Ave Caesar

review by Ugavine

 

Have you ever wanted to take part in Roman chariot racing? No? Nonsense, of course you have. And with Ave Caesar that's exactly what you get to do.

This is a simple card driven race game requiring players to make three laps with their chariots.  Each Player gets a deck of cards, drawing a hand of three cards at a time, and chooses which card to play. Each card has a number from 1 to 6, which is how many places you move your chariot. So why not just play 6's? It's not always possible to pass your opponents, and you don't want to waste moves as the numbers total in the deck barely manages you to make the three laps. So be extra cautious if you choose the long route in an attempt to overtake, you don't have enough cards to continually use the long route. Also some parts of the track are not wide enough meaning your opponents can purposely block you from moving.

What about Caesar? Oh yes, one the first or second lap you must stop in front of Caesar to pay tribute. If you fail to pay tribute you are not only disqualified but no doubt fed to the lions.

A game only takes about 20 -30 minutes to play. Set-up time in minimal and the rules are very simple to pick up. The board is also double sided so you get two different tracks to race around.

So often simple is the best and Ave Caesar does not disappoint. This is a quick fun game best played with 4-5 players. The card mechanic makes it less random than a simple roll & move game, with the board layout also adding a little strategy to the game, though not enough to put off the casual gamer. The fast game play also means there is little downtime. Highly recommend, Ave Caesar!