Ludi Romani: USU's Classics Program Hosts End of Year Event to Crown a 'Victor of Rome'

A longtime staple of USU’s classics program, the Ludi Romani (Latin for Roman games) is an immersive roleplaying game featuring tabletop elements which attempts to reenact the years leading up to the fall of the Roman Republic.

Participants roleplay as various figures in Greek and Roman mythology and history while they build up armies, shift policies to benefit their factions, and curry favor with the gods through a mix of subterfuge, bribes and alliances in a desperate bid to secure their factions’ success at the final Battle of Actium.

At first glance, players may be intimidated by the sheer size of the rulebook. However, in action, the event plays like an intense mix of Musical Chairs and Risk which — when there are more than 100 participants — can get quite rambunctious.

There are two general phases of gameplay: movement, and seasons split between summer and winter. During the movement phase, players shuffle between regions as travel-themed pop and rock blasts over the speaker systems. When the music ends, the movement period is over, and players must find a seat at a nearby region lest they fall under the influence of the various sea gods patrolling the floor.

To read more, visit: https://chass.usu.edu/liberalis/events/archive/spring-2022/ludi-romani