When is a war game, not actually a war game?
Well this question is what stirred the copy of ENEMIES OF ROME to land on my desk. This lite euro gamer, that takes the history of the Roman Empire and allows 2 to 5 players to battle it out, has been called the non war game, war game. Many of you, wanted to know what it was all about from us and we have obliged. Well, we have now…read on.
ENEMIES OF ROME
AGE 10+ / PLAYERS 2-5 (a solo version lurks)/ TIME about 60 mins for 2, 80 for 4 and 90 for 5
THE GAME
Worhington released a rather terrible play through, in my opinion of this game about 4 years ago and since then, no one seems to have quite got it right.
I wouldnt try to either, just to say that this is the basics. Players choose colours. Get two cards from a pre ordered and shuffled set and then set down with the choice of a location that has a centurion and a collseum on it. They then place three cubes of their colour on this. All free spaces get two cubes of a horrid green enemy (the aformentioned ENEMIES OF ROME). Play consists of 5 steps per turn, per player. First and oremost, take three cubes (units in the game) and places in a location or locations as you require. You then have to lay cards to move and follow all instructions on the cards and then once you move, roll die to resolve combat if anyone is in your way. Take another card and score points for new areas colonised. Thats the objective. To gain ground. Gain as much as you can and win. You gain prestige for every 5 victory points you get and can spend this in one of four ways. Now I havent noted a lot here because, to be honest, the games rules deals very well with this and…well let me review.
REVIEW
There are many a game that tries to hard. There are a few games that try to little and then there is ENEMIES OF ROME. I liked it. I loved it actually.
Its not a brain buster, nor is it really setting out to be. There are issues with the pieces and the way events flip flop the board but thats history for you. ENEMIES OF ROME is a game for people, who like their drinks, slightly bitter but easy to digest. The focus ins card managment but importanty the feel here is more push your luck, than stone cold strategy. Players are expected to handle multiple inputs of competition, deal deadly swaths of enemies to themselves and others and move to combat and gain control. They are not expected to resolve everything. The likely end result is an overwhelming loss, like the failed empire. There are not enough resources to control everywhere and players have to leave units in a location (one will do) everytime they move. One player of our group, hated the game for this. I loved it. It was historically accurate and allowed everyone to avoid the often silly conclusion, that you win by controlling everything. Here you win by managing failure the best you can. Done better by the likes of FALL OF ROME, ENEMIES OF ROME is a game for those who like to scrap by and just win, while revealling in the next card and its disasterous reliasation. In a later review, coming soon, DONNING THE PURPLE does some of this the same but more bitterly, ENEMIES is its nicer, less savage brother….
