Conquest of the Empire
- Players
- 2-6
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 6 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 240 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 10+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 3.1 / 5
- Year
- 2005
About the game
Conquest of the Empire drops players into the chaos of Imperial Rome, where rival generals command legions, cavalry, and catapults to seize control of the empire. This remake of the 1984 Milton Bradley classic offers two ways to play: a version close to the original (with fixed catapult rules) and a modernized ruleset based on Martin Wallace's Struggle of Empires. Armies clash across the map through movement and dice-driven combat as players jockey for territorial dominance. It's a big, brash area-control wargame built for a full table of ambitious commanders.
Hobbli's Notes
There's real spectacle here: piles of plastic legions marching across a sprawling map of the Roman world. It rewards aggressive, opportunistic play and can produce some genuinely dramatic multiplayer swings, though as with many multiplayer conquest games, kingmaking and runaway leaders are real risks. Best enjoyed by a group that embraces the chaos rather than optimizing every move.
What we like
- Two rules variants give the game long-term replayability.
- The Roman conquest theme is well realized through large armies and territorial combat.
- Multiplayer area control creates dynamic alliances and betrayals.
- It scales up to six players, making it a great big-group centerpiece game.
Keep in mind
- At four hours, it's a significant time commitment for casual groups.
- Multiplayer conflict games like this can suffer from kingmaking in the endgame.
- Player elimination or crippling setbacks are possible if you fall behind early.
Who it's for
Groups of 2-6 history and wargaming fans aged 10+, especially those who enjoy long, high-stakes strategy sessions with lots of table talk.
