The Conquerors (board game)
The Conquerors is a package of two board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1977. One game, "The Macedonians", simulates the invasion of Persia by Alexander the Great, and the other, "The Romans", covers the eastward expansion of the Roman Empire following the Second Punic War. Description. Components. The game includes: Section::::"The Macedonians". This is a two-player game in which one player controls the Macedonian armies of Alexander the Great as they invade Persia in 334–331 BCE, and the other player represents the Achaemenid Empire under Darius III. Players earn victory points by  controlling regions and cities, and by winning battles. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game is the winner Gameplay. Each turn, the Persians are active first and have three phases: Then the Macedonians have their turn, and have five phases: This completes a turn. There are 26 turns in a game. The Romans. This is also a two-player game, one player controlling Roman legions, and the other player the various forces defending against the Romans. The game has two scenarios: The Second Macedonian War of 200–197 BCE, in which Rome attacked the forces  of Philip V of Macedon, attempting to claim control of Greece; and the Roman–Seleucid War of 192–188 BCE, in which Rome attempted to extend its control over Asia Minor. Both scenarios last 26 turns. Gameplay. Each turn the Romans are active first, and have four phases: After the Roman player finishes, the second player has the same phases. When the second player finishes, that marks the end of one game turn. Eight game turns plus a Winter Planning Turn make up one year of game time. Publication history. "The Conquerors" was designed by Richard Berg, with graphical design by  Redmond A. Simonsen, and was published by SPI in 1977. "The Macedonians" and "The Romans" were also sold as individual games. None of the three games sold well and did not appear on SPI's Top Ten Bestselling Games list. After the demise of SPI, Exacaibre Games acquired the rights to "The Conquerors", and released it in 2011 titled "Conquerors". Reception. In Issue 9 of "Fire & Movement", Richard DeBaun called this "one of the most fascinating games to come from SPI in a long time." DeBaun found the components "both attractive and complete." However, he noted that the rulebook was  not well-written, "a decided cut below SPI's generally accepted norm," and found the game impossible to play until he received errata from SPI. Despite these issues, DeBaun thought the game "remains worthy of more than cursory inspection in spite of its production flaws. Those with even a modest interest in ancient strategic warfare should find it an enjoyable and generally credible simulation on the subject." In Issue 13 of "Phoenix", Charles Vasey found the game "is quite good fun and contains a few elements of ancient warfare." However, he found many problems with the historical accuracy of the  game, and "in the final result it fails to satisfy". In his 1977 book "The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming", Nicholas Palmer called the games "Two basically strategic simulations of Alexander's Persian campaigns and the Roman drives in the Mediterranean." In Issue 47 of "Moves", Ben Miller pointed out the unhistorical tactics by the Macedonians in the game when using the sarissa, and suggested more historically accurate rules. Awards. At the 1978 Origins Awards, "The Conquerors" was a finalist for a Charles S. Roberts Award in the category "Best Strategic Game of 1977."