Lost Battles is a comprehensive military boardgame recreating five centuries of battles and campaigns of the ancient world, and offering an ideal marriage of ease of gameplay and historical simulation. Speed of play is achieved by focusing on the big picture for each battle, especially on the key roles of generalship and troop quality. The game includes the original 320- page book, which discusses how the game mechanisms reflect reality and lays out the detailed evidence underpinning each battle scenario’s historicity. Playing time varies from just 30 minutes for the simplest individual game to many hours for a full combined campaign, and all forty scenarios can accommodate from 1 to 4 players as desired.
Simple rules capture the distinctive characteristics of hoplites, phalangites, legionaries, cataphracts, scythed chariots, Indian and African war elephants, and many other troop types. A built-in handicap system ensures that contests are always tense and balanced and that even brilliant generals like Alexander, Hannibal and Caesar can suffer game defeat by failing to win as decisively as they did in reality. Terrain, weather, surprise and fatigue all have their impact, and players face constant choices over where and how to expend their limited resources on the battlefield. At the strategic level, the system also captures how empires can expand rapidly through bursts of conquest but then decay gradually over time in the face of revolts and resurgent rivals. Lost Battles has been played and refined by hundreds of enthusiasts over several years (as may be seen from the thousands of posts on its flourishing Yahoo group). This accessible deluxe tabletop edition is designed to delight veterans and newcomers alike.
Contents:
- The Tiles: Geomorphic five-inch square terrain tiles that align to reconstruct battlefields for each tactical scenario
- The Counters: Various counters representing myriad unit types, as well as named leaders for each battle
- The “Empire” Strategic Map: Mounted mapboard tracking the progress of your armies over the ancient world
- The Rules & Charts: A full-color A4-sized rulebook including examples of play and scenario details, as well as 3 double-sided player aids detailing important rules and data
- The Book: A revised paperback copy of the 2007 Hambledon Continuum book, providing 320 page of in-depth background
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