Rome Must Fall
Rome Must Fall Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Winning and Losing
You win the game by surviving all twelve turns by marking off all boxes on the timelines.
The game is lost automatically when all four fire boxes are marked off on the "Fall of Rome" track.
Dice
The game uses D3s in the case of the red Imperial dice and black Barbarian dice, which are regular six-sided dice that when rolled are halved, rounding up. Therefore:
- A roll of 1 or 2 = 1
- A roll of 3 or 4 = 2
- A roll of 5 or 6 = 3
Game Components
- 1 Rulebook
- 1 Gamesheet
- 6 white six-sided dice
- 3 red six-sided dice
- 1 black six-sided die
- 5 red wooden cubes
- 1 dry-erasable marker or a pen/pencil
The Game Sheet
Franks tracker: This tracker is used to compare both the Imperial die placed here and the Barbarian total to beat every turn. It also includes the Franks timeline.
Visigoths tracker: This tracker is used to compare both the Imperial die placed here and the Barbarian total to beat every turn. It also includes the Visigoth timeline.
Vandals tracker: This tracker is used to compare both the Imperial die placed here and the Barbarian total to beat every turn. It also includes the Vandal timeline.
Ostrogoth tracker: This tracker is used to compare both the Imperial die placed here and the Barbarian total to beat every turn. It also includes the Ostrogoth timeline.
Huns Raid tracker: This Raid tracker calculates the ability of the Huns to raid Roman territories all over the empire. It also includes the Huns timeline and the raid penalty track.
War at Sea Raid tracker: This Raid tracker calculates the ability of Rome to keep the valuable sea trade routes open. It also includes the War at Sea timeline and the raid penalty track.
Fall of Rome track: This track is used to display how close the Roman empire is to falling. Each time a territory with a fire icon is captured by the Barbarians, you mark a box on this track.
The Empire Map: The map of the Roman empire which provides a visual reference of the advance of the various Barbarian tribes as they conquer Roman territories.
Roman Reserves: This box is used to place your red cubes which represent Roman manpower reserves.
Roman Glory: The Roman Glory box shows what type of bonuses that die rolls of "6" can trigger.
Roman abilities: This Roman abilities box keeps track of which abilities the Romans still have available each turn.
Game Setup
- Set the game sheet in front of you.
- Place two red cubes inside the "Roman Reserves" box.
- Put six white Imperial dice in the Roman Dice Pool at the bottom right of the game sheet.
- Place three red Imperial dice, the single black Barbarian die and the remaining three red cubes at the top of the game sheet.
The Game Turn
Each game consists of a maximum of 12 turns, with the following phases:
- Resource Phase: Roll and allocate resources.
- Roman Phase: Assign dice to defend against invasions.
- Barbarian Phase: Resolve attacks.
The Timeline
Each tracker has a timeline with boxes representing five year periods (from 420 AD to 475 AD). The number in each box indicates how aggressive that barbarian tribe is during that period, influencing how difficult it will be for the Romans to defend against them.
The game ends when all twelve boxes in the timeline have been marked off.
Resource Phase
Roll your 6 Imperial Dice.
Roman Abilities: You can activate abilities from the Roman Abilities box (bottom right of the game sheet). These allow actions like re-rolling a die, adding +1 to a die, using two 6's rolled to erase a captured territory or even gaining a red cube each turn. Each ability can be used once per turn.
The Roman Abilities box lists:
- Salt Mines: Add +1 to a die.
- Roman Offensive: Use two 6's to erase one territory circle (see Roman Offensive under Roman Glory).
- Grain Production: Re-roll a die.
- Manpower Pool: Gain 1 red cube per turn.
Roman Glory: Any roll of '6' on an Imperial die triggers special abilities from the Roman Glory box (e.g., gain a red cube or erase a barbarian-controlled territory). These abilities can be triggered multiple times per turn. See the Roman Glory section on page 6 for more info.
The Roman Glory box lists:
- Gain +1: Gain one red cube (one "6").
- Change One: Change one red die to a white die (two "6"s).
