A Simple Game of Ancient Warfare between the

Early Roman City State and the

2009© Rosser Industries

IMPACT and MELEE

GALLIC FURY

A Simple Game of Ancient Warfare between the

Early Roman City State and the Gallic Tribes of N

From 390 -290 BC

Rosser Industries – 3rd in a series of simple ancient battle games

IMPACT and MELEE©

GALLIC FURY

A Simple Game of Ancient Warfare between the

Gallic Tribes of N. Italy

in a series of simple ancient battle games

Sam

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IMPACT and MELEE – GALLIC FURY

2009© Rosser Industries

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IMPACT and MELEE – Gallic Wars in Italy 390-290 BCA simple and quick war game of a Gallic vs. early Roman battles

Game pieces are represented by top down full color photos of Gallic and Roman warriors of the time ofthe early Roman Republic (@ 390-290 BC). Print out the game board (6 x 4 rectangle of squares sized onan 8.5”x 11” piece of paper). You will have to provide your own six sided dice.

HOW TO WINGallic player wins by eliminating all Roman Hastati and Princeps units or the Roman player gives up. TheRoman player wins by eliminating all Gallic Warband and Javelin game pieces, or the Gallic player givesup.

ROMAN GAME PIECES (39 attack points, 30 defense points)3-each Roman Hastati – Attack 5, Defense 3, No shooting3-each Roman Princeps - Attack 5, Defense 4, No Shooting3-each Roman Velites – Attack 1, Defense 2, Shoot 2 squares1-each Roman Triarii – Attack 3, Defense 5, No shooting1-each Roman Cavalry – Attack 3, Defense 2, No shooting

GALLIC GAME PIECES (44 attack points, 28 defense points)8-each Gallic Warbands* – Attack 3, Defense 2, No shooting3-each Gallic Javelins – Attack 2, Defense 2, Shoot 2 squares2-each Gallic Chariots – Attack 4, Defense 1, No shooting2-each Gallic Cavalry – Attack 3, Defense 2, No shooting(*) Until the first Gallic warband is destroyed, Gallic warbands attack with six dice, after the loss of the first warband the rest of the warbandsattack with three dice.

GAME SETUPGallic player sets up first, then Roman player sets up, extra Gallic units can be placed on map as moves allow.

Gallic player places up to 12 units along his edge of the game map, there can be no more than 2 game piecesinside a square at any one time. Chariot and Cavalry units can only have 1 game piece in a square.

Roman Player sets up along his side of the map with no more than 2 game pieces placed in a square atany one time, except the Roman cavalry pieces which can only have 1 game piece in a square at any onetime. All Roman units must be on the game board before the game can start.

HOW TO MOVEGallic player moves first. All Gallic infantry game pieces can move forward one square, or turn 90°toward one side or the other of the square they are in, or be placed on the board, no other move is allowed.

Gallic pieces move one squares worth of game pieces at a time (so if there are two game pieces in asquare they can both move at once), although only the one game piece in front is allowed to attack.

Roman Cavalry, Gallic Chariots and Gallic Cavalry can move one or two square(s) straight ahead, or turn90°, or move 1 square straight ahead then slide diagonally one square up and to the left or right.

All Roman infantry game pieces can move forward one square, or turn 90° toward facing one side or theother side of the square they are in, no other move is allowed.

Roman pieces move one game piece at a time.

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HOW TO ATTACK

When a game piece moves next to an enemy game piece, an attack can occur. Attacks can only occur tothe front of your unit.

The moving player rolls a number of 6-sided dice equal to the attack value of the piece (Roman Hastatiwould roll 5 dice). The enemy unit being attacked rolls a number of dice equal to the defensive value ofthat game piece (Gallic Cavalry rolls 2 dice).

For every 5 or 6 that is rolled, the enemy unit receives 1-hit. When a unit receives 2-hits in one gameturn it is removed from the game.

Roman Princeps and Triarii can eliminate 1-hit each time it is attacked due to their armor, this onlyapplies if they are attacked from the front.

Gallic Chariots get to eliminate 1-hit each time they are attacked because of their training and armor.

