For those of you who have been following Mark’s “What Was Old is New Again” series covering Peloponnesian War design and strategy, please enjoy another selection from the years ago published Volume 28 #1 of The General. This four part article series is a replay of Peloponnesian War featuring Kevin Boylan as the Athenian Player, Doug Whatley as the Spartan Player, and Mark Herman as the Neutral Commentator. Enjoy! -Rachel

---

The following two-player game took place in our Nation’ s capital on 15 November 1991 in Mr. Herman’s basement. Kevin Boylan, who takes the role of Athens, was the VG developer for PELOPONNESIAN WAR. Doug Whatley (Sparta) is a Microprose programmer and, by all accounts, a really nice guy. Mark Herman, of course, is the designer. Throughout, the players’ comments are preceded by their names in bold type; those of the Neutral Commentator are in italics. The “Peloponnesian War” scenario begins in 431 BC, with each game turn representing three years. The Spartans launch the first operation in the game, since the first Athenian operation – the siege of Potidaea, which historically started the war–“happened” just before the scenario begins.

Turn 1

Political Phase

The entire first Political Phase is skipped, as per the scenario special rules. The scenario assumes that play begins with the first Spartan operation of the Operations Phase, Athens having already conducted its first operation.

Operations Phase

First Spartan Operation: Sparta sends an army of seven Hoplite SPs under Archidamus to ravage the Athenian countryside; its objective is Decelea. As Archidamus’ army passes through Panactum, the Athenian army has an opportunity to “Intercept”, but demurs. The Spartan army continues on to Thebes, there activates two Theban Cavalry SPs (at a cost of 400 talents), and then proceeds to Decelea, ravaging Athenian spaces along the way. This move prevents Athens from collecting an additional 1,000 talents of revenue at the end of the game tum.

In all cases an operation must take the shortest route to the objective. For this account, we have omitted continuous reference to the exact paths taken, but willfully describe all interceptions that occur. When several alternative routes of equal length were available, the route actually taken was determined randomly. Finally, we sometimes refer to forces according to the space they occupy or occupied (e.g., five Spartan Allied Naval SPs in the Corinth space might be referred to as the “Corinthian fleet”) for the sake of clarity, readability and a sense of the general flow of play.  

Kevin refused to intercept the Spartan army when it entered Panactum, because he knew that doing so would result in a battle that would probably have been disastrous for him. Since the Athenian force–seven SPs strong (six Hoplite and one Cavalry)–would have been 50% of the combined total of both sides’ SPs in the Panactum space, a battle would have automatically resulted from the Intercept. In that battle, Athens’ die roll modifier would have been only “+2” (+1 for Pericles’ Tactical Rating, and +1 for Cavalry advantage) compared to Sparta’s modifier of “+4 ” (+1 for Archidamus’ Tactical Modifier, +1 for seven Hoplite SPs to six, and +2 for Spartan Hoplites).

Doug: That should keep him from getting the Eisphora (the aforementioned 1,000 talents), plus annoy him a lot Not a bad start!

Kevin: Oh well! It was only to be expected that Doug would invade Attica in order to deny me income. Seeing as how turnabout is fair play, I figure to return the compliment by ravaging Sparta’s coasts with a fleet that I’m sending to beat up the Corinthian Navy. One of the few things that I do remember from testing the solitaire version of this game is that Athenian coastal raids can prove very effective in reducing Spartan “Bellicosity”; the mechanic through which one drives the enemy into surrender. Since I don’t really know of any other game concept upon which I can base my operations, I’ll try to make coastal raiding the centerpiece of my strategy. 

Second Athenian Operation: The Athenians pass their “Auguries” die roll, consider their second operation of the turn (the first was sending Phormio’s Anny to Potidea), and launch an operation against Sicyon with six naval SPs under Pericles at a cost of 2,400 talents. This move will both bring on a battle with the Corinthian fleet of five naval SPs, and lay siege to Sicyon. Since Sparta has no navy, the operation is unopposed as the Athenian fleet circumnavigates the Peloponnesus and ravages most of the coastline along the way to its objective space. A skirmish occurs with the Corinthian fleet as the Athenians enter Sicyon, but without losses on either side.

This Athenian move is right from the pen of Thucydides (the famed Athenian historian whose narrative of the Peloponnesian War remains the basic primary source on the conflict). Thucydides records that Pericles who led Athens during the early war years–consciously followed a limited-objective strategy which relied upon incessant coastal raiding to gradually wear down Sparta’s will to continue the conflict. Meanwhile, the Athenian army remained safely ensconced behind the impregnable “Long Walls” linking Athens and Piraeus.

 Second Spartan Operation: Sparta fails its Auguries die roll with a result of “5”. For the rest of the turn, Doug must “Pass” whenever it’s his turn to conduct an operation. (Note that the Spartan “Auguries” rolls fail on rolls of a “5 ” or “6” , while the Athenian “Auguries” rolls fail only on a die roll of “6” .) The gods have smiled on Athens, which wins them a hearty stream of invective from Doug; although cursing the gods at the start of a war is probably not the wisest course when playing a game on ancient Greece!

