Egyptian and Hittite armies clashed in one of the first, great, recorded battles of ancient history- the epic clash of chariots at Kadesh. That is what is supposed to happen in the “Balance of Power” scenario of the now P-500 listed Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East GMT Games – Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. And it would have if the Assyrians hadn’t showed up to the party.

Like ALL scenarios in the game, this can be played SOLO, or with two people and a SOLO Bot, and in either case a Kadesh battle is more likely to occur than not. This is, however, a three-civilization scenario, and in this case all three kingdoms were played by avid gamers: Egyptian Pharoah Vince, Hittite Storm King of the Mountains Dan, and the Assyrian Lord of the Four Quarters of the World Mark (aka the designer).

This Scenario begins at the start of Epoch II and concludes whenever Epoch III comes to an end (an Epoch may have 1 to 4 turns, with a chance of an early end to the Epoch on turns 2 and 3 through a card pick, as well as from an Event Card).Egypt (Dan) chose Memphis on the Nile (rather than Thebes) as his Egyptian homeland, Hittite Dan had to choose mountainous Hattusha in what is now central Anatolia as his base, and Assyrian Mark picked Ninevah over Assur (obviously thus angering the gods, who would make their displeasure known as the game went on). Below are images of the three contenders’ lovely Mark Mahaffey rendered Civilization Displays. 

The first two turns of Epoch II were relatively peaceful, other than the odd barbarian invasion, pirate raid, famine, corruption, nepotism and a volcano – did I mention the volcano? Yes, the wrath of the gods and man were made known and painfully present. All three civilizations invested in a Deity of choice (there can be only one per civilization). Assyria, seeking to signal its pacific intentions, chose the God of Peace – which can negate one bad card per Card Phase. Egypt chose God of the Skies – which allows the negation of one Competition (i.e. war) card a turn, which is a peaceful compliment to Egypt’s pastoral powers of growth. 

The Hittite king also sent a signal – and a very clear one at that, by choosing to worship the God of War. The Hittites, whose abilities are exclusively martial to begin with, let it be known that this was not going to be a nice, quiet, gentle game of civilization building – but one where cities would be sacked, gods smashed, and lands grabbed.

Assyria took an early lead by building three disk cities, while Egypt and the Hittites focused on growing their populations. Egypt is especially good at that, having the fertile Nile Valley, as is Assyria, with its command of the “lands between the rivers” – which is where the word Mesopotamia comes from. The poor Hittites have to work for it, however, scratching out a living from the plains and mountains of Asia Minor while their rivals enjoy the rich bounties of the rivers Nile, Tigris and Euphrates.

As Epoch II came to its close, general war had not yet broken out. The Hittites and Egypt each played Barbarian Invasion cards to inflict a kind of proxy war that came down from the north, south and east upon Assyria – thus boxing in the Assyrians – as well as causing some internal disorder and other cards that vexed the Assyrians from within. As to the End of Epoch Event, it was one of the very few welcome ones: Temperate Climate which resulted in every civilization gaining 5 Growth Disks. This was followed by the innocuous The Gods Smile. Not much smiting from above with those!

Epoch III, however, began with the ancient equivalent of a bang. The Egyptians rushed north in their hordes across Sinai, through Palestine and into the fertile lands along the Euphrates. The Hittites, however, did not bother with such peripheral trash; they went right for the throat – driving deep down the Tigris into the very heart of the Assyrian kingdom.

Their first attack on Ninevah failed – but not their second. The Hittites sacked the Assyrian capital, making off among their loot with the statues of the Hittite gods (seriously, that is part of the game and civilizations get one bonus victory point and a mina of loot for doing so).

Incidentally, city sacking is also an exciting part of ACME’s GMT predecessor: Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea GMT Games – Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. However, ACME is unique in allowing a civilization’s god to literally be captured with its idols dragged back to the victorious civilization’s homeland temple: signified by two blocks: one for its homeland and the other, a stickered block, for its deity, in this case the Hittite’s God of War. Oh, the fun of envisioning the cinematic renditioning of what just occurred on our game map!

Of course, when two vultures fight over a corpse, each eventually believes the other has the juicier bits – so they had their own Kadesh, as well as battles on the islands, in the sea and on the shores of the Aegean. So it was with the gloating over prostrate Assyria Egyptians and Hittites!

Assyria was on the ropes and had no hope of rising from third place save by a miracle (and there are the equivalent of such in ACME that the player in last place can inflict upon their betters). The Assyrians launched a last-ditch desperate counterattack to regain their homeland and deity temple. Egypt also went after the Hittites by expanding into their sphere and, especially, by threatening to inflict a devastating earthquake that would tumble several cities: the devasting Biblical Earthquake card (cities are the principal victory point generator in the game… each city generates 1VP each turn). The Hittites, fortunately, had the card to negate it: the Great Person High Priest. Assyria, however, had a card that could negate the negation – an Assassin who could take out the Hittite High Priest who was calming the earth.

“Oh mighty king of the Hittites,” the (former) Lord of the Four Quarters pledged. “Use your martial bonuses in the conflicts with Egypt and spare poor Assyria. Do so, and we will spare your high priest, and will thus allow him to save you from the wrath of the gods.”

“I can’t promise that,” saieth the Mountain King.

“Pity,” replied the Assyrian monarch, who assassinated the priest that the Hittites had called upon to appease the gods – and in doing so, let the earthquake tumble the topless towers of Hittite triple disk cities.

Which, it turned out, was the play on which the tide of victory turned. Yes, Assyria suffered mightily at the hands of the Hittites, yet thanks to their heavy chariots, Assyria reclaimed their homeland, thus saving their honor (even if they still finished VP last). Egypt, however, not having to face the Hittite bonuses, swept all before it. As the game ended, it was Assyria 21, the Hittites 37 – and the Egyptians 42. 

Concluding Remarks by Game Developer, Fred Schachter: What a grand tale as only Mark can convey! Thanks for sharing your fun and exciting two-hour (!!) ACME game After Action Report. How many gamers have we experienced who, with seeming obsessive obstinacy in a game involving diplomatic negotiation, which Ancient Civilization of the Middle East and its predecessor Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea certainly incorporate, do things which seemingly work against their own interests in achieving victory?

I can identify with Mark’s situation. It’s happened to me repeatedly during my own gaming career… but it’s still fun and a source of more than a few good-natured laughs among friends.

Readers may wonder at how the players flung various disasters and Barbarian invasions against each other and what game-design intent lies behind that. As Mark and others have observed with GMT’s “Ancient Civ” games… these are more “Civilization Survival” than “Civilization Building” games.

First, Mark & Chris’ design well-reflects the vast sweep of time which ACME incorporates… and a brutal time it was. For insights into to the history behind the game, see: Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 4 of 4: The “Real History” Behind the Game – Inside GMT blog

Then there’s how to best enjoy an “Ancient Civ” game as a player. For that, please see: Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Design Background and Differences from Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea Part 2: Playing Your Role – Inside GMT blog

Below are a couple of illustrations from this ACME After Action Report with Mark’s commentary.

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