When Romulus and Remus founded Rome, it grew to be the leading city of the
geographical area we now know as Italy. For the next two centuries it climbed over
the Italians, Etruscans, Samnite, Greeks and Gauls to become the leading nation of
the known world.
The map and counters are excellent, though there are quite a few event counters
than are only used if a particular card is played as an event. Each deck is carefully
balanced against all others. Some cards are removed from the deck when played as
the event. If played carefully, these powerful cards can tip the scales in your favor,
but once they are used, they are gone for good. The Romans are allowed to keep
their unused card for the next game turn, but all other players must discard their
unused cards at the end of each turn.
Wray Ferrell’s design (published by GMT Games) is another quality card-driven
wargame. The game supports two to four players and uses mechanics similar to
other card-driven games published by GMT. However, the beauty of this game’s
design isn’t necessarily the quality mechanics, but the carefully designed balances
between opposing sides. Each faction has its own special ability and limitations.
The Romans can build fortified cities, the Gauls can raid and plunder (which in fact
is how they gain victory points) the Greeks can keep their leaders around and the
Etruscans can “bribe” opposing troops (cause them to end their movement).
Combat consists of three dice thrown for each side, with the high roll + modifiers for
leaders, etc. winning the combat. Combat losses can be devastating because a
losing player takes one loss for every “4” rolled and two losses for every “5” or “6”
rolled. If the winner rolls a “4”, “5”, and a “6” then the loser will have to take up
to 5 losses. This damage is intensifed if the loser has a bad roll and rolls any “1’s”
because he loses an additional unit for of those he rolls. The most losses a winner
can take in a battle are three, as winner only takes losses when the loser rolls a “4”
a “5” or a “6.” This means that combat can be very, very deadly.
Another factor that makes combat deadly is the all too familiar (from games like
Hannibal: Rome Vs. Carthage and We The People) “Campaign” cards. These cards
allow a player to activate and move two forces. However, this system allows for
those forces to create a coordinated attack that combines (to a limited extent) the
strength of the two forces. WOW!
There are minor powers in every part of the board. The Gauls are plagued with the
Transalpine Gauls, the Romans have to deal with the Volski and the Carthaginians
plague the Greeks. Some cards allow players to take control of these minor neutral
tribes or group and move them into an opponent’s territory (there are some
limitations of how far these groups can move) and attack. These are common cards,
but only one player can control each power per turn, so it is sort of first come first
served.
Most games seem to last about four hours or so, but for a multiplayer game that is
not overly long. Mechanics and rules are simple and well organized, (much better
than Napoleonic Wars) though as usual, I wish there was an alphabetical index as
opposed to the very basic table of contents. I appreciate the inclusion of player aid
cards for each player and the odds table for determining chance of victory is helpful
in deciding whether to actually make an attack or not. The box cover design is the
best I have seen from GMT in ages and I have applied it as my current computer
background.
In summation, the game is simply marvelous in design, contents, map, mechanics,
rules, and playability. This is one of the best multiplayer games to come down the
pike in a long, long, time.