Third Athenian Operation: Athens makes its second Auguries die roll and launches an operation against Melos with Demosthenes in command. He activates the two Athenian Allied Naval SPs on Chios (total cost of 1,000 talents) and proceeds to Melos unmolested. After this operation, Athens passes, since it only has 1,300 talents in the treasury (of which only 300 are available for operations due to the “Athenian Emergency Fund” restrictions which require that Athens maintain a 1,000-talent reserve). Thus, since Sparta has received bad omens and Athens has passed, the Operations Phase comes to an end.

Combat Phase

A quick examination of the map reveals that four sieges must be conducted (Sparta versus Decelea, and Athens versus Sicyon, Melos and Potidaea); but since the Athenian force at Sicyon and the Corinthian fleet are in each other’s’ ZOL a naval battle must be resolved first.

Naval Battle: The battle is between six Athenian naval SPs under Pericles (+4 die modifier: +1 for Pericles’ Tactical Rating, +1 for six SPs versus five, +2 for Athenian Naval SPs) versus five Corinthian Naval and five Hoplite SPs (0 die modifier). It will be a naval battle because the Athenian force is exclusively naval. The Athenian die roll is “3” (+4) = 7 versus a Spartan die roll of “5”. This results in two Corinthian naval SPs being eliminated (7 – 5 = 2) and all remaining Corinthian units placed in the “Going Home” box.

Sieges:

Siege of Decelea–Sparta fails, and the army is placed in the “Going Home” box.

Siege of Potidaea–Athens fails, and the army is placed in the “Going Home” box.

Siege of Sicyon–Athens succeeds, and gains 300 talents in booty. The subsequent “Going Horne” die roll leaves one Naval SP as a garrison while the remainder of the army is placed in the “Going Home” box.

Siege of Melos–Athens succeeds and gains 300 talents. The subsequent “Going Home” die roll results in the entire force of two Naval SPs remaining as a garrison.

Revenue Adjustments: The Athenians gain 600 talents from booty and the sale of the enslaved populations of Sicyon and Melos, increasing their treasury to 1,900 talents.

Aggregate Victory Point Score: Athens’ total is “+30” (+10 each for the victorious Naval Battle and the two successful sieges); Athens’ Strategy Confidence Index is “+3”. Sparta’s total is “-45” (-15 for the lost Naval Battle and-10 each for the two spaces [Metos and Sicyon] captured by Athens); Sparta’s Strategy Confidence Index is “-3”.

With a +2 Tactical Rating leader present in each case (Phormio and Archidamus), the Athenian siege of Potidea and the Spartan siege of Decelea each had an 83 .33% chance of succeeding, but both failed on rolls of “1”! Spartan strategy is not unduly disturbed by this failure, since merely ravaging the Decelea space denies Athens the Eisphora funds. The Athenians, on the other hand, now face the prospect that the unchecked rebellion in Potidea will spread, creating additional problems and opportunities for Sparta to stir up even more trouble on Turn 2.

Kevin: The army in Melos likes the weather, I’m afraid. I was hoping that the force there would go home, leaving only one naval SP as a garrison. This unfortunate development will leave me substantially weaker at sea during the upcoming rum.

Rebellion Phase

Continued Rebellion Determination Segment: The Potidaean rebellion continues because the Athenian siege failed. Had it succeeded, an Athenian garrison would have remained at the city and its ZOI would have ended the uprising.

Rebellion Expansion Segment: The failure of the siege of Potidea bears fruit as the rebellion spreads to Scione.

Administrative Phase

Revenue Collection Segment: Athens collects 3,300 talents (base of 3,500, minus 200 for four spaces either ravaged [Oropus and Decelea) or in rebellion [Potidaea and Scione)) for a total of 5,200 talents). However, Athens is denied the Eisphora due to the ravaging of Decelea. Sparta collects 1,950 talents (base of 2,500, minus 550 for 11 spaces ravaged by the Athenian navy) for a new total of 4,550 talents.

Strength Point Construction Phase: Athens builds an Athenian Hoplite SP, placed at Athens, and one Naval SP, placed at Piraeus; these reduce the Treasury to 4,800 talents (5,200 minus 400 talents). Sparta opts to increase its Army by building three Spartan Hoplite SPs in Sparta, reducing its treasury to 3,950 talents (4,550 minus 600 talents).

Kevin: I built up my naval forces in order to compensate for the needlessly large garrison that has remained on Melos. Furthermore, because of the spreading rebellion in the north, I want to maintain a sizable land force so that I am able to dispatch several expeditionary operations and still keep Attica well defended.

Doug: Considering that Spartan Hoplites are activated for free, and the Spartan army is the backbone of my war effort, I want to build it up to maximum strength before constructing a navy.

Armistice and Surrender Phase

Bellicosity Adjustment Segment: Athens’ Bellicosity increases by one (one-half of Athens’ current SCI of “+3”, rounded down) from “10” to “11 “. Sparta’s Bellicosity, on the other hand, declines by four (Sparta’s SCI of “-3”, plus “-1” for having ten Coalition spaces ravaged) from “10” to “6”.

Not a great turn for Sparta. It appears that the Periclean strategy of attacking the Spartan economy is paying some dividends, assisted by the favor of the gods which restricted Spartan counter-moves on Turn 1. The only Spartan successes this turn were the ravaging of Attica (the Decelea space) and the expansion of the Potidaean rebellion. The rebellion strikes at the heart of the Athenian coalition and, if properly exploited, can quickly pull Sparta back in the game.

---

Articles in this Series: Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4