Attila

Back the Germanic tribes streaming into the Roman empire and bet your influence on the ones that survive.

Designer: Karl-Heinz Schmiel
Published by: 999 Games
Editions by: Rio Grande Games, Hans im Glück

In 375 A.D. Attila's mounted Huns sweep across Europe, and the Germanic tribes in their path flee into the outer provinces of the declining Roman empire. In Attila (2000) you do not play the tribes, you play the influence behind them: the winner is the player who has backed the most successful tribes best. You hold cards that match the invading tribes. On your turn you play one, place the matching tribal marker on the board, expanding from the start areas, and then either repeat that or increase your influence in a tribe. Once a province holds five tribal markers, war breaks out between them, and matching cards from your hand can boost a tribe's strength. The weakest tribe is eliminated. Two to five players, around forty-five minutes.

Tribes migrate into Roman provincesInfluence in tribes works like sharesWar breaks out at five markers in a province

Who it's for

You like area-majority games with a stock-market flavor and dense tension, with four players and under an hour.

Not for you if…

You want a gentle building game. Wars eliminate tribes, and your investments can disappear with them.

Vibe's take

Tactical and tense. Everyone pushes the same tribes for different reasons, and a war in a crowded province can wreck a carefully built position in one go.