About game:You take control of legions and then lead them for 600 years of Roman republic and empire, fighting other pretenders, rebellions, enemies of Rome as well as turns of fate. The game is brutal, the Caesar can be only one and the rest is fed to the lions!

 

Game mechanic is fueled by action and event cards – in particular turn, a player has to play one of his two cards to perform actions of his troops or move enemies of Rome. By conquering the provinces he gains glory points and thus has possibility to acquire Intrigue Tokens. As game progresses, events become more and more severe and the map is flooded with barbarians…

Number of players:2-5 – I prefer “full-house” version, with dense map and five players.
Playing time:This depends to some extent on the number of players – we usually are able to finish the game within 2 hours.
Complexity:That is definitely one of those more light wargames. However, it still allows for many interactions and surprising moves.
What I like:
  • This is very brutal and intense game
  • Rapid and quick turns of fate
  • It gives enormous amounts of fun
  • Reasonably short, can be played in 1.5-2 hours
  • Still, pretty thematic  – the ancient times
  • Additional mini-game for two players with new deck of cards as Kickstarter addition
What I do not like:
  • The components might be slightly of better quality – nicer shape; some climate is taken away by those simple, wooden cubes
  • Limited replayability – I would like to see more divers games, more scenarios, etc.
  • No special characteristics of the contenders; everybody is the same emperor, the starting positions have nothing which adds flavour
For whom?This is game for all beginning wargamers but also for people who were always afraid of trying such game. The seasoned players will also be satisfied, when they want to play something lighter but still wargame-orientated.
More about the game:

On top of above review, a couple of the pictures from my session reports.

Overview of the Enemies of Rome board:

IMG_3134

Armies in action:

IMG_3423

VERDICT:

So, this is fast, intense and fun game which you will play as a longer warm-up before more complex and comprehensive games, an extensive filler or simply if you do not have too much time. It is enormously intense and you should never get used to the place where your capital is at the moment!

See you in another game review!