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Men Of Iron box art
Rich game profile

Men Of Iron

(from GMT website:) Men of Iron covers the re-emergence of infantry in the early 14th century, along with a more perceptive understanding of the value of combined-arms warfare especially with good use of defensive terrain. The scenarios highlight the key elements that made these...

Players

2

Time

?-?

Age

12+

Weight

2.75

Rating

6.88

Should this hit the table?

Quick read before the metadata.

Men of Iron has a high level of direct confrontation and strategic depth in confrontation. Players must frequently pay attention to and react to each other's actions. However, there is limited emphasis on cooperation in the game.

Teach 2.4

Teaching signal

Replay 4.0

High replayability

Interaction 3.7

Highly interactive

Scaling 4.0

Scales well

Strategy 4.5

Deep strategy

Control 3.5

More strategic control

Table feel

Men of Iron has a high level of direct confrontation and strategic depth in confrontation. Players must frequently pay attention to and react to each other's actions. However, there is limited emphasis on cooperation in the game.

Replay value

Men of Iron has a high replayability score due to its variability in gameboard, expansions available, strategic depth, player interaction, scalability, and moderate easiness to learn.

Luck profile

Men of Iron has a moderate level of luck involved in the game. Random elements such as dice rolls and card draws have a notable but not exclusive impact on the game outcome. However, players have substantial ability to mitigate the effects of randomness through strategic decisions and planning. The game outcome is primarily determined by player strategy and decisions, with luck playing a minor role. Overall, Men of Iron strikes a good balance between luck and strategy, making it an engaging and challenging board game.

Overview

What ABG knows about this game

(from GMT website:) Men of Iron covers the re-emergence of infantry in the early 14th century, along with a more perceptive understanding of the value of combined-arms warfare especially with good use of defensive terrain. The scenarios highlight the key elements that made these battles so fascinating: the defensive power of the longbow, especially when used in coordination with dismounted, or even mounted, men-at-arms. Given the right deployments and forces, the inability to take advantage of the marvelous abilities of the vaunted knights, the finest mounted force in Europe, became something of a surprise to many "experts." Men of Iron is designed for quick learning and easy play. Game rules are short, there are no "turns" - play is Continual, with ample opportunities to steal play from your opponent - and combat resolution is a single dieroll. Playing time is about 1 hour per battle. Really! Men of Iron is also GMT's gift to the gamer who enjoys playing solitaire - the system is designed for both individual and face-to-face play without any loss in insight or Fun - to see what happened in these famous battles and why. The battles included in Men of Iron are: Falkirk - Scotland, 22 July 1298 - Wallace's great disaster, despite his massive schiltron. Good infantry is fine, but it needs support. The ultimate solitaire scenario. Courtrai - Flanders, 11 July 1302 - The Battle of the Golden Spurs The Flemish shock the elite French army with one the earliest displays of the power of solid infantry using defensive positions. Bannockburn - Scotland, 23-24 June 1314 - Robert the Bruce's famous triumph over a numerically superior but literally bogged down English army. Crecy - France, 26 August 1346 - The first great battle of the 100 Years War. It showed that infantry, supported by archers, could defeat the best knights in Europe. Poitiers - France, 19 September 1356 - The French fight dismounted this time and almost win. But the longbow, and solid English infantry prevail again. Najera - Castile, 3 April 1367 - The Black Prince goes to Spain with a marvelous combined arms force to further English plans of "expansion". The units feature longbows, crossbows, men-at-arms (mounted, dismounted, and unhorsed), hobilars, genitors, nasty Scots with axes, and even a couple of bombards! And the commanders! The great English King, Edward III and his son, The Black Prince, Wallace and The Bruce, Captal de Buch, and a host of kings. Each and every one a Man of Iron. Components: 3 counter sheets (700 total) Two 22x32 inch mapsheets (six game-maps) Battle Booklet 3 Play Aid Cards Rule Book Two ten-sided die DESIGNER Richard Berg DEVELOPER Jack Polonka MAP ART Knut Grunitz COUNTERS Rodger B. MacGowan, Mark Simonitch, & Mike Lemick

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Editions

Versions and regional releases

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
No editions imported yet.

Files and documents

Rules, aids, translations

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Credits

People and publishers

Designers

1
Richard H. Berg

Artists

3
Knut Grünitz Mike Lemick Rodger B. MacGowan

Publishers

1
GMT Games

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