Hill Of Watchfires - Turn VII

This turn begins with the Romans receiving reinforcements worth at least five points

The first die is a 3. meaning another unit of Praetorians, and since they cost five points, that is my lot. I place the unit on the second hex up on the extreme right, but I cannot pretend to be happy. I would much rather have had cavalry, or a less-expensive unit that would have allowed me to roll for a second one.

The start-of-turn-event die is a 2, but that only applies to falxmen waiting in ambush in trees.

The forward Dacina archers have a target in range and line-of-sight, so do not move, and another unit of archers joins them on the hill.

My forward cavalry immediately make contact with this newly ascended unit, and delivers a charge-attack, needing 6+. I roll 11, eliminating the archers. My other horsemen similarly charge-attack the forward archers, rolling 10, and so another Dacian unit is destroyed.

My newly arrived Praetorians roll 6, 5, 2, which, on consulting the compass, lets them advance diagonally left into the river.

The Praetorians nearest the forward warriors advance into the rocky ground on the hill next to them. The remaining Praetorians advance diagonally right.

The swordsmen on the Dacian left remain where they are, but the unit on the right advances to the foot of the hill.

My legion advances diagonally right to contact the forward warriors.

The falxmen stay in reserve.

My spearmen ascend the hill, and my commander moves into nearby rocky ground, from where he can support three foot units.

Finally, the recently arrived Dacian warriors stay where they are.

Another unit of warriors looks certain to be eliminated

Hill Of Watchfires - Halfway Verdict

The hill is nearly all-Roman

To win I have to end turn XII with no Dacian units on the hill, and that looks eminently possible - indeed, it looks likely.

If I were to lose a cavalry unit, I would be a little less confident, especially if I were obliged to bring my commander into the thick of the action.

Nevertheless, the fact that I have been able to take advantage of the Dacians' neglecting their right wing has paid huge dividends, not least because units are particularly vulnerable to attacks from flank or rear, as their avenues of retreat are restricted.

However, the battle is far from over, and I am still outnumbered in terms of numbers of units, and my men will be more vulnerable to bow fire if they have to line the edge of the hill to stop Dacians sneaking on.

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn VI: Attack Phase

The warriors in the rocky ground on the hill look doomed ... but first the Dacian archers on the hill get to shoot at my nearby cavalry

Despite fog, the cavalry are within the archers' range (wo hexes in such conditions). The bowmen need 9+, but roll 4.

My cavalry then attack the warriors in the rocky ground, needing 6+, but with two -1 modifiers, thanks to friendly engaged units. I roll 10, easily eliminating the Dacian unit. I do not allow the cavalry to occupy the vacated hex.

As long as I keep my two units of cavalry, I fancy my chances of maintaining control

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn VI

I would hope my infantry can see off the two advanced units of warriors, leaving the cavalry to continue pushing east

The start-of-turn-event die is a 6, meaning the fog of last turn continues.

The archers nearest my cavalry move diagonally away. The only other archers to move are the newly arrived unit, which advances diagonally right.

One of my units of cavalry is out of command range, so I roll three dice, getting 6, 2, 1, but I have no interest in moving in those directions on the compass, so I leave the unit where it is. My other cavalry move diagonally back to the right, and charge-attack the warriors on the hill, needing 6+. However, I roll 5.

The rightward Praetorians ascend the hill, making contact with the same unit of warriors. The other Praetorians advance diagonally right.

The rearward Dacian swordsmen advance into nearby trees.

I leave my legionaries where they are, as I do not want them in contact with two units of warriors, as legionaries are warriors' preferred target.

The falxmen do not move.

My spearmen leave the wood and enter rocky ground at the foot of the hill, and I advance my commander diagonally right to be able to support the spearmen and the Praetorians.

Both unengaged units of Dacian warriors remain where they are.

The warriors in the rocky ground on the hill look doomed

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn V: Attack Phase

The archers in the middle of the hill are the only Dacians able to attack this half-turn, and the odds are against them 

There is nothing to separate their two possible targets, but a random die throw selects the unit on the north edge of the hill. Archers require 9+ against cavalry, but there is a +1 modifier for being bowmen attacking from an adjacent hex. The dice total 6.

