no surprise to those who've read my previous review [click here if you haven't], that I've immediately pledged for the full package.  

However, a second pledge has been offered in the new Kickstarter, which gives you just a single mounted board with the map for the North Africa scenario on one side and the map for the Italy scenario on the other.

Invicta Rex have kindly provided me with a prototype copy of this smaller game and that is what I shall be reviewing here today.  It's differentiated from its Song of War big brother by having the sub-title Mediterranean Operations.  As would be expected, it embodies all the component qualities of the massive Mediterranean Theatre game.  This starts with the stunning and vibrantly coloured maps.  Italy you can see above and below is North Africa.

North Africa map

The counters too are the identical stylish wooden pieces that cover a wide range of air, sea and land units, embracing destroyers, cruisers, naval transports and even an aircraft carrier, fighters, heavy and light bombers, AA guns and artillery, infantry, tanks and trucks. Each of the four nations featured in the game has its own attractive compartmentalised storage box making sorting and organisation an easy task. 

British Units Storage Box

Below is what you see when set up for play of the North Africa scenario.  Normally in the full Mediterranean Theatre  scenarios, the blue units are Great Britain and the green units are United States, whereas here blue and green represent Great Britain's XXX and VIII Corps.  

This is most noticeable at the start in Alexandria, where units from both Corps are located, one in the northern sector and one in the southern sector.  However this distinction does not have to be maintained here, nor in anywhere else on the map as the game progresses.

Opposing them are the Germans (red) and the Italians (yellow).  Obviously, this allows for four players, but these Operational scenarios easily facilitate play by two players, especially as both sets of units on a given side move and have combat simultaneously.  The only feature not to be seen on map is the Hidden Fleet marker which in the North Africa scenario is the German fleet.  As can be seen below, it contains two troop transporters, one containing 2 tanks and 1 infantry units, the other tank, infantry and AA, which are guarded by an aircraft carrier ( with a fighter and light bomber aboard) a cruiser and a destroyer.

All the vital information, not just for set up but play, is contained on a single double sided Play Aid; one for each player.  There is a substantial amount of information to be absorbed, which is greatly eased when playing in teams of two.  When playing two player - which is my normal situation, outside conventions -  I would strongly recommend overlaying the Set-Up Play Aid with the Standard Units Play Aid.  This allows you to see all the ability explanations for the symbols used on the unit display chart.

Again when first getting started, I found it well worth while to spend some time simply taking each group of units: land, sea and air and separately practising their movement and combat factors and abilities a few at a time.  These displays differ from those in the massive Theatre game by being much more monochromatic and this is particularly reflected in the change from the accompanying coloured dice to white, grey and black ones.  I'm unsure whether this change reflects the final intentions for both this new Operational version and the original Theatre version of the game.  If so, I personally preferred the use of the coloured dice and the matching colours on the Combat part of the Play Aids which I found greatly helped my understanding of the combat process.  My only other concern lies with the very small print (seen on the left most panel above) which explains the symbols used.  These I did strain to read.

What remains identical is the multi-stepped movement and combat process that I would describe as the signature feature of the game system.  It is this feature that absolutely sold this game for me and recent details from surveys conducted by Invicta Rex confirms that the game system is far and away the key element for the vast majority of those who've pledged to Song for War.  It is that incremental movement and combat aspect that gives the game its defining quality and its engrossing game play.  Each player is immersed in the action as it switches back and forth from player to player with none of the lengthy ennui of observing and waiting for someone else's turn to be completed.  

It is a richly layered experience significantly enhanced by the visual splendour of the maps and the tactile enjoyment of manoeuvring your equally colourful wooden units.

In short, Song for War: Operations gives you everything that can be experienced in the even larger scope Song for War: Mediterranean Theatre, but with a more specific and localised geographic focus.  In stepping down from the wider picture of the Mediterranean Theatre to these two specific Operational fields, only a single stage is omitted - the National Support Phase. This tech tree element brought to the wider conflict the possibility of purchasing cards to influence the development of your war whether in terms of new weapons, upgrades, significant events or strategy.  With the shorter time scale and narrower focus, it is an appropriate omission.

