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any battle was maintained, since, "because of counter-mix limitations and the generalized nature of the system, many of the orders of battle for individual scenarios are warped or downright inaccurate." He concluded by giving the game an
Overall Evaluation of "Good", saying, "The system is clean, and most battles can be played in a short time. If you are not too concerned with the limitations of the system, the variety of scenarios makes each game a bargain."
201:, Bruce Quarrie noted "these rules allow a wide degree of flexibility in approach to the game. It can be an absolutely basic and 'unrealistic' affair or by addition of optional Panic, Facing and Melee rules, and a the result is as SPI intended, to satisfy both those who desire a simple format and those who can assimilate relatively complex restrictions."
224:, Robert Musson felt that "flaws in the original design not only make it impossible for one side to win, they make it impossible for the historical winners to win, which is clearly undesirable in anything that purports to be a simulation. In a large number of scenarios transparently does not work."
214:
appreciated the simplicity of the rules, but felt that the game suffered by having a single generic map, commenting, "the map is mostly nondescript, with great expanses of clear terrain and a few hills, rivers and other features dotted about. The anonymous map inhibits the usual wargames enjoyment
237:
called the game "a marvelous, if colorless, way to introduce people to wargaming and the early historical periods." He was disappointed that "Neither the maps or counters have historical designations. one battle has little to distinguish it from another." He also questioned how the historicity of
90:
series is a simple "I Go, You Go" system of alternating turns where one player fires missiles (arrows, javelins, etc.), moves and attacks, followed by the other player. More complexity can be added by using optional rules for panic, leadership, facing, melee and simultaneous movement.
253:, including "four more scenarios The rules are simplified. The counter mix includes one kind of counter less. The map has been changed considerably." Campion also pointed out that terrain can now be modified for several scenarios, and there is an optional simultaneous movement rule.
22:
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is a two-player tactical board wargame in which one player controls one force such as
Byzantines, Vikings, or Normans, and the other player controls the force that met them in battle. Nineteen scenarios are outlined, including the battles of
122:. At about the same time, SPI also published four other games by various designers set in ancient or Renaissance history. In 1975, SPI decided to gather these disparate games together under the name
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In 1971, Stephen
Patrick designed a game about historic battles during the medieval period that was published by the new wargame company SPI as
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126:("Pre-Seventeenth Century Tactical Game System"), and tasked John Young with creating a single set of rules that all the
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of refighting a particular battle." Palmer also noted that's "Game length is shorter than usual (2–4 hours)."
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In a 1976 poll conducted by SPI to determine the most popular board wargames in North
America,
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was published as a single game and immediately moved into SPI's Top Ten
Bestseller List at #7.
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also has rules unique to the medieval period, including the use of fransisca throwing axes,
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41:(SPI) in 1975 that simulates battles in Europe and the Middle East during the
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245:, Martin Campion noted the changes that had been made to the original game
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Campion, Martin (1980). "xxx". In Horn, Robert E.; Cleaves, Ann (eds.).
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Musson, Robert (January–February 1980). "History and the Horse Bowman".
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games would use. One of the games converted to the new system was
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33:, subtitled "Tactical Warfare in the Dark Ages, 700-1300", is a
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The Guide to
Simulations/Games for Education and Training
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The Guide to
Simulations/Games for Education and Training
321:
Quarrie, Bruce (January 1976). "News for the
Wargamer".
49:, the game was revised and republished with the title
383:. Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications. p. 520.
59:("Pre-Seventeenth Century Tactical Game System").
307:. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 85–86.
176:was also published with the other four games as
327:. Vol. 17, no. 5. pp. 303–304.
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283:The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming
207:The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming
218:In Issue 23 of the UK wargaming magazine
86:The game system used by all games of the
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53:as part of a collection of games called
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416:Board wargames set in the Middle Ages
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286:. London: Sphere Books. p. 181.
192:was rated at 54th out of 202 games.
14:
45:. Originally published by SPI as
339:"SPI Best Selling Games – 1975"
195:In the January 1976 edition of
421:Simulations Publications games
411:Board games introduced in 1975
39:Simulations Publications, Inc.
1:
305:The Complete Book of Wargames
230:The Complete Book of Wargames
426:Wargames introduced in 1975
16:1975 medieval board wargame
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368:. No. 23. p. 20.
249:to produce the new game
25:
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178:PRESTAGS Master-Pack
114:Publication history
94:In addition to the
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227:In the 1980 book
204:In his 1977 book
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77:Stamford Bridge
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43:Medieval period
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346:. Retrieved
343:spigames.net
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301:Freeman, Jon
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235:Jon Freeman
212:Nick Palmer
134:, retitled
63:Description
405:Categories
348:2022-12-01
257:References
142:games are
104:berserkers
247:Dark Ages
184:Reception
132:Dark Ages
120:Dark Ages
108:longboats
47:Dark Ages
303:(1980).
280:(1977).
140:PRESTAGS
128:PRESTAGS
124:PRESTAGS
96:PRESTAGS
88:PRESTAGS
56:PRESTAGS
365:Phoenix
221:Phoenix
157:Spartan
145:Chariot
98:rules,
387:
251:Viking
190:Viking
174:Viking
170:Viking
163:Yeoman
160:, and
151:Legion
136:Viking
100:Viking
81:Hattin
79:, and
68:Viking
51:Viking
30:Viking
73:Tours
385:ISBN
241:In
106:and
166:.)
407::
341:.
313:^
292:^
265:^
210:,
180:.
154:,
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83:.
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351:.
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