Many Alamanni

It is one of the greatest follies of mankind to believe that time respects the lines we draw across the land in our never-ending battle for supremacy. Another folly is the belief that dice understand us, sympathise with us and will help us in our hour of need. Put the two together, and you have Time of Crisis.

This month’s addition to our Time of Crisis canon was held at Martin’s. We began thusly: Joe in Pannonia, Martin in Gallia, Ian in Macedonia, me in Africa. In the first round, we all played the standard opening of 3 blue, 2 red: Joe moved into Thracia, Martin into Hispania, Ian into Asia and me into Egypt.

There was an early barbarian invasion from the Alamanni into Joe’s Pannonia. Luckily for Joe, he rolled a double six on his Crisis Roll, meaning we all picked up an extra card and Joe was able to prepare himself a little better.

Joe killed the barbarians and boosted support in Pannonia. Martin built a Basilica and hired a governor and a general. Then so did Ian! “You’re totally copying me!” exclaimed Martin. I built a basilica and an Army in Africa and hired a governor.

Joe then reinforced his army in Pannonia, hired a governor and, on a whim, he tried to get voted into Britannia, needing two votes on one die. He needed to roll a six. He did! Cries of astonishment and admiration filled the room. Especially from Martin, because now the neutral Emperor was weak enough that he could easily become the first Emperor of the evening, and it was only 8.25pm.

But Ian, since he had the same cards as Martin, also had eyes on the senate. He needed seven votes with six dice, and was reluctant to try. Joe goaded him into it: “There’s only on reason you have all those blues in your hand,” he said. Ian agreed, and went for it. And he got it too! He was Emperor at 8.29pm, turning Martin into a kind of Lady Jane Grey figure in Roman history. The deposed leader remarked “Well, I didn’t expect that.”

While everyone else was making hay, I was losing to Sassanids in Syria and failing in elections in Galatia.

Joe’s Crisis Roll saw a goth suddenly become active. “They never move,” I said. Joe rolled again and it did indeed move: straight into Emperor Ian’s Asia.

Joe boosted support in Britannia, Martin moved a better army into Rome, Ian lost to that Goth in Asia and I won in Syria. During this round, after Ian’s turn, Zenobia arrived in Egypt, draining the support of the emperor. Oh, well. Ian was about to lose it anyway.

Joe won a battle (I didn’t note where) and took Galatia. Then an Event Card was turned over: Ira Deorum. Suddenly new barbarians appeared on every border.

Martin, meanwhile, wanted to attack 4-region Joe but the lure of Rome was too great. He became Emperor again at 9.00pm, promising to sort out Zenobia later. Then he chucked a mob into Joe’s Galatia, the first of many pivotal mobs that we’d see this evening.

Ian took Britannia and then threw a mob into Rome. Shapur I, a Sassanid leader, arrived in his homeland while I repaired my Syrian army and finally cleared the territory of hordes.

The scores were Martin 21, Ian 20, Joe 20, Andrew 18.

By now, there are five Alamanni stationed on the northern border of the Roman Empire, poised to attack.

Joe cleverly predicted that someone would mob him, and the two yellows in his hand clear the mob easily. He then lost an election in Britannia, even though he’d lose it immediately if he’d won. He just wanted to weaken Ian.

Martin had a terrible hand but enough red points to get an army into Egypt and kill of Zenobia. She took him down, too, though.

At this point, we had to tell Joe off for constantly using his phone. Apparently it was a busy night for one of his Instagram accounts. Joe insisted it was fine, “I’m totally engaged,” he said as he checked another message.

Ian finally killed that Goth in Asia, while I killed Shapur I.

Joe became a Pretender Emperor. “It’s my first Pretender Empire,” he said, “I’m quite proud.” Real Emperor Martin sighed heavily and said “It’s hard work getting Emperor Turns in this game.”

Then another rival Emperor appeared in Syria. Now Martin couldn’t get an Emperor turn, even if he toppled Joe’s Seat Of Power in Pannonia. He decided to attack Joe anyway, and after a successful invasion of Pannonia, Joe’s Pretender Empire was over soon after it began, making him a kind of Simon de Montford figure in Roman History.

No matter what Ian did at this point, he was destined to lose Macedonia to a mob, so he got himself voted into Hispania by means of compensation.

He then took so long sorting out his next hand (because, with ten cards left, he was basically making his next two hands) that we decide to do the Crisis Roll before he’s finished, thinking that it won’t make any difference anyway. But I roll a double six, which means “take an extra card” and we have to hide it from Ian lest he use that knowledge to his advantage. And also in case it slowed him down even more.

I took Hispania from Ian. I now controlled all of the southern half of the board. The scores were Martin 36, Joe 32, Ian 31, Andrew 31

Joe sent a two-legion army to beat up Martin’s lone militia in Gallia and was then voted in. That electorate clearly respects bullies.

