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?
With It Or On It is the first wargame in the Shields & Swords Ancients series. Like its Medieval era cousin Shields & Swords, this series takes a broad brush approach to simulating battles, this time of the Ancient period, with an emphasis on speed and playability.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Line of Sight
Visibility between pieces determines valid targets, movement, or effects.
Movement Points
Spend a movement allowance across spaces with different costs.
Simulation
Model a real or imagined system through detailed cause-and-effect rules.
Square Grid
Use an orthogonal grid where position and adjacent spaces shape movement or placement.
Read the full game description
With It Or On It is the first wargame in the Shields & Swords Ancients series. Like its Medieval era cousin Shields & Swords, this series takes a broad brush approach to simulating battles, this time of the Ancient period, with an emphasis on speed and playability. While the basic philosophy and the core system of using Command Markers to activate Wings remains the same, each game in this Ancients line is designed from the ground-up to incorporate elements specific to its period and style of warfare. This first game looks at six battles fought during the Greco-Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Hoplite units that are attacking may use the Combat Class of the best hoplite in the line, giving them an advantage over heavy and light infantry formations. As a result of combat, units become exhausted, but these results may be distributed elsewhere in the line - a break occurs when there are no fresh units that can satisfy the result. Break the enemy line at the right time in the right place, and it will crumble in a disastrous rout. Maintaining pressure on the enemy while managing the morale of your own men is crucial to deciding the battle, and with it, the fate of empires.