Quartermaster General: Victory or Death – The Peloponnesian War
Quartermaster General: Victory or Death – The Peloponnesian War Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Player Assignments
- Setup
- Order of Play
- Power Profiles: Oligarchs
- Power Profiles: Demos
- The Game Board
- Pieces
- Mustering in Place
- Bribery Tokens
- Supply
- Battle
- Who Can See What?
- Cards
- Card Play
- Duration
- Emergency Provision
- Card Types
- Reactions
- Scoring & Victory
- Extended Example of Play
- Historical Notes
- Designer's Notes
- Sources
- Credits
Components
- Game board
- Rules booklet
- 162 cards
- 16 Hoplite pieces
- 14 Trireme pieces
- 14 City pieces
- 8 Bribery tokens
- 2 Scoring markers
- 1 Game Round marker
- 4 Player Aid sheets
Player Assignments
| 2 Players | 3 Players | 4 Players | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | Corinth, Sparta | Corinth | Corinth |
| Player 2 | Delian League, Athens | Delian League, Athens | Delian League |
| Player 3 | Sparta | Sparta | |
| Player 4 | Athens |
Setup
First, players choose which powers they'll play. All four powers are played every game. When playing with fewer than four, divide the powers up according to the Player Assignments chart.
When you play two powers, you play the powers separately. The rules text assumes you are playing one power; any time game text refers to "you" or a player, it refers to the power and not the person. For example, if you were playing both Sparta and Corinth, Corinth could not use Sparta's Status cards.
Place each team's Victory Point marker on 0 of the Victory Point track. Place the Game Round marker on Round 1 of the Game Round track. Give each player the appropriate Player Aid sheet.
Place your starting pieces on the board as follows:
| Power | Initial Setup |
|---|---|
| Corinth | City in Corinth; Trireme in the Gulf of Corinth |
| Delian League | City in Corcyra; Trireme in the Ionian Sea |
| Sparta | City in Laconia; Hoplite in Laconia; Hoplite in Messenia |
| Athens | City in Athens; Hoplite in Athens; Trireme in Saronic Gulf |
Shuffle and draw 10 cards from your power's deck. Place 3 cards of your choice into your discard pile, leaving you a hand of 7 cards. The top card of your discard pile is face-up. This card will remain on top of your discard pile for the rest of the game; it is the only card in your discard pile the other players can inspect. (You may inspect your own discard pile at any time).
Mulligan (optional rule)
If you believe your first draw of cards unplayable, you may reshuffle your whole deck and try drawing 10 cards again. This is known as a Mulligan. However, once you decide to Mulligan, you must play with the second draw; you can't Mulligan twice.
Order of Play
A game can last up to 15 rounds. During a round, each power takes a turn in the following order:
- Corinth
- Delian League
- Sparta
- Athens
After the Athenian turn, advance the Game Round marker. There is a Scoring Round at the end of every third round, after the Athenian turn.
Each turn, you'll go through the following 5 steps.
Turn Sequence
- Strategy step: Remove any of your used Bribery tokens from the map (but not tokens in the Bribery bowl). Then, you may use any face-down Prepare cards (placed on a prior turn) that indicate they are used during the Strategy step (see Prepare cards, under Card Types).
- Play step: Play one card; either from your hand* or by using Emergency Provision (see Emergency Provision). You may choose not to play a card, but your team must deduct 1 Victory Point. Likewise, if you have no cards in your hand and therefore cannot play a card, your team deducts 1 Victory Point.
- Planning step (Optional): You may play a Prepare card from your hand to the table if you discard a different card from your hand.
- Supply step: Check the supply status of each of your own pieces. Pieces that are out of supply are removed from the board. (Other players' pieces are not checked or removed.)
- Draw step: Draw until your hand has seven cards.*
*Prepare and Status cards on the table are not in your hand.
Power Profiles: Oligarchs
Corinth
- 43 Cards
- 4 Hoplites
- 4 Triremes
- 4 Cities
- 2 Bribery tokens
Corinth, Thebes, Syracuse, and a host of other city-states are represented by this power. As Corinth, you have numerous cards to choose from, and there are many strategies around which to base your game plan. Your opening hand may largely determine your strategy; don't be afraid to use Emergency Provision to bring out Prepare cards that support your opening hand.
Sparta
- 39 Cards
- 5 Hoplites
- 2 Triremes
- 3 Cities
- 2 Bribery tokens
Sparta's strength is in its Hoplites. Sparta must be patient and wait for its war machine to get into full gear – but not so patient as to allow the Demos to gain an unrecoverable lead. Sparta must choose how to use its cards very carefully, as it has few to spare.
Power Profiles: Demos
The Delian League
- 36 Cards
- 3 Hoplites
- 3 Triremes
- 4 Cities
- 1 Bribery token
This power represents the Delian League, Corcyra, and other scattered allies. Historically, many of these city-states did not muster their own forces, but sent support to Athens, who commanded the Demos forces. Most of the effort of the Delian League must be spent in securing Victory Points for the Demos. Close coordination with the Athenians will help you defend the Cities you place and ensure you don't put down Status cards that aren't useful.