Gallic Warbands double their attack dice (3dice x2 = 6 attack dice) until the first Gallic warband isdestroyed in the game. After the first Gallic warband is destroyed all other attacks by Gallic warbandsrevert to 3 attack dice for the remainder of the game (simulates initial Gallic ferocity, until faced with asetback).

Gallic warbands can move two warbands into the same square (an exception to only moving one gamepiece at a time) and if they do so and attack, they can only attack with the first of the two game pieces,the second game piece does provide a + 1 attack dice for the front units attack, which is to simulatedepth of attacking force and additional impact of more men in a smaller area on the enemy unit.

ROMAN LINE REPLACEMENTWhen a Roman Princeps unit is positioned in the same square with a Roman Hastati unit, the Romanplayer has the option to “reverse” the Hastati and Princeps game pieces just before the Gallic player rollsthe Gallic attack dice. This will allow the Princeps (with better defense rolls) to be attacked instead ofthe Hastati. The same rule applies with the Roman Triarii, and any Roman Princeps or Hastati gamepieces in the same square with it.

Roman players also get one, 1-dice attack before any attack roles are made, by all Hastati game piecewhich simulates the throwing of Pilum just before melee. Two Hastati in one square would throw 2 dice.

GALLIC CHARIOTS

Gallic Chariots double their attack dice if they move two squares straight ahead and attack. In this casethey attack with eight (8) attack dice instead of four.

FLANK AND REAR ATTACKS

When you attack an enemy game piece into its side or rear, add +1 to all your dice rolls. What wouldnormally be a hit when rolling a 5 or 6, now is a hit when rolling a 4, 5, or 6.

Defensive subtraction for hits is not allowed when the enemy unit being attacked is being attacked in itsflank or rear.

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TERRAIN

These two armies did not have to fight on a level plain to be effective. Because of this, this gameincludes two types of terrain pieces, FOREST and HILL.

If a Roman or Gallic cavalry unit is on a HILL square, it will have two dice less attack rolls, and one diceless defense rolls.

The only units allowed movement into a FOREST square are Roman Velites or Gallic Warbands andJavelin game pieces. When they are on the FOREST square they can be attacked by adjacent enemygame pieces, but the enemy game pieces deduct 1-dice from their attack rolls.

Each player rolls one dice for each terrain piece (2-Hill, 2-Forest) one at a time. The high roller for thatterrain piece then decides where to place the terrain piece on the game board, or to put it back in thebox and not play with it during this game session.

OPTIONAL RULE – ROMAN HOPLITES

There is some discussion about when exactly the Roman army converted from a Phalanx type military(similar to the Greeks) and the Maniple type military that most think of as being the Roman army. TheGallic Celts of northern Italy sacked Rome in 390 BC and there is some discussion that this defeat is whatdrove the Romans into changing their military organization. Others believe it occurred during the laterwars with the Samnite tribes.

So if you wish to play an earlier Roman Hoplite based phalanx army, replace all the Hastiti, Princeps, andTriarii units with 8 each Roman Hoplites with the following characteristics.

ROMAN PHALANX STYLE ARMY (37 attack factors, 38 defense factors)8-each Roman Hoplites – Attack 4, Defense 4, No shooting, Not allowed on Hills or in Forest squares2-each Roman Velite (Javelin) – Attack 1, Defense 2, shoot 2 squares1-each Roman Cavalry – Attack 3, Defense 2, No shooting

Roman Phalanx army loses when all Hoplite units are destroyed or the Roman player gives up.

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MOVEMENT EXAMPLE: (Not to scale)

(A) Roman Hastati game piece can move forward one (1) square, or(B) Turn 90° to the right, or(C) Turn 90° to the left

A

C ↑RomanHastati

B

MOVEMENT EXAMPLE TWO: (Not to scale)

Gallic Chariots can move to any of the“A” gray squares, or turn to face “B” and“C” in one movement turnsIf they move to A1, and attack, they double their attack dice.

A2 A1 A2

A2

C ↑Gallic

Chariot

B

ATTACKING – A Velite or Javelin game piece firing (2 squares) can hit game pieces in the following squares.

