''SPQR'' is a

board wargame A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military exercises, o ...

Richard Berg Richard Harvey Berg (1943 – July 26, 2019) was a prolific American wargame designer. He was inducted into the Charles Roberts Awards Hall of Fame in 1987. Early life, army, student and lawyer Richard Berg was born in New York City. ...

and Mark Herman, and released in 1992 by

GMT Games GMT Games is a California-based wargaming publisher founded in 1990. The company has become well known for graphically attractive games that range from " monster games", of many maps and counters, to quite simple games suitable for introducing ne ...

, as part of the ''Great Battles of History'' (''GBoH'') series of games on ancient warfare. ''SPQR'' deals with battles fought by the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...

, and is designed to showcase the strengths and weaknesses of the Roman manipular

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

. There are two editions of the game, the second having changes in some rules.

Scenarios

The game includes five historical scenarios,

Cannae Cannae (now Canne della Battaglia, ) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a ''frazione'' (civil parish) of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Barletta. Cannae was formerly a bishopric, and is presently (2022) a Lat ...

, Zama,

Cynoscephalae Cynoscephalae ( grc, Κυνὸς κεφαλαί, meaning "dog's heads") may refer to: Geography * Cynoscephalae (Boeotia), a town of ancient Boeotia * Cynoscephalae (Thessaly), a town of ancient Thessaly * Cynoscephalae Hills (Boeotia), a range of ...

, Beneventum and Bagradas Plains, plus a fantasy scenario pitting

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

against

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

Scale

The game maps are covered with a

hexagonal grid In geometry, the hexagonal tiling or hexagonal tessellation is a regular tiling of the Euclidean plane, in which exactly three hexagons meet at each vertex. It has Schläfli symbol of or (as a Truncation (geometry), truncated triangular tiling ...

, each hex representing 70 yards of distance. Each turn represents about 15–20 minutes, although the rules are designed assuming a loose time scale. Each

counter Counter may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Counter machine, a subclass of register machines * Counter (digital), an electronic device, mechanical device, or computer program for counting * Loop counter, the variable that controls the iterat ...

represents 300 to 1000 fighting troops, depending on size and type. Since little is known about the terrain, numbers of men or types of units engaged, methods of combat, leaders and so on, these games, despite their high level of detail, remain essentially speculative in nature.

Expansions

A number of expansions were released for SPQR: * ''Consul For Rome'' (1992), adding the Battles of the Trebia and the

Metaurus The Metauro is a river in the Marche region of central Italy. It rises in the Apennine Mountains and runs east for or if the Meta is included as its uppermost reach. The name of the river in Latin is ''Metaurus'' or ''Mataurus.'' In Ancient Gr ...

* ''War Elephant'' (1992), adding the Battles of Magensia and Raphia * ''Pyrrhic Victory'' (1993) adding the Battles of Heraclea and

Asculum Asculum, also known as Ausculum, was the ancient name of two Italian cities. The first is Ascoli Piceno, the ''Ausculum'' in ancient Picenum (modern Marche). It is situated in the valley of the Truentus (mod. Tronto) river on the via Salaria. It ...

* ''Africanus'' (1994) adding the Battles of Baecula and

Ilipa Ilipa is an ancient Spanish town near Seville. It is famous as the site of the Battle of Ilipa The Battle of Ilipa () was an engagement considered by many as Scipio Africanus’s most brilliant victory in his military career during the Secon ...

* ''Jugurtha'' (1998) adding the Battles of the Muthul and Cirta * ''Deluxe SPQR'' (2008), combining the Basic SPQR game with all the above expansions, with the exception of Raphia from "War Elephant" and Cirta from "Jurgurtha". It also includes counters for the battle of

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

and for the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Empire * ''Barbarian'' (2008), adding the battles of Lautulae,

Tifernum The Battle of Tifernum (297 BC) was an important battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 297 BC near Città di Castello (next to Perugia, in what is now central Italy), in which the Romans overcame a determined Samnite army. The result woul ...

Sentinum Sentinum was an ancient town located in the Marche region of Italy. It was situated at low elevation about a kilometre south of the present-day town of Sassoferrato. The ruins of Sentinum were partially excavated in 1890 and the results of the arc ...

Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Arg ...

and

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

Reception

''SPQR'' won the 1992

Charles S. Roberts Award The Charles S. Roberts Awards (or CSR Awards) is an annual award for excellence in the historical wargaming hobby. It was named in honor of Charles S. Roberts the "Father of Wargaming" who founded Avalon Hill. The award is informally called a "Ch ...

for ''Best Pre-World War II Boardgame'', and ''Best Wargame Graphics'' for the map by

Mark Simonitch Mark Simonitch (born December 30, 1957) is an American wargame designer and graphic artist. His game designs include ''Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage'' and ''Ardennes '44'', and he has made maps for ''Wilderness War'' and ''Empire of the Sun'' among ...

; and an

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...

for ''Best Pre-20th Century Boardgame of 1992''.

Reviews

* ''

Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one ...

'' #72 (Nov 1992)

References

External links

''SPQR''
at GMT Games. *

an unofficial computer card game based on ''SPQR''. Board games about history Board games introduced in 1992 Board wargames set in Ancient history GMT Games games Origins Award winners Richard Berg games {{wargame-stub