We became acquainted with Maurice Suckling with his game Freeman’s Farm 1777 from Worthington Publishing in 2019 and really enjoyed the different mechanics of that game and how they all came together to create an interactive and interesting look at the Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution. Since that time, Maurice has designed several games that have went onto successful Kickstarter campaigns including Hidden Strike: American Revolution, Chancellorsville 1863 and 1565 Siege of Malta all from Worthington Publishing. He is now codesigning a game with Daniel Burt called Rebellion: Britannia that is the first entry in a future series from GMT Games and we agreed to host a series of Event Card Spoiler posts here designed to give our readers a look into how the game works.
If you are interested in Rebellion: Britannia, you can pre-order a copy for $52.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-989-rebellion-britannia.aspx
*Please keep in mind that the artwork and layout of these cards is not yet finalized and is only for playtest purposes at this point. Also, as this game is still in development, card details may still change prior to publication.
Card #7
Roman Britain
This part of the card relates to the establishment of settlements in Londinium (modern day London) and Eboracum (modern day York). It rewards the Rome player for establishing and guarding these settlements, and provides the Briton factions with an incentive to attack these settlements. This Event Card is placed beside the board and is used in end game scoring, with the card type being highlighted by having a VP icon as its background. As not all Event Cards are used in any given game of Rebellion: Britannia, this scoring card may or may not come into play over the course of a game.
Caratacus Captured
There are several significant historical events which occur in the 14 year span of our game, with all the playable factions – Rome, Iceni, Brigantes, and Silures experiencing changes in leadership. The game uses the Event Deck to control the triggering of these events, rather than letting players control this themselves – again, because life is complex. With 6 Event Cards put aside in every game players can’t actually be certain if specific events will happen within the span of a game or not. Caratacus, originally leader of the Catuvellauni, was leader of the forces that resisted Rome’s initial invasion of Britain under Claudius, alongside his brother Togodumnus. Following the defeat of the British forces at the Battle of the River Medway and River Thames, and the death of Togodumnus, he fled and sought refuge with the Silures, eventually becoming the leader of their resistance to Roman occupation. He waged a successful guerilla war against Rome for many years until Scapula managed to defeat his forces in a set-piece battle somewhere in the Ordovician territory, capturing his wife and daughter and receiving the surrender of his brothers. Caratacus himself escaped, and fled north to the lands of the Brigantes where he sought refuge with the Brigantian queen, Cartimandua, who instead chose to hand him over to the Romans in chains. The card changes leadership to Caradog.
If you missed the previous entries to date in the series, you can catch up on the posts by following the below links:
Card #1 Roman Supply Lines Tested, The Tribes Bristle and Development
Card #2 Military Occupation, Clash of Cultures and Prasutagus Dies
Card #3 Bountiful Land, The Tribes Bristle and Venutius Rebels
Card #4 The Power of the Druids, The Tribes Bristle and Petuaria
Card #5 Salt Trade, The Tribes Bristle and Prasutagus Dies
Card #6 Tin Mines, The Tribes Bristle and Cartivellaunos
There will be more card spoilers to come in the near future with at least 8 total cards being spoiled. In the meantime, if you are interested we recently posted an interview with the designers and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/01/09/interview-with-maurice-suckling-designer-of-rebellion-britannia-resistance-against-rome-in-1st-century-britain-from-gmt-games/
If you are interested in Rebellion: Britannia, you can pre-order a copy for $52.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-989-rebellion-britannia.aspx
-Grant
The Players' Aid 