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In The Fall of Rome you command the resources of the Roman Empire in its fight for survival against the eleven barbarian tribal groups of the north. You must also compete with the two empires of the east as they try to take advantage of your troubles.

The lengthy instructions provided can cause some confusion at first but commencement of the game shows that the method of play is really very simple.

You are shown a map of the area within the Roman Empire, and each province has a Roman name and its own income, the amount of which varies from province to province. This income can be used to purchase and maintain friendly legions, auxiliaries and cavalry.

The game is divided into twelve turns, each turn covering a five year period from 395 A.D. Working through each province in turn you must distribute your forces carefully in order to recover as many provinces as possible and resurrect the Roman Empire. At the end of each turn you will be informed how many provinces are recovered and how many are still under attack. At the end of twelve turns, the computer will calculate the value of all the provinces in which you have forces. The total calculated is your score. The scores range from under 100 (total failure) to over 160 (victory).

The Fall Of Rome is a time-consuming, strategic game which is a lot of fun, especially if you succeed. It is advisable however to write down the current position of each province as you go along, in order to calculate where your main forces should be situated and which areas are most at risk.

An exciting challenge.