This was a genuine discovery for me at Essen Spiel 2025. Announced only a few weeks before the fair, it rapidly gained significant attention among visitors. Playing Punica was a real pleasure: a compact yet highly intense game focused entirely on strategy and tactics, featuring beautiful production, no reliance on luck, and a brisk playtime. It was undoubtedly one of the standout surprises of the fair, delivering exactly what it promises.
It is not language dependent, features outstanding artwork by Mico (as shown in the video below), and is equally enjoyable for experienced wargamers and newcomers to the hobby. Below, I am sharing the materials I have created for this game, and I hope you will enjoy them.
We begin with an overview of the game, covering its theme, historical background, components, core mechanics, and victory conditions. This provides an ideal starting point for assessing whether the game is likely to be of interest to you.
Next, we dive deeper into the main game rules, focusing on the sequence of play, faction pieces, board layout, army composition, and card anatomy. This section is more procedural and theoretical, supported by examples of play, and can serve as an alternative to reading the rulebook.
The above set will give you solid foundation in Punica. Also, I hope I sparked a bit of interest in you guys to try this title!
The Boardgames Chronicle 