Rome on the Run

A Big Game can take weeks to play or even months. It’s awfully exciting though, when everyone is struggling in the beginning and we will play every spare moment. In our dreams we imagine alliances and strategies to bring our enemies to their knees. Everything is possible.

Poor Rome suffered a large loss against York. Even though the Romans won the battle their big army of points was cut down to a small army, and they withdrew to regroup. York had more points on the way and the Romans were running scared.

And then the expected but nasty happened. The gnolls, who had been Roman vassals, revolted. They’d been sending a measly twenty points in tribute to the Romans and were allowed to build up points and armies as long as they used those armies to Rome’s advantage. They met an Arken army, but instead of attacking agreed to a truce and war on Rome.

The main gnoll army, around six hundred points, was far from the gnoll capital, and it took six turns for them to get there. Roman had a garrison of two hundred and fifty points there but could not reinforce because they’d sent all their troops to help fight York.

So things look bad for Rome. They’re southern lands have all been overrun by the revolting gnolls. They are pressed from the West by York reinforced by Arc. We haven’t played it yet, but likely the uneasy alliance will destroy Rome completely.

I’m not sure we’ve ever finished a big game. When does it end? I suppose when one faction controls everything. But we’ve never got that far. We play with so many factions there are always alliances and treaties and as soon as something is settled something else rises.

It seems we’re actually playing two games. One is the scape game of actual figures on the battlefield. The second game is a diplomatic dance of nations and borders not that different than actual human history.

I remember a game we played on an ocean full of small islands. We have rules for boats and boat fighting, so that was interesting. The diplomatic battles were nasty, small groups fighting over tiny bits of land.

I wonder sometimes why humans fight the way they do. I know evolution makes a lot of different kinds of people, but most of us are really just poor farmers and workers. We want to lead happy lives and have peace and families and full bellies. Why are there generals and leaders that want to take over the world? We’ve been keeping track of our own history for a while now and really empires don’t last.

You might say Rome was around for a while but it was filled with infighting- it was republic, then run by dictators and emperors. Four emperors in one year once. Five emperors in one year another time. We’ve had big nasty wars in the 20th century. Empires rise and fall. The generals live extravagantly and then get hung by the side of the road.

Through it all the farmers and workers keep going. Lots of them die, but there are always more to bury them and plant more crops, build more houses and sew more clothes.

If you’re a general please look back at human history and think carefully before you proceed. If you’re a farmer please keep working brother, because you’re the reason we’re all here today.