its first quadrigame — four different battles using the same set of rules, packaged into one box. The concept proved popular, and SPI published an entire series of quadrigames, including The Art of Siege in 1978. One of the four games included was Acre, designed by Phil Kosnett, with graphic design by Redmond A. Simonsen. Acre was also released as an individual game. Critic Jon Freeman noted that Acre's game system "was largely inspired" by the previously published SPI game The Siege of Constantinople. Reception In the 1980 book The Complete Book of Wargames, game designer Jon Freeman commented, "Although Acre is based upon The Siege of Constantinople, it is, despite their similarities, not so big a bore as the latter. Since the constant tunneling and bombardment produce no immediate effect, siege warfare is not exactly a thrill a minute. [...] Thanks to the presence of Saladin's army as a constant threat to the besieging Crusaders, Acre has a great deal more action as well as a good bit more color than its parent." Freeman gave this game an Overall Evaluation of "Good", concluding, "Acre is probably the most playable of the four [games in Art of Siege]." In Issue 36 of the British wargaming magazine Phoenix, William Hamblin found several inaccuracies in the historical reconstruction, from weapons and armor to tactics and the names of various types of units. But he admitted, "On the whole, the game is enjoyable to play and offers a number of interesting challenges to players on both sides." Nevertheless, he concluded, "In a sense, the historical inaccuracies make it so that the game is not really an historical simulation of the siege of Acre, but rather a 'fantasy' game wearing an historical mask." In Issue 48 of Moves, Pete Bartlam commented "My first impression of Acre was of a cleaned-up Constantinople. On later examination, it turned out to be a cleaned-up Constantinople! However, it does have the important 'Alesia factor', for we have not only the siege but the besiegers besieged." However, Bartlam thought the opening phase of Acre dragged on, and felt the final assault didn't feel right, saying, "It should be much more dangerous up against the walls, making it necessary to employ a lot of arrow-fodder, with units who successfully breach the defenses having much more effect [...] One doesn't get the feeling of desperate men clawing their way to the