Praetor

Type: Family game, Worker placement
A game by: Andrei Novac
No. players: 2-5
Age: 12+
Play time: 60-90 min

In Praetor you will take the role of a Roman engineer and you will work together with the other players to build a magnificent city. You will manage your limited resources wisely and look for new ones, you will recruit new Workers while your old experienced ones will retire, you will build settlements to keep the population happy and you will praise the Gods to earn their favor. Caesar will reward you if you give away precious resources to build Hadrian’s Wall thus increasing your chances of becoming Praetor.

Every turn you will place your Workers on previously built City Tiles to gain resources, Morale, new Workers or Favor Points. You may also assign Workers to build new City Tiles or spend resources to meet Caesar’s demands to gain Favor Points. At the end of each turn, you will have to pay your Workers. Otherwise, the mood in the city will deteriorate.

Most of the actions your Workers will perform will help them gain experience. They will become increasingly skilled in collecting resources. Your most experienced Workers will eventually retire and bring you additional Favor Points but you will still have to show solidarity and pay them until the end of the game.

The game ends when there are no more City Tiles available or when Caesar has no more demands for resources. The player with the most Favor Points will be appointed Praetor and win the game.

Caesar Hadrian ascended to the throne of the Roman Empire in 117 CE. During the early years of his reign, the Roman Empire faced various threats from the “barbarians” in Britain, Egypt and Judea. Hadrian, unlike most of his predecessors, did not focus on expanding the borders of his immense empire. He chose a policy of defending the borders and spreading the Roman cultures to the far provinces of Rome.

The southern part of Britain was under Roman domination, while the north was considered the land of the barbarians. Following a major rebellion in 119-121 CE, Caesar Hadrian visited Britain. The Roman Empire was at the peak of its glory and the Caesar no longer wanted to wage war against the barbarians. He decided to strengthen the empire by building cities and fortifications to ensure a lengthy domination of the Roman culture and wealth.

In 122 CE Caesar had already begun the construction of Hadrian’s Wall to protect the empire from invasions from the North. Together with the wall, Caesar has ordered the development of several garrisons alongside it. Some of these garrisons were quickly developing into cities meant to provide resources, workers and defense for the construction of the wall.

At the eastern side of the wall, the garrison and trading post of Segedunum was to become a fort meant to provide everything necessary to complete the construction of the wall and later a city to remind the locals of the glory of Rome.

The Caesar has appointed 5 of his most trusted engineers to undertake the task. He sent them with resources and workers from Rome to build the city together. But in the end only one of them was going to be appointed Praetor and rule the Province in the name of Caesar and the eternal glory of Rome.