- Erase One: Erase a marked-off circle on the map (two "6"s).
Red Dice: If you lose territory or key raids (Huns or Sea), you must exchange white dice for red dice, which act as D3s (value halved, rounding up).
Replacing white Imperial dice with Red ones occurs when you lose areas on the map or through the Raid trackers (both the War at Sea and Hun Raid trackers).
Example: In this example, you have rolled a 1, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 6 during the Imperial phase. You decide to use the Roman abilities of adding one red cube to your Roman reserves and you decide to re-roll a 1 and roll a 5. Finally you decide to add +1 to the 5 rolled and it now becomes a 6. Because you now have three 6's on your Imperial dice, you can trigger multiple abilities on the Roman Glory chart.
You decide to erase one circle of territory that the Franks have already captured (Cambrai) and use your last 6 to gain an additional red cube to the Roman Reserves Box.
Roman Phase
After rolling and modifying your dice, assign them to one of the six Barbarian or Raid trackers by placing a single die in each Imperial Eagle box.
These Imperial die values will be compared against the sum of the Timeline value and the result of the black Barbarian die (D3) plus any bonuses through losing raids.
Example: In this example, you have rolled a 1, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 6 during the Imperial phase. You use both of your 6's to gain two extra red cubes to add to your Roman reserves box. You then place a 1 in the Vandal tracker, a 6 in the Visigoth tracker, a 3 in the Franks tracker, a 6 in the War at Sea tracker, a 4 in the Huns tracker and a 6 in the Ostrogoth tracker.
Barbarian Phase
For each tracker, starting with the Vandal tracker and moving clockwise, roll the black Barbarian die (D3), place it in the box with the tribe's symbol and add it to the current timeline value.
Compare the total, including any bonuses (see the penalty section for details), against the Imperial die assigned to that tracker.
Greater Than (>): If the Imperial die is higher: The Romans successfully defend that region. Mark the active box on the tracker and proceed.
Equal or Less Than (=<): If the Imperial die is equal or lower: The region is overwhelmed. The result depends on whether you lost to a barbarian tribe (see Losing Territory for more details) or a raid (see Raid Penalties for more details).
Adding a Roman Reserve (red cube): When comparing the total Barbarian value to your Imperial die on any tracker, you can remove a red cube from the Roman Reserves box to add +1 to the value of your Imperial die on that tracker.
Example: During the Barbarian Phase, begin by rolling the Barbarian die for the Vandal tracker and comparing the sum to the Imperial die placed there. Resolve the outcome (loss of territory and any penalties), then mark off the current timeline box before moving to the next Barbarian or Raid tracker clockwise and repeat the process until the Ostrogoth tracker is completed.
Example: In this example it is the 5th game turn and you have placed an Imperial die value of 3 on the Franks tracker. You roll a 6 for the Barbarian die (which converts to a 3 as a D3) and add this value to the number in the current timeline box (+2) giving a final value of 5 against your 3. You are defeated and lose territory against the Franks this turn and mark a circle on the map and finally marking off the current timeline box (the 5th box in the timeline).
Ending the turn: Once you have finished going through all Barbarian and Raid trackers, comparing values and applying the results, the turn ends.
Losing Territory
Losing Territory (Barbarian Trackers): Mark the circle on the map for the Barbarian tribe you lost to, starting with the circle that has the tribe's symbol. Follow the colored path for any future losses.
Losing territories and penalties: In addition, losing certain territories with an icon inside a circle will incur additional penalties such as:
- Red cube inside: When losing a territory with a red cube inside, remove a red cube from your Roman Reserves box. If none are available, change a white Imperial dice into a Red one.
- Red die inside: When losing a territory with a red die inside, change a white Imperial dice into a Red one.
- Fire inside: When losing a territory with a fire inside, mark off a box from the Fall of Rome track.
- Roman ability icon inside (any of the four Roman ability icons): When losing a territory with a Roman ability icon inside, mark off that ability from the Roman ability box and it is no longer available for the rest of the game.
- Rome (fire icon with "x3"): When losing Rome as a territory, mark off three boxes from the Fall of Rome track.