I choose to counterattack with my rearward cavalry, needing 6+, but with a -1 modifier thanks to having friendly horsemen on hand, and I roll 8, which is enough to rout the archers. My cavalry occupy the archers' vacated hex.

Just three Dacian units remain on the hill, but many more are in the offing

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn V

This turn begins with the AI receiving reinforcements worth at least seven points

They are diced for in the usual way, the first die landing as a 5, meaning a unit of warriors costing two points. The next die is a 3, which means swordsmen costing three points, and then a 1, archers, that cost three points, taking the total past the minimum of seven.

Further dice are rolled to see where the units appear on the battlefield, and the result is they all arrive in the extreme northeast corner.

The AI now has 15 units, more than twice as many as my seven

The start-of-turn-event die is a 6 - sudden fog, reducing all bow ranges to two hexes.

The Dacian archers are first to activate, but only the unit immediately north of the hill moves, and in a direction away from the Roman cavalry.

My rearward cavalry move to contact the warriors near them, and charge-attack, needing 6+. The dice total 8, meaning the warriors have to retreat three hexes, but they cannot move into the trees, as that hex is next to the horsemen, and archers block their only other possible retreat-hex, so the unit is destroyed, and my cavalry occupy the vacated hex.

My other cavalry climb onto the hill and charge-attack the archers in the centre, needing 6+. However, there is a +1 modifier for attacking out of rocky ground. It is cancelled out by a -1 modifier for having friends in contact with the enemy unit, but that makes no difference as I roll only 5.

Both units of Praetorians advance diagonally right, taking one unit onto the hill.

The newly arrived swordsmen advance into nearby trees, but the other two units of swordsmen stay where they are.

I move my commander to behind the forward Praetorians, putting him in command range of the legion, which advances a hex.

Both units of falxmen stay still, as do my spearmen.

Last to activate are the Dacian warriors. The unit on the hill rolls a 6, allowing it to hurl javelins two hexes (this is the first time this rule has come into play in my playthroughs). There are four Roman units at the required range, but the warriors' preferred target is legionaries, requiring 7+. Modifiers for being on higher ground and for attacking from rocky ground cancel out, but are irrelevant as the AI rolls a pair of 1s. The nearby unit of warriors advances diagonally right to get alongside their comrades, and the newly arrived warriors advance straight ahead.

My cavalry are doing a decent job of sweeping the hill from the west, and my infantry are poised to join them

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn IV: Attack Phase

There are no melees to calculate, but archers can shoot!

Actually, only two units of the Dacian bowmen have enemy within their three-hex range, and the rearward of those two units cannot attack as it retreated this turn.

However, the archers in the centre of the hill can shoot at my cavalry that are also on the hill, needing 9+, and the dice total exactly 9, forcing my unit to retreat two hexes, its only allowed route taking it diagonally left.

The AI receives at least seven points' worth of reinforcements at the start of the next turn

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn IV

Both sides have lost a unit, but it had better not become a battle of attrition, because if it does, I will be doomed

The start-of-turn-event die is a 1, which allows Dacian archers to perform a surprise attack, but none have a suitable target as only my cavalry are in range, and line-of-sight to them is obstructed by trees.

However, it is the Dacian archers, with an initiative number of 2, that get to activate first, but none move.

I advance my commander onto the hill at its western extremity, so he can keep the Roman cavalry in command range. I then send the leading cavalry unit to charge-attack the swordsmen lurking just off the hill. They need 7+ to score a hit, and I roll 8, which forces the Dacian unit to retreat to the very edge of the battlefield. My other cavalry advance two hexes diagonally right and charge-attack the archers at the north end of the hill, needing 6+. I roll exactly 6, forcing the archers to retreat two hexes, taking them off the hill.

Both units of Praetorian Guards advance diagonally right.

The Dacian swordsmen cannot activate as they have already retreated this turn, so I now roll three dice to see where my out-of-command legion can move. The dice land 5, 2, 1, and so, using the compass, I can advance the legionaries straight ahead.

The rearward falxmen advance a hex, and I leave my spearmen to hold their ground in the wood.

Finally, two of the warrior units, seeing that the main action is likely to take place at the west end of the hill, start moving in that direction.

The Dacian left is still very strong, but can the AI successfully coordinate tribesmen against Rome's professional troops? 

