My gaming group recently tried out a chariot racing game call Chariots of Rome. Right off the bat, I was drawn in by the theme; chariot racing seems fun and brutal. This game did not disappoint on either count.
Right from the beginning, the rule book does a great job of setting the scene. For example, each chariot in the game is assigned a charioteer that has a distinct special ability. But instead of just saying deal out a charioteer card to each player, this step is called "Charioteers Arrive to an Ovation". It's these kind of little details that help get you immersed in the experience.
The basic idea of the game is that you place your chariot on the board in a starting space, then move the chariot forward on your turn either 4, 7, or 10 spaces. However, the faster you go, the more adverse effects your chariot and driver will experience. If you get too rattled, or run out of endurance, you are out of the race. If you need some time to recover, you can slow your horses down and regain some endurance and get less rattled.
In addition to the normal movement, you can also crack the whip a bit on your horses (called chivvying) to get an extra couple movement points by rolling the die. This will cost you a Tactic Point (the black marker in the pic above), of which you have a limited number. You can't do this all the time, but it can be useful when you need that extra bit of oomph. Notice the Roman numerals on the die. I love these little details.
The faster you go into a turn, the more likely that you will have to suffer some negative effects. This likelihood increases the closer to the inside lanes you are. These negative effects are determined by action cards. The cards may result in a loss of Endurance or Tactic Points, becoming more Rattled, or having to swerve into the next lane (which may itself result in a collision with another chariot).
The other thing that can help you get ahead a bit is attacking the other chariots. You can do a Whip attack, which has a slight chance of hurting the other chariot, or you can do a Ram attack. The Ram attack produces more adverse effects than the Whip attack, but this is not without its perils. Each attack costs the attacker 1 Tactic Point. In a Whip attack, the attacked chariot has to take three action cards. These cards are the same ones mentioned above in the section on moving through turns. The Ram attack has all the same potential effects, but the likelihood of them occurring is much greater. Additionally, in a Ram attack, the attacking chariot must also take an action card and suffer the ill effects listed on it.
This can be brutal. In one game I was attacked by the three other players, all in succession on the same turn, which resulted in my charioteer becoming rattled, which meant I was out of the game. But not only was I out of the game, I had to roll the Fate die to see what specifically happened to my charioteer. As it turns out, my body was splattered across the track, and the other racers had to avoid the wreckage for the remainder of the race. Again it's the little details that make this game stand out.
In the other game, I was the winner. See the chariot with the red base all the way to the left? The one way across the finish line? That's me.
As you may have picked up in reading this, one of the things I really enjoyed about the game are the realistic details, like the rattled and endurance mechanics mentioned above. It makes sense that your charioteer would not be able to sustain a full tilt pace the entire race, especially on unpaved Roman roads. Other examples of this include the fact that you have to start the race at a slow speed and work your way up, and that you can't change lanes to the inside when you're going through a turn (centrifugal force gets you every time).
I've played this game twice now. Once with everyone having a single chariot, and once with everyone running 2. Having 8 chariots on the track made for a more interesting game, as there was a lot more congestion and we had to plan ahead more and work around each other. I think it would be really fun to play this with 8 distinct players, and have each color work as a team.
Ultimately, games are about having fun, and with this one, I really did. I look forward to the next time this one hits the table.
