Time of Crisis

Time of Crisis Rules

1. Introduction

Time of Crisis is a game for two to four players set in the Roman

Empire during the 3rd century. Each player represents the head

of a great family, and attempts to use that family’s influence

to manipulate people and situations to ensure that the family’s

name is remembered by history rather than being lost in the

mists of time.

2. Components

• One game board

• 6 six-sided dice

• This rules manual

• Four player mats

• Three counter sheets consisting of:

• 64 Informational markers (24 Seat of Power/Breakaway

[six markers in each of the four player colors], 17 Quaestor/

Castra, 16 Mobs, 6 No Place Governor and 1 First Player)

• 50 barbarians (10 counters of each of the five tribes)

• 36 Improvements (12 counters of each of the three

improvements)

• 33 Roman Legions

• 32 Governors (6 circular counters in each of the four player

colors, plus 8 gray Neutrals)

• 24 Generals (6 square counters in each of the four player

colors)

• 12 Militia

• 8 square blanks

• 4 Emperor Turns (1 in each of the four player colors)

• 4 Legacy (1 in each of the four player colors)

• 3 Rival Emperors

• 3 Barbarian Leaders

• 120 cards: 105 influence cards (in suits of Red, Yellow and

Blue, each suit has 12 x 1-value; 9 x 2-value, 8 x 3-value,

and 6 x 4-value), and 15 event cards

• Crisis Tables for two- and three-player games

All components in the game are limited to the provided amount.

Roman Legion

Full Strength

Reduced Strength

Governor

Player

Neutral

Barbarian Tribe

Active

Inactive

Militia

Barbarian Leader

Quaestor

Castra

Seat of Power

First Player

Legacy

Improvements

Basilica

Limes

Amphitheater

General

Rival Emperor

Emperor Turns

Mob

Breakaway

No Place Governor

Time of Crisis Rules

3. Starting the Game

3.1 Game Setup

• Place the game board in the center of the table.

• Each player takes the twenty counters of one color (six

Governors, six Generals, six Seat of Power/Breakaway, one

Legacy, and one Emperor Turns) and a player mat. Place the

Emperor Turns and Legacy counters in the zero space on the

score track located on the map and place the Governor and

General counters near your play mat facedown so the cost

of each counter is visible. Finally, place the Seat of Power/

Breakaway markers nearby for use when needed.

• Each player creates a deck consisting of three Red 1, three

Blue 1 and three Yellow 1 influence cards, and places those

cards face down in the Available Pile on his player mat. Place

all unused 1-value cards back in the box.

• Place the remaining Influence cards beside the game board

in face-up stacks sorted by name.

• Place the Improvement counters (Amphitheaters, Basilicas

and Limes) beside the game board in face-up stacks sorted

by name.

• Place the Legion counters near the board for use when needed.

The names on the Legion counters are for historical flavor

only and have no impact on game play.

• Sort the Barbarian counters by tribe and place all the counters

in their respective homelands inactive side up.

• Place the remaining counters, including the Barbarian leaders,

near the board for use when needed.

• Find the Diocletian event card, set it

aside and shuffle the remaining event

cards. Then shuffle the Diocletian

event and the top three events and

place those four cards at the bottom

of the event deck. Place the event

deck beside the game board.

3.2 Player Setup

• Choose a random player to go first, placing the First Player

marker in front of that player as a reminder.

• Beginning with the first player and proceeding clockwise

around the table, each player selects a province other than

Italia.

• Each player places his at-start Governor in the 1 space on the

support track and his at-start General with one full-strength

Legion and a Militia in the provincial capital space of his

selected province.

• After each player has chosen a province, place a Neutral

Governor in the 1 space on the support track of all remaining

provinces and set the support level of Italia to 8 (the number

of provinces governed by the Neutral faction).

• Each player then secretly chooses any five cards from his

Available Pile to place in his hand, leaving the remaining

four cards face down. The game begins with the First Player.

3.3 Changes for Two- and Three-Player Games

Three Players:

• Place a No Place Governor counter in the provinces of

Hispania, Africa, and Aegyptus.

• Do not place a Neutral Governor in these provinces.

• Use the three-player Crisis table instead of the table printed

on the map.

