To Ur is Human

Before I begin, several caveats.

Firstly, the author of TO UR IS HUMAN – Graham Evans AKA Trebian – is an old friend of mine, a fellow blogger, and long-time member of Wargame Developments.

Secondly, I have no great knowledge of Ancient wargaming in general, and warfare in Sumerian Mesopotamia in particular.

Thirdly, I would not have bought this book if I hadn't known the author and followed the development of these rules over the past few years.

The book is US Book-size (i.e. 21.6cm x 27.9cm), is thirty-six pages long, and contains twelve sections or chapters:

1. Introduction
2. The Basics (including Playing Area, Ground and Figure Scale, Figures and Units, Troop Types, Generals, and Units 'In Support'
3. Game Set Up and Unit Deployment
4. Turn Sequence
5. Movement
6. Charges
7. Ranged Combat
8. Hand to Hand Combat
9. Fear Tests
10. Winning & Losing and Unit Values
11. Appendix – Sample Deployment Cards
12. And Finally

In summary:

• The rules are very straightforward, and I found them easy to understand.
• The ground and figure scales used are abstract (something that I tend to use in my own rules), and except for Battle Carts, units comprise four bases.
• The playing surface is gridded (Ah! There's nothing like a gridded playing surface to grab my interest!), and D6 dice are used throughout.
• Simple diagrams are used to explain examples of how the mechanisms work.

Looking at the rules, there is one aspect that I really, really liked, so much so that I am giving serious thought to using something very like it in my own rules ... the Fear Test!

Simply put, the Fear Tests take the place of morale tests, and occur when two opposing unit are either in combat or about to be in combat with one another. It reflects the level of fear a unit has of their opposing unit, and can result in somewhat unpredictable outcomes. For example, a unit may win a hand to hand combat with an enemy unit but then fail its Fear Test because it perceives that the losing enemy unit remains steadfast and shows no sign of breaking and running.

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TO UR IS HUMAN: TABLETOP WARGAME RULES FOR CONFLICT IN SUMERIAN MESOPOTAMIA was written by Graham Evans and published in 2019 by Wargaming for Grown Ups Publications (ISBN 978 1 699 82492 4). It is currently on sale for £5.00 from Amazon.