Ancient Conquest

Thumbnail Analysis Game Review

by Don Lowry


Yet another independent designer publishes his own game. Actually the publisher is Excalibre Games, Inc., but the key personality behind this game is Dennis P. 0'Leary, one time editor- publisher of LIFER and more recently editor of LA VIVANDIERE and number two man at GHQ Micro- Armour. He has left these positions to pursue this new venture into game publishing. The game comes in a box with nice artwork in gold on purple (in keeping with the line quoted from Lord Byron on the cover, "The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold..."). The box contains: an 18 1/2 x 24" mapsheet printed in black, blue and red inks on an off-white paper with a texture suggestive of parchment; a 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of 1/2" square unit counters (which the design notes claim are the "thickest ever supplied in a wargame", but which seem average to thinner-than-avarage to me) in blue on white, white on red, green on yellow and white on areen; an 8-12" x 11" 8-page (counting covers) rules booklet; one 8 1/2" x 11" card containing various charts and four similar cards containing political and military objectives - one for each "group" or side; a 4 1/2" x 5" "message tablet" (plain white paper); four 2"x3 3/4" clear plastic zip- lock bags, for storing the unit counters in, once they're punched out; one large 5/8"-cube die; and one small pencil.

ANCIENT CONQUEST is a 4-sided game, which makes it unique already. Combat and movement are quite simple - no zones of control, attacking is optional. Stacking is very limited. Diplomacy is limited to allowing each player to write one and to answer one small note each turn. The situation simulated is the political and military history of the Ancient Near East from 1500 B.C. to 600 B.C. All this is done in 15 moves estimated to take 5 or 6 hours to play. Each player controls several different political entities grouped together on the basis of who didn't fight each other.

For instance Group One consists of the Egyptian Empire, Kingdom of Media, Kingdom of Urartu and the Aramean Peoples. Each entity within a group has its own objectives, each worth a point value. The player accumulating the most total points for his group wins. There are some interesting rules covering the capturing of enemies' gods, invasions by the Sea People! (Phrygians and Philistines), the first founding of Israel (the "Moses Rule"), the occurance of plague, and the taking of prisoners.

Provision is made for players to send a princess to cement a diplomatic bargain by marriage, but unfortunately no rule is provided to make such a bargain any more binding than it would be without her. It would serve as proof of an alliance, however, which can, of itself, occassionally be an objective worth points.

This is an interesting looking game, fairly simple - easy to learn. Unfortunately it sells for $11.95. If leaving out the pencil, the pad of blank paper and the zip-lock bags (not really needed in a game fo relatively few units), and using a smaller die would result in any significant reduction in price I'd strongly recommend it. ANCIENT CONQUEST is available from Excalibre Games, Inc., PO Box 29171A, Brooklyn Center, PIN 55429.

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© Copyright 1976 by Donald S. Lowry
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