HIT

HIT HIT HIT

↑Gallic

Javelin

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DESIGNER NOTES

I like simple games, but I also like to see the two sides in a game be balanced, but not the same. In thissmall game you will see the earliest example of Rome versus the Barbarians (Celtic Gaul of NorthernItaly in this case). The Roman Heavy infantry can match up well against the warbands, except if thewarbands charge into combat. If the Romans can hold off the initial Gallic charge they can probably win,but if their line breaks Rome might fall again (just like in 390 BC).

The Gallic army represented in this game is an earlier version of the armies that fought Rome until themiddle of the 1st Century BC. With Cavalry that is not as heavily armored as in the future, they mustdepend more upon their noble chariots and warband warriors then heavy cavalry. Luckily for theRomans, these tribesmen were more interested in booty then territory when they sacked Rome, andwould come to regret that failure in the future.

The Roman army in comparison is the classic heavy infantry army. Hastisi, Princeps, and Triarri are allheavy infantry armed with sword and Spear (Pilum for Hastiti). Their formations are flexible (forinfantry) which allows them to attack normally on a hill square (rough terrain). They have a tacticalsystem that has been specifically developed to aid in fighting the more flexible Gallic and Italian hilltribes they are running into in their expansion, but they are not yet able to draw on the populationreserves they will have in the future, they are still truly a city-state, not a nation state.

The optional Roman army provided in this game gives you the ability to match a hoplite army against abarbarian warband army, and this could also be used to simulate some of the Greek fights againstmigrating invaders (Galatians)as well.

PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

ROME and her ENEMIES, Editor Jane Penrose, Osprey Publishing, 2005

GREECE and ROME at WAR, Peter Connolly, Prentice Hall, Inc. 1981

FIGHTING TECHNIQUES of the ANCIENT WORLD, Simon Anglim, Phyllis G. Jestice, Rob S. Rice, Scott M. Rusch, John Serrati,

GREENHILL BOOKS, 2002

The COMPLETE ROMAN ARMY, Adrian Goldsworthy, THAMES and HUDSON Ltd., 2003

ALEXANDER the GREATS CAMPAIGNS, Phil Barker, PATRICK STEPHENS LTD, 1979

LOST BATTLES, Reconstructing the Great Clashes of the Ancient World, Phillip Sabin, HAMBLEDON CONTINUUM, 2007

WARFARE in the CLASSICAL WORLD, John Warry, UNIV. of OKLAHOMA PRESS, 1995

WARFARE in the ANCIENT WORLD, edited by Sir John Hackett, FACTS ON FILE, INC, 1989

And,

SLINGSHOT Magazines, published by the SOCIETY of ANCIENTS, varied authors

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GALLIC ARMY

Gallic Javelins

Gallic Warbands

Gallic (or British) Chariots

Gallic Cavalry

Woods

↑ Front ↑

Warband

↑ Front ↑

Gallic Archers

↑ Front ↑

Chariot

↑ Front ↑

Cavalry

↑ Front ↑

Warband

↑ Front ↑

Warband

↑ Front ↑

Warband

↑ Front ↑

Chariot

↑ Front ↑

Cavalry

↑ Front ↑

Gallic Archers

↑ Front ↑

Gallic Archers

↑ Front ↑

Warband

↑ Front ↑

Warband

↑ Front ↑

Warband

↑ Front ↑

Warband

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ROMAN GAME PIECES

Roman Hastati

Roman Princeps

Roman Triarii Roman Velites

Roman Cavalry

Hills

↑ Front ↑

Roman Cavalry

↑ Front ↑

Roman Triarii

↑ Front ↑

Roman Princeps

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hastati

i Roman Velites

↑ Front ↑

Roman Velites

↑ Front ↑

Roman Princeps

↑ Front ↑

Roman Princeps

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hastati

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hastati

↑ Front ↑

Roman Velites

↑ Front ↑

Roman Velites

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(OPTIONAL) EARLY ROMAN HOPLITE ARMY

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hoplite

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hoplite

ROMAN HOPLITE ARMY

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hoplite

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hoplite

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hoplite

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hoplite

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hoplite

↑ Front ↑

Roman Hoplite

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