Burning Rome: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Pre-constructed Deck Building, Hand Management, Head to Head, Card Placement
Player Age: 14+
Player Count: 2 - 4 Players
Time to Play: 15 - 30 Minutes
Game Designer: Emil Larsen
Game Artists: Caner Inciucu, Angelita Ramos
The Game:
Objective:
Burning rome is a head to head game where the aim is to
defeat your opponent by destroying their army by reducing their command points
(CP) or army strength (AS) to zero.
Card Anatomy:
Unit cards:
1. Attack Value: This will be used as the attack value if
another card is on top of this card in the column or if this is the first and
only card in a column.
2. Unit Type: certain cards effects are based on certain unit
types.
3. Defence Value: This will be used as the defending value
if this card is covered in the column or if this is the only card in a column.
4. Skirmish Value: This will be the attack value if this
card is on top of any other card but not covered by another card.
5. Siege Value: this will be the defence value if this card
is on top of any other card but not covered by any card.
6. Command Point Cost: This is the amount required to be
spent to enlist the unit.
7. Ability: Each unit has an ability that can be used:
- Ongoing abilities occur every time it meets a requirement
as long as the card is not covered. Ongoing abilities are represented by the
sand timer.
- When played abilities are invoked when the unit is played,
unless in the case of being played underneath a general. When played abilities
are represented by the square and arrow.
- Activate abilities can be used once per turn as long as
the unit isn't covered. After using the ability the unit becomes exhausted by
placing an exhaust token on top. Activate abilities are represented by the
lightning bolt.
- Retreat abilities occur when the card is returned to the
players hand or the bottom of the players deck. Retreat abilities are
represented by a flag.
8. Faction & Unit Name: There are currently four
factions; Rome, Carthage, Celtiberia and Gaetuli.
Tactic Cards:
Tactic cards contain no combat values but have every other
feature seen on the unit cards. Tactic cards work the same as spells in other
games and let the player do a onetime effect then is discarded.
Battle Columns Anatomy:
In a basic game there are three columns on either side of
the battlefield. Each column can hold three units from either player. Whenever
a unit is played it will be played on top of a column covering every card below
it except for the attack, unit, and defence. However, there is one
exception to this, the general unit will always be on top of their column and
any additional cards played on that column will be placed underneath them (not
activating their abilities) and the column that the general is in can now hold
four cards, including the general, instead of three.
Setup:
Depending on if you are playing the game standardly or based
on historic battles (more on this later) each player receives a deck of at
least 12 cards including the general, and an army sheet with two meeples places
on their respective starting command points and army strength.
The battlefield is
placed in the middle of the two players with a meeple starting in attacker turn
1 (see image below). The first player will lose one CP and draw four cards for
their starting hand. The second player will draw five cards for a starting
hand.
How to Play:
There are three phases start of turn; playing cards and end of turn.Start of Turn:
At the start of your turn you can activate any ongoing
abilities that trigger now, unexhaust any exhausted units by removing the
exhaust disc, and choose between either drawing one card or gaining two CP.
Playing Cards:
During this phase you can play any amount of cards in your
hand as long as you spend the correct CP. As discussed above in battle column
anatomy, you will place your units in one of the three designated spots on your
side of the battlefield. If there is a unit already in that spot then this new
card is played on top (except with the general) and everything other than the
unit type, attack, and defence will be covered. Any abilities that trigger when
played will activate upon entry to the battlefield.
End of Turn:
At the beginning of this phase any ‘before attack’ abilities
activate. This is followed by the attack (more on this soon). After your epic
history-altering battle, any ‘after attack’ abilities will activate and the
turn/battle tracking meeple will now move to the next space. In a standard game
once turn six had passed the meeple is simply returned to the start of the
battlefield tracker, although this only applies for some historic battles.
Attacking:
At the end of every turn there will be an attacking phase
where each column will attack the opposing column (unless established this
turn). If the attack value is higher than the defence value of the opposing
column, the defender will lose AS dependant on the remaining attack value for
example, if an attack of 3 is defended with a defence of 2 then the attacker
inflicts 1 AS damage.
The attack and defence values are collaborative for the
whole column, so if one card stands alone then they only have their own values
to attack/defend with but if there are multiple cards then the attack values of
covered cards are added together with the skirmish/siege value of the top card.
They are a battalion after all and will stand together to fight.
After the attack is concluded for each column, the units in
combat do not die. You will want to keep this in mind when playing your units
as a column can only hold a limited amount of cards, although there are cards
to return or destroy your units.
Variant:
Deck Building:
If your confident in playing the game you may now be ready
for deck building. This is done by using 50 points (exact). These points can be
used in one of the three ways:
1. Starting AS
2. Starting CP
3. Add a card to the deck, where you pay points equal to the
cards enlistment cost
To build a deck, you must include a general and have at
least 12 cards.
There is a booklet of eight scenarios (with more online) of
battles with pre-constructed decks, alternate win conditions, alternate battle
conditions for one or both players, and alternate setup with units already in
play. In this mode you can play out real life battles and have variants with six columns instead of three.
Final Thoughts:
Pros:
- Unique position in columns
- Interesting deck construction allowing for the players to
choose their starting CP and AS
- Many pre-constructed decks and scenarios in ancient
battles booklet
- Fast game play
Cons:
- Can lock yourself in to unsatisfactory situations with
three units per column, while not having cards to manipulate this
Burning Rome has managed to incorporate an interesting and
engaging spin on head to head games by using and manipulating the columns. Due
to attacking every turn when able, the game plays quite quickly, forcing
players into actions that can be seen as impulsive and lead to sticky
situations. However, this adds to the fun and players must be able to think
strategically while under pressure. Personally, the theme didn’t resonate
completely with me but this would be a great suit for fans of ancient history
and head to head games. With multiple pre-constructed scenarios and the
potential deck building component, the player can explore numerous avenues of
play that will lead them returning for more
Click...feed the addiction:
SunTzu GamesBurning Rome on BGG
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