Legion re-issue back in stock

We've just taken delivery of the second printing of our 2015 re-issue of Phil Sabin's Legion, so those who missed out first time around can now pick up a copy from the Society webstore for £15 (£12 for Society members) plus shipping.

Rule book Cover

Sample counter art

Contents

If you are feeling daring you could even pick up the reprint of Phil's Strategos II rules or John Graham-Leigh's new Simple Campaigning booklet while you're at it.

'Simple Campaigning' now available

The Society of Ancients is proud to announce that John Graham-Leigh's new wargaming booklet, Simple Campaigning, is now available for purchase from the Society's web store.

A compilation of John's campaign articles featured previously in Slingshot, Simple Campaigning includes revised material, updated maps and new illustrations gathered into one convenient package in an attractive format designed by the very talented Justin Swanton.

Contents.

- Introduction.

- Solo Campaigning. Solo mini-campaign set in the Hellenistic world, 200BC-100BC. Battles can be fought out on the tabletop solitaire or against other players.

- More Solo Campaigning: Angevin Empire. Solo campaign simulating the attempts of Henry II and his sons to hold and expand their empire. Includes a combat results table that can be consulted in place of tabletop battles if desired.

- Solo Campaigning Across the Steppes. Driven by the Mongol conquest but also including potential internecine warfare in Europe, the Near East and Asia. These battles can also be resolved by dice if desired.

Sample Campaign Map for Across the Steppes.

- Millennium Campaign - Europe 1000-1100 AD. Another solo campaign on the grand scale, following the Normans, events in Germany, Spain, Eastern Europe and the East.

- Crisis of Rome Campaign. Set in the 3rd Century AD players take on the role of prefects within the Roman Empire, seeking fame, fortune, and the throne against a backdrop of internal intrigue and aggressive Barbarian incursions.

- The Wolf on the Fold. Players take turns to command the Assyrians over three centuries and, as Assyrian power wanes, switch to play their challengers until the Assyrian Empire collapses.

- The Calamitous Fourteenth Century 1350-1450. Includes the Hundred Years' War, German turmoil, the Golden Horde in Eastern Europe and events in the Balkans.

In all, the booklet features seven campaigns over 48 pages for a cost of only £7.50 (£6 for members). This should be a very useful addition to the wargamer's bookshelf.

"Empire" Reprint Available

The Society of Ancients is pleased to announce a reprint of its popular game "Empire: the Macedonian and Punic Wars, 350-150 BC" by Philip Sabin.

Picture shows the western half of the map board.

Using simple mechanisms to capture the broad sweep of history, the game simulates the 200 years from the rise of Philip II of Macedon to the establishment of Roman hegemony in the west.

Up to four players control one or more peoples (Romans, Carthaginians, Macedonians, Persians/Parthians) and conduct campaigns against their neighbours on a map of the ancient world stretching from Iberia in the west to India in the east.  Great captains bring the historical influence of Alexander, Hannibal and Scipio the younger to bear, but revolts may strike at any time.

Combat is resolved by rolling a d6 and applying modifiers.  If players wish the battles can be fought out using a tactical system.

To quote the Society's webpage,

Empire comes in a zip-loc bag, and includes a full colour 8.5” by 22” game map, 77 full colour card counters, and an 8 page A4 rulebook including ready reference charts, an example of play, and extensive design notes and bibliography.

The game is available from the Society of Ancients' webstore for £7.50 + shipping.

Call it Qids now generally available

The SoA 2012 bonus game is now available for separate purchase from the SoA web store, at £7 (worldwide postage included, for a limited time only). Call it Qids is a fast paced, highly replayable game based around the Battle of Qadesh. By Graham Evans and Ian Russell Lowell.

Call it Qids is a stylised, fast-play, refight of the Battle of Qadesh between the armies of Ramses II and the collected forces of the Empire of Hatti, played out on a square grid with special rules for ford-crossing and the Egyptian camp. The Hatti army is entirely chariotry (the infantry in the historical battle seem to have remained east of the river and so are not featured in this game) while the Egyptians are split into four contingents (Amun, Ra, Ptah and the 'Nearin') in different locations. The Hatti player is after the Egyptian baggage, and clearing away the Egyptian troops is merely a means to an end. The Egyptian player is trying to kill Hatti chariots, and his trump card here is Ramses himself, whom the designers have granted the combat capability apparent in the Egyptian accounts of the battle. He can kill an opposing unit on a near-certain basis, but has to watch out in case he is surrounded and overpowered, an event that boosts the Hatti player's victory total considerably should it occur. Egyptian and Hatti chariots fight at par, their respective advantages and disadvantages being assumed to cancel out. Infantry is at a stiff disadvantage in the open, but able to fight at par in the camp, which is a great equaliser.

The game requires players to balance boldness against risk, and the range of outcomes rewards repeated play. The Hatti player has to choose between an early assault on the camp, which cuts the strength of the Nearin contingent when it appears, but brings it on early, or a later assault, which is more likely to clear the camp but allows a stronger Nearin division to arrive. The Egyptian player has to watch his infantry, who are dead meat in the open but can give a good account of themselves in camp. Baggage is taken around by infantry (only); a Hatti chariot unit that captures a baggage unit promptly leaves the board with it to enjoy the dividends forthwith (and racks up a victory point) and never returns. Obviously, if after the initial panic the Egyptian player can slip his baggage-tending infantry into the camp, he can go some way to denying the Hatti player victory, though this is easier said than done.

Victory compares Egyptian kills of Hatti chariot units with the number of baggage units the Hatti troops have seized, giving grades of success for either side. All in all, this is a fast-moving game with opportunities for both sides, and a slight bias in favour of the forces of Hatti is countered by the Poem-of-Pentaur-like exploits of Ramses.

The booklet also contains an assessment of the sources and forces for the battle.