ATO Issue #53 ROME Inc.

ROME, INC. by designer Philip Jelley, is a solitaire game of the Roman Empire. The premise is that the player runs the operations of the Roman Empire like a business, but with a bit more blood, bread and circuses. After hostile takeovers of such competitors, like Carthage, Greece and Gaul, Rome has been incorporated into an empire, ready to monopolize the ancient world. But this requires the efforts of many, some who might be in it for themselves. As the player, you are not “the Emperor” - you select and replace emperors, and all the statesmen under him.

ROME, INC. begins with the “startup” of the Roman Empire under Augustus in 27 BCE to Diocletian in 286 CE. You’ll control the workings of the empire throughout, although you can pick four distinct “starting points” (27 BCE, 70 CE, 138 CE and 222 CE) and run scenarios of any length you like, depending on your corporate acumen and endurance. Each turn represented 5-10 years, with 10 turns in each of the four scenarios.