Ther Marcher Lords

Design: Dave Cuatt

The Marcher Lords is a simulation of the Norman conquest of Wales in the 11th century. Players assume command of Norman earls or their Welsh foes, and then make the decisions that will
determine the course of the war. To be successful, the Normans must fortify their conquests by building castles and then hold out against Welsh counterattacks, Viking raiders, and various other
threats.

In many ways, the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066 was just the beginning of a lengthy series of battles for the Normans, who had many challenges awaiting them in the British Isles. In order to secure the Welsh border, William the Conqueror (newly crowned King of England) established loyal Norman nobles in strongly garrisoned earldoms along the frontier. What followed were decades of warfare and diplomacy as these "Marcher Lords" sought to extend their domains by subjugating the stubbornly independent Welsh.

• CONTENTS: 20 page color rulebook, 4 sheets of die-cut, playing counters, 10"x17" game map, Cardstock charts & tables, 2 ten-sided dice, one black and one white.
• Complexity: 3.
• Map Scale: 1 inch = 20 miles.
• Unit Scale: 1 counter = 100-500 men.
• Time Scale: 1 turn = 1-3 months.
• Players: 2-4 .
• Solitaire Suitability: High.
• Playing Time: 2-3 hours.

$22.95

GG010927

Onward, Christian Soldiers is Richard Berg's newest strategic level game, this one focused on one of, if not THE, centrifugal events in the Middle Ages - The Crusades. Onward, Christian Soldiers will allow gamers to replay not only the first three Crusades - the only 3 that focused on what we call The Middle East - but with scenarios that range from a 7-player version of the 1st Crusade to a 3rd Crusade scenario that supposes Frederick Barbarossa didn't drown in Turkey and his immense army reached the Kingdom of Jerusalem pretty much intact.

Onward, Christian Soldiers uses numerous innovative mechanics, including:

an Activation system that allows players to choose which leaders/armies they want to use most in a given turn, but not know when they will be available for such use.

a Movement system with no Movement Allowances or Costs, but a heavy emphasis on Attrition and the ability of commanders to "keep going". Shop 'til ya Drop . . .

Combat mechanics that put a major, detailed emphasis on sieges and ravaging the surrounding areas, but still allow for the predilections of the various armies in field battles (such as the famous Frankish Heavy Cavalry Charge), as well as the abilities of their commanders . . . men like the great initial Crusaders, such as Raymond, Bohemond, Godfrey and Tancred, King Louis VII of France (and his troublesome wife, the famous Eleanor of Aquitaine), Frederick Barbarossa (if he stays away from the pool), the dangerous Nur ad-Din, the magnificent Saladin, and the one Christian the Muslims feared more than anyone, Richard Lionheart.

Movement and attrition go hand in hand in this game. Leaders may move as far as they want -- in fact, in one playest, a Crusader army decided to try marching from the entry spaces near Tarsus all the way to Jerusalem in one shot. They made it, with roughly 3/4 of the force disappearing to attrition, and not enough remaining to siege the city. But even if they'd succeeded, the game doesn't end just because Jerusalem falls. It's an important victory point location, but it has to be held. And the problem for the Crusader forces is that they get no reinforcements but the Muslim forces do.

The game uses three sets of cards (110 cards total). Each of the four Crusader factions -- Northern Franks, Southern Franks, Sicilian Normans, Germans -- and three Muslim factions -- Nothern Syrians, Southern Syrians, Mosul Turks -- has three or four Leader cards, which the players secretly "purchase" at the beginning of the Game-Turn to create the Activation Deck that determines which leader goes next. In addition, there are two Event Decks - one for the Crusaders and one for the Muslims -- through which a variety of random events occur, ranging from taking cities via treachery to suffering added attrition through oppressive heat.

Normally, each Leader controls armies only from its own faction. However, a simple set of multi-faction rules controls situations in which either side wishes to combine their armies into larger forces, mostly for the sake of sieges against major cities. The Siege of Antioch, which usually happens early in the game, often requires such an army. The multi-faction rules particularly come into their own during multi-player games; here you can expect to see players bickering over who controls the combined forces, an important point considering that whoever is in charge when the city falls gains control over the city. If attacked while combined, the players of a multi-faction force have 30 seconds to decide who's in charge: if they don't, they defend using a mediocre formation.

If this game proves popular with our customers, Richard will continue design work on a new series of games under the flag, "The Middle Ages". This project will present play-oriented coverage of half a millennium of the key events in world history … from Charlemagne to The 100 Years Wars; from The Reconquista to Tamerlane; from The Vikings to The Normans.

Designed under the aegis of a papal legate by Richard Berg and Developed under the keen eye of Neil Randall.

