A Rome Board Game

[The Mad Scandinavian]

I'm wondering what the people on this forum would think of a Rome board game set in the same period as RTW? Do you think it would be possible to make one that was fun, accurate, and possibly innovative? Do you think a complicated a game that took time learn and play or a more Risk like game would be better?

Mad Scandinavian

[Papewaio]

STW has a board game very much like it called Shogun or Samurai Swords.

[The Mad Scandinavian]

I've never heard of it, but it sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

[GoreBag]

Ah, Shogun. I've been tried to get my hands on it for quite a while, but I always seem to be outbid, in the wrong country, or whatever other reason.

It was the only Avalon Hill board game other than the famous Axis & Allies ever to receive a second printing. This was for two reasons: 1)its popularity compared to the other board games that were released by Avalon Hill; 2)"Shogun" is already a registered trademark and they were in danger of being sued. The second printing is called Samurai Swords and is completely identical to the first printing except for a single rule clarification in the manual.

Avalon Hill also released a board game set in Rome. I believe it was called Caesar or something to that effect, but my memory on this one is a little hazy. In any case, it was a fun game and inspired a little cult following and a set of widely-accepted house rules, since there was a problem involving catapults and how they tended to dominate the game, thus turning every match into a race to control as many of them as one physically can (the number of units in the game is limited by the number of tokens that came with the game).

...

Okay, I decided to google it just now and found this.

Avalon Hill

There were two board games Avalon Hill made involving Rome - Caesar's Legions and Caesar at Alesia.

[Papewaio]

Interesting read particularly:

Hasbro Games purchased the rights to the Avalon Hill games and back inventory and the name "Avalon Hill." Hasbro now publishes a select number of old Avalon Hill games. Several individual games were licensed to interested publishers. The largest number of the most popular games were licensed to Curt Schilling's Multi-Man Publishing.

Hasbro is the main manufacturer of Star Wars plastic figures.

Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast (Magic) which in turn owns Dungeons and Dragons and funnily enough the d20 Star Wars roleplaying game and minatures as well.

[econ21]

There was a really interesting board game "Decline and Fall" published in the 1970s by the UK company Wargames Research Group. It was "grand strategic" & simulated 100s of years of the fall of Rome in about 30 turns, with an emphasis on multiplayer interactions. The three barbarian factions needed to ally to break through Rome's frontier, but also were rivals. Rome split into East and West 10 turns into the game. Each side had a different resource model - the Romans had a cash economy, with revenue from cities; the Goths and Vandals had an agricultural one, gaining recruits by holding lands; and the Huns had a "ghazi" type approach, gaining recruits by destroying enemies. It was pretty innovative and, AFAIK, provided a decent historical simulation at a rather abstract level.

[The Mad Scandinavian]

I think the game with the terrible catapult rules is Conquest of the Empire. I've never played it but I've read some on it and one of my professors talks about playing it in college. A game company named Eagle Games is re-releasing it this month, hopefully . It looks like a lot of fun. I'm thinking of buying it.

There is also a game about the Senate. I can't remember what it's called but I have it and have never played it. It was borrowed to me by the same professor who used to play Conquest of the Empire.

I'm trying to make a couple of board games right now, one of which is Rome, but I'm dirt poor so most of what I have is ideas some of which would work some of which would not. If anyone's willing to contribute...