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Spotlight Articles

Outstanding articles that are not necessarily linked to one particular game, but may have broad appeal to gamers.

Alumwell Wargame Show 2024

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"...I actually enjoyed this show more than any other that I have been to in the past couple of years." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, regales us with sights and surprises from this show, along with some great pictures! And check out the source of an insight that led Norm to conclude "It made me realise that considering these things went into the air in their thousands, the financial investment in longbow archers must have been huge."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/22/2024


Fields of Corn & Rye

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"...I was pretty sure that I had found something that might do the job." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, discusses a way he's found to address an old itch, namely adding texture and/or crop fields to tabletop settings. Check out what he finds to be a reasonable, cost-effective approach, considering that "...sometimes I think we have made ourselves a picture perfect world and lost something along the way."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/11/2024


On wargames campaigns (after Polemarch)

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"If one is to do this, it is quite useful to read Caesar to see the kinds of things he considered important when choosing if or when to give battle." Prufrock muses about the value of running campaigns for the ancients gaming he prefers. See why "It turned out I'd rather refight Zama for the tenth time than try to sustain interest in endless minor encounters between similarly equipped neighbours over local concerns."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 2/28/2024


Lord Stanley arrives at Piggy Longton 1472

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"...Piggy Longton is under the certain threat of Yorkist attack." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, sets the stage for our next Piggy Longton encounter. Why must Lord Darcy cautiously accept help from one who is "...gaining a reputation of duplicity based upon political expedience."?

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 1/29/2024


More Spotlight articles...


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Grognard News

Grognard Challenge - Expanded Room for Comments! (6/25/2023)

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Grognard Opponents Wanted (9/14/2022)

New Opponents Wanted function. You can now set your ad expiration date, up to one year. Requires site registration.

Gaming Conventions

New Gaming Conventions calendar. You can see all upcoming gaming conventions worldwide.

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Grognard Originals

In addition to our links to great content all around the internet, expect to see more Grognard.com "originals" in the future.

Fast, simple, not expensive, little errata, but only reasonably fun. (War game Review)

In his review on BoardGameGeek, Brendan Whyte first turns a critical eye towards the components and rules and lists their shortcomings. Game play fares better: “…the game is fast and quite fun”. Whyte then goes into comprehensive details covering game mechanics and spares no criticism for the game opponent (AI). His discussion concerning solitaire board games vs solitaire computer games is very interesting.

PE TANG 1900 Q&A with Marco Campari

Some Q & A between myself and Marco Campari, designer of Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Strategy Tips

This is the strategy I developed after playing Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Optional Line of Sight Table

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More Grognard Originals...


Grognard Challenge

Latest Challenge

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Grognards Lost

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A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z '-9

Game: Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea



(a10033)
 
 




Publisher: GMT Games
Game Type: Board
Designer(s): Christopher Vorder Bruegge, Mark McLaughlin
Search for this and related games with Noble Knight


Description:


Build great Wonders to glorify a peaceful, thriving, commercial empire - or sack cities and conquer new lands as you spread your domain across the waters and around the shores of the Inner Sea. Start from humble beginnings in isolated settlements at the dawn of the Bronze Age or leap ahead to scenarios that put you in charge of the mighty civilizations of Troy, Egypt, Carthage, Mycenae, Minos, Phoenicia, Rome and the Celts as they contend for supremacy and survival in numerous historical environments.


Articles


Article ID
Pub Date
Article Description
23
Date: 11/8/2020
Poster: Harvey M.
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea – “Darius III” scenario

The Boardgames Chronicle brings us a replay of the Darius III scenario of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner-Sea published by GMT Games. "What a crazy game! A lot of things happened, the AI was pretty challenging, razing and burning my cities. Still, a well-prepared attack on the Greek mainland and lucky card-draw caused Alexander to stop his conquest and return home to pacify the situation. The game was won by my, the Asia minor was anyhow lost to Greeks. Really funny game!"
22
Date: 4/24/2020
Poster: Harvey M.
3500 YEARS OF HISTORY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS! – GMT’s ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE INNER SEA Board Game Review

Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea is a huge sandbox of a game published by GMT Games that allows the players to relive over 3500 years of history of the kingdoms and empires found around the Mediterranean from 3000 BC to 500 AD.! Rick Martin reviews reporting for the Armchair General says,"I just have to say that I love this game. It is a work of functional art! It belongs on the shelf and gaming table of every gamer interested in the ancient world."
21
Date: 4/21/2020
Poster: Harvey M.
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea – Alexander the Great scenario

In these days of the Pandemic, solo board gaming has become paramount. The Boardgames Chronicle brings us the Alexander scenario played solitaire from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea published by GMT games.
20
Date: 4/5/2020
Poster: Harvey M.
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea – Greeks & Persians scenario

I haven't tried this GMT Games offering yet but Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea seems to be a very popular game right now. The Boardgames Chronicle replays for us the Greeks & Persians scenario.
19
Date: 2/24/2020
Poster: Harvey M.
Learning Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea

The Boardgames Chronicle gives us replays of some of the scenarios of GMT's Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea testing out some of the "bots" in the process.
18
Date: 12/6/2019
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea from GMT Games – Action Point 4

"For those of you that hate dice, or rather that the dice hate you, you will be pleased to find out that no dice are used in the conflict resolution." Grant Kleinhenz, in the Player's Aid blog, continues an in-depth look at GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. See why Grant likes the resolution system, and why he offers the tip: "…Carthage has some very useful special abilities."
17
Date: 10/31/2019
Poster: Harvey M.
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea from GMT Games – Action Point 1 The Growth Phase

Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea from GMT has quite "The Buzz" currently and Grant at The Player's Aid starts a series of articles on one important aspect of the game, The Growth Phase,
16
Date: 10/30/2019
Poster: Doug Holt
Any Fool Can Build an Empire – It Takes a Great Ruler to Keep It

How about a game that "…is MORE than just another Civilization BUILDING game – it is a Civilization SURVIVAL game …"? Designer Mark McLaughlin has some entertaining comments on the fun in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Playability is enhanced by how he's built technology into the game system, or as Mark puts it, "Why spend your precious game time researching pottery when you can defend an empire?"
15
Date: 9/29/2019
Poster: Mark D.
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Unboxing

Unboxing video by Moe's Game Table.
14
Date: 5/24/2019
Poster: Doug Holt
A Game of the Ages for All Ages: Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea at Huzzah! Convention in Maine

"…somehow, someone in their lower ranks got their lines crossed…". Designer Mark McLaughlin narrates an entertaining replay of his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. With a surprise conclusion as well: "Like Sea Biscuit, he came from behind, raced right through the pack – and won by a nose."
13
Date: 5/21/2018
Poster: Doug Holt
It’s All in the Cards: The Cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 1)

So which event card is worse, Millennial Earthquakes or Black Death? Designer Christopher Vorder Bruegge discusses the role of Natural Event cards in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. As Christopher tartly points out, "Earthquakes are especially useful for reducing an opponent’s cities and thus victory points…"!
12
Date: 12/8/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea: Meet the Minoans

Want to play a civilization that is "…envied as much for its wealth as it was respected for its command of the seas."? Designer Mark McLaughlin covers the advantages of the Minoans in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Can't hurt that the "...Minoans are the only true sea power..." in the game!
11
Date: 11/20/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea: Meet the Trojans

Want an advantage in the game? Then play a civilization that is "…unique in that it has a near inviolable base in its home area.…"! Designer Mark McLaughlin sets out Trojan advantages in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Sounds like a great set up "…unless, of course, that damned wooden horse is left before their walls…"
10
Date: 11/6/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea: Meet the Phoenicians

Want to play "…plucky sailors and canny merchants…"? Designer Mark McLaughlin shows off the primarily nautical advantages of the Phoenicians in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. They can, of course, enter Deep-Sea Areas; but what is their "…second nautical boon…"?
9
Date: 10/30/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea: Meet the Celt-Iberians

"Tucked away on the western edge of the board, the Celt-Iberians usually, at least at first, only need to worry about two neighbors..." Designer Mark McLaughlin introduces Celt-Iberia (a region of modern Spain) and its place in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Not only do they benefit from isolation, but also from wealth in the form of "…Talents [which] can prove very useful to ward off disasters…"
8
Date: 10/23/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea: Meet the Egyptians

Egypt "...is a power to be carefully watched and reckoned with." Designer Mark McLaughlin considers the place of the kingdom of the pharaohs in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Strong indeed, but Phoenicia and Minos "…can hem Egypt in to its corner of the map."!
7
Date: 10/18/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea: Meet the Gauls

"The Gauls have a strong starting position in the game." Designer Mark McLaughlin turns to a discussion of the Gauls in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Does this mean it's good to be the Gauls? Perhaps so, since Mark points out that they possess "…a unique advantage…"
6
Date: 10/9/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea: Meet the Carthaginians

"Carthage can use its military advantages for conquest – or to warn foes away." Designer Mark McLaughlin lays out the strengths of the Carthaginians in his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. You play a well-balanced power, but if you mishandle things, your opponents can say "Carthago Delenda Est"!
5
Date: 7/21/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea – July Development Update

"This is a rare game that can be played either as a wargame or a non-militaristic competitive game of civilization building..." Designer Mark McLaughlin covers some of the fine tuning going on with his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea, as the game closes in on production. Part of the focus seems to be adding more fun: "Having more Civilizations means more possible ways to play the game, more possible match-ups and, of course, more scenarios."
4
Date: 6/19/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Solitaire Play of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea – Greeks vs Persians: An AAR (Part 1)

"...they can hear the cadence of a vast multitude of sandal shod feet just beyond sight." Designer Christopher Vorder Bruegge playtests a solitaire version of the special Greeks and Persians scenario of his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Is the scenario balanced, or have they "…inadvertently created a kind of Frankenstein, all too powerful Greek-killing machine…"?
3
Date: 6/5/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Solitaire Play of The God-King of Egypt (Part 2)

"Woe to the Land of the Nile!" Christopher Vorder Bruegge continues a rousing replay of GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea, using Mark McLaughlin's solitaire system, which he finds to be "…efficiently malignant and challenging to play against"!
2
Date: 4/14/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
Solitaire Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 1 of 2)

"The Mycenaeans can be tough customers indeed!" Designer Mark McLaughlin walks us through a solitaire scenario of his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Mark points out that solitaire play is "an intrinsic part of the design", so get ready for some "Competition"!
1
Date: 2/8/2017
Poster: Doug Holt
“It’s a Cruel, Cruel World!” – A Replay of a Three-Player Game of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea

"Pharaoh held on, if barely." Designer Mark McLaughlin recounts a rollicking game of his GMT Games' Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. Rather than take a "nice guy" tack, the players chose to "...unleash hell on each other"!