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?
Game of the Siege of Malta included in The Wargamer Magazine #50. Knights of Justice is a grand tactical level simulation of the Islamic attempt to crush the Knights Hospitallers during the year 1565.
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.
Hexagon Grid
Use a hexagonal map where each space connects evenly in six directions.
Combat Results Table
Compare opposing strength as a ratio, then consult a table to resolve combat.
Simulation
Model a real or imagined system through detailed cause-and-effect rules.
Read the full game description
Game of the Siege of Malta included in The Wargamer Magazine #50. Knights of Justice is a grand tactical level simulation of the Islamic attempt to crush the Knights Hospitallers during the year 1565. In May 1565, an Ottoman expedition between 26,000 and 39,000 men strong landed on Malta. Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette (GM 1557-1568) had a force of 592 knights, to which several thousand arms-bearing men drawn from the Maltese population were also added. The Ottomans quickly defeated the Maltese militia, became master of the countryside and laid siege to the fortress, which was stubbornly defended by the Knights Hospitallers. After four months of siege, the knights, in a desperate fight over St. Elmo Fort and its natural harbor, inflicted heavy casualties (according to reports, 7,000 dead) on the Ottoman forces. Following the landing of 6,000 - 8,000 reinforcements from Sicily, the Knights again defeated the Ottomans, which embarked and left.