Summing Up Our 10th Game Of Empire

CARTHAGE'S victory at the 10th attempt means all four peoples have now won one of our four-handed games of Richard Sabin's Empire.

It was a very convincing triumph, but the final position, with Carthage on 24 victory points and Rome on 10, tells the story - the Romans never got fully going, even during the two decades in which they had Scipio as a great commander.

Meanwhile, in the East, the Macedonians and Persians/Parthians battled gamely, but neither succeeded in decisively gaining the upper hand, despite the latter re-emerging quickly after their homeland was lost in the initial Macedonian expansion.

Here are the updated standings (four points for a win, three for coming second, etc).

ANDY
Game One: 4pts (Macedonians)
Game Two: 3.5pts (Persians/Parthians)
Game Three: 3pts (Romans)
Game Four: 2.5pts (Carthaginians)

Game Five: 2pts (Romans)

Game Six: 4pts (Persians)

Game Seven: 1pt (Macedonians)

Game Eight: 3pts (Carthaginians)

Game Nine: 1pt (Persians/Parthians)

Game 10: 4pts (Carthaginians
Total: 28pts

ME

Game One: 3pts (Carthaginians)
Game Two: 3.5pts (Romans)
Game Three: 4pts (Persians)
Game Four: 1pt (Macedonians)

Game Five: 4pts (Persians/Parthians)

Game Six: 2pts (Carthaginians)

Game Seven: 3pts (Romans)

Game Eight: 1pt (Macedonians)

Game Nine: 3pts (Romans)

Game 10: 3pts (Macedonians)
Total: 27.5pts

RICHARD JOHNSON
Game One: 2pts (Romans)
Game Two: 1pt (Macedonians)
Game Three: 2pts (Carthaginians)
Game Four: 2.5pts (Persians/Parthians)

Game Five: 1pt (Macedonians)

Game Six: 3pts (Romans)

Game Seven: 2pts (Carthaginians)

Game Eight: 4pts (Persians/Parthians)

Game Nine: 4pts (Macedonians)

Game 10: (Persians/Parthians)
Total: 23.5pts

REG

Game One: 1pt (Persians/Parthians)
Game Two: 2pts (Carthaginians)
Game Three: 1pt (Macedonians)
Game Four: 4pts (Romans)

Game Five: 3pts (Carthaginians)

Game Six: 1pt (Macedonians)

Game Seven: 4pts (Persians)

Game Eight: 2pts (Romans)

Game Nine: 2pts (Carthaginians)

Game 10: 1pt (Romans)
Total: 21pts

SCORES BY PEOPLES
Persians/Parthians: 30pts

Romans: 26.5pts
Carthaginians: 25.5pts
Macedonians: 18pts

The main takeaways:

*Andy has retaken the lead from me in our ding-dong fight for top spot.

*Although this was the first Carthaginian victory, they are overall comfortably ahead of the Macedonians, who have triumphed twice.

*With Rome coming last in our 10th game, the Carthaginians are now the only people never to have come worst than third.

Empire X - Turn 20 (160-150 BC)

Situation in 160 BC

The final victory points will be added at the end of this turn.

As it stands, Andy's Carthaginians have four provinces, including double-scoring IBERIA and 'AFRICA', so that is six points, bringing their total to 24.

Reg's Romans also have four provinces, including triple-scoring ITALIA, so that is also six points, bringing their total to 10.

My Macedonians have eight provinces, including double-scoring AEGYPTUS, so that is nine points, bringing their total to 18.

Richard's Parthians have three provinces, all scoring just a single point, so their total becomes 17.

First, the revolt dice land 5-3, meaning Magna Graecia becomes independent, reducing the Romans to nine victory points.

I am drawn first, and I easily conquer Pontus, taking the Macedonian total to 19 victory points.

Reg's Romans reconquer Magna Graecia, so returning to 10 victory points.

Andy's Carthaginians attack Cisalpina, rolling a 4. That is insufficient as there are -1 modifiers for attacking outside of the original Carthaginian empire and for attacking a controlled province.

Finally, Richard's Parthians unsuccessfully attack Bactria.

The final picture, showing a runaway victory, in game terms, for Carthage

Empire X - Turn 19 (170-160 BC)

Situation in 170 BC

The revolt dice land 6-5, meaning Thracia expels my Macedonians.

Andy is drawn first, and he continues the Carthaginian revival by crossing the Alps and taking Cisalpina.

I go for the easy option, and retake Thracia.

Richard's Parthians reconquer Persia, and Reg's Romans retake Cisalpina.

