#348 w/Siege of Jerusalem

The Siege of Jerusalem: AD 70 In 63 BC Judea became a client state of Rome, ruled for them by kings from the native Herodian dynasty. Starting in AD 6, the Romans took more direct control, converting Judea into a province in which prefects and procurators appointed by the emperor had final authority. That set in motion the events resulting in the Judean revolt, and within it one of the greatest sieges of all times.

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Siege of Jerusalem is a two-player wargame simulating the epic Roman assault on the city of Jerusalem in AD 70. The battle pits a veteran Roman army commanded by Titus Flavius against Judean rebels who are making an epic stand. The game system emphasizes command control and the use of both troop and siege units. Players randomly pick command markers to generate actions, modeling the chaos of battle. The Roman objective is to take Jerusalem, while the Judean objective is to delay the Romans long enough to claim an apocalyptic victory.

There are two players in the game: Roman and Judeans. The game consists of five months of battle (one turn each). Within each month there will be several turns, each generated by the pick of a command marker. Each hex on the map represents 200 yards. Each Roman Legionary unit represents two cohorts (800 to 1,000 men). Cavalry units are about 400 each. Auxiliary units represent groupings of 1,000 men. Judean units range from 500 to 2,500 fighters. A leader represents a great man or a lower commander along with their staff and elite guard troops.

A game turn represents about a month of operations. Each game turn will include Impulses representing anywhere from a day to a couple weeks of intense combat plus periods of reorganization.