War Galley: Naval Warfare in the Ancient World

About this board game

War Galley is a historical naval warfare board game for 1–2 players, with a listed playing time of 360 minutes. It is the seventh volume in GMT’s acclaimed Great Battles of History series and the first volume focused entirely on the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

Designed to be easier to play than a typical GBoH title, War Galley uses rules that are about half the usual length. Most battles can be completed in several hours at most, while still covering a broad range of ancient galley tactics and formations.

The scenarios present distinctive naval situations, including big ships meeting line against line at Salamis, the “Chase, Turn and Fight” action at Chios, and the contrast between Line Astern and Line Abreast at Side. Drepanum offers an especially unusual engagement: a Roman arrowhead facing Carthaginian Lines Astern.

The historical battles span centuries of Mediterranean conflict:

• Ionian Revolt and Peloponnesian War: Lade and Arginusae
• Silician Wars and First Successor War: Catana and Salamis (Cyprus)
• First Punic War: Ecnomus, Drepanum, and the Aegatian Islands
• Macedonian Wars and War with Antiochus: Chios, Side, and Myonessus
• Civil War: Tauris, Naulochus, and Actium

As both a focused entry in the Great Battles of History line and a historical survey of galley warfare, War Galley brings the naval battles of the ancient Mediterranean to the tabletop in a comparatively streamlined format.