Rise of Augustus Revisited with Sam: Is that your toga?...that's a nice toga!

[@Lizziedotdotdot]

I've wanted to try this one for years. Not sure if I have the right group for it these days, so I haven't actively sought it out.

[@dougsmith2522]

We've enjoyed this game, but it certainly has some flaws. Playing the "short game" (i.e. going for easy goal cards and trying to end the game quickly) is a much better strategy than trying to complete difficult objectives. Also, the gold and wheat bonuses seem a little too valuable and it's odd that there aren't bonuses for other commodities. It seems like maybe they should have made those worth just a couple points each but added additional commodities given that the artwork has so many more. Also, it would be nice to have some kind of mechanism where you at least get something on those turns when you don't get to place a meeple so it's just not like losing turns. Like maybe you get a chit and once you collect 3 chits you can use those to place a random meeple rather than getting blanked.

[@hardyworld]

Sam is absolutely right. The 'bingo' game mechanic can get annoying at times, but the short game time makes that easy to swallow. A light game with a less common game mechanic at its core makes this an evergreen gateway game.

[@thewoopsik]

Thank you for the review.

[@Maki-Mada]

Our favourite game still. Once you know it, it is easy and fast. We tried the new version Via Magic but did not feel the same.

[@MichaelM-ev9ek]

Good for you that you still enjoy the game, but I tried to sell this a few years ago when I really did not try to sell much of my games. Don't get me wrong, I like the VdT art, heck, I even like Paolo Mori's Blitzkrieg, but this game never was something like an enjoyable game for me. Want to play Bingo? Go play Bingo and don't try to dress it up in a Roman theme and pretend that players are going to make any meaningful decisions here. Again, I like the art, but how could you not mention the elephant in the room, sorry, the big-ass coin on the box? Not sure what DuTrait was smoking when he drew a coin as big as a man's palm on the box, but the artwork on the box is as embarrassing as the light gameplay is in a circle of people who know what they're after. Not a 7 for me and it seriously makes me think how much I should value your future reviews. (Sorry, not saying that you're a bad reviewer, maybe our tastes just differ.)