Martin had to do something special to hang onto his Emperorness. He moved an army from Pannonia into neutral Macedonia where Ian had an army stationed and defeated it in battle, and then won the election there. He tried to win an election in Joe’s Gallia. He needed four votes with three dice. Could he do it?

Not even close. He rolled 1-1-1. Rome became neutral.

Then Ian, with three blue, three red and three yellow, turned in a move of startling efficiency and cruelty. After tributing some Goths that had snuck into Asia, he got voted into Martin’s Pannonia. Martin had control of only one region by now, and so Ian plonked a mob in it. “Possibly overkill,” remarked ex-Emperor Martin. Then Ian moved the wounded army from Macedonia into Pannonia.

With the next Crisis Roll (another eight. So many eights this game) a sixth Alamanni joined his brethren on the borders. But only one invaded: it went into Ian’s Pannonia.

I was going to kill the Priest King, but Martin said that would be a terrible idea, seeing as it would help Joe’s potential four-region Empire. So instead I killed nomads instead, and reinforced armies and boosted support.

Joe did become Emperor, at 10.43pm. He then moved a big army into Italia to fight Martin’s army that had been camped in Rome for about two hours now. Joe lost 1-4. Painful.

More Goths flooded onto the board. Now Asia was so full, that one kept going, ending up in Martin’s sole region: Macedonia. “I didn’t even know they could come round the back,” he said, genuinely surprised.

But Martin is not one to let minor invasions put him off. He got voted back into Rome, killed the Goth in Macedonia (5 hits!), took undefended Gallia and then mobbed me in Hispania.

Ian lost to the three-strong Goth horde in Asia and optimistically used two blue points and a Basilica to get voted into Rome. He needed seven votes, he got three. At this point, Ian has drifted back into last and it looked like his chances of victory were very slim.

I killed the Priest King, but he took my army out too. So I gave up on the mobbed region of Egypt and moved the army there into Syria and successfully killed the remaining Sassanid there. I recalled the Egyptian governor and got successfully voted into Rome! I am Emperor! I damned Martin’s memory, and he lost four points. But then I lost to the Nomads in Africa so badly that my army was wiped out there too. I lost Africa and Hispania to mobs. Syria was safe, though my southern stronghold was effectively wiped out due to some mean dice results.

Joe unseated me in Rome, and then defeated Martin’s army in Italia so he was able to move into the capital. Then he took Africa and built two more buildings in Thracia. A great move, putting him on 58 points. It’s 11.20pm. Finally we’re entering the endgame. Aren’t we?

Martin was unsettled by Joe’s sudden show of strength. He defeated Joe’s army in Italia, got voted into Africa and then moved his army from Macedonia to Africa to have a go at those Nomads. He lost 0-2.

Then, once again, there were six Alamanni on the borders. This time, there was no half-hearted excursion in ones or twos, instead a full-blooded invasion as all six tore into Pannonia and then into Italia.

Ian, with three yellow, three red and nine blues, got voted into Rome. He tributed the Goths in Asia again while he turned his attention elsewhere: He beat the Alamanni in Pannonia and then invaded and won against Joe in Thracia.

I began my turn with lonely Syria as my only presence on the board. But I did okay, all things considered, regaining Hispania and Egypt in elections and then using a Pretorian Guard to become Emperor again. The scores as we approached midnight were Joe 58, Andrew 55, Martin 53, Ian 53. I was amazed to be in second.

Joe took Macedonia and he, too, used a Pretorian Guard to get voted into Rome. This triggered the game end. He then lost against Ian in a battle in Thracia.

Martin had only one region again. This time it was Gallia, where he started all those hours ago. “I’ve got to go big,” he declared. He was voted into Africa for its basilica, and then also did the same in Macedonia for the same reason. He Foederatied (sp?) two Alamanni into his army in Rome, reducing the number of votes needed to beat Emperor Joe. He succeeded, and was strong enough that neither Ian nor I had much chance of unseating him. With all that done, Martin turned his attention to those pesky Nomads in Africa. He had a three-legion army against three Nomads. He rolled a 2-2-4. Just one hit. The Nomads rolled two hits. He was distraught as that meant he lost Africa in the support check. “That could cost me the game,” he muttered.

Ian was voted into Thracia for those precious three buildings, and then he popped over the border and killed an Alamanni for points.

I killed some Nomads and then failed in my optimistic attempt at becoming Emperor and damning Martin’s memory again.

The game was over!

Ian 76
Martin 73
Joe 72
Andrew 66

Well done Ian. Second win in a row and richly deserved. But what a game. So many talking points. So many Emperors and so few Emperor turns on the board.

What were the pivotal moments in the game? Joe’s taking of Britannia with one die early on? Ian mobbing Martin when he was at his weakest? The collapse of my four-region stronghold just as I become Emperor? Martin’s two defeats against those stubborn Nomads? All those Alamanni? I’ll leave all that to future historians to mull over. In the meantime, despite it now being Sunday, we wondered how we could possibly get to sleep after all that.

Thanks all. It was astonishing.