As noted by our sister site, Strategy Gamer, the bastion of Hollywood History announced last Thursday a new product forthcoming. Yes, Total War aficionados can look forward to sword and sandal fun, this time with dueling heroes under the gates of Troy. A first look suggests this new game, Total War Saga: Troy, draws from both the previously released Britannia in that it is a stand-alone mini campaign, and Three Kingdoms because of the fantasy elements involved. Typically, the visuals are stunning with a combat environment more colorful and sumptuous than the 2004 film Troy (seriously, Achilles has more gold in his armor than Fort Knox), which at least discards the Thermopylae style Greeks of 1956's Helen of Troy. Otherwise, any relation to history is probably coincidental.
For anyone who is interested, our sister website Strategy Gamer has been covering the development of Troy as it nears its' August 13th, 2020 release. The most recent article looks at the campaign layer.
Yet, there is reality behind Homer's mythological version of events, with the actual siege occurring around 1184 BC, pitting Mycenaean Greeks against what most scholars believe to be the Anatolian city state Wilusa. Its primary city was Troy, an important mercantile center of between 5000 and 10,000 souls. So, if you are a more serious gamer (as in wargamer vs strategy gamer) wanting to engage in an historically realistic version of the Iliad, or just Bronze Age battle in general, are there options? Yes, there are, with miniatures having damn near everything a person could want for recreating skewering each other from chariots. Computer and cardboard, however, not so much.
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The Year in War Games 2019 - Board Games Historical Miniatures
Convention Report: Cold Wars 2019
The Wargamer's Guide to Painting Historical Miniatures