From: William Sariego Subject: I Am Spactacus! (honest, I wouldn't lie) Howdy Guys Sorry for the delay in getting this post ready. I'd promised it a while back. But mundane life, last minute work on TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING, and the recent flame war put it off. I AM SPARTACUS! leapt off the shelf of my local hobby store and into my collection faster than a speeding bullet when it was published. As a young lad I first saw the movie and I can honestly say Kirk Douglas was my first boyhood hero as a result [BTW Ted, did XTR pay royalties on the amazing likeness to the actor on the counter? Enquiring minds have a right to know!]. From 1992 until 1994 I played eight games with local gamers. My record as the Romans was one up, three down; as the Rebel three up and one down. Six Rebel wins in eight games may not be damning evidence, but consensus was reached that the game was imbalanced. Each Roman victory came when Spactacus luck ran out and was killed in battle. Games that were decided on points ended in a Rebel victory. We felt relieved (and not stupid) when an issue of Moves (forgot which) had a replay and the authors reached the same conclusion. When the recent Command survey came out I was surprised at the amount of people who said the Romans had the upper hand. Perhaps I've missed something, but here's what I've found. The first five turns see Spartacus building a sizeable revolt in southern Italy. If any of the puny garrisons forces venture out of the cities they will be massacred. By the time the Roman reinforcements arrive Spartacus has a huge army that can stand toe to toe with any three (possibly four) legions. And until turn 10 four "real" legions is all he would have to face. The point, however, is NOT to engage the legions, but ferment further rebellion, possibly even edging toward a mapboard for a few exit points. An slave army lead by Spartacus can evade combat on a 1-4. Look at a sample battle with three regular legions. The legions, if full strength, will take out the units matched against them. Normally, a Slave unit hits on a two or less. With Spartacus bonus, on the initial round they will hit on a 1-3. After one round of battle, Rome will have killed three slave cannon fodder (for 3 VP's) and the Rebel player will have killed one or two Roman steps (on average) for two or four VP's. The Spartacus can attempt to break of combat, suffering a rout only if he rolls a one. A typical Roman force will rout on a 1-3. Spartacus gets a bonus on force marching. Any Rebel losses due to forced marching DO NOT count for VP's. A Roman loss in force marching does. So if this Roman force (to bring about the battle in the first place) lost a step in forcing the battle, that is another VP or two (if a regular or crack legion) in the Rebel point column. Attrition loses also cost Roman VP's. The Rebel player will not be seriously challenged until turn 10 when the Roman can enter a huge army under Crassus (at a VP penalty). By that time the Rebel could have a slight to moderate VP lead. If Spartacus keeps running and his luck holds (law of averages says it should) at the end of the game the Rebel gets points for units left on the board. This typically overwhelms Rome. Okay, enough BSing (that's Bill Sariegoing, not B*** S***ing, honest!) What to do to give the Noble Romans a fighting chance? Fortunately, nothing that is ahistorical or that will blow the game to far the other way. 1] As is, the Roman reinforcements on turns 10, 13, and 16 cost -12, -15, -12 VP's, respectively. Adjust this on a sliding scale (latter ones more expensive). Turn ten guys cost -10, turn 13 cost -12, turn 16 cost -15. [BS Commentary One: marginal change perhaps, but a logical one] 2] If the Cilician Pirates have intervened on the side of the Rebels, the Roman fleet may be built without a VP penalty. [BS Commentary Two: The Senate was quite frugal when spending more money than needed, hence the standard VP penalty of -6. If a serious naval threat had developed, the upper class families would have been volunteering money for ships as if there was no tomorrow to improve their dignitas amongst their peers] 3] At the end of the game, the Rebel player scores points ONLY for trained units and slingers. Mere slave units do not score points. [BS Commentary Three: This is the biggie. This will cut down on the racking up of massive points on the last turn. Points can still be won, but at a lessened rate. We have to consider what would happen in an extended campaign. Faced with a never ending struggle, many common slaves may decide home life is preferable to certain death. The hard core and leadership would fight to the bitter end, knowing crucifiction awaits if captured] To toss the Rebel player a bone: The Rebels get 2 VP's if they knock off Pompey. [BS Bonus Commentary: Pompey-the-not-quite-so-great-as-Caesar was a good general who gives the Roman player bonuses like Crassus, so he should be worth as much] Have I used these rules? Yes, but not enough to say they are perfect. The Rebels have taken two of three games, the Roman wins was on points! I experimented with allowing Spartacus to evade only with a 1-3 if opposed by Crassus or Pompey, but this lead to too many Rebel disasters and imbalanced it too far for Rome. If you feel the above rules are not enough you may try it. IMHO, I AM SPARACUS! is a great game. If these changes help get it out of your dust bin and on the gaming table for another go, let me know. In the name of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Naughtius Maximus Sariego Magnus