Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
414 BC: The Siege of Syracuse is the second in Worthington Publishings Great Sieges game series. These games are designed for easy setup, quick game play, and can be finished in under an hour.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Area Movement
Move pieces between connected regions rather than along individual spaces.
Campaign Card Play
Play cards to command conflicts and carry consequences through a campaign.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Events
Triggered events alter the shared state, rules, or available choices.
Read the full game description
414 BC: The Siege of Syracuse is the second in Worthington Publishings Great Sieges game series. These games are designed for easy setup, quick game play, and can be finished in under an hour. Game marker placement is shown on the game board. Command orders and cards are used to shorten the rules. Developed for solitaire play, this game requires you to make great decisions based on good strategy, keeping your wits about you when orders do not turn out well, and pressing on to victory. Game play is centered around using Field Commands to issue orders by the Athenian and Syracusan commanders to defeat each other. Either side can be defeated by their morale falling too low. The game allows you to play either side against a solitaire opponent that has 3 levels of difficulty. Pick the side you want to be, Athenian or Syracusan, and then shuffle the solitaire card deck for your opponent. The card mix used by the solitaire opponent differs from game to game so no two games play alike. Each commander (solitaire or player) can issue one order per game turn from their Commands available. Your order is carried out based on your strategy and current situation faced. Your choice can cause multiple actions and reactions with results that cause troop eliminations, morale reductions, and events to occur. HOW TO WIN THE GAME Any time one side's morale reaches zero during a turn, the other side wins the game. Each game includes: Box Hard Mounted Game Board 2 sets of troop markers (one set per army) 2 sets of solitaire cards (one set per army)*Only 1 set of solitaire cards in 414BC Syracuse Command Decision Cards 2 Field Order Books (one per army) Rule Book Custom plastic storage tray Dice Complexity: 3 of 10 Solitaire Suitability: 10 of 10 Playing Time: 30 to 60 minutes Players: 1-2 -description from publisher