Last night, I had the privilege of playing the board game "The Republic of Rome". I knew I was in for a long night when I discovered the rule book was around 25 pages long and it took around an hour and fifteen minutes for the host to explain the rules. However, once we really started to get going, I really enjoyed the game.
The game takes place in the Senate of the Roman Republic from about 264 BC to 43 BC. It is split into three time periods: Early Republic (think the first and second Punic Wars), Mid Republic (the era of the Gracchi), and Late Republic (the civil wars and Julius Caesar). We elected to go with the Mid Republic. Each player represents a faction of senators, and the goal of each player is to amass enough influence to have one's faction leader declared "Consul for Life" or have the most influence at the end of a chosen time period. However, there is a catch. The game can also win. Each player must ensure that Rome survives the many crises that may fall upon it such as wars, famines, and riots. As such, each player must conduct a delicate balancing act between cooperation and competition.
During each year or "turn", there are seven phases during which consuls and province governors are elected, affairs of the state are conducted, battles are fought against the various barbarian tribes, and so on. To deal with all of these events, the players must interact. For example, during one phase of play, the current Consul of State makes a selection of governors for the various provinces. The players then vote on it, with each player's vote being weighted by their respective influence. It should be noted that once a senator is elected governor, he is no longer in Rome and hence can no longer participate in Senate votes. On the other hand, he then brings wealth and influence to his given faction. This complicated interplay makes for a most interesting gaming experience.
At the end of the day, the game won. We were thrown into the midst of five wars at once, and though we emptied the coffers of Rome to build a massive army, disaster would strike and our army was swiftly defeated due to two unfortunate rolls of the die. We were not even a third of the way into the game. That being said, I would definitely play again. It reminded me vaguely of a board game version of Rome: Total War, one of my favorite computer strategy games of all time. I await the next opportunity to take the Roman Senate floor.
P.S. I played this game with a bunch of Classics PhD Students. And for what its worth, they enjoyed it. I would say that says a lot about the game right there.
The game takes place in the Senate of the Roman Republic from about 264 BC to 43 BC. It is split into three time periods: Early Republic (think the first and second Punic Wars), Mid Republic (the era of the Gracchi), and Late Republic (the civil wars and Julius Caesar). We elected to go with the Mid Republic. Each player represents a faction of senators, and the goal of each player is to amass enough influence to have one's faction leader declared "Consul for Life" or have the most influence at the end of a chosen time period. However, there is a catch. The game can also win. Each player must ensure that Rome survives the many crises that may fall upon it such as wars, famines, and riots. As such, each player must conduct a delicate balancing act between cooperation and competition.
During each year or "turn", there are seven phases during which consuls and province governors are elected, affairs of the state are conducted, battles are fought against the various barbarian tribes, and so on. To deal with all of these events, the players must interact. For example, during one phase of play, the current Consul of State makes a selection of governors for the various provinces. The players then vote on it, with each player's vote being weighted by their respective influence. It should be noted that once a senator is elected governor, he is no longer in Rome and hence can no longer participate in Senate votes. On the other hand, he then brings wealth and influence to his given faction. This complicated interplay makes for a most interesting gaming experience.
At the end of the day, the game won. We were thrown into the midst of five wars at once, and though we emptied the coffers of Rome to build a massive army, disaster would strike and our army was swiftly defeated due to two unfortunate rolls of the die. We were not even a third of the way into the game. That being said, I would definitely play again. It reminded me vaguely of a board game version of Rome: Total War, one of my favorite computer strategy games of all time. I await the next opportunity to take the Roman Senate floor.
P.S. I played this game with a bunch of Classics PhD Students. And for what its worth, they enjoyed it. I would say that says a lot about the game right there.
I hatechoo.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent:_Journeys_in_the_Dark
This is next!
Looks fun. Never played, but I do have this game:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gracefulboot.com/board_games/iShogun.html
Which is sort of like Risk on steroids.