Sword of Rome: Conquest of Italy, 362-272 BC

About this board game

Sword of Rome: Conquest of Italy, 362-272 BC is a card-driven board wargame for 2-5 players, with games lasting about 360 minutes. Using point-to-point maneuver and event cards, it recreates more than a century of conflict among the peoples of Italy and Sicily.

Built on the base system created by Mark Herman and featured in Paths of Glory, the game combines strategic planning, military movement, and diplomacy. Players contend for dominance of the western Mediterranean, seeking the position needed to vie for control of the known world.

The game’s 152 event cards and distinct strategic strengths create a wide range of possible developments. Over just nine hands of cards, changing circumstances can bring city loyalty, Roman colonies, tribal raids, Gallic indiscipline, Greek siege craft, Indian war elephants, and different infantry tactics into the struggle.

• Card-driven play: Use strategy decks and 152 event cards to shape the campaign.
• Point-to-point maneuver: Move forces across a map of the contested region.
• Classical warfare: Experience Roman and Macedonian-style infantry tactics, Greek siege craft, and Indian war elephants.
• Diplomatic interplay: Use negotiation and political judgment alongside military strategy.

Special rules highlight the character of the period, from the mountain fastness of Samnium to city loyalty and Roman colonies. Despite its historical scope, The Sword of Rome remains a low-to-moderate complexity game with an underlying system that is easily mastered.

The game has been expanded by The Sword of Rome: 5th Player Expansion, Sword of Rome: Deluxe Map, and Sword of Rome: Conquest of Italy, 362-272 BC Mounted Map.