Heirs to Alexander

So  I went to Gencon (I just got the 1 day pass) and we ended up getting roped into playtesting this game.  And I will have to say that it was pretty fun.

 The premise is that you represent one of Alexander's generals after he died and you are trying to piece his empire together (under your rule of course).  As you conquer certain things, you gain a certain amount of legitimacy and I think the game ends on a certain amount of it.

This is some of the artwork from the game.  It was in a semi-rough state and was playable (more than I can say for alot of games playtested for friends).

Anyways, think of it as sort of like Axis and Allies but you have cards that can influence what you can do.  The cards can either be used for movement + money to your treasury or an event.  You have to really think hard about how you are going to use some of the cards.  The abilities will let you levy troops from other armies (including the armies of other players).

You also start with three generals who have special abilities of their own.

These are examples of some of the generals.  Below the generals are bodyguards.  They can be sacrificed in an assasination attempt.  They also get killed instead of the General if your army is defeated.  All of the generals are based on real Macedonians.

These are some of the units from the game.  He went to alot of great lengths (it seems) to get pieces that matched the period.  Anyways, there are different unit types:  Skirmishers, Archers, Mercanaries, Pikemen, Light Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry and Elephants.  Skirmishers are your basic infantry types.  They attack on a 1.  Archers are promoted from Skirmishers and attack on a two or less plus they go off before any of the other troops.  If they are in a fortress, they get two attacks.  Light Cavalry attack on a 2 or less.  Heavy cavalry are promoted from Light Cavalry and attack on a 3 or less but they have the ability to break through.  Each time you roll a 1 or 2, they get to attack again (which can be pretty brutal).  Elephants are special units, they get breakthrough on 1 or 2, attack at 5 or less but will defect on a 6.

Some of the pieces on the map.  The map is based on a map of the area at the time along with the provinces.

This is some more artwork from the game.

The game seemed pretty close to a playable state.  There were a few minor issues with the game but I think with some tweaks they could be doable.  We didn't notice anything that seemed to throw the game too out of balance.   One feature I really liked was the presence of rebel armies that could be controlled by anyone, so you could use these to beat down an enemy army.

Anyways, I hope this game sees the light of day.   I would certainly buy it if it does.