Alexander the Great (board game)

Alexander the Great is a two-player board wargame designed by Gary Gygax and published by Guidon Games in 1971, simulating the Battle of Gaugamela, also called Arbela, fought in 331 BC between Alexander the Great's Macedonian army and the Persian army of Darius III. One player commands the Macedonian phalanxes, cavalry and light troops while the other commands the larger but less disciplined Persian force, including chariots and war elephants, on a hexagonal grid map. The game uses a simple alternating I-Go-You-Go system for movement and combat, with an unusual sliding morale track that determines which combat results table applies as an army's cohesion rises or falls during the battle. A full game takes roughly two hours to play after about fifteen minutes of setup. The game's original map became notorious among wargamers for its garish color scheme, once described as resembling a lime and chocolate pudding parfait. Avalon Hill later acquired the rights and issued a revised second edition in 1974, co-developed by Gygax and designer Donald Greenwood, which was followed by supplements covering other battles of Alexander's campaigns.