Africanus: SPQR Battle Module V

About this expansion

Africanus: SPQR Battle Module V is a two-player historical battle game with an estimated playing time of 240 minutes, recreating two major battles fought in Spain by Rome’s first great field commander, Publius Cornelius Scipio.

This expansion module for the Great Battles of History series game SPQR focuses on two important engagements from Scipio’s overseas campaigns. The battles featured are:

• Baecula — 208 BC
• Ilipa — 206 BC

Scipio would later receive the cognomen Africanus for his victory at Zama. In Africanus: SPQR Battle Module V, these Spanish battles provide the historical setting for exploring the campaigns of the commander who became Rome’s first great field leader.

The module also highlights a significant stage in the development of the Roman army. Scipio is described as the first cog in a process that moved Rome away from its highly linear velites-hastati-principes system toward a more sectional and individual approach.

That evolution would eventually lead to the cohort system of the age of Marius. The game therefore presents its battles within a wider military and historical context, connecting Scipio’s command in Spain with changes in Roman warfare.

Scipio’s overseas victories and conquests also opened Rome’s eyes to the possibilities of empire. Released in 1994, Africanus: SPQR Battle Module V offers a focused way for two players to revisit Baecula and Ilipa as part of the SPQR and Great Battles of History series.