Image Courtesy of Kingmaker961
This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
If you liked the review please thumb the top of the article so others have a better chance of seeing it and I know you stopped by. Thanks for reading.
Summary
Game Type – Block Wargame
Play Time: 60-120 minutes
Number of Players: 2
Mechanics – Card Driven, Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Point to Point Movement, Simultaneous Action Selection, Secret Unit Deployment
Difficulty – Moderate (Can be learned in an hour and takes a few plays to get to grips with)
Components – Good
Release – 2010
Designer – <PERSON> - (Gettysburg: Badges of Courage, Liberty:
The American Revolution 1775-83, Shiloh: April 1862, Victory: The Blocks of War, Wizard Kings)
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<PERSON> - (Debut Title)
Overview and Theme
If there is one gaming genre that I have not really engaged with in my 20 years in modern board gaming, it is Wargames. This is due to two main reasons; not having an opponent or gaming group that likes this sort of thing and the fact that Wargames have always seemed very complicated to me and the worry that I was not up to them.
So when Columbia Gamesoffered me a chance to learn and review their game, Julius Caesar, I was cautiously in favour of the idea. I had reviewed for them last year and I was pleasantly surprised at what I found (as economic rail games are not normally my thing). That game proved to be something of an entry-level or 'light' game in that style, so perhaps Julius Caesar would be something similar in the Wargame genre?
I knew roughly what I was getting myself in for; a block wargame for 2-players that would require 'stickering' with the inclusion of 'fog of war' (not being able to see the nature of enemy units until combat is engaged). The theme involves Rome's most significant civil war with both sides being led by the namesake of this title and <PERSON>, during the time of 49-45 BC. I'll add that I know little of this particular conflict.
Despite having reviewed over 500 games now and racking up 20K+ plays I was nervous about reviewing this one. 299
Why? Simply because this is not in my wheelhouse, this is something quite new to me and this may limit my effectiveness and accuracy in reviewing a game of this type.
But with that comes a silver lining too. If you are anything like me and have never given a <PERSON> a chance...well this review could be quite instructive. I will bring a fresh set of eyes to the genre and can give a 'greenhorn' perspective on the experience.
So let's get down to it. Lose the toga, don some armour...we fight for the future of Rome!
The Components
In my one experience with Columbia Games, they tend to offer good wooden blocks and an acceptable map to keep costs down. Let's see what <PERSON> has in the production stakes.
Board – The board is a nice big 6-panel affair that depicts the Mediterranean Sea and surrounds. Naturally Italy is center stage and the map extends from Spain and north-west Africa to Egypt, Jerusalem and Persia minor in the east.
The map is adorned with various lines representing roads that link Cities and the Mediterranean is dissected into various sea zones.
In keeping with what I have seen fromColumbia Gamesso far, the board is not of the high-quality mounted affair as expected from Euros and thematic titles, here we get a decent level of cardboard thickness but one that can lose its shape and needs some bending back in spots to get it flat when acquired new. I don't have a major problem with this if it helps to keep the cost down and most Wargamers use a perspex sheet anyway to keep boards like this in place.
I like the colouring of the map, with the water featuring a nice blue and the land featuring muted greens so as to not make it garish and to give it that map-look. Elevations are subtly depicted and the greens in the north are deeper than Northern Africa as they should be.
A Round\Year Track is located in the top left corner and various icons adorn the map to reflect City Status and Levy locations of note.
Image Courtesy of Kingmaker961
Blocks & Stickers – The game offers up really nice wooden blocks in two different colours to represent the two sides in the conflict. The blocks offer a really nice thickness that makes them lovely to hold and touch and the size is the same if I remember correctly as those used in . 92