Athens
- 44 Cards
- 4 Hoplites
- 5 Triremes
- 3 Cities
- 3 Bribery tokens
Athens is the strongest of the powers, with a large deck and many powerful cards. But don't be deceived. There's no end to the crises that appear across the map! You must thwart the placement of Oligarch cities while trying to hold onto Athens; and help secure the Delian League's Victory Points. You'll need to choose your battles wisely as you won't be able to respond to every threat!
The Game Board
Most of the game board is a map of the Greek speaking world at the time of the Peloponnesian war. The map is divided into Land, Sea, and Neutral spaces. Adjacent spaces share a common border.
Game Board Features
- Land space – Hoplites, Cities, and Bribery tokens can be mustered or placed in a Land space.
- Sea space – Triremes can be mustered or placed in a Sea space.
- Neutral space – Only Bribery tokens can be placed in a Neutral space. Note that Neutral spaces are not considered "Land spaces".
- Victory Point track
- Game Round track
- Bribery bowl
- Key Locations – The number next to the name is the Victory Point bonus earned if your Hoplite or City occupies this space at the end of Round 15 (see Scoring & Victory).
Pieces
There are three types of pieces: Hoplites, Triremes, and Cities. (Bribery tokens are not pieces.) Pieces come into play when they are mustered or placed.
When a card directs you to place a piece, put it in the space specified regardless of where it is, as long as the piece could otherwise occupy the space. The additional requirements to muster pieces are explained in the following sections.
A power receives a fixed number of pieces for the game; if all are in play, no more are available to be placed or mustered. Pieces removed from the board for any reason become available to be placed or mustered. At any time during your turn, you may remove your own piece from the board to make it available.
You can never place or muster a piece in a space occupied by an enemy piece. (Again, Bribery tokens are not pieces.)
Rules Precedence
The rules in this section about the Pieces take precedence over card text – for example, if card text directs you to place a Hoplite in a space where you already have a Hoplite, ignore the action and do not place the piece.
Cities
Cities are a major source of Victory points. Cities supply your other pieces, and Cities themselves are always in supply. Cities may occupy Land spaces. No more than one City can occupy a Land space - teammates cannot both place a city in the same Land space. Cities are never mustered, only placed.
During a Scoring Round, your team will receive 1 Victory Point for each City you have on the board (see Scoring & Victory). In addition, you immediately gain 1 Victory Point whenever an enemy City is removed on your turn. You'll want to be very careful to protect your Cities!
Cities cannot initiate battle, but can themselves be battled (or removed), if alone in a Land space. No matter what the circumstances, a City is never battled or removed if a friendly Hoplite occupies the same Land space.
Hoplites
Hoplites are phalanxes of citizen-soldier heavy infantry.
Each power on a team may have up to one Hoplite in a Land space. (Pieces from both teams may never occupy the same space.)
Hoplites may only occupy Land spaces. Hoplites may initiate Land Battle against adjacent Land spaces.
When you muster a Hoplite:
- You must be able to trace supply from the newly mustered Hoplite to your own City. Your teammate's City is not sufficient for mustering (these are your own citizens going to war).
- Additionally, Hoplites must be mustered in the same or an adjacent space as another of your own pieces.
Triremes
Triremes were the dreadnoughts of the day, able to control the sea and defend transport ships from attackers. Triremes carried contingents of lightly armed marines and slingers, for ship to ship combat and shore raids.
Each power on a team may have up to one Trireme in a Sea space. (Pieces from both teams may never occupy the same space.)
Triremes may initiate battle against adjacent Land or Sea spaces.
When you muster a Trireme:
- You must be able to trace supply from the newly mustered Trireme to your own City. Your teammate's City is not sufficient for mustering.
- Note that unlike Hoplites, Triremes do not need to be mustered adjacent to another of your own pieces. (However, since the Trireme needs to be mustered in supply, it will end up being adjacent to a friendly Hoplite, City, or Bribery token.)
Mustering in Place
At times you may wish to muster a Hoplite or Trireme without actually placing a new piece. Typically this is done to establish the condition needed to play a Status or Prepare card (see Reactions).
You may designate an existing piece (Hoplite or Trireme, as appropriate) to be the newly mustered piece, without actually removing the piece first.
When mustering in place your piece need only trace a supply line to a friendly City (see Supply), and a Hoplite does not need to be adjacent to another of your own pieces.
Bribery Tokens
The main function of Bribery tokens is to help supply your pieces (see Supply). You might also purchase them to satisfy the requirements to play certain cards. Note that Bribery tokens are not pieces - any reference to "pieces" in the rules, or on cards, do not include Bribery tokens.
Buying Bribery Tokens
You may purchase Bribery tokens at any time during your own turn prior to your Draw step. When you purchase a Bribery token, discard a card from your hand and place an available Bribery token in the Bribery bowl on the board.
You are limited to the number of Bribery tokens provided to your power. (Since Bribery tokens become available immediately after being removed, it is conceivable you will buy the same token twice in one turn.) Purchased but unused Bribery tokens remain in the Bribery bowl between turns; they are not discarded during the Strategy step.