• Return all Nomad counters to the box as they will not be

needed.

• Italia’s starting support level is six.

Two Players:

• Place a No Place Governor counter in the provinces of

Britannia, Hispania, Africa, Aegyptus, Syria and Galatia.

• Do not place a Neutral Governor in these provinces.

• Use the two-player Crisis table instead of the table printed

on the map.

• Return all Nomad and Sassanid counters to the box as they

will not be needed.

• Italia’s starting support level is four.

Provinces marked with a No Place Governor marker are treated

like any other province except players cannot choose them as their

initial province nor target them with the Place Governor action.

4. Definitions

• Adjacent: Two regions that share a common border. In

addition, the provinces of Hispania/Africa and Thracia/Asia

are considered to be adjacent to each other.

• Army: All barbarians of the same tribe in a region, a Rival

Emperor, a Militia unit, or a general and all units stacked

with him.

• Emperor: The governor of Italia.

• Enemy: All Barbarian counters not in the player’s army,

Rival Emperors, and units commanded by other players.

• Neutral Faction: All the neutral governors are considered

to be the owned by the same player, the neutral faction.

• Pretender: A player who has a Seat of Power marker in a

province he governs (12.0).

• Pretender Provinces: All provinces containing a Seat of

Power or Breakaway marker.

• Region: Provinces, sea zones and Barbarian homelands are

regions.

• Unit: A counter that represents a military force, such as

Roman Legion, Militia, Barbarian, Barbarian Leader, or Rival

Emperor.

Time of Crisis Rules

5. Cards

Cards in your hand represent your political capital that can be

spent to manipulate people and situations to benefit your family.

Military

Senate

Populace

5.1 Influence Points

All actions that a player performs during the game are paid

for with influence points. Influence points are in one of three

spheres: Military (Red), Senate (Blue), or Populace (Yellow).

Playing a card from your hand generates influence points equal

to its value in the sphere represented by its color. You are not

required to spend all the points generated from a card before

playing another card, but any unspent influence points are lost at

the end of your turn. Players may find it helpful to track points

remaining to be spent using the pips of a die placed on any card

not fully spent.

5.2 Events

If you play an influence card that has an event, you may play

that event at any applicable time during your turn as described

in the event text. The card still generates its influence points

whether or not you choose to use the event.

5.3 Buying/Trashing Cards

Each province on the map has a support level from 0 to 4 (Ex-

ception: Italia’s support ranges from 0 to 8). The provinces

you govern generate political points equal to their support level

minus the number of Mob counters present (11.1). Political

points are spent to buy new cards and/or trash unwanted cards.

Newly-purchased cards are placed in your Discard Pile and

trashed cards are removed from the game. Any unspent political

points are lost at the end of your turn.

You may buy a card from the supply by spending political points

equal to the card’s cost plus the number of cards you have already

bought this turn. A card’s cost is equal to:

• Its value if the value is less than or equal to the number of

provinces you currently govern,

• Double its value if the value is greater than the number of

provinces you currently govern.

You may trash a card in your Discard Pile by spending three

political points, regardless of the card’s value.

Example: You govern Galatia with a support level of 4, Syria

with a support level of 3 and Asia with a support level of 3. You

have ten political points with which to buy/trash cards. Possible

options include:

• You could buy a 3-value card for three points, then buy a

2-value card for three points (two points for the 2-value

card plus one point for the previously bought card) and then

buy another 2-value card for four points (two points for the

2-value card plus two points for the two previously bought

cards).

• You could buy a 3-value card for three points, another 3-value

card for four points and trash a card from your Discard Pile

for the remaining three points.

• You could trash three cards from your Discard Pile for nine

points, losing the remaining point.

• You could buy a 4-value card for eight points (the cost is

doubled since the value of the card exceeds the number of

provinces you govern), losing the remaining two points.

6. Sequence of Play

A player completes all eight phases before proceeding to the

next player.

6.1 Upkeep

Remove all Quaestor markers in provinces you govern and

Castra markers on armies you command.

6.2 Crisis

Roll 2d6 on Crisis Table and resolve the result (9.0).

6.3 Take Actions

Play cards from your hand and spend influence points to perform

any combination of the following actions in any order you wish.

