Sword of Rome: Conquest of Italy, 362-272 BC

Sword of Rome spent years on the Shelf of Shame because it asks for a full day and proper preparation. Still, it sits just on the acceptable side of “yes, I’ll read rules before we play”: substantial without becoming forbidding, provided everyone arrives ready to watch armies disappear from Italy.

Rome naturally opens by pressing the Samnites, spreading out to increase its reinforcements; it alone can build that legion-producing engine. The Gauls come south to loot, the Etruscans and Samnites try not to become the peninsula’s punching bag, and the Greeks are free to look elsewhere and arrange their own moves. At first, everyone acts sensibly. Then the map reminds them that sensible people do not keep borders for long.

Minor-power activation cards are where the table bares its teeth: Sardinia is handed to the Greeks for no good reason, Carthage finally goes after them, and an Etruscan-Gaulish alliance puts Rome under real pressure. You will ally with the person who looted you five minutes ago, because somebody else is about to win. Then Pontius Gavius loses battles even at +6, the dice receive their deserved abuse, and play carries on because a sharp run of events can rescue a position that looked finished. The rulebook needs attention, but the game’s nastiness at the table is wonderfully plain.

What remains is a campaign of reversals: the Gauls lose their winning chance to their own kin and Etruscan gold, Rome tries to recover, the Etruscans survive on a hot hand of events, and the Greeks emerge as favourites. Sword of Rome gives nothing away, but it rewards a group willing to make deals, regret them, and watch Italy burn in an orderly fashion.