Games About the Trojan War

The Trojan War

• Guild of Blades first published The Trojan War in 2002, endeavoring to create a realistic look at what such a conflict may have been like. It's intended for just two players, one taking command of the Greek army at the gates of Troy and one controlling the Trojan army attempting to break the siege. The Trojan player tries to get supplies into the city while the Greeks work to forage and pillage from the surrounding countryside in order to keep their armies fed. Hero units represent the mythical figures from the war--Achilles, Hector, Paris, Ajax and the like--and can be used to influence the final outcome.

Troy

• Published in 1977 by Chaosium Games, Troy was a simple war game that later evolved into Chaosium's Raiders and Traders: The Heroic Age of Greece game. It involves two players--each taking one side in the war--and its game play was designed with comparative rapidity in mind. Most games take about 90 minutes or so. God cards are used to represent the intervention of the mythic deities, and the game contains five specific scenarios (patterned on Homer's work), which allows players to tailor individual games to their liking. Troy has been out of print for some time and copies can be difficult (and expensive) to come by.

Hector and Achilles

• Mayfair Games produced Hector and Achilles in 2003, intended as an exciting card game that families could play together very easily. Like other Trojan War games, it requires two players, one playing the Greeks and one playing the Trojans. Individual cards are placed on mats, setting up battles that the players attempt to win in order to achieve a larger victory. Each card represents a group of troops or a hero such as Odysseus, that can sway the battle in the player's favor. Individual games last about half an hour or so, and with no written text on the cards themselves, Hector and Achilles can be grasped by older children fairly readily.