Yesterday we managed to get a second test game of Alala! hoplite rules in before the upcoming Society of Ancients Conference.
It was again Spartans vs Thebans with some differences in the army compositions.
The Thebans managed to ‘hire’ more cavalry and skirmishers than the Spartans. But their Thessalian cavalry refused to move for a couple of turns, giving the Spartans the chance to concentrate their cavalry and skirmishers to gain a temporary local superiority on their left and protect that flank of their phalanx. Once the Thessalians decided to join in the fight they turned the tide to the Theban advantage.
Eager for battle, the Spartans on their right advanced quickly to avoid too many casualties from the Theban skirmishers on that wing.
This resulted in a mighty clash which initially went well for the Spartans. They drove back the Theban Arcadian allies but the deep Theban phalanx held firm and the Spartan casualties began to add up.
On the other wing one Theban allied unit failed to join in their advance, leaving the Theban right seriously outflanked.
The combat was fierce and casualties mounted up on both sides. Despite their advantage in numbers, the allies on the Spartan left made no headway.
Meanwhile the casualties on the Spartan right had reached a critical point. Now below half strength the Spartiates stood their ground to fight to the death against the more numerous Thebans.
The game ended in a draw so the ongoing war between Sparta and Thebes will continue at the
The game was lots of fun and the Alala! rules worked well. They can be downloaded for free from the Rules section of my website.