"Alea Jacta Est -Roman Civil Wars" aus dem Hause AGEOD beschäftigt sich, wie der Name schon sagt, mit dem römischen Reich und hier im speziellen mit den römischen Bürgerkriegen. Es ist ein Strategiespiel in dem es darum geht seine Armeen taktisch klug zu verschieben, strategische Punkte einzunehmen. Entfernt vergleichbar mit Schach.
Wer taktische Schlachten ala "Total War" sucht ist hier defintiv falsch. Diese Art von spielen richtet sich an Strategen die sich gerne jeden Zug fünfmal überlegen und großen Wert auf Details legen.

Das hier vorgestellte Grundspiel liefert fünf Szenarien ( + ein Tutorialszenario):

1. Marius vs. Sulla
2. Der große Mithridatische Krieg
3. Der römische Bürgerkrieg (Caesar vs. Pompeius)
4. Das Vierkaiserjahr
5. Septimus Severius

Das Spiel läuft in Runden, wobei eine Runde 30 Tage entspricht. Hier kann man seine Armeen verschieben, neue Truppen ausheben, politische Entscheidungen treffen (je nach Szenario anders, wie z.B Sklavenlegion aufstellen) und für seine Sache Propaganda betreiben. Das hier zu Grunde gelegte System nennt sich WEGO. Dies bedeutet das alle Spieler ihre Züge gleichzeitig machen und gemeinsam am Rundenende berechnet werden.
Treffen zwei Armeen aufeinander, sind die Zusammensetzung, das Gelände, das Wetter, die Kommandeure und der Versorgungsstatus und die vorher getroffene taktische Ausrichtung (z.B defensive/ offensive Haltung, Ausweichen, Hinterhalt ect.pp ) entscheidend.
Schlachten laufen unspektakuälr ab und man erhält lediglich das Ergebnis. Ein Eingreifen ist demnach nicht möglich.

Die Grafik ist zweckmäßig. Das Spielfeld umfasst den größten Teil der damals bekannten Welt. Auch hier unterscheidet sich der spielbare Teil je nach Szenario. Armeen sind als eine Art Spielfiguren dargestellt. Der Sound beschränkt sich auf sporadisch einsetzende Musik, und Töne beim verschieben von Armeen und Flotten.


Fazit

Wer strategisch anspruchsvolle Spiele liebt und auch nicht davor zurückschreckt eine längere EInarbeitungsphase in Kauf zu nehmen, wird durch "Alea Jacta Est" seine Freude haben. Hier geht es rein um die militärische Komponente der datgestellten Konflikte. Wer sein Reich ausbauen will sollte lieber zu Paradox-Titel greifen. Alle anderen: Zugreifen!

Ps.: Ich empfehle das Tutorial Szenario spielen und auch um das Lesen des Handbuchs kommt man nicht herum. Begleitend kann man sich auch einige Let´s Plays auf Youtube anschauen (leider bisher nur in englischer Sprache).



Deutsche Sprache

Das Spiel ist komplett auf Deutsch. Leider kann man dies nicht über den Steam Clienten einstellen sondern muss dies manuell im Spielverzeichnis machen. Nachfolgend eine Anleitung zum Umstellen der Sprache:

Öffne die Datei General.opt (mit Notepad öffnen), die hier zu finden ist:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Alea Jacta Est\AJE\Settings

Jetzt in der Datei folgende Änderung vornehmen:

2. *** General interface choices ***
// language (0: English; 1: Francais; 2: Espanol; 3: Deutsche)
Language = 3

Dann alles speichern und ihr könnt das Spiel komplett auf Deutsch genießen.

Ein rundenbasiertes Grand Strategy Spiel, angesiedelt in der Zeit des Römischen Reiches. Etwas stärker fokussiert auf den militärstrategischen Teil als die bekannteren Titel von Paradox, schätze ich das Spiel vor allem für seine gute Umsetzung der korrekten Einheitenbezeichnungen und viel Liebe zum historischen Detail. Das Tutorial aber hat seinen Namen nicht verdient und man hat einige Zeit vor sich herauszuknobeln wie, was, warum in dem Spiel funktioniert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOJIOUHSpRg

kenn das noch von einer DVD version. es ist wie alle spiele der reihe ehr was für leute die solche spiele mögen. was mich nur mal wieder an der steam version nicht gefällt, es werden mehre sprachen auch geführt und es gibt doch nur eine reine englische version.also wer kein englisch kann sollte es bleiben lassen. würde mich aber freuen wenn sich steam da mal drann macht und nicht nur ankündigt.

