Description

Siege of Bodenburg is a set of rules for a miniatures wargame scenario. The setting is a highly fictionalized battle in late medieval or early Renaissance Europe. According to game historian, Jon Peterson, Siege of Bodenburg is noteworthy as an early influence on Gary Gygax in the development of the miniatures game, Chainmail and eventually, Dungeons & Dragons.

In the scenario, Count von Boden is expecting a wagon train of supplies from Wernigerode to arrive but is instead attacked by invading Huns and Turks. The castle needs to hold out until the wagon train and its defending Lansquenets arrive, or until the rest of the Count's knights return from the tournament in Quedlinburg.

The rules are close tactical, with each figure representing a single man. They are designed for 40mm Elastolin figures and accessories, but since they give movement allowances and firing ranges in numbers of sectors (squares) rather than inches, the game could easily be played in other scales or even as a board game. The rules are fairly elaborate, with sections for hidden movement, sallies, scaling ladders, supplies, morale, etc.

Siege of Bodenburg was published in Strategy & Tactics Volume I, Numbers 6-10. It is misspelled "Siege of Bodenberg" on the cover of issue #6 and on the map in that issue. Bodenstedt also printed up copies of the rules which he gave out in his store and at conventions.