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn III: Attack Phase

If my spearmen, or the legion, for that matter, can eliminate the Dacians' only cavalry unit, that would be a big momentum swing in favour of the Romans

However, it is the Dacian cavalry, with their initiative number of 4, who get to attack first (the Dacian archers on the hill cannot shoot at my cavalry as their line-of-sight is blocked by trees). The horsemen's preferred target is legionaries, and they need 7+, but with a +1 modifier for attacking from rocky ground. The dice total 9, forcing my men to retreat two hexes to the edge of the battlefield.

Now it is my spearmen's turn. They need 6+ against cavalry, and I roll 7. This routs the cavalry as two of their possible retreat squares are occupied by Dacian warriors, including, ironically, a unit that just moved up to support them, and the third possible square is adjacent to a Roman unit (my spearmen), which is not allowed.

We now have an interesting imbalance in that the Romans have no firepower, and the Dacians no cavalry

Indeed, if you include warriors as missile men (they can on occasion hurl javelins two hexes), eight of the 12 surviving Dacian units have ranged firepower, while three of the seven surviving Roman units are mounted.

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn III

Situation after two turns

The start-of-turn-event die is a 1, allowing all Dacian archers to launch a surprise attack at a range of three hexes, but none has enemy in range and line-of-sight.

I no longer have any archers, so the movement phase begins with the five units of Dacian archers, but none makes a significant move, except, perhaps, for the forward archers near the centre of the hill, who fall back diagonally to their right.

My leading cavalry are out of command range, but I roll 6, 2, 1, which, after consulting the compass, allows me to move the unit onto the hill. I then roll 6, 5, 4, but choose to keep the unit where it is. The other cavalry are in command range, so I advance them diagonally right two hexes.

The Dacian cavalry advance diagonally to their left one hex, contacting my legion, which it charge-attacks, needing 7+, but with a +1 modifier for attacking from rocky ground. The dice total 4.

I advance my commander two hexes so he is in command range (three hexes) of all the Romans, except for the legion.

My two units of Praetorians advance, so two units are beside each other.

Both units of Dacian swordsmen stand still.

My legion is engaged, which means the falxmen are next to activate, but neither unit moves.

My spearmen advance diagonally right to contact the Dacian cavalry.

The furthest-left Dacian warriors stay where they are, being joined by the warriors nearest them, while the warriors on the Dacian left enter the trees beside the river.

The Romans no longer have any missile troops, but the AI has hardly made good use of its archers, so the point may be moot

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn II: Attack Phase

Note that the Dacian archers near the centre of the hill cannot shoot at my men on lower ground as there is a plateau effect for not being on the edge of the hill

My archers, with an initiative number of 1, attack first. They need 9+ against cavalry, but there is a +1 modifier for being in contact with the Dacians, and anyway I roll 4.

The cavalry counterattack, needing 6+, but with a +1 for attacking into trees. The AI rolls 10, eliminating my unit. Dacian horsemen never advance after a victory, so the unit remains between the wood and the hill.

My legion attacks the forward warriors, needing 6+. I roll 7, forcing the Dacians to flee two hexes, back onto the hill.

First blood to the Dacians

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn II

I could send troops onto the high ground this turn, but a better plan might be to send my cavalry sweeping round the hill to pick off Dacian stragglers to the north

The start-of-turn-event die is again a 2, but again it has no effect as there are no falxmen waiting in ambush in trees.

My archers advance into the wood, while the five units of Dacian archers either remain where they are or make a diagonal movement.

I advance my commander one hex diagonally left so he can control the Roman cavalry as it heads west of the hill.

The Dacian cavalry descends from the hill to contact my archers in the wood, but cannot charge-attack as charging into trees is not possible.

One of my Praetorian units enters the wood, and the other advances alongside the commander.

The Dacian swordsmen on the hill stay where they are, but the other unit withdraws diagonally right, away from my advancing cavalry.

My legion is out of command range, but I roll three dice (4, 1, 1), and consult the compass in the bottom right of the map, using a 1 to advance a hex.

The falxmen remain in reserve.

My spearmen enter the wood beside my archers.

The forward Dacina warriors advance diagonally right to contact my legion. The warriors on the hill remain there, and the warriors to the east of the hill advance a hex.