Carthage could end up with more provinces than either Rome or the Parthians

Empire X - Turn 18 (180-170 BC)

Situation in 180 BC

The revolt dice land 6-2, so the Gauls of Gallia add to Rome's woes by regaining their independence.

Andy's Carthaginians are drawn first, and he takes the opportunity to march into Gallia by rolling a 6.

Richard's Parthians attack Macedonian-controlled Persia, but narrowly fail to retake their lost province.

I similarly narrowly fail in an attempt to take the Persian/Parthian homeland.

Finally, Reg's Romans, despite enjoying two +1 modifiers, cannot recapture Gallia.

Carthage must be strongly favoured to win for the first time in our four-handed games of Empire

Empire X - Turn 17 (190-180 BC)

Situation in 190 BC

The revolt dice again land 2-5, but the province of Persia is already independent.

Andy is drawn first, regaining double-scoring IBERIA for his Carthaginians with a 4 (modifiers for attacking a controlled province and for Hannibal's legacy cancel each other out).

Richard's Parthians again fail to retake Persia.

Reg's Romans, who receive two +1 modifiers for the rest of the game (one for Scipio's legacy, and one for their normal boost on turns 11-20 when without a great captain), nevertheless fail to reconquer IBERIA.

Finally, my Macedonians occupy independent Persia.

Rome is struggling to assert its expected dominance

Empire X - Turn 16 (200-190 BC)

Situation in 200 BC

The revolt dice land 2-5, meaning Persia throws off Parthian rule!

Reg's Romans, with Scipio at the helm, take IBERIA easily, but require three campaigns to subdue Numidia. With their fifth campaign, they conquer Sicilia.

Richard fails to recapture Persia, but Andy's Carthaginians throw the Romans out of Numidia.

Finally, I take Mesopotamia from the Parthians.

The Persian/Parthian revival has stalled

Empire X - Turn 15 (210-200 BC)

This is the first of two turns in which the Romans enjoy the services of Scipio as a great captain 

The revolt dice land 5-4, meaning Magna Graecia successfully rebels against Carthaginian rule.

Reg's Romans have to start by reconsolidating control of ITALIA, which, with a great captain, requires 3+, which Reg duly rolls. They then take Magna Graecia, before switching north, conquering Cisalpina and Gallia, but the latter takes two campaigns.

Richard's Parthians end the independence of Armenia.

Andy's Carthaginians receive a +1 modifier for the next five turns as part of Hannibals' legacy, but it fails to help them retake Gallia.

Finally, my Macedonians reconquer Thracia.

Rome is on the rise

Empire X - Turn 14 (220-210 BC)

This is the turn in which Carthage is led by the great captain Hannibal

The revolt dice land 1-1, meaning AEGYPTUS again becomes independent.

Hannibal and the Carthaginians start by conquering Gallia and Cisalpina, then switch south to take Magna Graecia.

An attack on ITALIA also succeeds, meaning the Romans will need to reconsolidate their control of the province. But since ITALIA cannot be attacked when it contains only a single Roman counter, Andy's sole option for his fifth and final campaign of the turn is to attack Graecia, but the naval crossing fails (he rolls a 2, and there are never modifiers for naval crossings).

Reg is next, but he fails to roll the 5+ necessary to reconsolidate Roman control of ITALIA.

My Macedonians retake AEGYPTUS with a 6, but Richard's Parthians also roll a 6 when attacking Mesopotamia.

A dramatic decade in the West

Empire X - Turn 13 (230-220 BC)

Situation in 230 BC

The revolt dice land 6-5, meaning Thracia throws off Macedonian rule.

Reg's Romans are drawn first, and they conquer Gallia, thanks to the Roman +1 modifier in turns 11-20 when without a great captain.

My Macedonians fail to recapture Thracia, but Richard's Parthians also fail in an attack on Mesopotamia.

Finally, Andy's Carthaginians regain double-scoring IBERIA.

In quick succession the Romans have conquered the whole of the Italian mainland and expanded outside of Italy's borders

Empire X - Turn 12 (240-230 BC)

Situation in 240 BC

The revolt dice land 3-1, so AEGYPTUS expels my Macedonians.

I am drawn first, and I immediately reconquer the province after rolling a 5.

Reg's Romans take Cisaplina with a 6.

Andy's Carthaginians again fail to reconquer IBERIA, and Richard's Parthians narrowly fail to take Mesopotamia.

For the first time, the whole of the Italian mainland is under Roman control