The final battle between Alexander, ruler of the Macedonians and later most of the Ancient world, and Darius, ruler of Persia (which was up to that point the largest empire around), happened in the beginning of October, 331 BCE. Historians disagree on its name; some call it the Battle of Arbela, named for a city about 75 miles away from the battle site, and some the Battle of Gaugamela, named for a village less than three miles away. Whatever the name, it was the final battle in Alexander's campaign to take the Persian Empire.
The battle itself began in the late morning or early afternoon. Both sides used a formation in which the cavalry was positioned on either side of the center, where the infantry was massed, with another line of infantry behind the first as a reserve; this was a common formation in that area of the world in that time. Darius put chariots with scythes on their wheels out in front of his infantry, to most effectively use them to charge through enemy formations.
At the beginning of the battle, both sides' right-wing cavalry charged across the field to engage the enemy, as the Persian chariots thundered against the right side of Alexander's infantry. The chariot attack was broken up by the light infantry, who were armed with javelins and bows, and were able to shoot at the chariots and then run out of the way of their charge. Both cavalry charges broke their enemy's line, but while Alexander was able to rally his charging cavalry and turn to the next foe, the successful Persian cavalry instead chose to ransack the Macedonian encampment, and was fallen upon from behind by reinforcements.
Darius himself fled the battle, which was most likely the downfall of his troops. Alexander chased him to Arbela, where he took his possessions but was unable to find Darius himself. Darius ultimately fled north, while Alexander turned to the south to take control of the other large cities of the Persian Empire, and so the defunct Persian king was never captured.
One hex map, approximately 20 hexes square.
Multi-colored, multi-sided dice: twelve-sided (d12), ten-sided (d10), eight-sided (d8), and six-sided (d6).
| Unit Type (color) | Alexander Player | Darius Player |
| Cavalry (blue) | 2 d10s | 2 d10s |
| 6 d8s | 8 d8s | |
| Infantry (green) | 5 d12s | -- |
| 2 d10s | 4 d10s | |
| 3 d8s | 6 d8s | |
| -- | 8 d6s | |
| Archers (red) | 1 d10 | -- |
| 2 d8s | 1 d8 | |
| Chariots (black) | -- | 3 d12s |
| Special | 1 d12 (purple) | 1 d12 (orange) |
Each player sets up their forces (dice) within four spaces of their respective edges of the map; the Darius player sets up all of his or her forces first, followed by the Alexander player's set-up.
Each die a player has represents a unit of troops, with the color of the die representing the unit type, and the number of sides the die has indicating its strength, with a higher number of sides indicating a stronger unit. Blue dice indicate cavalry, green dice are infantry, red dice are archers, slingers, and javlineers, and black dice represent chariots. The purple die represents Alexander's personal guard, and is treated as a cavalry unit. The orange die represents Darius and his guard, and is treated as a unit of chariots.
The hex map is a grid made of hexagons rather than squares. In order for a space to be adjacent to another, it must share a side with that space; a space in the middle of the map is adjacent to exactly six other spaces.
The game is played in turns, during which there are four phases. In each phase, players move all of one type of their units, starting with the player with the most total units on the board. For example, at the beginning of the game, the Darius player would move chariots first, followed by the Persian cavalry (since the Darius player has more units), then the Alexander player's cavalry, and so on. Also in each phase, units engage and fight one another. The order is as follows:
Each unit type has a different way of moving. In all cases, movement must be by adjacent spaces. Only one unit may be in any given space. If a unit is adjacent to an enemy unit, it may only move in such a way that it is no longer adjacent to any enemy unit; if it cannot do this, it is pinned in place.
| Chariots move three spaces in a straight line in any direction. A chariot starting its movement phase on the black hex in the center of the map at left may move to one of the six red hexes during its movement phase. | |
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| Cavalry may move two, three, or four spaces during its turn, but may only turn once, and only by 60° (one hex side) during its movement. A cavalry unit starting its movement phase on the black hex in the center of the map at right may move to any red hex during its movement phase. | ||
| Infantry may move one space in any direction. An infantry unit starting its movement phase on the black hex in the center of the map at left may move to one of the six red hexes during its movement phase. | |
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| Archers may move one or two spaces, and may turn during their movement. An archer unit starting its movement phase on the black hex in the center of the map at right may move to any red hex during its movement phase. | ||
To attack another unit, the attacking unit must be in a space adjacent to the unit it is attacking, or up to two hexes away if the attacking unit is an archer unit. If a unit is to attack and move on the same turn, it must complete its movement before attacking that turn.
To resolve the attack, simply pick up both units and roll them, replacing them on their respective spaces afterward. The lower-rolling die is reduced by two die sizes (d12 to d8 or d10 to d6). If a d8 or a d6 is reduced, it is instead removed; that unit has been broken up and is for all intents and purposes destroyed. If the result is a tie, reduce both dice. Archer units attacking a non-archer unit from two hexes away are not reduced in that exchange.
A unit may gain a bonus against other units for charging. If the unit attacked is of a smaller die size than the attacker, add the number of spaces the attacking unit moved this turn to its roll. Otherwise, simply add one if the attacking unit moved at all.
Darius is a bit edgy in this battle, as it could represent the fall of his empire. The orange die representing Darius and his guard is not reduced if it loses in combat, but rather it is removed from the board: Darius has fled the battlefield.
Once Darius flees, the units on the Darius player's side begin to lose morale. After the orange die is removed, any time a Darius unit rolls a 1, and the Alexander unit it is fighting rolls a 6 or higher, the Darius unit routs -- remove it from the map. Units on Alexander's side never rout.
The winner is simply the last player to have units on the map.