The aim of the game is to score as many victory points as possible. Victory points are gained by controlling civilized provinces (conquest of territory is nice, but does not - in itself - earn you a lot of victory points); you get 10 victory point for each civilized province controlled, every turnm and 1 victory point for each population factor in your controlled provinces (so the best provinces give 13 points if civilized, but only 3 points if uncivilized). 1200 points is a good score (and roughly corresponds to a "historical" victory); less than that is a poor score: Vae Victis! The game ends when the Roman capital (Italia, at the start of the game) falls or after the year 500 ACE. Each turn represents 50 years.
The player starts in Rome (Italia), with 4 legions, a full manpower pool (6 citizens), and 25 Talents. The rest is up to you.
The game is played as a sequence of turns, with each turn representing approximately fifty years.
On the Roman player turn, you may access a number of actions:
When you are satisfied with your turn, push the turn button to end your turn. The game will now show you the reactions and actions of the various other civilized and barbarian states before it becomes your turn again. It is usually best to distribute all of the units in your activation pool before ending your turn, as they will otherwise all be dropped in your capital province (usually Italia). At the end of the AI turn, the game will tell you what major threats may face you in the coming turn. Carthage is the first major threat you will face in the historical game.
The top status bar displays the game year (left side), the current victory point score (center), and the current status of the treasury in talents, with the expected balance - plus or minus - to be expected at the end of the turn (right).
The order buttons describe the available actions. Actions that are not currently available for your selected province will be disabled.
The bottom section of the screen contains the info bar, whose primary purpose is to provide information to the player during the turn. This is also where you will find summarized information about the currently selected province when you press on a new province.
To perform most actions, you will need to activate legions or auxilia (displayed by the icons in the lower right corner of the screen). Use the Unit view to recruit new units or activate garrisoned units
To attack a province, touch the province you wish to attack and then push the attack button. This will bring up the Attack dialog, from which you can launch your attacks with your mobilized legions and auxilia. When you conquor a province (defeat the last enemy), it will become a part of your empire and you will gain a number of Talents in plunder. To attack a province, you must be able to trace a line of communication from your capital to the targeted province.
To civilize a province, touch the province you wish to civilize and then push the province button. This will bring up the Province view. The cost of civilizing a province is variable, depending on how romanized the province is.
To recruit limitanei (static garrison units), touch the province you want to recruit for and then push the province button. The Province view contains a button that allows you to recruit Limitanei, if any are available. Note that a province can never contain more limitanei than it's population size.
Note also that you cannot civilize or recruit limitanei in a province that you conquored in the same turn.
To recruit new Legions and Auxilia, touch the province you want to build from and then push the Units button. The Units view allows you to recruit new Legions and Auxilia. Recruiting units always cost 1 Talent; if you do not have enough Talents in your treasury, you will not be able to recruit any new units. Legions and Auxilia are activated for immediate use. The Units view will also allow you to move units from your mobilization pool to the province and vice versa.
Note that to perform any action on one of your own provinces, it must be possible to trace a line of communication to the province from your capital. Isolated provinces can not be used or given orders to, and cannot be used as a base for further conquest.
The map depicts the world, as known by the Romans. The map is divided into interconnected provinces, usually along the lines of the major Roman provinces. The connections between the provinces are of two types: land connections (black) and sea connections (blue). Ownership of provinces are denoted using a banner. The Roman banner depicts the Roman eagle and SPQR.
Provinces can be one of two types; Civilized and non-Civilized. Civilized provinces are marked on the map using a colloseum. The name of each province is denoted below the province; along with its current garrison strength. For non-Roman provinces this consists of one number (number of units in the province); Roman provinces have three numbers denoting the number of legions, auxilia and limitanei in the province respectively.
A black fist on a province indicates that there is a risk of rebellion in that province. If it is a Roman province, it might be a good idea to garrison it. A star on the province indicates that it is the capital province of the owning empire.
