Brazen Shields is a stripped down version of Optio. Two hypothetical Greek armies fight on open ground until one is completely routed from the field.
Both armies are identical and each consists of two Cavalry counters, one Elite Hoplite counter, three Average Hoplite Counters and two Peltast counters. In addition to the army counters, each army has one General and two Commanders. Army counters are organised into Command Groups, each with its own Combat Scale with morale that rises and falls as the Command group loses morale in combat or gains a morale boost from the rout of nearby enemy Command Groups. Many of the rules in Optio are excluded from Brazen Shields. There is no shooting, no skirmisher class troops, no columns, no special formations, no terrain features. Routed units are immediately removed from play. The rulebook is 16 pages long compared to 40+ pages for the Optio ruleset. This is a true beer-and-pretzels game, but it contains all the important rules in Optio, such as the combat mechanism and the orders system. If you want a quick game that gives you the flavour of Optio then this is the perfect place to start. Have fun! |