You may choose the same action multiple times, if you can af-

ford to pay the necessary influence points.

6.3.1 Military Actions

Recruit General

Spend Military influence equal to the printed cost on the back

of one of your unclaimed General counters to move that counter

to your Available Leaders box. You may purchase any General

you can afford.

Add Legion to Army

Select an army you command located in a province you gov-

ern. To add a full-strength Legion to the selected army, spend

Military influence equal to the number of Legions that will be

in the army after the Legion has been added.

Example: To add a second Legion to an army costs two Military

influence, to add a third Legion would cost three.

Time of Crisis Rules

Create Army

Spend one Military influence to place one full-strength Legion

along with a General from your Available Leaders box in a

province you govern.

Train Legions

Spend one Military influence to flip one reduced-strength Legion

in an army you command back to its full-strength side.

Move Army

• You may spend one Military influence to move an army you

command from one region to an adjacent region.

• If you move an army into a province, place the army outside

of the provincial capital.

• At any time during your turn, if you have an army in a

province and no other army is in the provincial capital space,

you may move that army into the provincial capital space for

no cost.

• At any time during your turn, if you have an army in a

provincial capital space, you may move that army out into

the surrounding province for no cost.

Notes:

• There are no restrictions on how far an army may move

other than the cost to pay for it.

• There is no limit on the number of armies that can be in

a province, but only one army can occupy the provincial

capital space.

• An army may never drop off or pick up Legions, nor

combine with another army.

• An army may never end a turn in a sea region.

• Militia may never move with armies, but may stack with

an army that is in the provincial capital.

EXAMPLE: The movement costs for the army in Africa is as

follows: four points to move to Britannia (green arrows), two

points to move to Italia (blue arrows), three points to move to Asia

(yellow arrows), or one point to move to Aegyptus (red arrow).

Initiate Battle

Spend one Military influence to initiate a battle (8.0) between

one of your armies and another army in the same region. The

battle must be completed before initiating another battle. Once

an army is involved in a battle it may not be selected for the

Move Army or Initiate Battle actions until the start of the owner’s

next Take Actions Phase.

Disperse Mob

Spend one Military influence to activate an army you control in

a province you govern. Subtract one support from the province

and remove a number of Mob counters from the province equal

to the number of units in the activated army. This is not consid-

ered an Initiate Battle action; therefore no legacy is gained and

the army may still move and battle as normal.

6.3.2 Senate Actions

Recruit Governor

Spend Senate influence equal to the printed cost on the back of

one of your unclaimed Governor counters to move that counter

to your Available Leaders box. You may purchase any Governor

you can afford.

Support level of Italia: The support level of Italia reflects the

support the Emperor has among the Senate. As the Emperor’s

senatorial support increases, his power grows; as this support

is lost, his power wanes. When a new Emperor claims the

throne the support level of Italia is set to the number of prov-

inces governed, including Italia, by the new Emperor. During

his reign, the support level of Italia is increased by one each

time the Emperor performs a successful Place Governor ac-

tion and is immediately decreased by one each time he must

remove a Governor from the map. In addition, enemy armies,

Barbarians, Rival Emperors and Pretenders (6.4) can decrease

the support level of Italia.

Place Governor

You may replace the Governor of a province that does not con-

tain a Breakaway or Seat of Power marker by gaining enough

votes in the Senate. The required number of votes is determined

as follows:

• The base number of votes needed is equal to double the

province’s support level.

• Each unit in the provincial capital commanded by the player

who governs the province adds one to the required number

of votes.

• Each unit commanded by you in the provincial capital

subtracts one from the required number of votes, to a

minimum of one.

For each point of Senate influence spent roll one six-sided die.

You must declare how many influence points you are spending

before rolling the dice. Results are tallied as follows:

Each 1 rolled:

+1 vote only if the Neutral faction

currently governs the target province.

Each 2-5 rolled: +1 vote

Each 6 rolled:

+1 vote and one bonus die.

Time of Crisis Rules

Any bonus dice earned are rolled following the same procedure.

Thus, a result of 6 on a bonus roll does grant another bonus

die. There is no limit to the number of bonus dice that can be

earned in this way.

