This 6" x 9", hardback, 160-page book was written by Richard B. Nelson and published in England by William Luscombe Publishers Ltd, It is an unusual combination of history and wargaming rules. The subject, in case you don't recognize it, is the great naval battle of 480 BC when the Greek defeated the Persian fleet and forced the withdrawal from Athens of the Persian army that had defeated the famous defenders of the pass of Thermopylae.

In the first chapter a brief but very lucid account is given of the causes and course of the Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. There follows a very instructive chapter on the nature and abilities of the Greek and Persian trireraes, the capital ships of that day.

Then come chapters on strategy and, especially, tactics used at Salamis, the Perisian fleet, and the Greek fleet. These'are followed by 5 excellent historical chapters covering events leading up to the battle, the terrain, the battle itself, the results of the battle, and the possible consequences had the Persians won. We now reach the wargaming part of the book with chapters on how to transfer the battle to the wargames table; basic rules; actually setting up the game; a description of an actual game played with these rules that actually closely simulated the actual battle as the author inteprets it, another that attempted to simulate the battle according to the current popular interpretation of events, and a third that simulated an attempt by the Greeks to actually break out of the strait of Salamis, as they historically fooled the Persians into expecting they would; a critique of the realism of the rules as indicated by the 3 games described, with some possible modifications; and, finally, rules for a map-campaign, strategic game of the Persian invasion.

This is an excellent work. Before I read it I had little knowledge of, and less interest in, the subject period, but I have, in this book, all I need (except the ships) to play an interesting and realistic naval wargame of the period. As for model ships to use with these rules the author indicated that there are no satisfactory commercial models, but gives hints on how to modify some unsatisfactory models or how to make your own from balsa wood.

The rules are designed for 1:1200 scale ships, about 1" long, each model representing 12 actual ships. (There were over 300 ships on each side at Salamis.) The playing surface is gridded with hexes having 1" sides, so that each ship occupies one hex. Ships with skilled crews get 5 movement factors per turn, others 4. Each factor can be used to move forward one hex or to pivot 60 degrees. One foot on the table represents a distance of 4,000 yds. so that the actual battle area can fit on a 6' x 4' table. Very simple procedure are provided for ramming and for boarding and for representing the varying abilities of the different nationalities at these s two types of combat. Morale is effected by proximity to the enemy, losses within a squadron, and overall losses by both sides.

In every respect this is an excellent boo and worth the $13.95 price tag. It is also available from Sky Books/Bill Dean Books (see above).

Miniature Warfare

Game Review: Battles with Micro Tanks (Rules)
Game Review: Napoleonic Wargaming
Game Review: Battle of Salamis (ancient naval)
Book Review: Skirmish Wargaming (book)
Game Review: Classic Warfare (ancients)
Game Review: Fighting Sail (1:2000 miniatures)
Game Review: Polyhedra Dice