JUSTINIAN

                        THE CAMPAIGN GAME OF CATAPHRACT

                 THE GREAT BATTLES OF HISTORY SERIES ---- VOLUME VIII

Review 
By Lodovico Badali

THE GAME

JUSTINIAN covers the reconquest of the western part of the Roman Empire by the emperor Justinian and his two most famous generals, Belisarius and Narses. One player controls the Byzantine forces, the other one the various Barbarian tribes and in addition the two Barbarian “ nations “ of the Vandals and of the Ostrogoths and the Persian Empire’s forces. 
The game is also suitable for solitaire player. The Byzantine wins if he controls all the five Prefectures at any time during the game, or at the end of the last turn ( there are ten turns ). The game may end before the tenth turn if the random event “ Plague “ occurs a second time. If the Byzantine player does not fulfil his victory condition, then the Barbarian player wins. 
Each game turn has the following sequence.
A. BYZANTINE INCOME PHASE. In this phase, the Byzantine player collects gold from the Provinces under his control and pays the Maintenance of his land forces and his fleets. He can decide not to pay some or all of his land forces, in this case, there is the possibility that they mutiny. In this phase, all the Barbarian forces allied with either the Byzantines or the major Barbarian states (including the Persians) not in a city provinces are removed from the map: the same is true for the armies of the minor Barbarian tribes. 
B. BYZANTINE ARMY PHASE. The Byzantine player may do three actions. He may raise new troops either for on-map field armies and/or as frontier troops; he may also build new fleets. He may create one new field army ( maximum one per turn ) with ten SP, if there are field armies available ( nine field armies are the maximum ). He may add and/or replace Magisteres Militum ( they are the commanders of the field armies ). 
C. ACTIVATION PHASE. There are five activations for each player. Three of the Barbarian activations are “ random “: the player rolls two ten sides dice and consults the “ Barbarian Activation Table “ to determine which tribe is activated. The other two activations are “ selected “: the player may use them to activate the Vandals, the Ostrogoths or the Persians, not for the other Barbarian tribes. Naturally, all the Byzantine activations are “ selected “. The Barbarian player has always the first activation, and then the two players make their activation alternatively. 
The Barbarian activations can be divided in two sections: Random and Selected. In a Random Activation, the Barbarian player is not free to activate what he wants, he must rolls two dice and then activate the Barbarian tribe according to the Barbarian Activation Table. This is the only way to activate the minor Barbarian tribes (i.e. all the “ nations “ except the Vandals, the Ostrogoths and the Persians ). It is also possible to activate the Vandals, the Ostrogoths or the Persian via a Random Activation. Using the two Selected Activations, the Barbarian player may only activate the Vandals, the Ostrogoths and the Persians. When the player activates one Barbarian “ nation “, he determines the number of SP of that “ nation “ and then he may use them to attack the Byzantine field armies or the Byzantine Provinces, defended or not by frontier troops and/or field armies. The minor tribes must make an Allegiance check to determine if they join the Barbarian side or the Byzantine side or if they remain neutral. In the first case, the Barbarian player may use them in the way he prefers. In the second case, the Byzantine player may activate that tribe and move/fight with it during this activation of the Barbarian player: or he may add all the SP of the minor tribe as Byzantine allies with any one of his field armies. In the third case, no player may use them and the activation is lost for the Barbarian player. During the Byzantine Income Phase of the next turn, the minor tribes returns to their starting boxes; if they are allied with the Barbarian or with the Byzantine and they occupy a city province, then they are not removed from the map. The Vandals, the Ostrogoths and the Persian are used quiet