The provinces at the edge of the map with the swirly symbol are wilderness regions. These regions cannot be conquored or entered; their sole purpose is as the entry points for the unending barbarian hordes. If the color of a wilderness province flag is red, that means that you should expect a major invasion of barbarians from that province at the end of the turn. Prepare your defences and hope they find the lands of your enemies more attractive than yours.
Be aware that migratory armies (armies that start the game from wilderness provinces) migrate; i.e., they move freely through barbarian empires until they clash against the borders of a civilized empire (usually the Roman Empire). In other words, don't feel too safe just because Rome is many thousand miles south of Scandia.
To scroll the map, just touch and drag.
Each province has a population rating, denoting its base tax value and how much manpower it produces as a base. The maximum manpower you can accumulate is equal to double the population of your provinces. Manpower is accumulated into your manpower pool and consists of citizens (used to create Legions) and auxilia (used to create Auxilia). What type of manpower a province produces depends on the romanization value of the province.
A 100% Roman province will only produce citizens, while one at 0% produces only subjects. The Romanization value of a province will gradually rise in Roman controlled provinces, while it will gradually fall in enemy controlled provinces. It is easier (cheaper) to civilize Romanized provinces than to civilize barbarian provinces. Thus a province that is less than 100% roman costs 10 Talents; a province that 99-50% roman costs 15 Talents, and all other provinces cost 20 Talents.
At the end of each turn, the player earns a number of Talents equivalent to the tax value of the available Roman provinces. The tax value of civilized provinces is 50% greater than the base tax value. A province must be connected to the Imperial capital to be taxable, and provinces conquored during the Roman player turn can not be taxed. In addition, the player earns one Talent for each subject in the empire (citizens do not pay taxes).
The player also pays upkeep for all of his units on the map.
Specifically:
Income each turn = Population Rating of all connected provinces (+50% for cities) +
Number of subjects in your manpower pool.
Expenses each turn = Upkeep cost of all your units.
Income and expenses are calculated at the end of your turn; before the other empires and barbarian invaders move their units.
A negative balance prevents the player from recruiting new units until the deficit has been corrected.
Isolated provinces (i.e., provines that cannot trace a line of communication back to Rome) do not produce manpower, give you any taxes or victory points. In addition, note that provinces that are isolated at the start of two consecutive turns will rebel and leave the empire1. Maintain your lines of communications.
There are several types of military units in the game. Each unit has a combat value that is used to resolve campaigns against provinces as well as an upkeep cost. Recruiting units costs 1 Talent and expends 1 manpower. The Roman player has three key units at his disposition.
Roman Legions are among the best units in the game. They will usually make up the bulk of the forces you deploy. They have a combat value of 10 and cost 3 talents in upkeep per legion each turn. Only citizen manpower can be recruited into the Legions.
Roman Auxilia are support units for the legions. They are more useful defensively than offensively, and will often be found bulking up a stack of legions or garrisoning less critical areas. They have a combat value of 5 and cost 1 talents in upkeep per turn. Only subject manpower can be recruited as auxilia.
Roman Limitanei represent the static garrisons that became common during the latter history of the empire. They have a combat value of 7 and cost 2 talents in upkeep per unit each turn. Only citizen manpower can be recruited as limitanei. In addition, the number of limitanei in a province is limited to the population size. Limitanei can neither move nor attack enemy provinces.
Combat functions very simply; the combat value of the attacker is compared to that of the defender, and a percentage chance for success is calculated. The defeated unit is eliminated. A defending region always has a combat value bonus of 1 (even unoccuppied provinces have a CV of 1). A civilized province has a combat defense bonus of +2 and attacks across sea crossings provide either +1 or +2 bonus to the defenders, depending on whether the attackers are civilized or not.
When a province is conquored, the province is plundered. The amount of plunder depends on the population (size and whether it is romanized or not - Romans do not plunder Roman citizens) and whether the province is civilized. Enemies who conquer a province will use the plunder to purchase garrisons.