Mare Nostrum: Empires

I came to Mare Nostrum: Empires with expectations. It has a high rating on BGG, friends whose opinions I value set it up at least once every three months, and both its theme and rules sounded like exactly the sort of thing that would intrigue our group. And yet, for me, it ended up being one of the worst games I played this year. A huge disappointment.

I am not going to pretend I can dissect systems that did not give me what I expected. At the table, the game asks everyone to get into its mindset and handle its rules in a particular way; at least, that was the conclusion we reached after quite a bit of discussion.

The key, as we experienced it, is the group’s shared approach. For it to be enjoyable, everyone probably has to pay closer attention to certain things and play in the way the game itself seems to demand. If that does not happen, the experience simply does not come together. Flat.

My first play was a bad experience, like finding a rotten Aegina pistachio in the bag. Thankfully, around then the food arrived—more than an hour late—and the disappointment was somewhat drowned in cheddar and cholesterol. Anyone who ignores pizza’s healing properties should reconsider. Once we had stuffed ourselves, we rightly decided not to let the evening end that way and played something else too. Despite the disappointment, I want to give Mare Nostrum: Empires a second chance.