Caesar or lion chum? Another epic Enemies of Rome (@worth2004, 2017) #boardgame #wargame #gamenight

ENEMIES OF ROME (Worthington Publishing, 2017) is most-played wargame-boardgame in the RockyMountainNavy household. Yes, this grognard of 40 years has played this blocks and cards waro more times since I started seriously recording my game plays in mid-2016. Why this game?

Because it’s fun. Here is the publishers blurb:

You and up to 4 other players are one of Rome’s great leaders. Take control of legions and lead them across the known world for the next 600 years as you deal with uprisings, rebellions, political intrigue, and wars. Players can make alliances with one another (and true to Rome, break those alliances!) maneuver their forces and the enemies of Rome, all as they try to become the one true Caesar! All others are fed to the lions and their legacies lost to history…

I have discussed Enemies of Rome before. I initially started off a bit against the game but over time we keep coming back to it. Every time it gets better. Yes, even after 13 plays it still keeps the RockyMountainNavy Boys and myself engaged. This weekend’s game night showed that Enemies of Rome always has surprises in store.

Unlike several other plays of Enemies of Rome, this game played out a bit differently with much more head-to-head battling. Although the game looks like it should be an area control game, in reality you score ‘Glory’ (VP) by winning battles. With this thought in mind I adopted a strategy of trying to win at least one battle every round. I also used Enemies of Rome (Barbarian) Movement to not only move Barbarians towards my opponents, but to also move Barbarians away from areas I wanted to attack. More than a few times I ‘cleared out’ an area and left it easy-pickings for myself. The strategy almost worked – except the RockyMountainNavy Boys caught onto what I was doing and quickly imitated my strategy.

In the end, RockyMountainNavy Jr, Proconsul of Hispania, and myself, Proconsul of Syria, were tied for Glory. The tie-breaker goes to the player with the most Legions on the map. Alas, that was not me.

Both RockyMountainNavy T and myself set Personal Best scores this game. All that in a game that took 90 minutes to setup, play, and tear down.

The RMN Boys noticed that Enemies of Rome plays up to 5 players making it a good candidate for the Neighborhood Gaming Gang. I get a feeling that our copy is going to get many more plays in the year ahead….

P.S. As I write this blog post (Jan 04, 2019), I notice that Enemies of Rome is ON SALE at Worthington for $37.50 as compared to a retail of $75.00. A REAL BARGAIN!