If you gain the required number of votes, follow these steps:

• Remove all Mob counters from the province and any Militia

counter in the capital.

• Replace the former Governor with a Governor from your

Available Leaders box. Return the former Governor to the

owner’s Available Leaders box (or to the side of the board,

if a Neutral governor).

• Reduce the support level of your new province by one to a

minimum of one. Exception: If placing a Governor in Italia

the support level is set to the number of provinces, including

Italia, that you currently govern.

• Adjust the support level in Italia if necessary.

Each province can only be the target of one Place Governor

action during your turn.

Example: You target Hispania with a Place Governor ac-

tion. The support level of Hispania is currently three and it is

governed by another player. You command one Legion in the

provincial capital of Hispania. The number of votes needed is

five—the support level of the province (three) times two is six,

minus one (for the one Legion you command in the capital).

You play a Blue 3 and a Blue 1 influence card, allowing you

to roll four dice (one die per point of Senate Influence played).

You roll 6, 6, 2 and 1 for a total of three votes. However, the

two 6s you rolled grant two bonus rolls which are a 6 and a 1.

This adds another vote to your total (now four), and since one

of the results was a 6 you get yet another bonus roll. The new

roll is a 3, which adds a fifth vote to your total, but since the

result was not a six you are done rolling dice. With five votes,

your proposal to replace the governor passes. You place your

Governor in the two space (support level drops by one from the

previous support level from replacing the Governor) and return

the former Governor to the owner’s Available Leaders box.

Recall Governor

Spend two Senate influence to move one of your Governor

counters on the map to your Available Leaders box. Place a

Neutral Governor in the vacated province in the one space on the

support track and adjust the support level in Italia if necessary.

6.3.3 Populace Actions

Increase Support Level

Spend Populace influence equal to the value of the next higher

space on the support track of a province you govern to move your

Governor to that space. This action cannot be performed in Italia.

Example: If Syria’s support level is currently two it would cost

three Populace influence to move your Governor from the two

space to the three space.

Place Militia

Spend two Populace influence to place a Militia counter in the

capital of a province you govern that does not already contain

one and is free of enemy units. Militia cannot be moved, but will

stack with any army you command in the capital. Any Militia

counter present is removed if the Governor is replaced.

Hold Games

Spend two Populace influence to remove one Mob counter from

a province you govern.

Build an Improvement

Spend three Populace influence to build

an improvement in a province you gov-

ern that does not already contain that

improvement. The selected province

cannot contain a Mob, Barbarians, Rival Emperor, or armies

commanded by other players in the provincial capital. Each

improvement in a province increases the legacy earned by the

governor and provides the following bonus:

• Amphitheater: Mob counters are not added to a province

containing an Amphitheater during the End of Turn Phase.

• Basilica: Roll one additional die for each province you

govern containing a Basilica when performing a Place

Governor action in Italia.

• Limes: Invading barbarians placed in a province containing

Limes and all subsequent provinces on that invasion path

are placed on their inactive side. Inactive barbarians do not

cause any support loss, but will defend themselves normally

if attacked.

6.4 Support Check

Perform the following steps, in order:

• Reduce the support level of all your governed provinces

containing at least one active Barbarian, a Rival Emperor

and/or an enemy army in the provincial capital by one.

• If you are Emperor and there is a Pretender and/or Rival

Emperor on the map, reduce the support level of Italia by one.

This is in addition to any reduction that may have occurred

in the previous step.

Time of Crisis Rules

• All of your Governors in provinces that now have a support

level of zero or where the number of Mob counters equals

or exceeds the support level are removed from office. Return

these counters to your Available Leaders box. Place a Neutral

Governor in the one space on the support track in any vacated

provinces. If placing a Neutral Governor in Italia, the support

level of Italia is set to the number of provinces that are

governed by the Neutral faction.

• If you are still Emperor at this point, reduce the support

level of Italia by one for each Governor you removed in the

previous step. If the support level of Italia is reduced to zero

you are replaced by a Neutral Governor as in the previous

step.

Support Check Example: At the start of the Green player’s Sup-

port Check Phase, he governs four provinces and is Emperor as

he is governor of Italia.