You love Grand Strategy Games?
You love historical Settings?
You are willing to read a manual?
You love a challenge?
You are not afraid of your wife?
You know how to handle the "Just one more turn" syndrom?
Graphics and visual presentation is not more important for you than gameplay?

If you can answer all these question with "Yes, Sir, Yes!", you should really consider to buy one of the AGEOD Grand Strategy Games. (The one with the historical setting you are interested in!)

To be honest, I avoided AGEOD games in the past, because I was always too lazy to read another manual besides the one from GG´s War in the East and the long turn processing times from Pride of Nations...

... now I know this was a huge mistake.

The depth of these games (I am talking about all AGEOD Games, not only this one) is awesome, and the rules and mechanics running in the background are incredible deep, so complex that you have to read the manual if you want to master the game.

Moving around your units is easy. To know why your units are out of supply, exhausted, lost half of their manpower is a step to master these games.

In my play time in Alea Jacta Est, I played only 1 Scenario, "The Civil War between Ceasar and Pompeius" and I have to admit, at first it was frustrating, because I played the tutorial first, but reading the manual changed everything and the game became a blast.

Sure, the older AGE games are missing the ability to set up battle tactics (like The Thirty Years War) but I am simply in love with the historical setting and so far, this is the BEST Grand Strategy Game I was able to play for this setting.

What do you get?
Turn based battles? No!

You can´t directly influence the battles, they are automaticly resolved.
The task and challenge is
to pick the right time,
the right place,
the right composition of troops
the right commander in charge
and the right enemy to attack

Some more R´s can be added, but I guess I will cover them later.

Micromanagement?
Compared with games, like Hearts of Iron, or War in the East/West, the micromanagement level is low.
The only real micromanagement I encountered so far, is keeping your supply chain in shape, this requires to move several supply wagons every turn, at least if you really want to be as efficent as possible with your troops.
Building troops, Diplomacy, building province improvements are simple and easy.

Alternate History?
Compared to Paradox Grand Strategy Games = No!
Is this bad = No!

First of all, you can win the Civil War as Pompeius, but many decisions and diplomatic options are only available if you reach a specific turn, not all, but many.
But, it´s still up to you to decide if you use the diplomatic option or how you decide.

Empire building?
No, the games are ALL about WAR Scenarios, not about building an Empire or a Dynasty.
Your job is to win a war with a limited amount of ressources and this can only be achieved by using everything with the highest efficency!

Is this fun?
If you like board games and you can enjoy "the mind game" part = spending a lot of time in front of your monitor with thinking and listening to music or an audiobook, yes it´s fun.

Total War: Rome II is fine for the plebeian masses, but for the true Romanophile there is Alea Jacta Est.

Not only does it include some of the more popular conflicts such as Caesar's civil war and the slave revolt of Spartacus (DLC), but also has some of lesser known internal struggles like Marius vs. Sulla, and the year of the four emperors (my personal fav).

For those who have never played an AGEOD game before the learning curve may be a little steep, though not nearly as bad as some of the more complicated grand strategy games out there (I'm looking at you HoI3!)

So, if you're a fan of Roman history like I am, and are looking for something with a little more depth than, 'march army here, capture city,' this is the game for you!

My 1st ever Ageod game. I remeber buying the DVD version of it (those were the days!) playing thru the tutorial, a big WTF and then I didnt touch it for 3 years. Then I got somehow back into it, checked the amazing Ageod forums and became a lifelong addict to anything Ageod ever released. This is the best company for lovers of history ever. You will feel the pressure that generals back then felt. Dont be discourged by the apparently steep learning curve, check the forums (the BEST gaming community out there) and the youtube videos. Theres an excellent tutorial AAR by Narwahl and Loki that teaches everything as well as an incredibly detailed Chalres Cummings youtube series out there. Once you learn one game, youre pretty much ready to tackle any of these company's games. AJE has a somehow simplified supply/OOB structutre that makes it the ideal Ageod to start with. Totally immersive, extremely detailed, this is for real hardcore armchair generals ony. But once you get into Ageod, you will barely find the time to play anything else!

Sooner or later, when playing Rome Total War, you start getting this uncomfortable feeling that what you're doing on the strategic map is just a stage prop for pixel soldiers to run around in pretty period costumes.

Alea Jacta Est, though very nice to look at, is not about eye candy.

Instead, it gives you a very detailed strategic and operational view of what the opposing sides were dealing with. When battles or skirmishes take place they are resolved abstractly, though the abstraction gives a pretty detailed depiction of the tactical characteristics that were likely to be in play.