Using Bribery Tokens
You may place your purchased but unused Bribery token at any time, even on another player's turn, or during a Scoring Round. (You may find yourself using your Bribery tokens to help your teammate.) A Bribery token may be placed in any Neutral or empty Land space; you don't have to be able to trace supply to the space. Bribery tokens from both teams can coexist in a space.
Removing Bribery Tokens
Bribery tokens are removed in three ways. Once removed, a Bribery token becomes available for purchase.
- Any time an Army or City occupies a space, all Bribery tokens in that space are removed immediately;
- Your used Bribery tokens are removed from the map at the beginning of your own Strategy step, and become available for purchase. Your (unused) Bribery tokens are not removed from the Bribery bowl.
- You may remove your own Bribery tokens from the map at any time.
Supply
At the time of the Peloponnesian War, soldiers and sailors needed a network of friendly camps and ports-of-call to re-supply food and fresh water over a long journey. The hospitality was often purchased with gold, especially when the locals had no allegiance to either side in the war.
A piece is either supplied or out-of-supply. You must check the supply status of a piece when you muster, when you battle, during the Supply step, and whenever a card specifies that a piece be supplied.
Your piece is supplied if it can trace a supply line. A supply line is a series of adjacent spaces traced from a piece to a friendly City.
Supply Line Rules
- You may trace a supply line to any friendly City, except when you muster a piece. When you muster a piece, the supply line must end at your own power's City (exception, Mustering in Place).
- None of the spaces can be occupied by enemy pieces.
- Each Land space must be occupied by a friendly Hoplite, City, or Bribery token.
- Each Sea space must be adjacent to a friendly Hoplite, City, or Bribery token. You do not need a Trireme in a Sea space to trace a supply line through it; you may trace supply through empty sea spaces. (The friendly Hoplite, City, or Bribery token represents the port-of-call your trireme is utilizing while in that Sea space.)
- Neutral spaces must be occupied by a friendly Bribery token.
Note that each space on the supply line is evaluated separately.
Example: A Delian League Hoplite is in Elis and traces supply to a City in Corcyra. (The Ionian Sea and Messenian Gulf are both unoccupied.) The supply line can be traced through Messenian Gulf because there is a friendly Hoplite in Elis - even though it is the very Hoplite on Elis that is being supplied, it can still act as the friendly piece necessary to be adjacent to a Sea space. The supply line is then traced through the Ionian Sea because of the City on Corcyra.
The Supply Step
During the Supply step each one of your Hoplites and Triremes must check supply. Any pieces that are out-of-supply are removed.
Supply Example
On Turn 1, Athens wishes to play a Muster Trireme card to muster a Trireme in the West Mediterranean Sea. Athens has a City and a Hoplite in Athens, and a Trireme in the Saronic Gulf. The Delian League has a City in Corcyra and a Trireme in the Ionian Sea, as well as a Bribery token in the Bribery bowl. Since a Trireme is being mustered, Athens must trace supply from the West Mediterranean Sea to its own City in Athens.
- Since the West Mediterranean Sea is not adjacent to any friendly Hoplites, Cities, or Bribery tokens, Athens discards a card from hand to purchase a Bribery token. The Bribery token goes into the Bribery bowl and is immediately used, placed in Italy.
- The next space on the supply line is the Ionian Sea. Since there is a friendly City in Corcyra, no additional action is required. The Delian League Trireme has no effect on the supply line.
- Next, supply is traced through Messenian Gulf. There is no friendly Hoplite, City, or Bribery token adjacent. The Athenian player could buy another Bribery token, but instead the Delian League uses its unused token in the Bribery bowl and places it on Cythera.
- Supply is now traced through Myrtoan Sea. The Delian League Bribery token on Cythera also allows supply to be traced through Myrtoan Sea.
- Next the supply line is traced into Saronic Gulf. The City in Athens is adjacent.
- Finally, the supply line ends at the City in Athens.
Battle
Battle is the most common way of removing your enemies' pieces from the board. Battles are usually initiated by the play of Land Battle or Sea Battle cards, but may also be initiated by Event, Prepare, and Status cards.
Land Battles
To battle a Land space, you must have a supplied Hoplite or Trireme adjacent to the space battled. You must indicate which one of your Hoplites or Triremes is initiating the battle. Choose an enemy piece in the space battled and remove it from the board. You cannot choose to remove a City if a Hoplite is also in the space.
Sea Battles
To battle a Sea space, you must have a supplied Trireme adjacent to the Sea space battled. You must indicate which one of your Triremes is initiating the battle. Choose an enemy Trireme in the space battled and remove it from the board.
Battle vs. Remove
The game also distinguishes battle from remove. A battle must meet the prerequisites of the Land or Sea battle, as noted above. When a card directs you to "remove" an enemy piece, it is simply removed from the board - you have not battled it, and therefore cannot trigger a Status or Prepare card that specifies "battle".
However, the reverse is not true. If a Status or Prepare card specifies the word "remove", it includes pieces that have been removed due to battle. (Note that not every battle results in a piece being removed, as there are Status and Prepare cards that prevent pieces from being removed.)
Who Can See What?
