What is Julius Caesar?
Julius Caesar brings the drama of the Roman Civil War (49-45 BC) to life. Players take control of the legions of Caesar or Pompey and fight to determine the future of Rome: republic or empire. Marc Antony, Cleopatra, Octavian, and Brutus also play key roles.
You use cards to Move, levy or play an Event. 13 victory point Towns or Cities are depicted on the 17″x 33″ (43 x 84 cm) game board of the Mediterranean. Take command of Caesar’s Veteran Legions or Pompey sprouting Young Legions around the Mediterranean.
You decide how best to defend or conquer the Republic. With endless possibilities at your disposal, this game will keep your adrenaline pumping.
The “Columbia Block System”
Julius Caesar is a Columbia Block System game. The game information for each piece is facing the player, but not the opponent! This allows a “fog-of-war” aspect of play that allows an extra layer of subtlety to gameplay. It allows for feints, bluffs, and outright surprises!
Also, it has a step reduction system built into place as well! As units take damage, they simply are rotated to show their new strength. It is an innovative design that has been a fan favorite of gamers in the know for years!
A card-driven game!
Julius Caesar is also a card-driven game. You use cards to Move, levy or play an Event. 13 victory point Towns or Cities are depicted on the 17″x 33″ (43 x 84 cm) game board of the Mediterranean. Take command of Caesar’s Veteran Legions or Pompey sprouting Young Legions around the Mediterranean.
This keeps play slightly varied and not as predictable as other games can be. It keeps players relying more on instinct rather than knowing the results before the turn starts.
Download the Rules!
Want to dive into a little light reading? Then download the rules! It is an easy read and only 8 pages long!
Learn the “Columbia Block System” right now!
What makes Julius Caesar also special is that it uses the “Columbia Block System“. It’s a system with the fog-of-war built into it that keep each opponent guessing! The combat system is simple and easy adapted for other genres with simple tweaks.
Go ahead and watch this short video that will get you up to speed in a matter of four minutes.
Afterward, be sure to download the rules to read the rest.
What do the Experts Say?
A truly great game system that can be played in 2.5 hours. I especially like the way fleets co-operate with the land-based units. Very clever!
Block wargame heaven. Streamlined rules, agonizing decisions, buckets of dice, well-balanced scenario, unscripted openings. What’s not to love?
What an amazing game! I read through the eight pages of rules and thought “is this all there is to it”? The first game was interesting. I wondered if the gameplay would get stale with just a couple of strategies.
But after a half dozen plays every game has played out completely differently. There is some “magic” to this game that I can’t quite figure out. Maybe having the Mediterranean Sea in the middle of the board is the secret. Movement tends to be fast using ships across the sea but slows over land around the periphery. Positions can appear static but then change dramatically in a few surprising moves.
Another fantastic Columbia block game! Very well balanced, great for new players and experienced players alike. As someone who is colorblind, I found the green/tan blocks that came with the game to be indistinguishable from one another, but Grant at Columbia Games furnished me with a new set of black and white blocks. Columbia’s customer service is second to none!
