Persian Wars is a card-driven wargame depicting the Greco-Persian conflict from 494 to 466 B.C. Players control either the Persian empire and its generals, Xerxes, Artabazus, Artayntes, Artemisia and Mardonius or the Greek city-states and their generals, the Athenians Xanthippus, Miltiades and Themistocles and Spartans, Leonidas and Pausanias. The game is divided in two periods of 7 rounds each. During the first period, from 494 to 480 BC, the Persians are on the offensive, unleashing their invasion in Asia Minor, Thrace and the rest of the Greek peninsula, with their goal to conquer citites from their secret Objective card, while the Greeks try to prevent them from doing so. Once the first period is over, the Persian side announces the number of cities conquered from its objective. Moving to the second period, from 480 o 466 BC, the Greeks mount a counterattack, in an attempt to liberate as many cities as they can from their secret Objective card. In a similar fashion, the Persians try to prevent the Greeks from achieving their goal. With the second period over, the Greek side announces the number of cities liberated from its objective. The number of cities conquered/liberated are compared and the side with the most cities conquered/liberated wins the game. —description from the publisher