EDIT: TLDR + assembly recommendations .

TLDR If you are located in Europe and don't own a A3 printer, DONT BUY THIS. I didn't know it and ended up paying: 37 euros (printing of cards and map on normal A3 paper at a professionnal printer) + 11 euros (PDF files here) + 4 euros (card slayers) = 52 euros! (not even counting the money spent on my home printing).

Now, consider than the "real" game professionnally printed cost 40 dollars, and you'll get why I'm highly dissatisfied.

If you have an A3 printer, you may consider it. Print directly all the stuff on A3, full size, centered, and you should be fine. Count an afternoon to assemble the game. (was it so hard to write that down in your lame Assembly Instruction and descripton of the game, Wargame Vault?).

Original review: I'm reviewing the PnP game available here.

This review is intended at Wargame Vault and not at the creators of the game (which is great).

So, when buying this, I was ready to spend several hours cutting, glueing components. That's cool! What I was not ready for was to struggle to print the damn thing.

While the tokens were not a problem, the cards and the board... Good luck to get them printed properly with your home printer. Mine is an HP 7720. No way to get the cards aligned nor the board printed in its original size (always 5-6 mm missing on each quarter, no matter the settings I tried). The "assembly instructions", courtesy of Wargame vault, are basically useless (more or less, it says "To print the cards, open 'card.pdf' and print them").

To get a half decent result, you'll probably have to go, like me, to a professional printing house. And it will cost you. For a result that is still way poorer than the original game. And after paying those PDF files 12 **** dollars

Maybe my printer is to blame? Or maybe it's because I'm located in Europe and the files are made for US Standards? To be honest, I don't care. I would have expected some kind of instructions/warning/disclaimer from Wargame Vault, and I didn't get it. Their added value is 0 and that's what my review sanctions.

This is basically Command and Colors on very intellligent steroids! No cards either. The command is given to the armies each turn in points which they can use for the various actions (Move, Fire, Rally, Charge etc) at differing costs per action and often according to the type of unit. Lord dumbo will get less, and can save few, whereas Duc de Smarty will get a lot and can save tons per turn too. (To a maximum of his command value) (Values from 0-3 for minor commanders, 1-4 for C-in-C's) This is the first of a series and concentrates on battles from the late 1600,s to the early 1700's, including Blenheim, and at 3 different scales permitting smaller battles, such as those of the various Jacobit rebellions to be refought as well as giant engagments. The simple rules are then fleshed out with a whole bundle of optional rules which can be added to taste, here you will find rules for "facing" units which permit the indication of formation with further permutation on combat results. Combat is a simple d10 roll to hit according to a large table, including ranged and close combat with diffent roles needed for different units in different situations. Add on to this the delicious National optional rules and you have a game which, never being simple in its Basic rules, becomes very nuanced with all the rest thrown in. A d6 is used for morale, and is rolled against the only number on the unit counter, this will gradually decrease as when a unit is hit it will be flipped to show a lower number

I liked the game a lot. The usual whinge from us poor Europeans is the fact that the sheets are Letter sized and not A4. This is not usually a hassle, but here with terrain tiles that must fit the map hexes, take care..... I didn't. I did all the terrain tiles then discovered the map sections wouldn't fit A4..... The only way round this was to print each letter page onto an A3 cardboard sheet. The units did't matter, as only the title of each unit page got sliced off.

Optimates et Populares features a really interesting and engaging gameplay concept that manages to capture the feeling and ideas of late Roman republican politics quite well. Both players try to outmatch each other in their influence in the senate, in the election into high political offices, in their relation to the plebs, the legions and the merchants. Bribery, murder, spectacles for the masses, legislative actions, the possibility of "vetoing" the opponent's political efforts and much more generate a very interesting, multi-facetted experience. Every single decision has its consequences. I especially like the fact that the game works almost completely without the luck factor (there are only two instances where luck is important), almost the whole game works like a very intricate balancing of powers, every step is risky, every plan can fail. While the Optimates-player (the old, corrupt nobility) tries to keep as much of the "status quo" as possible by hindering reforms, the Populares-player tries to use his initial popularity with the masses to get political offices and push reforms. Both sides play different and there is still much room for experimentation. I play the game only solitaire, but it works surprisingly good, even almost without random gameplay elements it feels very dramatic. The presentation is well done as well - the manual is very readable and without ambiguities, the general art of the game is pleasant and unique. I can wholeheartedly recommend this game for everyone interested in the political concepts of the late Roman Republic - but also to everyone interested in politics generally. Even if you are not interested in politics, the gameplay is so intricate and at the same time highly elegant that I would also recommend it to everybody interested in unique gameplay concepts.

Really enjoyed the experience. Very unusual game that merits being given a run. Plays well solitaire too.

A4 paper format could have been handy but still it is very easy to make a copy.

This is a great little game with a lot of theme, though you'll need to be interested enough in the history (but why else would you be reading?..) The map could do with a little streamlining, the rules with an example of play.

It is well worth your hard-earned to check this one out.

Excellent light solo wargame. Simple and straightforward with plenty of decisions and dice rolling. The Battle system and hidden unit loyalty system are new and interesting. I would recomend this game to anyone interested solo conflict sims.

A great little game. The mechanisms are simple but leave an aweful lot of hard decision making to be made. I still have to win a good victory. Ther AI is not dumb, it has it's own logic, and a very clever system of opaque containers to hide who is actually on your side a nd who isn't