Purgatorio: Battles of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, 1176-1325

Men of Iron is a play-oriented series of games covering the wide spectrum of land battles from, roughly, the era just prior to the first Crusades to the arrival of gunpowder. This is a historical simulation game, not so much intended to show What happened, but Why things occurred as they did. The purpose of the Men of Iron series is to provide gamers with accessible, fast-playing, fun games of low complexity. To that end, much detail has been either omitted or factored into overall mechanics, but game to provides as much period flavor and historical accuracy as possible, within that stated focus.

The struggle between monarchs in Europe, particularly between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, would spawn well over a hundred years of conflict in Italy. The Investiture Controversy caused a split between the Italian city states and even the people within the city states. Guelph was the name given to those who supported the Papacy—while the Ghibellines were the supporters of the Holy Roman Empire. Guelph cities tended to be farther away from the Papal States and closer to the Holy Roman Empire, and Ghibelline cities tended to be farther away from the Holy Roman Empire and closer to the Pope’s temporal power.

Battles raged across Italy from the mid-1100s to the mid-1300s with both sides ending up on top at one time or another. This sixth Men of Iron game covers some of those battles: beginning with Frederick Barbarossa trying to recapture rebelling provinces in Italy in the late 12th century, taking a spin through the 13th century with a few battles that spelled the end of direct Hohenstaufen rule of Italy, and ending with a war that myth says was fought over the theft of a bucket from one city by another!

• Three 22" x 34" Game Maps (back-printed)
• One 22" x 34" Game Map (front only)
• Two and a half Countersheets
• Two Player Aid Cards
• One Flight Point Track
• One Rulebook
• One Playbook
• Two 10-sided Dice