You cannot show or disclose the cards in your hand or your face-down Prepare cards to other players, even your teammate. Other players may know the number of cards in your hand, draw deck, discard pile, as well as the number of Prepare cards on the table.
The one top card of your discard pile and any face-up Status cards on the table are known to all players.
At the beginning of the game, one of your three discarded cards will be face-up. All other cards are discarded to the bottom of the discard pile - if you are not using a card's game text, you do not reveal to the other players what card you are discarding. The exception to this is when a specific card type is required to be discarded (example, Come back with your shield – or on it!). In this case, the card must be revealed to demonstrate the required card was discarded.
Your play group may negotiate a more or less strict policy. At a minimum, private communication between teammates should not be allowed, even if a more lax amount of "table talk" is permitted.
Ultimately the intent is that all of the players get to play their own Power, making decisions based on incomplete information.
Cards
Your power has its own draw deck of cards, hand of cards, and discard pile. In addition, you may have face-down Prepare cards and face-up Status cards on the table.
Once a card is placed in the discard pile, it is out of play.
If your draw deck is depleted, you no longer draw cards during the Draw step, but otherwise continue playing. If your draw deck and hand are both depleted, you do keep "playing" to use Prepare and Status cards, and collect Victory Points.
If you must discard a card from your draw deck but your draw deck is depleted, discard a card of your choice from your hand.
If you are required to discard a card from your hand but your hand is empty, your team deducts 1 Victory Point for each card you are unable to discard. This discard may result from your own game play, except if it would bring your team's Victory Point total below zero. For example, if you had no cards left in your hand, you could still buy a Bribery token by deducting 1 Victory Point. Likewise, if Sparta had no cards in hand, it could still use the card Spartan colonists in the Strategy step by deducting 2 Victory Points.
However, you are not allowed to lose a Victory Point instead of a card of a specified type. For example, if Sparta had no cards in hand, it could not use Come back with your shield – or on it! to prevent the loss of its Hoplite, since a Land Battle card is required.
Card Play
Play Step
Play a card, either from your hand or by using Emergency Provision (see Emergency Provision). You may choose not to play a card, but your team deducts 1 Victory Point. Likewise, if you have no cards in your hand and therefore cannot play a card, your team deducts 1 Victory Point.
During the Play step, you can play any kind of card, including a Prepare card.
There are certain situations where you cannot or would not want to take advantage of a card's text; in this case you can just play it to no effect to avoid deducting a Victory Point.
Planning Step
During the Planning step, you may play a Prepare card from your hand face-down on the table; then you must discard a card from your hand. Note that the card is discarded after the Prepare card is played; thus if the Prepare card is the last card in your hand, you may deduct a Victory Point to play the Prepare card to the table.
A Prepare card placed on the table in the Planning step is in addition to the card played during the Play step.
The Planning step is optional; you don't deduct a Victory Point if you skip this step. You cannot use Emergency Provision during the Planning step.
Complex Cards
If a card requires you to discard cards, or has some other requirement, these requirement(s) must be met prior to the beneficial effect(s) of the card resolved. You should perform the steps on a card in the order written.
However, you should note that one benefit on a card is not necessarily a prerequisite for another. Example: Surrender of the Spartan Army in Sphacteria. If the Spartans did not have a Hoplite in Messenia, the Athenians could still use the card to muster a Hoplite in Messenia.
You cannot use another power's Prepare or Status cards. Again, the terms "you" and "your" refer to the power and not the player (who may be controlling two powers in a two or three person game).
Duration
If a card's text does not have a specific duration, its effect occurs immediately and then ends. Card effects that do have a specific duration, like "until the end of the turn", continue until that time or until another effect causes them to end (whichever comes first).
Emergency Provision
Normally you will play a card from your hand during the Play step, but sometimes you may feel you don't have the right card for the situation. In this case, you may use Emergency Provision. Instead of playing a card from your hand, you may discard 2 cards from your hand and search for a card from your draw deck to play.
Basic Emergency Provision
You can use Emergency Provision to pick a Land Battle, Sea Battle, Muster Hoplite, or Muster Trireme card. Afterwards, shuffle your draw deck.
Advanced Emergency Provision
When using the advanced rule, you may pick a Prepare card in addition to the card types listed in the Basic rule above. The Player Aids have the names and descriptions of the Prepare cards.
You may not use Emergency Provision during the Planning step.
The advanced rule significantly lowers the amount of luck. It may also slow down the game a bit for first time players, as they scan the Player Aid. For more serious gamers, the advanced rule is highly recommended.
Card Types
- Muster Hoplite: Muster a Hoplite.
- Muster Trireme: Muster a Trireme.
- Land Battle: Battle a Land space.
- Sea Battle: Battle a Sea space.
- Status: Status cards are played face-up on the table. The game text on a Status card indicates when it may be used and what it does. Playing a Status card to the table is your Play Step for that turn; you do not get to play another card during the Play step. You are never forced to use your own Status cards. Status cards generally stay on the table and are potentially useful throughout the game.
- Event: The text on Event cards specify what will happen when it is played.
- Prepare: To play a Prepare card, place it face-down on the table. The game text on a Prepare card indicates when it may be used and what it does. When you want to use it, reveal it to the other players, and then discard it. A Prepare card is discarded after one use.
