Ares Games Brand Guidelines: War of the Ring, Wings of Glory & Epics

Ares publishes big thematic strategy games.

Ares Games is a lesson in owning epic, thematic tabletop. It’s an Italian board-game and miniatures publisher based in the Lucca area of Tuscany (⚠️ not Modena), founded in 2011 — its very first release, that December, was War of the Ring, Second Edition.

That game is its landmark: ⭐⭐⭐ War of the Ring — the sweeping two-player Lord of the Rings strategy game (designed by Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello) in which the Free Peoples and the Shadow contest all of Middle-earth. Ares publishes the current line, with expansions like Lords, Warriors and Kings of Middle-earth. It’s one of the great licensed epics in the hobby, and it anchors the brand.

Ares’ other pillar is miniatures: ⭐⭐ Wings of Glory — WWI and WWII aerial-combat with pre-painted plane miniatures (a re-launch of the earlier “Wings of War”) — and its Napoleonic-naval sibling Sails of Glory (an Origins Award winner). Add co-op and thematic titles like Sword & Sorcery, Galaxy Defenders and Battlestar Galactica: Starship Battles, plus a European distribution business, and Ares is a broad, thematic, miniatures-friendly publisher with a flagship epic at its heart. (Honest notes: War of the Ring was designed by Di Meglio/Maggi/Nepitello (first produced by Nexus; the 2004 English edition was Fantasy Flight’s) — Ares publishes the current line; the Lord of the Rings setting is licensed IP; Ares is in Tuscany, not Modena; and no official brand hex is published.)

Ares lives in a war-red-and-bronze palette. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

Ares’ identity is epic, martial and thematic — a war red, ink black, and a bronze. The palette reads as its name (Ares, the god of war) and its games: the deep red of battle, the black of Mordor, the bronze of armour and old maps. It’s a dramatic, thematic world that signals conflict, epic scope and history. It’s a war-red-and-bronze palette that signals an epic thematic publisher. The honest caveat: Ares publishes no official brand hex, so the red, ink and bronze here are an original, unofficial interpretation, not first-party values.

The lesson is a war-red-and-bronze palette signals epic, martial theme. Ares’ world reads as dramatic and historic. For designers, it’s a reminder that a deep war red with an aged bronze evokes battle, epic and antiquity — fitting for a publisher named after the god of war and known for War of the Ring. The takeaways: use a deep martial red with an aged metallic for epic drama; let the name (Ares) and flagship set the palette; and treat any single hex as unofficial when there’s no published spec.

The wordmark spirit is an epic serif — dramatic and martial.

Ares’ identity carries an epic, dramatic, martial spirit — an “Ares” wordmark whose weighty forms match sweeping thematic epics and aerial duels. An epic serif captures the mood: it’s grand and dramatic, matching a publisher named for the god of war and home to War of the Ring. Set against a war-red palette, the epic serif feels martial and grand — exactly the War-of-the-Ring, Wings-of-Glory personality Ares carries. It’s grand rather than plain, mirroring an epic clash for Middle-earth. (Ares’ real wordmark is a trademark we describe but don’t reproduce.) Because the exact mark isn’t ours to use, the honest description is “an epic serif spirit,” not the Ares logo. The type behaves like the brand: epic, dramatic and martial.

Ares is anchored by a great epic.

Ares Games is a lesson in anchoring a catalogue with one great epic. Ares launched on War of the Ring and has kept it at the centre ever since — and that single, beloved, licensed Lord of the Rings epic gives the brand instant weight and a passionate fanbase far beyond what a young Italian publisher could otherwise command. Around that anchor it built complementary pillars — the Wings of Glory / Sails of Glory miniatures lines, co-op thematic games — but the flagship is what defines it: “the War of the Ring people.” It’s a reminder that a single landmark title, especially a licensed one with a devoted audience, can carry and stabilise a whole publisher, giving it identity, reach and a reason for fans to keep coming back.

For designers and brand-builders, Ares offers a clear takeaway: a single great flagship — especially a beloved licensed epic — can anchor and define a whole catalogue. The lessons: build around a landmark title fans return to (War of the Ring); add complementary pillars (miniatures, co-op) without losing the anchor; and keep the facts precise — Ares is a 2011 Italian publisher known for War of the Ring and Wings of Glory. It’s also a reminder to keep it honest: War of the Ring was designed by Di Meglio/Maggi/Nepitello (originally produced by Nexus; 2004 English edition by Fantasy Flight) — Ares publishes the current line; the LotR setting is licensed; Ares is in Tuscany, not Modena; and no official brand hex is published, so the palette here is an interpretation. Ares is anchored by a great epic — proof that a flagship can be the difference.

Keep Ares Games’s identity on hand — save it to a board in the Made Good inspiration library.