Barbarian: Rome vs. The Gauls and Samnites, 315-200 BC – SPQR Battle Module

About this expansion

Barbarian: Rome vs. The Gauls and Samnites, 315-200 BC – SPQR Battle Module is a two-player tactical simulation of combat between Rome and her early barbarian foes, designed for games lasting about 240 minutes.

This module covers the fierce struggles that shaped control of the Italian peninsula during the Fourth and Third Centuries BCE. To play, you need SPQR for its maps, basic rules, and some counters. It can also be played with the Simple Great Battles of History Rules.

Command forces in battles involving the nimble mountain warriors of Samnium and the fierce tribes of Cisalpine Gaul. The Samnites taught Rome the advantages of a more flexible formation over the ponderous phalanx, while the political genius of Gellius Aegnatius united Samnium, Etruria, Umbria, and the Gauls into a coalition that nearly broke Republican Rome.

• Lautulae, 315 BC: a sharp reverse for Rome.
• Tifernum, 297 BC: two battles representing the repeated clashes between Rome and Samnium.
• Sentinum, 295 BC: a decisive struggle for the fate of Italy.
• Telamon, 225 BC: Gauls fight in two directions as Roman armies close in from north and south.
• Cremona, 200 BC: Hamilcar leads the Gauls in one last great battle.

As the Samnites and their allies are subdued, fresh Gallic forces arrive from across the Alps. After Rome withstands Hannibal’s devastating invasion, the final struggle at Cremona completes a campaign in which Rome emerges dominant from the straits of Messina to the Alps.

Barbarian brings these landmark confrontations to the SPQR system, offering a focused look at the early wars that forged Roman power in Italy.