The Green player is required to reduce the support of Thracia

from one to zero due to the presence of active barbarians in

the province. In addition, the support level of Pannonia must

be reduced from two to one; the support loss is not increased

for having both active barbarians and an enemy army in the

provincial capital.

The Green player is required to reduce the support level of Ita-

lia from four to three due to the presence of the Rival Emperor

Postumus in Gallia.

The Governor of Thracia is replaced by a Neutral Governor as

the support level was zero. Since the Green player had to remove

one Governor the support level of Italia is reduced by one to two

completing the Support Check Phase.

6.5 Expand Pretender Empire

If you are a Pretender, place a Breakaway marker in each prov-

ince you govern, except Italia, with a support level of three or

higher that is not already marked and is adjacent to any province

that was part of your Pretender empire at the beginning of this

phase.

Time of Crisis Rules

6.6 Gain Legacy

Perform the following steps, in order:

• If you are a Pretender:

• Gain one legacy for each province you govern containing

a Seat of Power or Breakaway marker if there are no other

Pretenders.

• If you are the Emperor:

• Remove any Breakaway or Seat of Power markers in

provinces you govern, as your claim has been legitimized.

• Gain legacy equal to the support level of Italia minus the

number of Pretender provinces, treating a negative number

as zero.

• Advance your Emperor Turns marker by one on the score

track if there are no Pretenders or Rival Emperors present.

• Gain one legacy for each province you govern

• Gain one legacy for each improvement present in the

provinces you govern.

Gain Legacy Example: Continuing with the Green player’s turn,

at the start of the Gain Legacy Phase he governs three provinces

and is Emperor as he is governor of Italia. He gains six legacy

for the turn as follows: +2 for the support level of Italia since

he is Emperor, +3 for governing three provinces and +1 for hav-

ing an Amphitheater in Italia. His Emperor Turns marker is not

advanced due to the presence of the Rival Emperor Postumus.

6.7 Buy/Trash Cards

Place all played cards in your Discard Pile. Then, you may

discard any number of additional cards from your hand to your

Discard Pile. You may then spend the political points generated

by your governed provinces to purchase and/or trash cards (5.3).

You can look at the cards in your Available Pile and/or Discard

Pile to help you determine what cards you wish to buy.

6.8 End of Turn

Perform the following steps, in order:

• Add one Mob counter in each province you govern containing

a Mob and no Amphitheatre.

• Flip all inactive barbarians in provinces you govern to their

active side.

• Secretly select cards from your Available Pile to refill your

hand up to five cards. If you need to select a card and your

Available Pile is empty, place your Discard Pile face down

in your Available Pile and continue selecting. Once you have

refilled your hand, the player to the left of you takes his turn.

Variant: To speed up play, the next player can start his turn

when the current player starts the Buy/Trash Cards Phase. It

will give players knowledge of the next Crisis roll (and pos-

sibly more) while they buy cards and select their new hand,

however it should have little impact on the outcome of the

game as all players will benefit equally from this knowledge.

7. Determining the Winner

7.1 Game End

The last round of the game is triggered when, at the end of his

turn, a player is Emperor and has 60 or more legacy. The game

will end when all players have taken the same number of turns.

Or, if the Diocletian event is drawn, the game ends immediately.

Players then receive bonus legacy based on the number of turns

they were the undisputed Emperor of the Roman Empire, as

indicated by the Emperor Turns markers on the score track.

The player with the most turns receives the 1st place bonus; the

player with the next highest turns receives the 2nd place bonus,

and so on. A player must have been an undisputed Emperor at

least once to receive this bonus.

• 1st place – 10 legacy

• 2nd place – 6 legacy

• 3rd place – 3 legacy

• 4th place – 0 legacy

In the case of a tie in Emperor Turn scores, all tied players

receive the same legacy bonus.

Example: The Green and Red players were undisputed Emperors

for five turns each, the Yellow player for three turns and the Blue

player was for zero turns. The Green and Red players would both

receive 10 legacy, the Yellow player would receive 3 legacy and

the Blue player would not receive any bonus legacy.

The winner is the player with the most legacy. Any ties are

broken in the following order:

1) Current Emperor

2) Current Pretender

3) Player governing the most provinces

4) Player commanding the most Legions

5) Highest die roll.