Example: For example, when losing territory to the Vandals, the first territory lost will be Numidia (the circle with the Vandal symbol). The next loss, following the green trail, will be Hippo Regius.
Next is Carthago, which has a wheat icon in its circle. When this territory is marked off, you permanently lose the ability to re-roll an Imperial die each turn. After a fourth defeat by the Vandals, you will lose Aegyptus, which has a fire icon, meaning you must mark off a box on the Fall of Rome track.
Raid Penalties
Suffering Raid Penalties (Raid Trackers): Failing against the Huns or Sea raiders results in penalties instead of losing territory. Below the timeline on each raid tracker are boxes, some with icons. After a loss, mark the leftmost box on the raid track. If the box has an icon, a raid penalty is triggered.
- Vandal icon with +1: When crossing off this box, add +1 to the Vandal Tracker. From now on add +1 to the Barbarian value total when comparing dice in the Barbarian phase.
- Ostrogoth shield icon with +1: When crossing off this box, add +1 to the Vandal Tracker. From now on add +1 to the Barbarian value total when comparing dice in the Barbarian phase. (Sic: the printed text says "Vandal Tracker", but the icon and the worked example below show the Ostrogoth tracker.)
- Red die icon: When losing a territory with a red die inside, change a white Imperial dice into a red one.
Example: In this example, you have lost to the Huns this turn (3 v.s 2+2) and must now mark a box on the raid track.
Example: The box has an Ostrogoth symbol with a +1 inside of it. This means that you must add a +1 to the circle inside the Ostrogoth tracker. Luckily the next box does not contain an icon and so next time you lose to the Huns, there will be no effect.
Write a +1 on the circle inside the Ostrogoth tracker. From now on add an additional +1 to the grand total of the Ostrogoth tracker (Barbarian die + timeline value +1).
Roman Reserves
Roman Reserves: You can gain red cubes by triggering Roman Glory (using 6's) or through a special Roman ability that grants one red cube per turn. You can hold a maximum of five red cubes in the Roman Reserves box.
A red cube can be used to add +1 to your Imperial die on any tracker when comparing values against a Barbarian or Raid tracker. You can also use multiple cubes on the same tracker to, for example, gain +2 or +3 for 2 or 3 cubes.
Hard and Easy Modes
Hard Mode: In case you wish to have a much more difficult challenge, start the game with zero red cubes in the Roman Reserves box.
Easy Mode: To make the game less challenging, start the game with four red cubes in the Roman Reserves box.
Roman Glory
Roman Glory: Any roll of '6' on an Imperial die triggers special abilities from the Roman Glory box (e.g., gain a red cube, change a red Imperial die back to a white one and erase a barbarian-controlled territory). These abilities can be triggered multiple times per turn, depending on how many 6's you have rolled.
Roman offensives (erasing barbarian territories): When using two 6's to erase a territory already controlled by a Barbarian tribe, if the circle had an icon in it, you do not regain the lost ability, or unmark a fire icon from the Fall of Rome track, regain a red cube, or even change back to a white Imperial die.
Example: Here is a sample of the three Roman Glory abilities that can be triggered with 6's.
- Using one 6 can gain you a red cube.
- Using two 6's can convert a red Imperial die back to a white Imperial die.
- Finally using two 6's can be used to erase a marked off circle on the map.
Ending the Game
Ending the game in victory: The game ends in a [sic] when all boxes on the timeline have been marked off. Rome has managed to survive.
If you have one or less fire boxes marked off on the Fall of Rome track, you have won a Brilliant Victory (shown in red). If you have two or three boxes marked, you have won a Victory (shown in orange).
Example: After marking off all timeline boxes on all Barbarian and Raid trackers, the game ends.
Ending the game in defeat: The game automatically ends in defeat immediately after marking off the fourth "fire" box on the Fall of Rome track. Either the eternal city of Rome has fallen or enough key provinces have been captured to spell the end of the Empire.
Example: In this example, all four fire boxes on the Fall of Rome track have been marked off due to losing important territories on the map and the game ends immediately.