Hello,
many thanks for your support, I send you an explanation of the HOTRE game mechanics.
“History of the Roman Empire” is playing in seven turns and each player tries to control, with the own Romans or Barbarians units, the nine areas of the map. The map reproduces the entire mediterranean basin and a part of the Asia Minor, each area is subdivided in five provinces.
At the end of any Roman Faction and Barbarian People turn, the player counts how many Victory Points earns, controlling provinces and entire areas on the map.
The game’s aim is of accumulate the most number of Victory Points, at the end of the last turn the Roman and Barbarian Victory Points are totalised to determine the winner.
At the game start any player receives nine Event Cards and choices a Roman Faction, any faction includes seven Legions units with a distinctive colour. Moreover the players choice which Emperor and Barbarian Population they’ll control during the current turn. About this every player must take two numerical tokens, the number corresponds, in chronological order, to an Emperor (from the six available, on the first turn are Crassus, Pompeus, Caesar, Augustus, Nero and Caligula) and one Barbarian Population (from the five available, Gauls, Germans, Garamantes, Pannons and Maurs),
The player may decide if “take” or “pass” them to another player, this choice is repeated until every player will have an Emperor and a Barbarian Population. Some Emperors give to the players a Bonus, like Military or Economic, while other Emperors give no bonus at all. The game turn order, will be so determined, because every Emperor and Barbarian Population is related to a chart of chronological appearance. During the first turn the players may choice where settle their “Capital”, for the Roman Faction they controll, from the four possible starting provinces (Italia, Aquitania, Macedonia and Syria).
The arrival on map of the Romans and Barbarians will be alternating, the first Emperor, then the first Barbarian, the second Emperor and the second Barbarian, and so on. Always two Emperor and one Barbarian Population are be left from the game, there are six possible Emperor and five Barbarians Population available every turn but only four players !
The players in game order, must place on map the own units, starting from the initial province and expanding on the adjacent provinces ( the stacking is of three units max for province), if the choice province is occupied by enemy units, a battle occurs, the attacking player rolls two dice and the defender one, the winner is the player earning the highest single dice result, the loser must eliminate a unit, and the battle go on, at the attacker choice, to the total elimination of the defender forces or to the exhaustion of the attacker units. If the attacker wins the battle, may occupy the involved province and continue his expansion.
About the “Battle”, many factors may modify the final result and the number of dice rolls, like terrain , forts, Emperors bonus and Event Cards.
Attention, the units placed on map, may not move again during the same turn.
Legions “lost” from the Roman Faction in battles, may be “recruited” at the start of the next Faction turn, spending Romans Victory Points, moreover at the start of every turn all the Legions on map are still available for new expansions.
Otherwise the Barbarians units, when the population is still on play for more turns, may be “recruited” for free from the controlling player.
Every turn the player will be faced with decision about the best strategic choice they will adopt, trying to conquer and maintain the control over the map areas.
During the seven game turns, the areas value will change, initial poor areas like Gaul or Africae will increase, and at the end of the game will be fundamental defend or conquer the most profitable Victory Points areas. Moreover for “motivate” the players to “hold” the Roman Faction in play and defend the Empire, on the last turn a Victory Point bonus will be earn for every Roman controlled province.
Some other Victory Point will be earned from the player for City and Kingdom control and for looted treasures.
Only the Romans may found Cities, build Forts and make naval move and so on…
Every turn the players may use Event Cards, like Kingdoms, Minor Populations, Military bonuses and Calamity, this cards will be played only on specific turns and situations, but their well use will be very important to.
At last “History of the Roman Empire” offers a multiplicity of situations, still different game to game, where the players will be fully involved to reach the best for the final victory.
The players must choice time to time if make prevail the Empire or the Barbaric Hordes !
For every information or questions please send a mail to:
mauri-marco@libero.it
For eventually prenotation, please, contact the site:
www.ugg.de at the P500 HOTRE game page.
Thanks
Broglia Marco
