Fall of Rome (play-by-mail game)

Fall of Rome is a play-by-mail strategy wargame that was published by Enlightened Age Entertainment. Set in the period after Roman times, it involved covert action and combat. The game won the Origins Award for Best Play-By-Mail Game of 2004.

Fall of Rome
PublishersEnlightened Age Entertainment
Years active2004 to unknown
Genresplay-by-mail, wargame
LanguagesEnglish
Systemsweb-based interface
Players12
Playing time24 turns, closed ended
Materials requiredInstructions, order sheets, turn results, paper, pencil
Media typePlay-by-mail

Development

Fall of Rome is a closed-ended, computer-moderated turn-based game with a web interface[1][lower-alpha 1] Rick McDowell, previous publisher of Alamaze, designed the game.[2] After assembling a design team, McDowell led the game's development effort to address the lack of "multi-player, turn-based strategy games".[3] Playtesting was completed in 2004.[1] The game launched in the same year.[3]

The publisher researched aspects of gameplay from various sources, including The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, History of the Later Roman Empire, The Goths by Peter Heather, The Barbarian Invasions by Hans Delbrück, and other sources.[4]

Gameplay

The game setting is after the fall of the Roman Empire in the years 410 to 480 CE.[4] Twelve players lead kingdoms during gameplay that involves covert action and combat.[5] Gamers had use of colorful online hex maps of varying scales.[3]

The graphical user interface was user friendly.[3] Players had an opportunity to input orders and the game system calculated results every three days.[3] Games lasted 24 turns.[6] This equated to about two months.[3] Players selected victory conditions related to conquest, development, and other factors.[3]

Economics was a key element of gameplay.[3] Players could advance economically through conquest or position improvement (development).[7] Players could conduct diplomacy by email or by a message board within the game.[7]

Reception

Rick Ghan reviewed the game in the October–November 2004 issue of Flagship magazine.[8] He praised it for its excitement and detail, stating that "Fall of Rome is a thrilling and complex strategy game sure to challenge the most avid gamer."[9] Bob McLain, founding editor of Gaming Universal, reviewed the game in a 2005 issue of Flagship, saying it was one of the rare PBM games that he would play more than once.[3]

Fall of Rome won the Origins Award for Best Play-By-Mail Game of 2004.[10]

See also

Notes
  1. Some PBM game producers are calling PBM games turn-based games.

References
  1. Ghan 2004. p. 26.
  2. Editors 2004. p. 5.
  3. McLain 2005. p. 23.
  4. McDowell 2005. p. 38.
  5. Ghan 2004. pp. 26–27.
  6. Vor 2004–2005. p. 22.
  7. McLain 2005. p. 24.
  8. Ghan 2004. pp. 26–28.
  9. Ghan 2004. p. 28.
  10. Editors 2004.

Bibliography
  • Editors (October–November 2004). "Newsdesk PBM: Wargames" (PDF). Flagship. No. 110. p. 5. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  • Ghan, Rick (October–November 2004). "Fall of Rome" (PDF). Flagship. No. 110. pp. 26–28. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  • McLain, Bob (April–May 2005). "Fall of Rome: Colour in the Dark Ages". Flagship. No. 113. pp. 23–25.
  • "Origins Award winners (2004)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. Archived from the original on 2008-06-03.
  • Vor, Ry (December 2004 – January 2005). "Opening Strategy in Fall of Rome" (PDF). Flagship. No. 111. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 13 August 2023.

Further reading
  • McDowell, Rick (February–March 2005). "Fall of Rome: The Authenticity Aspect" (PDF). Flagship. No. 112. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  • Editors (June–July 2005). "Rumours from the Front: Fall of Rome". Flagship. No. 114. p. 45.

External sources
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