differently. They, as the minor tribes, have a number of SP determined at the start of their first Selected ( not Random) activation and they can move and attack the Byzantines. Above these actions, they are able to deploy their own Control Markers in each province in which they enter that is not controlled by the Byzantine. If the Byzantine controls a province and there is not any Byzantine SP, they can remove the Byzantine Control Marker. In addition, during an activation of the Vandals or the Ostrogoths, the Barbarian player can activate their fleets, which may perform the following actions: move and/or fight and transport an army. 
The Byzantine activations are similar to those of the major Barbarian “ nations “ with some exceptions. The Byzantine player may activate one army and/or fleets on the map paying two G: the movement and the combat rules are the same to those for the Barbarian major powers. He may move a leader spending nothing. He may raise new troops/fleets: there is no G cost to raise SP, but fleets costs 3G each. Finally, he may do nothing and pass. 
All the Barbarian nations have only field armies. The Byzantine has field armies ( similar to those of the Barbarians ) and in addition, he has frontier troops, which cannot move but the cost of maintenance of which is one third of the field army ( the cost depends from the number of SP of an army or of the frontier troops in a Province ). 
The Byzantine has several leaders to put in command of his field armies. Each leader has three ratings: 1) Control Rating, it is used to determine the result of Retreat Before Combat, Interception attempts and whether Looting occurs after a battle. 2 ) Movement rating, it is a letter used to determine the army’s ( under the command of that leader ) MA for that activation. 3 ) Battle Rating, it is a die roll modifier used when that army engages in a battle. In addition, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths have some leaders. The counter of the minor Barbarian “ nations “ are used as Tribe/Country and Leader having all the three ratings. 
The map shows the Mediterranean area controlled by the Byzantine Empire during the last years of Justinian’s reign.  It is divided into five Prefectures, differentiated by colour. Each Prefecture has a variable number of Provinces, indicated by their name and separated by a red line. On the map, the major cities are also indicated. Surrounding the Byzantine Empire there are sixteen boxes, representing the home territories of the various minor Barbarian tribes and of the Persians. The arrows emanating from a box delineate where that tribe may move when activated ( the Byzantine troops can never enter a box ). In addition, there are several tables. The Movement Cost Table shows the costs for movement and for the various actions that a force can do. The Movement Allowance Table shows the MPs each leader/tribe could have in a segment ( the MPs are determined by a die roll on the column with a letter corresponding to the Movement Rating of a leader/tribe ). The Barbarian Activation Table shows which tribe a Random Activation activates. The Random Event and Revolt Table show the random event that can occur in a turn and, if the random event is a Revolt, where the revolt arises. The Turn Record Track shows the current turn of the game and the new Barbarian leaders. The Byzantine Expenses Table shows the costs in Gold for the various actions that the Byzantine player can do. The Byzantine SP and Treasury Truck shows the current SP each army has and the total amount of the Byzantine Treasury in Constantinople. The Battle Result Table shows the steps of losses that an army inflicts to the enemy in a battle: the number of losses depends from the Army Strength Points. The Battle Table Modifiers shows the various modifiers to the die roll for the attacker and the defender. The Barbarian Allegiance Table shows if an activated minor tribe becomes an active Barbarian allied, if it remains neutral or if it becomes an active Byzantine allied. The map shows also the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, which is divided in ten zones for the movement’s purpose of the fleets. 