This game is part of a series that includes Birth of Rome (the later phases of Rome's conquest of Italy, including the confrontation with Pyrrhus and the first Punic War), Hannibal (the second Punic War), and the Parthian Wars (Rome's Eastern Front). These three games aren't on Steam yet, which is unfortunate, because watching the Third Samnite War scenario unfold feels a lot like reading Livy.

This is probably the best ancient history simulator on the market. Learning how to play it can be a bit confusing at first until you realize that there aren't actually a lot of different kind of actions to master: most of what gets discussed in the manual is just a description of what's going on under the hood.

ENG:

Alea Jacta Est(AJE) was my first AGEod game, and which brought me to the world of AGEod strategy games.
Don't check my Steam play time - game just release at Steam Store, while was selling at Matrix Games Store since 2012.

As I have said multiple times: It's incredible - how AGEod engine can simulate Ancient Roman Wars, American Revolution, American Civil War and finally Great War, despite such a large spread in time frame, each game is unique, - I have never had a feeling that I'm buying same game.

AJE is a good start for new AGEod players, since it provides lots of different scenarios differs at scale and time frame - from "Sulla's First Civil War" till "Year of Four Emperors".

Different scenarios and sides provide unique experience in every aspect of Roman life at picked scenario period.
And that gives you tons of enjoyment playing AJE.
Nicely drawn unit pictures, detailed map and nice music provides incredible experience of the Rome.

If you're interested in Roman Civil Wars or Rome itself(Doesn't matter if it's Republic or Empire) and/or you enjoyed other AGEod titles, pick Alea Jacta Est.

Especially with this dirty cheap price tag(60% discount).




RUS:

Alea Jacta Est (AJE) была моя первая игра от AGEod, которая и привела меня в мир стратегий AGEod.
Не смотрите на моё время игры в Стиме - игра только что появилась в Steam, хотя продавалась в магазине Matrix Games с 2012 года.

Как я уже говорил в других ревью AGEod игр: Это невероятно - как движок AGEod может симулировать Римские Войны, Американскую Революцию, Гражданскую Войну в США и, наконец, Первую мировую войну - несмотря на такой большой разброс во времени, каждая игра является уникальной, у меня никогда не возникало ощущения, что мне продают что-то второй раз.

AJE это хорошее начало для новых игроков AGEod, так как она предоставляет много различных сценариев отличающиехся в масштабах и временных рамках - от "Первой гражданской войны Суллы" до "Года Четырех Императоров".

Различные сценарии и стороны конфликта дают уникальный опыт в каждом аспекте жизни Рима.
И это приносит кучу удовольствия, играя AJE.

Красиво нарисованные юниты, подробная карта и музыкальное сопровождение даёт возможность погрузится в эпоху Рима.

Если вы заинтересованы в римских гражданских войнах или в истории самого Рима(Будь то Республика или Империя) или вам нравятся (если нет - вам понравятся :)) и другие игры серии AGEod, - берите Alea Jacta Est.
Особенно за такую цену (60% дисконт).

I recommend this game if you get it cheap in a bundle, or you're a wargame fanatic. Otherwise, beware.

The good

Extremely detailed
Historically accurate, probably to a fault
Has everything grognards want in a wargame
Clean visuals for the type of game it is

The bad

Probably bore a Total War fan to tears
Turns can take forever to resolve
Some of the translations are iffy
Resource management can be a full-time job

In 2024 why would you get this 12+ years old Roman strategy wargame?

Overall I strongly recommend Alea Jacta Est along with all its DLCs which form an auto-sufficient ecosytem.

1. PROS
- Focused on warfare (80%) and a little on economic and political decision (20%)
- Historical accuracy
- 2D Beautiful and colourful map of the Mediterranean and the Middle East
- Superb unit counters
- In-depht
- Limited number of units to manage
- Weather and logistics play a major role
- Low level of micromanagement
- Runs on Windows 10 (and 11)
- Nice collection of DLC
- During sales good money for value deal for the main game + all DLCs

2. NEUTRAL
- Grand strategy board game feel
- Battles are abstracted
- No technology tree

3. CONS
- No more updated
- Occasional crash (1-3 per game session) but there is automatic saves
- Steep learning curve but probably the most easy of the AGEOD games
- The AI can take up to 30 sec to process a turn

4. TIPS FOR BEGINNERS
- Google: 'The Hero, The Traitor and The Barbarian - an AJE PBEM Beginner AAR'
- Watch Charles Cummings' tutorials (YouTube)
- Do the in-game tutorial
- Play the Spartacus scenario (DLC)
- Read the manual

5. SETTINGS
- Language
- Resolution

Any question, please post below in the comment box or on the forum.