I know that purely from the point of view of having the time to get Song for War: Operations easily to my gaming table, I shall see much more play of Italy and North Africa individually, but for those longer periods offered by residential conventions Song for War: Mediterranean Theatre awaits.

 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

 NORAD 3

Designed by

Dana Lombardy 

 This is a write-up by Mr. Lombardy about this new edition of his game.

"Dana Lombardy looks at his game NORAD 50+ years later

In 1973, I needed a wargame for Conflict #4 – the magazine I started the previous year. Several new designs were under development and would be published with future issues of Conflict. But I needed a new game design – and it had to be finished in 60 days.

It wasn’t the first time I published a game that wasn’t a typical wargame. Conflict #3 included a time travel science fiction paper-and-pencil design called Assassin! It was too different for many of the readers whose feedback was: “Give us a real wargame!”

This meant that the game had to be a military battle or campaign and include conventional die-cut unit counters and a game map. But I wanted to create something that was not completely traditional.

NORAD was my first modern era design: a hypothetical nuclear war caused by the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis between the USA and USSR. The readers’ reactions were extreme: they either loved it or hated it. NORAD used a polar projection map where the movement spaces were smaller at the North Pole and became wider as they moved South. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first wargame to use this type of map instead of a traditional hexagon or square pattern.

Combat did not have standard combat factors on each counter that was resolved using a customary Combat Results Table (CRT). Instead, if a Russian bomber or submarine missile reached a Canadian or United States city it was immediately flipped over to show a nuclear mushroom cloud. This designated that the city was destroyed and the Soviet player received victory points for that city. If the Canadian or U.S. fighter aircraft could reach the Russian bomber before it could nuke the city, both counters were removed. There were also anti-aircraft missile counters placed on some cities that were last-ditch defenses. Both sides had a few decoy (blank) counters representing electronic countermeasures (ECM) to confuse an enemy’s radar and weapons.

Mr. Lombardy at Origins 1976

To start, the U.S. player set up his fighters, decoys, and anti-aircraft missiles on any city square. These faster moving units were moved to the incoming Russian bombers to eliminate them before they could move onto a space with a Canadian or U.S. city.

Game play consisted of the Soviet player moving his bombers (including decoys) onto the northern edge of the map. At least four (or more) bombers of his fleet of 30 counters had to move onto the map every turn. Only one bomber could be in a square. Every bomber on the map moved every Turn until it was destroyed by a Canadian or U.S. fighter or reached a target city.

Each city was worth from 5 to 9 points. Soviet victory was achieved by accumulating at least 100 victory points. The U.S. player “won” if the Soviet total was less than 100 points. But America was still destroyed.

NORAD was easy to learn and fast-playing. One reader called the game “nuclear checkers.”

In 1977 a friend reprinted the game for his Mishler Company using the same artwork and a few rule edits. NORAD 2 was planned by Victory Point Games adding cards, chits, and major rules changes but it was never published. Banzai magazine’s NORAD 3 is a greatly expanded version based on the original design that adds the USA attack on the USSR.

I am honored and flattered to have one of my first game designs republished by Yasushi Nakaguro in a version that includes much improved graphics and the expansion of the American attack on the USSR.

New Edition!

NORAD 3

The original 1973 publication of Dana Lombardy’s “nuclear checkers” has been greatly improved and enhanced by BANZAI magazine with:

✔️Gorgeous new full-color graphics.

✔️Expanded game map that now shows the USSR as well as the USA targets.

✔️New playing pieces that represent USA bombers and USSR fighters.

✔️Illustrated rulebook in English that includes optional rules for NORAD and Dana’s 1973 designer’s notes.

✔️Plus new rules for the Soviet Home Defense forces and NATO expansion game by Yasushi Nakaguro.

✔️BONUS: Dana has written a backstory about creating the 1973 game and describes its 1977-2024 versions and a mini tournament held in Basque area of Spain in 2020.

GAME ONLY (rules in English)

Simple rules, fast-playing, amazing graphics, optional rules & expansion.

$40 includes FREE shipping to a US address

(BANZAI Japanese language magazine is out of print and not included).

Contact dana.lombardy@gmail.com for shipping to other countries.

Supplies are LIMITED."

This is a YT video about the game:

https://youtu.be/2AbP_Y8RqMA

NORAD 3