History of the Ancient Seas 1 - HELLAS

From Sound of Drums:

The Mediterranean Sea in ancient times. Images of magnificent coasts to be explored and legendary civilizations that rose to power come to mind.

The game series “History of the Ancient Seas” is the ultimate journey through these exciting times. Build new fleets in your city to explore unknown lands, conquer islands and build a great empire.

“History of the Ancient Seas” is a series of three independent games that share the same rules mechanics. They are played in highly interactive micro-impulses.

Your goal is to become the leading empire in the known world. To achieve this, you will need to build armies and fleets to increase your military might, expand trade routes, conquer islands and provinces, develop your military skills, economic efficiency and culture, while always keeping an eye on the wealth, happiness and stability of your people. The game is played in highly interactive micro-impulses. The heart of the game system is the action cycle: here the players choose one of the eight possible actions. Actions chosen by a player can’t be chosen subsequently by the next player. The number of possible actions is limited each turn.

War or peace: That is your decision! You can expand your empire by leading your people to war! But war is costly and the outcome is uncertain. You can lead your empire to the golden age of civilization by keeping the peace and bringing stability and wealth to your people without following the path of war. Offer terms to aggressive enemies to distract or delay them, but always be prepared to defend your empire.

In HELLAS, the first installment in the “History of the Ancient Seas” game series, you will lead one of two great City States - Athens or Sparta. HELLAS is a two player game!

You will move your 3D wooden playing pieces (representing fleets and legions) across the map from the center of the Hellenistic world to the shores of Persia in the east and to the sandy beaches of Sicily in the west to expand your trade net. Be the first who starts an expedition to conquer Sicily, the granary of the Mediterranean Sea. Or head east to conquer the islands in the Aegean Sea and land your troops on the rich coast of the Persian Empire.

The heart of the game is the "action cycle". An action chosen by a player can't be chosen by the other player in his upcoming segment. And each action can only be chosen a limited number of times each turn. There is always more you need to do than you can actually do.

Game Contents:                             

large 84 x 60 cm mounted Map board

241 wooden Playing Pieces

38 Playing Cards

74 printed Talent Coins

2 Player Sheets for tracking troops & income

2 Play Tracks for Development & Ressource tracking

2 Play Aids with Ressource Icons, Cost Table and Stability Status

“Archimedes” solo mode Rules and Cards

Game Rulebook

Game Credits:

Game Designer: Karl Hausser

Art Director: Marc von Martial