Contents:

• 876 full color counters
• One 22"x34" full-color map
• 110 Cards OTHER
• Two six-sided dice
• First Crusade Rule book
• Second and Third Crusade Rule book
• Playbook
• 4 Player Aid cards

$65.00

GG011981

The Devil's Horsemen

The Great Battles of History series is back with The Devil's Horsemen, an examination of the military tactics of steppe tribe warfare, as immortalized by the mighty armies of Genghis Khan and the Mongols. The game focuses on cavalry and archery action, featuring mounted archers of exceptional skill. The Devil's Horsemen depicts the four major battles of the era - The Indus, The Kalka, Liegnitz and Ayn Jalut.

The Devil's Horsemen features basic rules for both regular and SimpleGBoH play. The rules bring the system into full flower of mounted archery, with a detailed, augmented set of archery and cavalry mechanics that include various types of Shower Fire (as opposed to plain Volley Fire), Impetuosity and Aggression, Feigned Retreat, Harass and Disperse tactics, and Rally to Standards, with the various armies and units being rated for their ability to use these.

The Devil's Horsemen presens a truly colorful array of armies for you to lead into battle: there are 10 full tumen (divisions) of Mongols, plus Polovtsians, Galicians, Chernigovians, Kievans, Persian Khwarazmians, Poles, Silesians, Bohemians, the great Teutonic Knights, and the first army to ever significantly defeat the Mongols, The Mamluks.

These mighty armies show up in four great battles of the period (ranging from battles needing 1/2 mapsheet to two full-mapsheets).

• The Indus (Genghis Khan vs. Shah Jalal ad-Din and the Khwarazmian Persians, 1221). One mapsheet in size, this is the battle that gave The Mongols control over all of Central Asia.
• The Kalka (Prince Subudei vs. the combined Armies of Rus, 1223). Two mapsheets in size, this battle includes two massive (and very nattily dressed) armies, with the Rus suffering under fractured command, and the Mongols giving us a foretaste of the famous Zulu horns of the buffalo tactics.
• Liegnitz (Prices Baidan and Kaidan vs. Henry the Pious and an army of Eastern Europeans, 1241). A 1/2 mapsheet battle which introduced Europe to the Mongols, and from which we get the famous Christian prayer of the era, From the Fury of the Tartars, oh Lord, Deliver Us. But you do get to use the best European heavy cavalry of the day, the Teutonic knights, under fearsome commander, Poppo.
• Ayn Jalut (Prince Ketbugha vs. The Mamluks, 1260). A 1/2 mapsheet battle that saw the first real defeat of a Mongol Army, this time by the new Middle East Muslim power, the Mamluks. Granted, this was a second-rate, rear-guard group of Mongols, but the Mamluks showed they were a new force to reckon with.

Game Components

• COUNTERS - 3 1/2 Countersheets; 
• MAPS -  4 maps (2 mapsheets backprinted);  
• OTHER - One Player Aid Cards, Rules booklet, Scenario Booklet, One 10-sided die.

$70.00

GG010651

Richard Berg's Medieval

Medieval is a card game for 3-to-5 players covering, very loosely, the events, situations, and rivalries of the 13th century. Medieval uses the Enigma system, in which the playing map is represented by cards, not all of which are present at start.

The 13th century saw the Papacy at the peak of its power, the Holy Roman Empire struggling to remain cohesive, England under the turmoil of baronial revolts, the emergence of monarchial France, the Teutonic Knights looking to extend their powers, Venice controlling the seas of the Mediterranean, Spain continuing the Reconquista, while Islam started its rejuvenation process under the Mameluks. And then there were the Mongols.

Each Player represents an ever-changing conglomerate of these Powers, using his wiles, and the cards, to further his control over areas of Europe to win the game. There are Spies, Assassins, accusations of Heresy, Jihads, even the use of the various Knights of Christ.

And then there are the Popes. Each player, randomly, can become Pope. As Pope he can arrange alliances, excommunicate players, and call for Crusades.

But, hovering like a very, very black cloud over all of this are The Mongols. No player knows exactly when they start to arrive, although the card play does give them hints, and some time to prepare, if they choose to heed the warnings.

The winner is the player who survives the onslaughts of religion and the Mongols to control the largest part of the 13th century Europe.

• 140 full-color die-cut counters.
• 110 color cards; divided into 19 Map Cards, 27 Power Cards (which double as Action Cards), and 64 (additional) Action Cards
• Play money in 1 Florin, 5 Florin, and 10 Florin denominations 16-page Rulebook Player Aid Card 2 6-sided dice

$45.00

GG009577