7.2 Short Game

If players want a quicker playing game, reduce the legacy needed

to end the game from 60 to 40. This is recommended for your

first game to allow players to become familiar with the game

mechanics.

Time of Crisis Rules

8. Combat

8.1 Procedure

• Each unit in the battle rolls between one and three six-sided

dice, as follows:

Legions, Militia, Barbarian:

Roll one die

Barbarian Leader:

Roll two dice

Rival Emperor:

Roll three dice

• Each type of unit requires a different target number to hit:

Full-strength Legion:

Hit on 3+

Barbarian, Barbarian Leader,

Rival Emperor:

Hit on 4+

Reduced-strength Legion, Militia:

Hit on 5+

• As with Place Governor rolls (6.3.2), each 6 rolled also earns

a bonus die. Any bonus dice earned are rolled following the

same procedure and to-hit target number as the base roll.

Thus, a result of 6 on a bonus roll does grant another bonus

die. There is no limit to the number of bonus dice that can

be earned in this way.

• Both sides roll their dice and simultaneously inflict damage.

• Each hit flips a full-strength Legion to its reduced-strength

side or removes a Barbarian, Barbarian Leader, Rival

Emperor, Militia, or reduced-strength Legion.

• Players allocate hits they inflict on barbarians in any manner

they wish, but must take hits inflicted on their units in the

following order: Militia, Barbarians, and then Legions.

• Eliminated Legions and Militia are returned to the supply,

where they can be acquired again.

• If all units in a Roman army are eliminated, return the

General counter to the owner’s Available Leaders box.

• Eliminated barbarians are returned to their homeland,

inactive side up.

• Eliminated Barbarian Leaders are removed from the game.

8.2 Determining Victory

The winner of a battle is the side that inflicted the most hits with

ties going to the defender. If one side was eliminated, the other

side is victorious regardless of hits inflicted. If both sides are

eliminated there is no winner.

The winner of the battle gains two legacy. If the winner defeated

a barbarian tribe, he gains one additional legacy for each barbar-

ian counter removed.

8.3 Retreat

Defeated Roman armies do not retreat unless they were defend-

ing in a provincial capital space. In that case, the army must

immediately move out into the surrounding province. Any

surviving units from a defeated barbarian army are placed back

in their homeland still on their active side.

Combat Example: During the Red

player’s turn he plays a Military 3 -

Flanking Maneuver influence card. He

uses one Military influence point from

the card to perform the Initiate Battle

action, choosing the Green army to

attack. The red player will roll 3d6 (1d6

per Legion) while the Green player will

roll 3d6 (2d6 for the two Legions and

1d6 for the Militia). Before the dice are

rolled, the Red player uses the Flanking

Maneuver event from the card to allow a re-roll if needed. The

Red player rolls 5, 3, 3 for three hits (full strength legions hit on

a 3+), but the presence of the Castra reduces the hits inflicted

by one for a final total of two hits. The Green player rolls a 2 for

his full-strength legion, which misses, a 5 for his reduced-strength

legion, which is a hit (reduced strength legions hit on a 5+) and

a 4 for his Militia, which misses (Militia hit on a 5+) for a total

of one hit. Since the Red player is winning the battle 2 hits to 1

hit, he decides not to use his re-roll ability. The Green player

must remove the Militia for the first hit (as it is first in hit prece-

dence) and decides to remove his reduced-strength legion for the

second hit. Since he lost the battle, he must retreat his army into

the province and remove the Castra marker. The Red player flips

one of his full-strength legions for his one hit and chooses to

advance his army into the Provincial capital.

Continuing his turn, he spends one Military influence from the

card to perform the Train Legions action, flipping the reduced

legion back to its full-strength side, leaving one Military influ-

ence available to spend.

Time of Crisis Rules

8.4 Advance

Immediately after any required retreat is performed, a victorious

Roman army may choose to advance into the provincial capital

space, if it is vacant.

9. Crisis Checks

Roll the white and black dice and consult the crisis table ap-

propriate for the number of players.

Ira Deorum

Flip one inactive Barbarian to its active side in every tribe’s

homeland, but do not check for invasion.