Two melees to be decided

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn I: Attack Phase

My archers at the only ones able to attack ...

... and they shoot at the warriors who have just descended from the hill.

Archers shooting at warriors need 8+ from two dice to score a hit, and there are no modifiers, but I roll 4.

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn I

Initial dispositions

The start-of-turn-event die is a 2, meaning falxmen in trees can immediately attack any enemy in an adjacent hex, but this has no relevance at this stage of the battle.

My archers have an initiative number of 1, and I advance them a hex.

Dacian archers are next. The three units on the hill stay put, but one of the units to the north of the hill advances diagonally to its left.

Both my cavalry units advance two hexes, while the Dacian cavalry remain on the hill.

Both my guard units of Praetorians advance a hex, but both units of Dacian swordsmen stay where they are.

My legionaries advance a hex, but the falxmen remain in reserve at the north end of the battlefield.

My spearmen advance a hex, and I move the commander into the wood, keeping all Roman units within command range (one advantage of having fewer, but high-quality, units is that it is easier to control them with the commander).

A unit of warriors somewhat impetuously advances off the hill.

The AI's plan seems to be to hold fast to what it already possesses, although one group of warriors is in danger of spoiling things with ill-discipline

Hill Of Watchfires - Roman Dispositions

The Dacians are strong by the river, but have left their other flank weak, which looks to give the Romans their best chance

This suits me as I do not want my men fighting from water hexes (attacks from such a hex carry a +2 modifier, which would be difficult to overcome), and I do not want my cavalry slowed by the river (mounted troops have to halt as soon as they enter a water hex).

If I can seize the west end of the hill (assuming north is at the top of the map) I will be able to mostly avoid having my troops fighting from lower ground

Hill Of Watchfires

THE third scenario in Mike Lambo's solo boardgame book Commander - Romans v Dacians is Hill Of Watchfires.

The human plays a Roman commander tasked with clearing the large hill of Dacian hostiles

The AI receives troops worth at least 38 points, chosen by rolling dice.

Die Unit             Cost   Total

1     Archers       3pts    3pts

6     Warriors      2pts    5pts

1     Archers       3pts    8pts

3     Swordsmen 3pts    11pts

4     Falxmen      3pts    14pts

1     Archers        3pts    17pts

2     Cavalry        5pts    22pts

1     Archers        3pts    25pts

5     Warriors       2pts    27pts

5     Warriors       2pts    29pts

1     Archers        3pts    32pts

3     Swordsmen  3pts    35pts

4     Falxmen       3pts    38pts

In scenario two, the AI had five units of cavalry; this time it has five units of archers.

The latter may be particularly useful in defending a hill as they will have a -1 modifier while shooting at a range of up to three hexes.

I receive at least 35 points, selected similarly, except my allotment starts with the commander, who costs 5pts.

Die Unit             Cost    Total

-     Commander 5pts     5pts

1    Archers         3pts     8pts

6    Spearmen     3pts     11pts

3    Praetorians   5pts     16pts

3    Praetorians   5pts     21pts

2    Cavalry        6pts     27pts

2    Cavalry        6pts     33pts

4    Legionaries  3pts     36pts

An interesting mix, with an emphasis on high-quality, but expensive, units - five of my eight units cost at least five points.

To win, I have to clear the hill of Dacians, so none is on high ground at the end of turn XII. I certainly cannot afford a battle of attrition, as the Dacians have 13 units - five more than I have.

Dice throws determine where the Dacian units start.

The Dacians are strong in the centre, and on their left, near the river

Feeding My History Bug

MY latest great find in a charity shop is David Anthony's The Horse, The Wheel, And Language - How Bronze-Age Riders From The Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World.

In it he investigates how roughly half of the Earth came to speak Indo-European (formerly called Aryan) languages.

Or, rather, he investigates the origins of the speakers of Proto-Indo-European, ie the language that eventually gave birth to German, Latin, Hindi, etc.

If that sounds somewhat dense or highbrow, you are not wrong 

There is no doubt, in my view, that Anthony, an anthropology professor, was writing for an academic audience, as the following sentence, literally taken at random, suggests.

