Granada: The Fall of Islamic Spain
A Game by Rob Markham
For over 700 years, Spanish Christians tried to exterminate
the Arab kingdoms of southern Spain. This great "Reconquista" fired
the crusading zeal of countless generations. The Arabs, or
Moors as they were known to the Spanish, saw the Spaniards
as backward barbarians and fought ferociously to protect their
sophisticated civilization. Finally, in 1482 King Ferdinand
of Aragon embarked on the last campaign, to take fabled Granada
from its Islamic rulers.
This quick-playing, physically beautiful game re-creates the
final 10-year struggle for Granada. Players take command of
the Christian and Muslim holy warriors. God is on your side.
Will you prevail?
Granada:
The Fall of Islamic Spain is a two-player game based
on the 1481-1492 campaign between Ferdinand and Isabella of
Aragon and Castille on one side (the "Spanish player")
and Muhammed XII and later Muhammed XIII on the other (the "Moorish
player"). The game's designer is Robert Markham, known
for Soldier
Kings and dozens of other game designs. Our new,
downloadable version of Granada comes
with a completely revised Second Edition rulebook.
The game is not overly complex. The game board (22x17 inches)
shows southern Spain including the Kingdom of Granada and surrounding
areas. A network of key points is laid over this map, with
castles, ports and unfortified areas connected by roads. Troops
move along these roads from point to point.
The object of the game for the Spanish player is to conquer
the Moorish kingdom — Granada herself and five other
important Moorish sites. The Moorish player seeks to prevent
this, or to force peace on the Spaniards by taking their key
cities of Cordoba and Lorca.
Each player has troops with which to carry out these tasks — knights,
cavalry, and foot soldiers plus warships. The Spanish player
also has siege cannon. Both players have leaders to move their
troops and assist them in battle, with Ferdinand for the Spaniards
and Muhammed al-Zagal for the Moors being much better at this
than other leaders.
In battle, both players place their units on a combat display
and roll dice to determine how many "hits" are achieved.
Four hits will eliminate a typical unit. The best units in
the game are the Moorish Jund armored cavalry and the fanatic
Spanish Knights of Santiago and Calatrava. A well-manned castle
is very difficult to capture, but the Spanish siege guns can
make an enormous difference.
At sea, the Spanish player is trying to deny the Moor reinforcements
from Africa. Many Moorish troops are volunteers from overseas,
who must arrive at ports. The Moor can also gain aid from the
Ottoman Empire, but only if he or she has kept the ports open.
The game takes about two hours to play, probably less between
experienced players.
Each playing piece sports an original painting by Terry Moore
Strickland showing the type of unit represented. The playing
pieces are not die-cut and mounted, nor are the maps and rules
printed. Instead it comes as a series of .pdf files that will
need to be assembled into the game's components.
Note: This product is a digital download. Pieces require assembly.
You can get some advice on how to make playing pieces right here.
Links:
Stock Code: APL1501
Price: $29.99 download; free to the Gold Club
Status: Downloading Now!
You can download Granada right here.
It’s $29.99, but if you’re a Gold Club member, it’s free to you as part of the Golden Library (there’s no Gold Club discount or freeness through Wargame Vault).
Click here to join the Gold Club
See your Gold Club Insider newsletter for ordering information.
Golden Chipboard
Ten (10) chipboard sheets, slightly thicker than the ones we use for game pieces, for use in pasting up your own counters from our downloadable games and expansions.
You can order Golden Chipboard right here.
You can order sticky label paper here.
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