Below is the tenth and final in a series of articles from Mark McLaughlin showcasing the ten civilizations in Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea. The first nine articles can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Enjoy!
Before it was an empire whose control of the Mediterranean and its surrounding lands was so complete that they dubbed it “Mare Nostrum” (Our Sea), Rome was an unremarkable village on the Tiber – and a republic. Rome’s ability to dominate Italy, and from there build a base from which to make true its imperial dreams, is reflected in the bonuses given to Rome in Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea.
Rome’s legions were not always victorious, especially in the early epochs represented by the game, but they were steadfastly resilient. No matter how often they were wiped out, the Romans kept coming back.
To show this stubborn perseverance, the Roman Civilization gains not only a military advantage by being able to place up to three White Tiles in and adjacent to its home area in Competitions, but also a choice of taking either a Card or placing two additional Tiles in Growth if there is a city in or adjacent to Rome. If there is no city there, however, the Roman player does get a Tile to perhaps help start one – either to rebuild or to reconquer the Eternal City.
Previous Article in this Series: Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea: Meet the Minoans
Author: Mark McLaughlin
Hi, just saying, could there be a variant to play as Etruria instead of Rome, someday?
That makes more chronological sense with Phoenicia. Thank you
the beauty of the game is that you could do just that…you could just make etruria the homeland and ignore the homeland symbol in rome…you would have to come up with some new special abilities for etruria….so you could easily design your own variant
It whould be interesting with some alternative civilisations like Etruscians, Athens/Sparta/Syracuse or Hittities etc Just the cards are needed, replacing Romans, Mycaene, Minoans, Carthege?
Am very impressed with everything I’m seeing about this game, so please keep us regularly updated… Am we get a peek at the Scenario Booklet anytime soon?
fred finished the last read through this week…when chad makes those final changes (probably this week) everything will be done and ready for the printer….but i can not release these until i get the go signal…