Prepare cards can be placed on the table on both the Play step and the Planning step. You do not need to discard a card to place a Prepare card on the table during the Play step.
Many Prepare cards are used during the Strategy step; these cards have a special symbol printed on them. If you have more than one eligible card, you may use them in any order you wish.
Note that use of one Prepare card may trigger other Prepare or Status cards. Example: Sparta has How to be free and To prepare troops and the provisions requisite for a foreign campaign on the table. Sparta uses How to be free to muster a Hoplite, which then triggers To prepare troops and the provisions requisite for a foreign campaign.
You may not place non-Prepare cards face-down on the table to bluff the opponent.
Reactions
A reaction is the use of the card text on a Status or Prepare card. All reactions require a specific trigger to use, like "when you battle a land space" or "during the Strategy step", etc.
Usually the timing of reactions is obvious; but sometimes, it's trickier, especially when multiple reactions are triggered. If this is the case, consult the following:
Reaction Rules
- Reactions are never required. You are not required to use a Prepare or Status card just because it is available for use.
- Reactions are resolved immediately after their trigger. For example, if Sparta played Knowledge of how to rule and to be ruled, it could then use To prepare troops and the provisions requisite for a foreign campaign after the first Hoplite was mustered, and not have to wait for both Hoplites to be mustered.
- If a team has multiple reactions to the same trigger, only one is used at a time. Then the other team can use a reaction. A team with multiple reactions to the same trigger can use them in the order it chooses, as long as the other team has a chance to use a reaction in between.
- Reactions may trigger other reactions, which must be resolved before additional reactions to the original trigger are used.
- If you do not use any of your reactions to a particular trigger, you can't later react upon seeing further reactions to the same trigger.
Scoring & Victory
As teams, the Oligarchs and Demos accumulate Victory Points (VPs) throughout the game. Each team keeps track of their score with a Victory Point marker that is moved along the track on the edge the board.
Scoring Victory Points
Status, Event, and Prepare cards. Unless the Scoring Round is specified, Victory Points awarded by Status, Event, and Prepare cards are scored immediately.
Destroying Enemy Cities. Throughout the game, gain +1 Victory Point whenever an enemy City is removed on your turn.
Deducting Points Due to an Inability to Discard. Deduct 1 Victory Point when you cannot discard a card from your hand (see Cards), or when you choose not to play a card during your Play step.
Scoring Rounds
At the end of each third round of play is a Scoring Round. Each team gains +1 Victory Point per City it has on the board. In addition, there are Status cards that provide additional Victory Points during the Scoring Rounds.
Key Locations
If the game goes to the full 15 rounds, players gain bonus victory points for having pieces in the following spaces:
- 3 Victory Points each: Athens (Athens), Laconia (Sparta)
- 1 Victory Point each: Corinth (Corinth); Boeotia (Thebes), Syracuse (Syracuse), Corcyra (Corcyra), Chios (Chios), Lesbos (Mytilene)
Victory
Victory is always determined for an entire team (Oligarchs or Demos), not individual players or powers.
Sudden Victory. If one team is 10 or more points ahead at the end of any Scoring Round, that team wins.
Scoring Victory. After the Scoring Round following round 15, the team with more Victory Points wins. In the event of a tie, the Demos team wins.
Extended Example of Play
It is the Spartan turn. Sparta has Hoplites in Laconia and Messenia, a Trireme in the Messenian Gulf, and a City in Laconia. Sparta also has three Prepare cards face-down on the table (Knowledge of how to rule and to be ruled, To prepare troops and the provisions requisite for a foreign campaign, Spartan Colonists), and one Status card (Because we are the only ones who give birth to men) face-up on the table.
Athens has a Hoplite and City in Athens, a Trireme in the Saronic Gulf, one Prepare card (Instead of a city it became a fortress) face-down on the table, and one Status card (Their sheep and cattle they sent to Euboea) face-up on the table.
- During the Strategy step, Sparta reveals the Prepare card Knowledge of how to rule and to be ruled (use during your Strategy step: muster 1 or 2 Hoplites in or adjacent to Laconia) and musters a Hoplite in Argos and Arcadia.
- Because the Spartans just mustered a Hoplite, the card To prepare troops and the provisions requisite for a foreign campaign can be used (use after you muster a Hoplite or Trireme: remove up to 3 of your Hoplites and/or Triremes from the board; then, one by one, muster these pieces). The card is revealed and Sparta removes its Hoplites from Messenia and Arcadia, as well as its Trireme. One Hoplite is mustered in Megara and then the other in Attica.
- The Trireme has yet to be mustered again, but since the Spartans just mustered a Hoplite in Attica, Sparta chooses to use Because we are the only ones who give birth to men (use after you muster a Hoplite: battle a Land space adjacent to the Hoplite just mustered). The Athenian Hoplite is removed from Athens; Hoplites are always removed before Cities.
- Sparta would like to spoil the Athenian Status card Their sheep and cattle they sent to Euboea (use during the Scoring Round: gain +2 Victory Points if Athens has a supplied Trireme in Saronic Gulf and no Oligarch piece occupies Euboea or Euboean Gulf). Sparta musters the Trireme leftover from step 2 in the Euboean Gulf.
