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
Player-count sensitive
Deep strategy
More strategic control
How it plays
How does it play?
Lead Athens or Sparta through war, trade, diplomacy, population growth, and prestige in a demanding two-player struggle for ancient Greek hegemony.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Area Majority
Compete to have the strongest presence in areas that award control or points.
Area Movement
Move pieces between connected regions rather than along individual spaces.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Simulation
Model a real or imagined system through detailed cause-and-effect rules.
Variable Phase Order
The order of phases changes according to player choices or game state.
Read the full game description
Polis: Fight for the Hegemony is a two-player civilization and war game about Athens and Sparta during the fifth century BCE. Each side must expand its league, feed its population, secure trade routes, and convert military power into lasting prestige. Territories produce wood, metal, wine, olive oil, silver, and scarce wheat, but production requires population that must later be fed. Players use variable phases to collect resources, trade with foreign markets, recruit hoplites and fleets, move across Greece, besiege independent poleis, pursue diplomacy, and commission cultural projects. Military actions cost prestige, so conquest without economic and civic development can leave an empire unable to act. Combat and sieges introduce controlled uncertainty while the public market and map remain highly interactive. Athens and Sparta differ in geography, opportunities, and strategic pressure, yet both ultimately score population multiplied by prestige. The winner is therefore not simply the strongest army, but the league that can sustain people, projects, commerce, and war without allowing its rival to dictate the tempo.
