''Raiders and Traders'', subtitled "The Heroic Age of Greece", is a board game published by

Chaosium Chaosium Inc. ( ) is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford (game designer), Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include ''Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game), Call of Cthulhu'', based on the horror fic ...

in 1979 that simulates the world of Hellenic Greece.

Description

''Raiders and Traders'' is a board game for 2–6 players where each player attempts to build an empire in the setting of ancient Greece. The game components include a map of the Aegean Basin, 300 counters, 80 money pieces, and 40 player cards. There are three scenarios: * Raiding: Players conduct raids to expand into other territories. * The Beginning: Indo-European tribes migrate into the Aegean Basin, and select patron gods, build walled settlements, make beneficial marriages, and use diplomacy to expand their territory. * Empire: Pirates and random action cards are added to play. There are also optional rules for deities, the

Oracle of Delphi An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophecy, prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by Deity, deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divina ...

, and Heroes (who bring both advantages and disadvantages to the player.)

Publication history

''Raiders and Traders'' was created by Donald Dupont and published by Chaosium in 1979 as a

boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

with cover art by Dupont.

Reception

In Issue 45 of the British wargaming magazine '' Perfidious Albion'', Charles Vasey liked the components and the "clear rules with an excellent summary sheet." Vasey concluded, "Piracy, raiding, empire building, family marriages ''et al'' all have their place. There is an overrun rule which unbalances the games, but the basic system is interesting, testing, and it's multiplayer." In Issue 29 of ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'' (September 1979), Jim Ward called this "a perfect collection of all the concepts that anyone who has taken the time to study that era could have formed." Ward noted that the game with all of the optional rules "force players to think fast and move fast in the efforts to win." Ward concluded, "The game has many interesting facets and can be played on several levels from a beginning/nongamer's standpoint, to the most veteran wargamers side."

References

{{reflist Board wargames set in Ancient history Chaosium games Wargames introduced in 1979