Event

Draw the top card from the event deck and follow the instruc-

tions on the card. Players may wish to place lasting events on

the map as a helpful reminder.

Pax Deorum

All players secretly select one card from their Available Pile

and place it in their hand.

Franks, Alamanni, Goths, Sassanids, or Nomads

• Flip one inactive counter of the named tribe in their homeland

to its active side.

• Roll the white and black dice again.

• If the number rolled on the black die is less than or equal

to the number of active counters in the tribe’s homeland, a

number of active counters equal to the number rolled on the

black die invade.

• The value on the white die determines the invasion path, as

indicated on the map.

• Place barbarians, leaders first, in the first province listed until

there are three barbarians of the invading tribe in the province.

Repeat this step for each province listed on the invasion path

if barbarians remain to be placed.

• If there are any barbarian counters remaining after reaching

the end of the list place them back in the tribe’s homeland

on their active side.

• Barbarians never Initiate Battle and multiple tribes will co-

exist peacefully in the same province.

Invasion Example: Asia contains three Goths, Galatia contains

two Sassanids, and there are five active and three inactive Sas-

sanids in their homeland.

The dice are rolled and the result is the Sassanid entry on the

Crisis table. One inactive Sassanid unit in its homeland is flipped

to its active side, bringing the total of active Sassanids in their

homeland to six.

The dice are rolled again; the black die is five and the white die

is three. Since the five is less than or equal to the number of

active Sassanids, five Sassanids invade (the value of the black

die) and the invasion path is Galatia then Asia (the value of the

white die). However, the invading Sassanids are flipped to their

inactive side upon encountering the Limes in Galatia.

One Sassanid is placed in Galatia bringing the number of Sas-

sanids in Galatia to three. Since there are now three Sassanids

in Galatia and still barbarians to place, the remaining barbar-

ians continue to the next province listed on the invasion path,

which is Asia.

Time of Crisis Rules

There are no Sassanids present in Asia so three Sassanids are

placed in Asia; the presence of the Goths has no impact on the

number of Sassanids placed. The one remaining Sassanids coun-

ter is placed back in the Sassanid homeland on its active side as

the end of the invasion path has been reached leaving two active

Sassanids in their homeland.

10. Historical Figures

10.1 Barbarian Leaders

There are three Barbarian leaders that are brought

into play via event cards. Each leader rolls 2d6

in battle, is removed after one hit and has a

special power that is explained in the event text

that brings them into the game. If a Barbarian

leader is removed because of a player’s victory, the player can

either take an immediate Increase Support Level action at no

cost in the province from which the leader was removed, or the

first Military card he buys in the current turn’s Buy/Trash Cards

Phase has its cost reduced by two points. If the latter action is

chosen, flip the leader over and place it in your play area as a

reminder.

10.2 Rival Emperors

There are three Rival Emperors that are brought

into play via event cards. Each Rival Emperor

rolls 3d6 in battle and is removed after one hit.

If a Rival Emperor is removed because of a

player’s victory, the player can either take an

immediate Increase Support Level action at no cost in the

province from which the Rival Emperor was removed, or the

first Senate card he buys this Buy/Trash Cards Phase has its

cost reduced by two points. If the latter action is chosen, flip

the Rival Emperor over and place it in your play area as a re-

minder.

Rival Emperors reduce the support in Italia during the Support

Check Phase (6.4) as well as in the province where they are

located. They never Initiate Battle and will peacefully co-exist

with barbarians in the same province.

11. Mobs

Mob counters represent rioting and instability in

the provincial capital of a province.

Note: A Mob counter can be flipped to become a ‘Mob x 2’

counter, which is exactly equivalent to two individual Mob

counters. ‘Mob x 2’ counters are provided simply for easier

management of large mobs; at any time, a ‘Mob x 2’ counter

can be exchanged for two Mob counters and vice versa.

11.1 Effects

• During the Support Check Phase (6.4), if the number of

Mob counters in a province equals or exceeds the province’s

support level the Governor is replaced by a Neutral Governor

with a support level of one.

• The political points generated by a province are reduced by

the number of Mob counters in the province. (5.3)

• During the End of Turn Phase (6.8), one Mob counter is added

to each of your governed provinces that already has a Mob

counter and no Amphitheater.

