Description

Cyrus et Pyxis is a highly abstract wargame, or an abstract strategy game with a war theme, depending on your point of view. The two sides are Persians and Greeks, although "Pyxis" is not the name of an actual Greek leader (it's a small pottery box).

Each side has identical armies of 20 units - 10 infantry, 2 each of archers, cavalry, elephants, and phalanxes, a royal guard, and a king. These are deployed on a 12x12 board, along with terrain tiles representing forests and hills (so the board will be different each time).

On a turn a player can move 5 infantry units and 1 each of the other types. Units that move into enemy units cause combat to occur. Combat is strictly deterministic - the strength differential determines whether the attacker or defender retreats or is eliminated. Units have different strengths which further vary by terrain, phalanxes do better against mounted units, and archers can support other units.

The object of the game is to kill the enemy king or move your king off the enemy side of the board.