Ancients is a board wargame published by Good Industries in 1986 that simulates various historical battles in pre-gunpowder settings.
Ancients is a board wargame published by Good Industries in 1986 that simulates various historical battles in pre-gunpowder settings.
Ancients is a two-player wargame with rules for low-complexity tactical combat. The game box includes four map sheets to be used with various battles. [1] Various options allow for the inclusion of exotic items such as chariots or elephants. The game includes over 60 scenarios for historical battles from Ancient Greece to the Renaissance. [1] Each scenario only lasts seven turns. [2]
Combat uses a simple alternating system of turns: the first player removes leaders from the board, then moves units. The second player's missile troops fire, then the first player's melee troops attack. Any units that are his are disorganized and cannot attack. After combat, the leaders are replaced, and any disorganized units in touch with the leader are rallied. [2] Once this is finished, the players switch attacking and defensive roles, the second player now getting an opportunity to move and attack. [1]
Ancients was designed by Bill Banks who founded Good Industries in 1986 to self-publish the game. Banks also published a companion board game, King of Kings, as well as Ancients II that added naval combat rules and scenarios.
3W became the publisher of Ancients in 1992, and reduced the number of scenarios to 32. 3W also revised and re-published the companion board game, retitling it Imperator.
Mike Siggins reviewed Ancients for Games International , and was pleasantly surprised by the professional components, given that it was a self-published effort. Siggins found all of the scenarios were well-balanced, and said, "I think Ancients is one of those games, like Squad Leader , that simply 'works'. He concluded by giving it an excellent rating of 5 stars out of 5, saying, "At the price, even with postage from the States, Ancients is one of the best bargains in gaming. The components are very good indeed, the rules are concise and accurate and the system works extremely well." [1]
In Issue 7 of Berg's Review of Games , game designer Richard Berg commented that the game "attempts to combine at least a modicum of flavor and creativity with its simplicity, synthesizing familiar rules into an enjoyable and eminently playable system." After examining the scenarios, Berg was impressed, writing, "With his simple little system, [game designer Bill] Banks has managed to paint some (but certainly not all) broad truths about ancient and medieval warfare." Berg called the game a family hatchback compared to the Maseratis of the wargaming world but concluded that Ancients was "a pretty good way to introduce the uninitiated to our obsession. It's fast, furious, fun that ends quickly, and leaves you wanting more. Bill Banks has managed to keep it simple without becoming overly simplistic." [2]
PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set on the Eastern Front of World War II. The game, which was the most popular board wargame of the 1970s, is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commercially available conflict simulation wargame. It also pioneered several concepts that would become industry standards.
Battle Cry is a board wargame based on the American Civil War, designed by Richard Borg and published by Avalon Hill in 2000.
Battle of the Bulge is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill (AH) in 1965 that simulates the World War II battle of the same name. General Anthony McAuliffe (ret.), who had been commanding officer at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, was a consultant during the game's development. The game proved popular and sold more than 120,000 copies, but was dogged by criticisms of historical inaccuracies, and was finally replaced by a completely new edition in 1981. A third edition in 1991 was released as part of the Smithsonian American History Series.
D-Day is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1961 that simulates the six months of the European Campaign of World War II from the Normandy Invasion to the crossing of the Rhine. It was the first wargame to feature the now ubiquitous hex grid map and cardboard counters, and was revised and re-released in 1962, 1965, 1971, 1977 and 1991.
Panzer Leader is the sequel to Avalon Hill's PanzerBlitz game.
Terrible Swift Sword: Battle of Gettysburg Game is a grand tactical regimental level board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. A second edition was published by TSR in 1986.
Caesar, subtitled "Epic Battle of Alesia", is a board wargame self-published as "Alesia" by Robert Bradley in 1970, and then republished by Avalon Hill in 1976. The game simulates the ancient Battle of Alesia.
Buck Rogers – Battle for the 25th Century is a strategy board game published in 1988 by TSR, Inc.
Bismarck is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1962 that simulates the hunt for the Bismarck.
Armageddon: Tactical Combat, 3000-500 BC is a board wargame first published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1972 in Strategy & Tactics, then released as a stand-alone game, then reimplemented as Chariot: Tactical Warfare in the "Biblical" Age, 3000-500 BC.
Napoleon's Last Battles is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications in 1976 that simulates the last four battles fought by Napoleon. It was one of SPI's most popular games, and also received many positive reviews.
Chitin: I is a science fiction microgame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1977 in which bands of intelligent insects vie for resources.
Team Yankee, subtitled "A Game of World War III", is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1987 that is based on the book of the same name by Harold Coyle.
Piercing the Reich, subtitled "The Battle for Aachen, Siegfreid Line Campaign, September–October 1944", is a board wargame published by Moments in History (MiH) in 1995 that is an operational simulation of the Battle of Aachen during World War II.
Napoleon at War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates various battles fought by Napoleon.
Napoleon at Waterloo is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1971 that simulates the Battle of Waterloo. The game, which features simple rules, was designed as an introduction to board wargaming, and was given as a free gift with each subscription to SPI's Strategy & Tactics magazine.
Chariot: Tactical Warfare in the Biblical Age, 3000-500 B.C. is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates various historical battles during the Bronze Age. The game originally started as Armageddon: Tactical Combat, 3000-500 BC, published in 1972, but was revised in order to become the first game in SPI's PRESTAGS collection.
1815: The Waterloo Campaign is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1975 that simulates the final three days of Napoleon's last campaign, culminating in the Battle of Waterloo. Reviewers characterized the game as not too complex, playable, fast-moving, and enjoyable. The game was found to be tilted in favor of the French, and GDW released a second edition in 1982 that addressed that issue.
Napoleon's Last Campaigns is a board wargame published by Rand Game Associates (RGA) in 1974 that simulates the final campaigns of Napoleon in 1814 and 1815.
Soldiers: Tactical Combat in 1914–15 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1972 that simulates the early months of World War I when combatants experienced a degree of mobility before the onset of trench warfare. The game enjoyed positive reviews, and was credited as the influential predecessor of popular tactical games such as Sniper!, StarSoldier, and the bestselling Squad Leader.