| The Great Battles of Alexander | |
|---|---|
 British cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Erudite Software |
| Publisher(s) | Interactive Magic |
| Producer(s) | S. Craig Taylor |
| Designer(s) | Mark Herman, Gene Billingsley |
| Series | The Great Battles |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | June 22, 1997 |
| Genre(s) | Turn-based computer wargame |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
The Great Battles of Alexander is a 1997 turn-based computer wargame developed by Erudite Software and published by Interactive Magic. Adapted from the GMT Games physical wargame of the same name, it depicts 10 of Alexander the Great's key conflicts, and simulates the interplay between Ancient Macedonian battle tactics and its rival military doctrines. Gameplay occurs at the tactical level: players direct predetermined armies on discrete battlefields, in a manner that one commentator compared to chess.
Development of Alexander began at Erudite Software in 1994, under the direction of Mark Herman, co-designer of the original board game. Its production cycle was long and troubled: following several delays, the game was dropped in 1996 by publisher Strategic Simulations. Interactive Magic ultimately signed Erudite to publish Alexander, and installed S. Craig Taylor as the game's producer. The team sought to make Alexander accessible despite the complexity of the wargame genre, and focused on polishing its audiovisual presentation and interface, the latter of which was inspired by Panzer General.
Critics praised Alexander's historical accuracy, graphics and audio, but noted its frame rate as a low point; a writer for PC Gamer UK argued that this problem helped to ruin the overall product. The title received a "Game of the Month" award from Jerry Pournelle of Byte. After the release of Alexander in June 1997, Erudite and Interactive Magic created two sequel products: The Great Battles of Hannibal (1997) and The Great Battles of Caesar (1998). These three games formed the Great Battles series, and were released together in the Great Battles: Collector's Edition compilation in late 1998. Their game engine was later reused in Erudite's North vs. South.