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

JUSTINIAN is not a difficult game: its mechanics is simple and easy to learn. What is difficult is to play well. JUSTINIAN is also very suitable for a solitaire play. In realty, there is only one “ active “ player, the Byzantine. The Barbarian player has only one scope: that the Byzantine player cannot reach his victory conditions. The Byzantine player is “ in command “ of all his actions ( the only exception is the Random Events, which effect only him ): the Barbarian player has only two Selected Activations, with which he may select the Barbarian tribe and the other three activations are random and they are out of his control. For these reasons, we will write shortly about the Barbarian and then deeper about the Byzantine.
THE BARBARIAN PLAYER
The Barbarian player has no trouble about money and army’s maintenance: he has only three real nations ( the Vandals, the Ostrogoths and the Persians ). The first two start the game controlling one Prefecture each. The Vandals control the Provinces of the Prefecture of Africa: the Ostrogoths control the Provinces of the Prefecture of Italy. The Persians has their own box connected with the Prefecture of The East. Then, two of the major Barbarian states can be invaded and destroyed by the Byzantine: the other one has not these problems and it is the only major Barbarian state ( in reality, the Persians were not Barbarian, we use this adjective only for clarity ) that is safe for the entire game. The other Barbarian tribes are little and they are able only to make actions of disturb in the Provinces they can reach. The Vandals and the Ostrogoths have no hope against the Byzantines who have the strength to conquer both of them. The major effort that these two tribes can do is to stop the Byzantine advance as long as possible in order to make the time pass and the Byzantine spend a great amount of Gold and men to defeat them. The Persians may be used similarly to the minor tribes: they have a good army and they are a continuous danger for the eastern Byzantine Provinces and for the vassal state of Lazica ( without it the Byzantine cannot win ). The great advantage of the Persians is that they cannot be conquered and that they can be activated by a Selected Activation. These two peculiarities make the Persians the best weapon in the Barbarian player’s hands. A good use of them compels the Byzantine player to maintain a strong military presence in all the Provinces in which they can enter and to distract an important amount of resources to face them. There is another good reason to put the Persians in the centre of the Barbarian “ strategy “: every time they are activated ( Selected or Random ) the Barbarian player roll the dice to determine the number of Persian SP in their box for a maximum of eighty SP, either on the map or in the Persian box, in given turn. In other words, they can be completely eliminated in a turn and then, in the subsequent one, they may reappear at the border of the Byzantine Empire! Nevertheless, what are very intriguing are the minor Barbarian tribes. They can be activated only by a Random Activation, in this way they are out of control of the player but at the same time out of any possible strategy made by the Byzantine. They appear and disappear like a summer storm and it is impossible for the Byzantine to defend every Province and to have a sufficient force everywhere. These “ little “ tribes are a real nightmare for the Byzantine for the entire game. The Barbarian may use them without any attention to the losses that they could suffer: in the subsequent turn, they are again in play and they can never be destroyed. The major and almost unique role of them is to damage the Byzantine Provinces and to distract forces and resources, which are ever the major problem for the Byzantine. Sometimes they become allies of the Byzantine, but this is a rare event and it is only a little, very little aid.
In conclusion, the game of the Barbarian player is easy and, without the possibility to make a global strategy, it does not stress the player’s mind. It is also a funny game watching the Byzantine in continuous troubles and ever in worry. On the other side, the impossibility to win in term of holding the ground against the Byzantine and the fact that the Barbarian victory is nothing else than a Byzantine failure of achieving his victory conditions creates a sense of “ passivity “. We think that the pleasure of a victory depends above all from the own capacities and abilities: in Justinian, the Barbarian has no opportunity to demonstrate his skill and this fact could render the play very frustrating.
THE BYZANTINE PLAYER
There is only one-way to reach the victory: to be as great as the historical counterpart. In Justinian, the Byzantine player must reconquest the major part of the Western Roman Empire and the difficulties are at every moment of every turn. Differently from the Barbarian, the Byzantine is always an active player and in control of his actions: the troubles arouse from the Random Events, the Barbarian tribes ( minor or major ), the scarcity of Gold and human resources, the passing of time, the great number of things to do. The skill of the Byzantine is always in play and even only one error could cost the victory. The maximum number of SP that he may have ( 150 ) could seem great: in realty, it almost impossible to have the entire 150 SP on the map in a turn. In addition, even if the Byzantine reaches this limit, there is no sufficient Gold to pay the maintenance of all troops: then a revolt is always possible ( only the