Aquileia

In Aquileia, players take on the roles of influential patricians in the Roman Empire's second most important city, a military outpost that evolved into a thriving commercial and cultural hub. The goal is simple yet challenging: become the city's most powerful figure through a clever mix of trade and construction. You and your rivals will deploy your 'henchmen' (pawns) to engage in crucial activities such as sports, culture, trade, and, of course, building, each generating expenses, earnings, and, most importantly, victory points.

Each round kicks off with a worker placement phase, where you decide where to position your pawns and a tiebreaker disc – the latter is mandatory, while pawns are highly recommended! After all players have made their choices, actions are resolved in a specific numerical order. At the Mercatus, you can buy weapon and slave cards, collect money with a dice roll, or exchange currencies. The Arena and Stadium are stages for thrilling competitions, where slave, weapon, and horse cards come into play, and winners are rewarded with coins and laurel cards worth victory points. The Theatrum hosts an auction for special laurel cards, while in the Forum, you build villas and private banks, earning points by paying costs with the correct coins. Finally, the Portus allows you to activate your buildings for more points or money. At the end of six rounds, the final score includes secret point cards and the multiplication of your villas' value by matching laurel cards. The player with the most victory points, naturally, claims the glory of Aquileia!