Zargo's Lords
Encyclopedia
Zargo's Lords, released in 1979, was one of the most popular war game
s released by the Italian
company International Team
(IT). Designed by Marco Donadoni
, the chief game designer at IT, Zargo's Lords was the first fantasy
wargame to be produced in Italy, and was well received both in Italy and abroad. It sold well into the early 1980s and in some countries (including Italy) it was instrumental in letting wargames be known to a larger audience. Due to the success of the game, IT later released an expansion set; moreover, the fantasy setting created by IT for Zargo's Lords was later used in other, independent games. After Zargo's Lords, IT published several other fantasy wargames, including Wohrom and Idro.
-based wargame. It is intended for 2–4 players. The game, as was usually the case with IT productions, is characterized by sophisticated graphics (by artist Enea Riboldi) and good quality materials.
The large map of the game depicts the four continents of the fantasy world of Zargo. These are inhabitated by four factions: the "Knights", the "Monks", the "Winged men", and the "Dragons". Every faction has different units with different features; for example, the knights mostly rely on brute force, while monks have magic powers (such as teleportation
and the ability to cast spells), the dragons throw flames at distant targets, and Winged units can fly over mountains and other obstacles. At game setup, each faction controls a continent, as well as four cities, that are placed by the player using that faction. The objective of the game is to conquer enemy cities.
, acquired most IT material and produced a series of game that largely relied on IT earlier projects; one of these was a Risk
-like game based on the same fantasy setting as Zargo's Lords and entitled Zargos (1989). Angelo Porazzi, designer of the Warangel
wargame, has often mentioned Zargo's Lords as one of the main influences on his own work.
War Game
War Game or War Games refer normally to: wargaming, a recreational game that simulates a military operation. It can also be a:* Military exercise* Military simulation, live or computer warfare simulations to develop real-world military strategies...
s released by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
company International Team
International Team
International Team was an Italian game company founded in the 1970s and active until the early 1980s. While the company started as a jigsaw puzzle producer, it is mostly remembered as a wargame company, a business that IT approached in 1979, after game designer Marco Donadoni joined in...
(IT). Designed by Marco Donadoni
Marco Donadoni
Marco Alberto Donadoni is an Italian game designer. He designed his first, self-produced wargame, Iliad, in 1977; he then joined the Italian company International Team , that at the time was mainly a jigsaw puzzle producer. IT published Iliad and changed its core business, focusing on the wargame...
, the chief game designer at IT, Zargo's Lords was the first fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
wargame to be produced in Italy, and was well received both in Italy and abroad. It sold well into the early 1980s and in some countries (including Italy) it was instrumental in letting wargames be known to a larger audience. Due to the success of the game, IT later released an expansion set; moreover, the fantasy setting created by IT for Zargo's Lords was later used in other, independent games. After Zargo's Lords, IT published several other fantasy wargames, including Wohrom and Idro.
General description
As with most of Donadoni's games, Zargo's Lords is a hex mapHex map
A hex map, hex board or hex grid is a gameboard design commonly used in wargames of all scales. The map is subdivided into small regular hexagons of identical size.-Advantages and disadvantages:...
-based wargame. It is intended for 2–4 players. The game, as was usually the case with IT productions, is characterized by sophisticated graphics (by artist Enea Riboldi) and good quality materials.
The large map of the game depicts the four continents of the fantasy world of Zargo. These are inhabitated by four factions: the "Knights", the "Monks", the "Winged men", and the "Dragons". Every faction has different units with different features; for example, the knights mostly rely on brute force, while monks have magic powers (such as teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
and the ability to cast spells), the dragons throw flames at distant targets, and Winged units can fly over mountains and other obstacles. At game setup, each faction controls a continent, as well as four cities, that are placed by the player using that faction. The objective of the game is to conquer enemy cities.
Related games and influence
In 1983 IT released Zargo's Lords II, an expansion set (described at the time as a "gamette") with two additional factions, the "Amazons" and the "Arachnids", as well as updated and revised rules. Another independent game from IT, Blue Stones (1987), was later set in the world of Zargo. After IT went bankrupt (in 1988), another company, EurogamesEurogames (game publisher)
Eurogames is a publisher of board games, founded in 1984 as Jeux Rexton to publish the man-to-man miniature combat game, Cry Havoc and its expansions. In 1988 Duccio Vitale expanded the company to begin publishing more board games, starting with six games purchased from the bankrupt Italian gaming...
, acquired most IT material and produced a series of game that largely relied on IT earlier projects; one of these was a Risk
Risk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
-like game based on the same fantasy setting as Zargo's Lords and entitled Zargos (1989). Angelo Porazzi, designer of the Warangel
Warangel
Warangel is a fantasy board wargame created and illustrated by Angelo Porazzi. It has won a number of Italian game awards, and is distributed locally by Hasbro Italy.-History:The first edition was published in Italy in 1996 as a collectible series...
wargame, has often mentioned Zargo's Lords as one of the main influences on his own work.