Watching the twitching and sliding of the battle meters and the waiting for the conflict reports can be a surprisingly nail-biting experience. Battles are fought, enemies strike, and come the next turn, you are left to deal with the aftermath. The second phase fast forwards the game by 30 days, and your plans are put into action. The first phase is where players plan their faction’s actions, whether that be making political decrees to curry favor with the masses by giving out bread or hosting a circus, or ordering troops to besiege a city and sorting out what legions need supplies and so on. This Roman romp is a turn-based affair, with each turn being split into two phases. Factions are not particularly balanced, and without foreknowledge it’s rather difficult to now how challenging playing a faction will be - not making players aware of the difficulty levels seems a bit remiss. Although it’s nothing but a nudge in the right direction, it’s a welcome one. The introduction to each campaign outlines the historical context for the conflict, as well as offering a couple of hints on what obstacles each faction must overcome. An interest in Roman history comes in quite handy, as scenarios are designed to play out with a great deal of historical accuracy. They cover a lot of ground, from the end of the Republic, to the end of the Principate and the first age of the Roman Empire. It starts with the civil war between Marius and Sulla, one of the most famous conflicts of the Late Republic and ends with the conflict between Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger, who were both elected Emperor by the legions of the west and east, respectively. Six campaigns are offered up to prospective military masterminds, representing some of the most famous conflicts Rome had with herself, including some that you might not be as familiar with. After doing a bit of homework, however, I found myself planning sieges, controlling troop movements, and building or toppling empires like a veteran general - it felt wonderful.
There’s no babysitting here, no advisers to tell you what to do you’re given your armies, land, and your greater objectives and sent off to either recreate history or rewrite it.
Before I could even cross the Rubicon, I was punched in the face by the game’s dizzying array of menus, elements, and systems, and I found myself more than a little bit lost. It covers scenarios focusing on the internal strife of the Roman state, from Republic to Empire, and it makes me wish I was better at making spreadsheets.Īlea Jacta Est is one of the first games in a long time that has caused me to go hunting for information in an instruction manual, even after completing the title’s bare-bones tutorial. Out of the many phrases attributed to the father of comb-overs, Julius Caesar, “Alea iacta est” (The die has been cast) is undoubtedly the most appropriate for something that feels like one of the most complicated board games I’ve ever played.Īlea Jacta Est is a massively expansive Roman strategy game from AGEOD, a French developer probably best known for American Civil War.
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