300: Land and Water is a wargame for two players. One player controls the Greeks, gathered around the Athenians, and the other controls the Persians, fighting for hegemony in the eastern Mediterranean. Throughout the five expeditions, each player struggles to control more cities than his opponent.

The game engine is a card driven system. Players raise armies and buy cards during the production phase. Cards can be used to play an event or move an army or fleet. Events can provide advantages in battles or interfere with the enemy, but military action is paramount to winning. In addition, each game is different (depending on the order in which the events occur).

The rules are simple and the game time is short, but Greece and Persia have a wide range of strategies, so victory will challenge both players.