Chandragupta: Great Battles of the Mauryan Empire – India, 319-261 BC

About this board game

Chandragupta: Great Battles of the Mauryan Empire – India, 319-261 BC is a two-player historical wargame with an approximately 240-minute play time, released in 2008. It is the 13th volume in GMT’s Great Battles of History series.

The game follows the rapid rise of the Mauryan dynasty, from Chandragupta Maurya’s victories over the Nanda clan to Ashoka’s conquest of Kalinga. It covers the Mauryan struggle against Indian rivals, tribal kingdoms, and Seleucus I Nicator, who crossed the Indus to invade Gandhara.

Chandragupta models India’s traditional four-fold military system, with elephants, chariots, cavalry, and infantry. Players must handle distinctive military classes, including professional Maulas, mercenary levies, unpredictable tribal allies, and militias from powerful trade guilds. Tribals and guilds are led by independent chiefs, while Maulas and mercenaries follow a single hierarchical command structure.

• Cataphracted elephants, heavy four- and eight-wheeled chariots, and elephant-pulled chariots
• Combined Chariot/Infantry and Elephant/Infantry lines
• Dharmayudda, or “just” warfare, Guild enmity, and Tribal loyalty
• Elephants that can breach camp walls and pull down city gates—if they do not rampage first

Scenarios range from enormous set-piece battles on open plains to tribal suppression, a night assault on a military camp, and street fighting in Takshashila. The battles include Pataliputra, Maghada, Mayalaketu, Takshashila, Gandhara, Revolt in the Provinces, Khashas, and Kalinga.

With its varied forces and dramatic battlefield situations, Chandragupta focuses on mastering the strengths and weaknesses of ancient India’s competing armies.