frontier troops mutiny, the field armies not paid prefer to loot ) with the necessity to raise new frontier troops, which then could mutiny again. The minor Barbarian tribes are a real nightmare and it is impossible to predict when and where they appear. The player must also face the disputes in Constantinople: and ten turns seems so scarce to do everything he must do ( if the bad luck works well it is possible that the game stops at the second appearance of the Plague, this means to have less than ten turns! ). The Byzantine must act as well as his historical counterpart. There is not a strategy that could work well without a good amount of good luck: if in a game, the Byzantine is not fortunate, the victory becomes impossible. This does not mean that the Byzantine’s game depends only from the good luck, but that ( as in the historical realty ) the Byzantine needs to be lucky: his capacities are not sufficient if all works against him. Naturally, the player must have an overall strategy, employing it with great flexibility from turn to turn and adapting it to the situation on the map. If he is too rigid and incapable to conform his actions to the current situations, the events should overcome him and his Empire. 
The first two things to do are to destroy the Vandals’ and the Ostrogoths’ reigns. The Empire has the resources and the capabilities to fight both of them, but there is also another strategy: to concentrate the maximum effort first against one of them, then against the other. If the first possibility is chosen, it is necessary to divide the forces and to spend several turns before to achieve the victory. It is impossible to predict how much the struggle could last: in the meantime, the Byzantine must face the Persians, the minor tribes and the Random Events: all these things could protract the struggle for some turns beyond the expected number. If the player acts well, with decision and the good luck gives a hand, it is possible to conquer the Vandals’ and the Ostrogoths’ reigns in about five or six turns. Then the Byzantine has only one thought to consolidate and to hold the conquests until the end of the game: in other words, he must be very careful to use his resources ( the human ones and the Gold ) to face the Persians and the other dangers that could arise. This is the most difficult part of the game. The Byzantine is compelled not only to create an adequate number of Frontier Troops, but also to maintain the nine field armies with a sufficient number of SP. However, the Byzantine Gold is scarce to pay everything and the Persians and the minor tribes continue to attack the frontier Provinces creating troubles around the entire map. During the final turns of a game, the good luck is necessary to achieve the victory because the player has not the resources to control with security the whole of his possessions. The situation does not allow the Byzantine to be inactive waiting the events: he must play the game as in the first turns, but even if he plays well this does not mean a secure victory. If the ancient Greeks must select a commander between two, the first one skilled but unlucky, the second one less skilled but lucky, they preferred the second. It is possible to make progress, but it is impossible to fight against the bad luck! In Justinian, we prefer to be lucky, even if less able to conduct the game. 
The Byzantine player may opt for the second strategy: to destroy the Vandals or the Ostrogoths first, then the other major Barbarian state. If he wants to act in this way, we suggest him to select the Ostrogoths for the first strike, then the Vandals and to use the major number of field armies as he can. It is important to achieve the victory in not more than three turns before to manoeuvre against the other major Barbarian state: the troops not used for this purpose must be carefully positioned to face the possible attack from the Persians, the other Barbarian major state and the minor ones. Our suggestion depends from two factors: first, the starting position of the Byzantine forces: second, the danger of the Persians, who can attack only the Provinces in the Prefecture of the East. Attacking first the Vandals, with the Ostrogoths still on the map, the Byzantine risks that his major forces could be cut off by an improvise invasion of the Persians behind their shoulders and the Ostrogoths free to attack his less effective field armies and the Provinces with few Frontier Troops. Attacking first the Ostrogoths, the player has the shoulders much protected and in case of great troubles from the Persians, there are the two Presental Armies that can be employed to secure Constantinople and the lines of communication for the forces operating in Italy. The Vandals could create some problems, but their strength is not adequate for great conquests and they are unable to treat more than some Provinces. In all cases, it is important to destroy the Vandals’, the Ostrogoths’ fleets in order to clear the seas and to have the possibility to invade where the adversary is weak without any risk. The Vandals’ and the Ostrogoths’ fleets are so poor that the Byzantine is able to destroy them without much difficulty. Even with this second strategy, the last turns remain a real nightmare and what we have written above is valid in this case too. 
We think these are the only two practicable strategies and to select one or the other depends from the character of the Byzantine player: what is really important, in either case, is that, upon to have chosen one of the two possibilities, the player goes on without hesitations because there is not time to waste.