During Tripolye B2, around 4000-3700 BCE, there was a significant migration out of the Prut-Seret forest-steppe uplands, the most densely settled part of the Tripolye B1 landscape, eastward into the South Bug and Dneiper Valleys.

There are many sentences that are more jargon-filled, and could seem even more opaque, but the book, published by Princeton University Press in 2007, won a 2010 award from the Society for American Archaeology.

And you really do not need to be an archaeologist - I certainly am not - to get a lot of enjoyment from it, and to learn a lot, even if you already know a fair bit more about ancient history than the average person in the street.

How many of the following points about chariots, all taken from a singe section of the book, do you know?

1. War chariots were probably developed and first used in the southern Urals, rather, than, Mesopotamia, Egypt or China.

2. Javelins thrown by charioteers had a significantly greater range than javelins thrown from horseback.

3. Chariot drivers often steered with the reins looped round their hips, to leave hands free for using bows.

4. Some war chariots had single-man crews.

5. Chariots were "incredibly difficult to build, a marvel of carpentry and bent-wood joinery," requiring "a specially trained team of fast, strong horses," and for men to learn to successfully use them took "a lot of time and resources, as well as courage and balance."

The book has given me much to think about, especially in connection with my biblical wargaming rules.

A label on the back shows it cost £15.95, when sold by Blackwell. I found it in a charity shop (I cannot recall where, but it might have been Oxfam in East London's Bethnal Green Road), marked down from a secondhand price of £10 to £5 - what a bargain!

Inevitably in a book this big (500+ pages) and complex, I found something to disagree with, or, perhaps, something I am unable to get my head around.

In this case it concerns the claim that language generally follows a rule known as elite dominance, which argues that people tend, over time, to adopt the language spoken by their rulers, even if the latter are in a small minority.

But examples of the opposite happening spring readily to mind, eg the Franks, a Germanic tribe, after whom Gaul was renamed France, ended up speaking French, the Romance language of the majority of its inhabitants.

Similarly, the Normans had elite dominance in England for centuries, but they gradually abandoned their French tongue for English, the Germanic language of the majority of the land's inhabitants.

Ah well, perhaps I am not meant to understand everything, but at least the book has supplied me with plenty of food for thought.

Dead Good

NIR Arielli's The Dead Sea - A 10,000-Year History taught me a lot of things I did not know about the famous salty water mass.

Some things I did know: it is below 'sea level', ie below the average level of the word's oceans, and it features prominently, or at least peoples whose lands bordered the Dead Sea feature prominently, in the Bible.

I would like to have been told more about the area's ancient history, and prehistory, certainly at the expense of the rather detailed accounts of modern projects in the area, many of which never get off the ground.

Nevertheless I found the book, which is about somewhere I have been to, albeit fleetingly, a good read

Interesting Discovery

A RECENT visit to Bad Neuenahr in Rhineland-Palatinate gave me the chance to do some walking-come-exploring, which led a modest but pleasing find.

I followed a mostly flat trail of 9.9 kilometres (6.2 miles), but that ended with a steepish ascent of 182 metres (597 feet) up a hill that used to be topped by a Roman watchtower

The surviving ruins at the summit are from a 13th-century castle, built to aid the Hohenstaufen cause in a conflict between rival kings of Germany

Impressive  views from the castle walls can be enjoyed of the surrounding countryside, which in medieval times included an important military road connecting Aachen (aka Aix-la-Chapelle) in the West to Frankfurt on the River Main 

How the castle may have looked

The castle seems to have had a fairly uneventful existence, before being abandoned and allowed to decay, but a nearby chapel, also from the 1200s, is in much better shape

Unfortunately I could not go in as I did not have a 50-cent coin for the door, and it would not accept my one-euro coin!

Slingshot Issue 365

THE Jul/Aug edition of Slingshot, the journal of the Society of Ancients, arrived last month, and turned out to make especially interesting reading, at least for me.

Striking cover ... great contents

Sometimes one article stands out from the rest - not that the rest are ever bad -  as being exceptionally good.

But this time that could be said of nearly every article, including Michael Fredholm von Essen's look at the mysterious Heruls, Jim Webber's discussion of Achaemenid logistics, and reports on refights of Cunaxa from the society's battleday.

A thoroughly entertaining read - even the book reviews seemed above average.

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