Dawn of Battle

Dawn of Battle is a Worthington Publishing hex-and-counter wargame system for refighting pre-modern battles across roughly 3,000 years of warfare, from 1500 BCE to 1500 CE. Players take command of armies led by figures such as Xerxes, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Saladin, and William Wallace.

The system is built around leadership, activation points, and an action deck. Better-led armies have more flexibility to move, rally, and attack, while the cards add friction, special effects, and uncertainty to each battle. That makes Dawn of Battle less about memorizing a single historical matchup and more about managing command, timing, terrain, and troop capabilities across many eras.

The game includes 20 scenarios and a wide variety of unit types, including hoplites, Macedonian phalanxes, chariots, mounted archers, slingers, longbows, early gunpowder weapons, elephants, and war wagons. Supplementary rules cover elements such as free deployment, barbarian charges, command control, impetuosity, elephant panic, and random events.

Publisher: Worthington Publishing
Designer: Mike Nagel
Players: 2
Playing time: 120–240 minutes
Age: 14+
Format: Standalone hex-and-counter historical wargame
Setting: Ancient, medieval, and early gunpowder battles
Edition: Original Worthington edition, published 2021

Contents include: one hard-mounted 22" x 34" game board, three to five sheets of die-cut counters, two player aid cards, 80 red and yellow marker cubes, two 72-card decks, plastic bases for stand-up leaders, a rulebook, a scenario book, and a counter tray.