Sword of Rome: Conquest of Italy, 362-272 BC

A big, long card-driven wargame about the rise of Rome. Sword of Rome: Conquest of Italy, 362-272 BC is a GMT game from 2004 that builds on the system from Paths of Glory. Up to four or five players recreate the clashes among the peoples of Italy and Sicily in the fourth and third centuries BC, with event cards, point-to-point movement and a good deal of period detail: city loyalty, Roman colonies, tribal raids, Gallic indiscipline, Greek siegecraft, elephants from India and the differing infantry tactics of Rome and Macedon. Whoever dominates the western Mediterranean earns the chance to contest the wider world. Expect six hours and a map covered in cardboard.