- Sparta next reveals the Prepare card Spartan Colonists (use during your Strategy step: discard 2 cards from your hand and place a City in a space with your Hoplite) and places a City in Megara.
- Sparta finally reaches its Play step! Sparta decides it wants to try to battle the City in Athens but does not have a Land Battle card in hand. Sparta uses Emergency Provision and discards two cards from its hand and finds a Land Battle card in its draw deck; and then shuffles its draw deck. The Land Battle is used to battle the City in Athens.
- Athens, rather than removing the City, reveals the Prepare card Instead of a city it became a fortress (use when Athens is battled: do not remove a City in Athens this turn) and the City is saved.
- In the Planning step, Sparta decides to place a Prepare card face down on the table, discarding the last card in its hand to do so.
- Sparta no longer has any cards in hand. Sparta would like to buy a Bribery token but decides it is not worth it; it could only purchase a Bribery token if it was willing to deduct a Victory Point (see Cards). Sparta decides not to do this, and finishes its turn by drawing 7 cards.
Historical Notes
The Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) was a civil strife that matched competing philosophies - democracy versus oligarchy – mixed up with an equally powerful yet sometimes contradicting ethnic struggle between Ionians and Dorians. Add to that a healthy dose of self-interest from the dozens of independent city-states involved.
Nearly fifty years prior, the Delian League was formed by the city-states of the Aegean for their mutual protection from the Persian Empire. The Athenian fleet formed the backbone of the alliance, and over time Athens came to dominate the League, treating it as their empire. Many in the Delian League grumbled about the heavy taxes that paid for the Athenian Acropolis and the long walls that connected the city of Athens to the port of Piraeus. The Oligarchs of Corinth and Sparta were all too happy to encourage defection from the League, concerned that Athens would soon be the pre-eminent power of the Hellas.
A political crisis arose over a colonial dispute between Corcyra and Corinth over the control Epidamnus, a colony on the Adriatic Sea. Athens sided with Corcyra, and one after another the various city-states took sides in the dispute which was to spread from Sicily to Anatolia.
In many ways, the Peloponnesian War was a struggle of economic and human attrition. The Athenians, hiding behind their walls, could indefinitely supply the city from sea, though plague ravaged the close quartered population. The Spartan hoplites were nearly undefeatable on land, but with a dwindling population and a restive Helot slave population, could ill-afford a protracted siege.
During the first part of the war, known as the Archidamian War (431-421 BCE), the Athenians suppressed a rebellion in Potidaea and ravaged the Peloponnesian coast, crushed a rebellion in Mytilene, and conducted campaigns in Aetolia and Boeotia. Meanwhile, Sparta repeatedly ravaged Attica, and sent an Army to Thrace. Eventually, Athens seemed to gain the upper hand, but had the most to lose; devastated by plague and a rapidly dwindling treasury, Athens under Nicias accepted the Spartans' offer of peace - after over 300 Spartans were captured at the battle of Pylos.
While formally at peace, the war didn't stop. Frequent antagonisms followed; the battle of Mantinea (418 BCE) saw Athens supporting Argos (and others) against Sparta. A large-scale Athenian invasion of Sicily reignited open hostilities. The unsuccessful Sicilian campaign (415-413 BCE) ended with up to 40,000 Athenians killed or captured; Athens was forced to the defense.
Athens licked her wounds and rebuilt her fleet, but it would never be what it was before the Sicilian campaign. The last period of the war was largely fought in the dust of the crumbling Delian League. The Corinthians and Spartans encouraged rebellion, while securing (unreliable) support from the Persians. Athens itself even had a brief period where the Oligarchs took control, but the Demos eventually regained power.
While Athens still had a few victories in this period, it could not ultimately succeed against so many enemies. After the fleet was destroyed at Aegospotami, Athens could no longer feed itself on imported grain, and surrendered to the Spartans in 404.
Designer's Notes
Adapting the Quartermaster General system to the Peloponnesian War seemed like a good fit. The first major decision was to scale back the number of players to four - making Corcyra and Thebes separate was not acceptable from a playability standpoint.
Since it was to be a four person game, the amount of activity on a player's turn could be increased and not lose the tempo of the game. I also felt that the subject matter would appeal to a more serious historical gamer, and decided to lower the luck factor, by making Emergency Provision affordable and allowing players to get Prepare cards from their deck.
Speaking of Prepare cards, you'll probably realize how important they are to your game. First off is setting the right pace. Using the Planning step to get Prepare cards down early will improve your momentum, but you don't want to do it at the cost of discarding important cards, and you don't want to waste cards setting up Prepare cards that will never be of any use. Making sure you have a few good cards in hand at the end of the game is critical in securing the bonus Victory Points for Key Locations, or denying the other team those points!
Prepare cards allowed the game to reflect historical capabilities present before the outbreak of hostilities, or developed simultaneously during other campaigns. You have no control over when you'll draw Status and Event cards, but the right Prepare card is available through Emergency Provision, when using the advanced rules. When looking at your opening hand and deciding upon your strategy for the game, make sure you consider the Prepare cards that are in your draw deck, as well – especially the powerful "Place a City" cards.
