Eric FarringtonMen of Bronze: Ancient Greek Hoplite Battles (Osprey Wargames)

Like the other wargame rules in this series, this is a nicely done game - simple, fast paced with advanced rules to add depth. I will say that there were some typo's that were a bit of a nuisance: "discipline" attribure comes out as "disciple" for example. Also a bit puzzled about the claim that the hoplite on the warriors right was protected by the warrior's shield. Actually the warrior on your right would give you protection, because the large hoplon shield held in your left hand would give the warrior on your LEFT protection. Overall it's a good game with one caveat: many of these games are beginning to feel the same, using the same mechanics as other ones. It may be time for a change.

A complete waste of paperUseless rule set unless you like ahistorical fantasy

This is a fairly fast paced ancient wargame set in ancient Greece. It's a setting meant to allow you to fight a number of battles from a period of several centuries, so there is some generalization in the rules to allow for that. Great for hobbyists and casual fans of the time period alike.

This rule set, in keeping with most Osprey-published rules, is a fast-placed, relatively simple set of rules for recreating hoplite battles in the ancient world. The author is a self-admitted fan of Dan Mersey's rule sets (Lion Rampant, Dragon Rampant, Pikeman's Lament, etc) and the mechanics of this game are fairly similar to the former. This should not, however, be seen as a "bolt-on" modification to Lion Rampant for hoplite warfare, but is rather a game in its own right.The game is scale and base-agnostic. Measurements are made in base-widths and figures are not removed until the entire unit is eliminated. As such, so long as the players use the same conventions and agree on what their definition of a "base width" is, any collection of figures may be used, be they 54mm or 6mm, based singly or as regiments. This is useful for those who may have figures based for other systems such as DBA and dread the prospect of rebasing.Each unit has a number of attributes. These are movement, attack, shoot, courage, armor, and discipline. Certain units may gain certain special rules as well. A unit rolls a number of dice equal to its attack value when fighting an enemy. For each multiple of the enemy's armor value, a hit is scored and the target's courage value is reduced. Once the unit is reduced to 2 courage it begins taking morale checks. If and when its courage is reduced to 0, the unit is eliminated. Bonuses are granted for various factors such as being in a close-order phalanx, charging, flank/rear attacks, and so on.Once a certain number of points' worth of units are eliminated from an army, the army will begin taking army-wide morale checks to represent the generally failing morale of the force. Once an army loses all of its units through combat or routing away, the battle ends and the army with units still on the table is declared victor.Certain special rules add flavor and advanced options to depict such battlefield realities as phalanx drift, the loss of officers, shooting over friendly units' heads, etc. Several army lists are provided for the classic armies of the period (Spartans, Athenians, Thebans) as well as more exotic army lists, such as the Persians and Macedonians under Phillip. A half-dozen scenarios round out the book and the art is lovely as per usual with Osprey.The weaknesses of this rule set are that they might feel simplistic for some. This is not a criticism. After all, Osprey rules are limited to a certain length and that, in turn, reduces their complexity. If you are looking for a deep, in-depth set of rules for the minutae of classical warfare, you may want to give this one a miss. But if you want a simple, easy to play set of rules that allows you to push toy soldiers around the table for an hour or two while maintaining a period "feel," give it a shot!

No one in their right mind could think units of 10 hoplites is anything other than ridiculous. Ludicrous premise. Not worth the paper it is printed on.

This book was a waste of money. Having read it through and play tested it, it brings nothing to ancient Hoplite wargaming. All of the artwork has been printed in other Osprey books relating to ancient Hoplite battles and the dozen or so photographs all feature the same few model figures and the same terrain. It's not Amazons fault for stocking it so I couldn't ask for a refund so I donated it to a charity shop.

This is a reasonable set of wargame rules and i will try a few more battles before making up my mind. There are some great illustrations but the pictures of the toy soldiers were a bit disappointing.

Great set of rules, nice take on a more skirmish based game but still captures the feel of the period! Looking forward to getting games in soon, would highly recommend

Very good set of wargames rules, with very nice artwork