You'll notice that some Cities are placed by Prepare cards, and others are Events. Cities that are placed by Prepare cards were inclined to a certain side at the beginning of the war, just waiting for the right reason to openly declare. Cities brought out by Event cards reflect revolutions, coups, and other unplanned situations.
Another divergence from Quartermaster General is supply. Obviously warfare in the classical world was much different than World War II. Given the long time frame of the game, I wanted to make sure campaigns could reach anywhere on the map in one turn, in a manner that felt authentic to the period. Ships needed to frequent friendly ports, for food and water, but could operate for long periods without contact with their home city as long as their basic needs were met.
Scoring every third turn was introduced to provide a "campaign-based" flavor, meaning that events of a multi-year campaign would be evaluated at the end of that period – much how the histories are written.
Finally, if the game sparks your interest in the period, I encourage you to look into the books on the selected bibliography, as well as the original sources from whence the cards are derived.
Sources
Public Domain Sources for Card Titles
(from Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org)
- Plutarch, A.R. Shilleto. Moralia.
- Thucydides, Richard Crawley. The History of the Peloponnesian War.
- Xenophon, Henry Graham Dakyns. Hellenica.
Selected Bibliography
- Hanson, Victor Davis. A War like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War. New York: Random House, 2005. Print.
- Kagan, Donald. The Peloponnesian War. New York: Viking, 2003. Print.
- Thucydides, Robert B. Strassler, and Richard Crawley. The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. New York: Free, 1996. Print.
- Xenophon, John Marincola, and Robert B. Strassler. The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika: A New Translation. New York: Pantheon, 2009. Print.
- Wikipedia (http://wikipedia.com)
Card Title Sources
Every card title in the deck is drawn from one of the sources above, each cited by chapter or origin on the card itself:
- A colony of Achaeans from Peloponnese, and in alliance with Athens – Thucydides, Ch. 7
- A Theban force made an armed entry into Plataea – Thucydides, Ch. 6
- A treaty for a hundred years, to be without fraud or hurt – Thucydides, Ch. 16
- Agis went as far as the Isthmus, but numerous earthquakes occurring, turned back the invasion – Thucydides, Ch. 6
- Alcibiades also urgently advised the fortification of Decelea, and a vigorous prosecution of the war – Thucydides, Ch. 21
- Ancient ally, sister democracy – Thucydides, Ch. 16
- Arrival of Gylippus at Syracuse – Thucydides, Ch. 21
- At last Corinth sent out ships and troops for the protection of Leucas and the rest of the friendly cities – Thucydides, Ch. 2
- Attacks with the beak were few, there being no opportunity of breaking the line – Thucydides, Ch. 23
- Attica became at last too small, and sent out colonies in Ionia – Thucydides, Ch. 1
- Because we are the only ones who give birth to men – Plutarch, Gorgo, Sayings of Spartan Women
- Brasidas set out on his march for the Thracian places – Thucydides, Ch. 14
- Campaigns of Demosthenes in Western Greece – Thucydides, Ch. 11
- Cleon, the most violent man at Athens, carried the motion of putting the Mitylenians to death – Thucydides, Ch. 3
- Come back with your shield – or on it! – Plutarch, Unknown, Sayings of Spartan Women
- Contempt for death – Plutarch, Agesilaus the Great, Sayings of the Spartans
- Cyrus consigned to him all the tributes from the cities which belonged to him personally – Xenophon, Book II, Ch. 1
- Deep was their discontent at abandoning their houses and the hereditary temples – Thucydides, Ch. 6
- Enough to keep away our enemies – Plutarch, Ariston, Sayings of the Spartans
- Everything the city required had to be imported from abroad – Thucydides, Ch. 21
- For before what is sudden, unexpected, and least within calculation, the spirit quails; the plague has certainly been of this kind – Thucydides, Ch. 7
- Go down into Piraeus, and defy the world – Thucydides, Ch. 4
- He who would rule over many must fight with many – Plutarch, Agis, Son of Archidamus, Sayings of the Spartans
- Helots attracted to the occupation of Pylos – Thucydides, Ch. 14
- How are we to cure these folk of their warlike frenzy? – Aristophanes, Lysistrata
- How to be free – Plutarch, Sayings of the Spartans
- If we cease to rule others, we are in danger of being ruled ourselves – Thucydides, Ch. 18
- Instead of a city it became a fortress – Thucydides, Ch. 21
- It was on the fleet of Hellas that her cause depended – Thucydides, Ch. 3
- Knowledge of how to rule and to be ruled – Xenophon, Agis, Son of Archidamus, Sayings of the Spartans
- Lysander waited in Ephesus with seventy sail, expecting the advent of Cyrus in Sardis – Xenophon, Book I, Ch. 5
- Macedonian horsemen, the followers of Philip and Pausanias – Thucydides, Ch. 2
- Megara had revolted; the Peloponnesians were on the point of invading Attica – Thucydides, Ch. 4
- Melos assumes an attitude of open hostility – Thucydides, Ch. 17
- Merchantmen arriving from Egypt – Thucydides, Ch. 24
- Nine out of the ten Lacedaemonian ships lost at Arginusae – Xenophon, Book I, Ch. 6
- Not everyone can sail to Corinth – Unknown, Greek Proverb
- Not to come to terms with the Athenians, but to destroy them – Xenophon, Book II, Ch. 2
- Over and above the three obols a day for each man – Thucydides, Ch. 24
- Peace of Nicias – Thucydides, Ch. 15
- Revolt of Euboea – Thucydides, Ch. 26
- Revolt of Ionia – Thucydides, Ch. 24
- Revolt of Mytilene – Thucydides, Ch. 9
- Should the Athenians not take the field, he could fearlessly ravage the plain – Thucydides, Ch. 6
- Socrates, the obstinate dissentient, unheeded – Xenophon, Book I, Ch. 7
- Surprises of war – Thucydides, Ch. 23
- Surrender of the Spartan army in Sphacteria – Thucydides, Ch. 12
- Syracuse was founded by Archias, one of the Heraclids from Corinth – Thucydides, Ch. 18
- Tempted to turn pirates, under the conduct of their most powerful men – Thucydides, Ch. 1
- The affair of Epidamnus – Thucydides, Ch. 2
- The Athenians disabled all they came across; no one thought of resistance – Thucydides, Ch. 8
- The Athenians formed outside the long walls and remained motionless; the risk was too unequal – Thucydides, Ch. 13
- The Athenians sailed to Samos with forty ships and set up a democracy – Thucydides, Ch. 4
- The Athenians summoned allies to their aid – Thucydides, Ch. 9
- The Corcyraeans masters of all the sea about those parts – Thucydides, Ch. 2
- The empire of the Odrysians – Thucydides, Ch. 8
- The envoys arrived from Sicily, bringing sixty talents of uncoined silver as a month's pay for sixty ships – Thucydides, Ch. 18
- The first place in Hellas where galleys were built – Thucydides, Ch. 1
- The gold ornaments of Athene herself contained forty talents of pure gold – Thucydides, Ch. 2
- The Lacedaemonians, hitherto without experience of incursions or a warfare of the kind – Thucydides, Ch. 12
- The long walls to the sea – Thucydides, Ch. 4
- The plague a second time attacked the Athenians – Thucydides, Ch. 11
- The revolted Chios engaged in fortifying and preparing for war – Thucydides, Ch. 24
- The rising of the Helots – Thucydides, Ch. 10
- The route across the Crissaean Gulf exposed them to the risk of the Athenian fleet – Thucydides, Ch. 4
- The Spartans do not enquire how many the enemy are, but where they are – Plutarch, Agis, Son of Archidamus, Sayings of the Spartans
- The Syracusans put out ships to attack the Athenians on all sides – Thucydides, Ch. 23
- The Thebans formed twenty-five shields deep; such was the strength of the Boeotian army – Thucydides, Ch. 14
- The tithe-duty levied on vessels arriving from the Euxine – Xenophon, Book IV, Ch. 8
- Their sheep and cattle they sent to Euboea – Thucydides, Ch. 6
- These are Sparta's walls – Plutarch, On Sparta
- They chased them in disorder to the continent, sailed up to their camp, burnt the tents, and plundered the stuff – Thucydides, Ch. 2
- Thucydides possessed the right of working the gold mines in that part of Thrace – Thucydides, Ch. 14
- To do good to his friends and evil to his enemies – Plutarch, Ariston, Sayings of the Spartans
- To prepare troops and the provisions requisite for a foreign campaign – Thucydides, Ch. 6
- Treasurers for Hellas – Thucydides, Ch. 4
- Was it not the people who voted the constitution of the Four Hundred? – Xenophon, Book II, Ch. 3
- We are generals now—not you – Xenophon, Book II, Ch. 1
- We treat our allies as we find them useful; most pay tribute in money – Thucydides, Ch. 20
- What women live in that place? – Plutarch, Agis, Son of Archidamus, Sayings of the Spartans
- Wooden wall – Thucydides, Ch. 20
- You should reach the limits of virtue before you cross the border of death – Tyrtaeus, son of Archembrotus, Poetry
Credits
- Game Design: Ian Brody
- Graphic Design & Illustration: Nicholas Avallone
- Additional Game Development: Karin Weston-Brody
- Figure Sculptor: Sian Fahie
- Executive Producer: Will Townshend
- Playtesters: Marvin Birnbaum, conrad55, Mark Davis, Frank DiNola III, Donald Errico, Tanya K Hrabsky, Quentin "Q" Hudspeth, Jan, Klaus Kneale, Elliot Kravitz, Sam LaSala, Bill Murdock, Mark Price, Mid-Hudson Area Wargame Society (MAWS), Schenectady Wargamers Association (SWA), SUNY Oneonta Gamers' Guild, Westchester Gaming Group (WGG)
© 2015 The Plastic Soldier Company Ltd. & © 2015 Griggling Games, Inc. The Griggling Games Logo is a Trademark of Griggling Games, Inc. and is used under license by Plastic Soldier Company.