Example: You govern Galatia with a support level of four which

contains two Mob counters and Asia with a support level of three.

You will have five political points (Seven support minus the two

Mob counters) with which to buy/trash cards. During the End

of Turn Phase, a third Mob counter will be added to Galatia.

11.2 Removing Mobs

Mob counters can be removed in the following ways:

• The owner of an army in a province he governs may perform

the Disperse Mob action to remove Mob counters equal to

the number of units in the army.

• The Governor of a province may perform the Hold Games

action to remove one Mob counter.

• All Mob counters are removed from a province when the

governor is replaced.

12. Pretender

12.1 Creation of a New Pretender

A player can become ruler of his own personal empire by play-

ing the Pretender event. For purposes of creating or adding to

an empire, the provinces of Gallia and Britannia are considered

to be adjacent. The province of Italia can never be added to a

personal empire.

When playing the event, you must choose one of your eligible

provinces (as described in the event text) to be your capital by

placing your Seat of Power marker in that province. Then mark

the rest of the eligible provinces in your empire by placing

Breakaway markers in them.

Time of Crisis Rules

Pretender provinces (marked with a Seat of Power or Breakaway

marker) are immune to the Place Governor action and reduce the

support in Italia during the Support Check Phase (6.4).

Once a player becomes a Pretender any province he governs with

a support level of three or higher that is not already in his empire

and is adjacent to any province in his empire will automatically

leave the Roman Empire and join his empire during the Expand

Pretender Empire Phase (6.5).

Pretenders gain bonus legacy points during the Gain Legacy

Phase (6.6).

12.2 Occupation of a Pretender Provincial

Capital

During your turn, if you control an army in the Provincial capital

of a province containing a Breakaway marker not governed by

you, remove the marker and return the Governor of that province

to the owner’s Available Leaders box. You may then place a

Governor from your Available Leaders box in the “1” space of

province’s support track at no cost. If you decide not to or can’t

place a Governor, place a Neutral Governor in the “1” space in

the province’s support track instead.

During your turn, if you control an army in the Provincial capital

of a province containing a Seat of Power marker not governed by

you, the process is the same, except after placing your Governor/

Neutral Governor remove all Breakaway markers in provinces

governed by that player, but do not remove those governors.

Time of Crisis Rules

13. Historical Notes

13.1 Influence Cards

Red 1: Unidentified sculpture of a period Roman soldier.

Castra: The Latin word castra was used by the Romans to mean

(among other things) a temporary camp constructed by legions

for use as a military defensive position. When near enemies, the

legions would construct marching camps. A trench would be dug

around the camp, throwing the dirt inward, to be formed into a

rampart. On top of this, stakes would be erected. The soldiers

had to carry these stakes while marching. Art: Original drawing

created for the game by Dariusz Buraczewski.

Flanking Maneuver: A flanking maneuver is an attack on the

sides of an opposing force which significantly reduces the ma-

neuverability of the outflanked force and its ability to defend

itself. One of the most famous flanking maneuvers in history

was used in Hannibal’s victory over the Romans at the battle of

Cannae in 216 BC. Art: Fresco from the synagogue in the Roman

fortified frontier city of Dura Europos dating around 250 AD.

Praetorian Guard: The Praetorians may have been tasked with

protecting the Roman Emperor, but they were also the single

greatest threat to his life. The guard or their prefect played

a part in the murder of Commodus in 192, Caracalla in 217,

Elagabalus in 222 and Pupienus and Balbinus in 238. Emperor

Pertinax was confirmed by the Praetorians in 193 and then slain

just three months later when he tried to force them to accept

new disciplinary measures. Art: The Praetorians Relief, part of

the Arch of Claudius erected to commemorate the conquest of

Britain, is a Roman marble relief dated to 51–52 AD and housed

in the Louvre-Lens.

Blue 1: Marble statue from the 1st century of an aristocratic

Roman with toga with a re-worked head of Emperor Nerva.

Housed in the Vatican Chiaramonti museum.

Tribute: Historically, Rome paid tribute (basically a bribe) to

the various barbarian tribes so they would stop their pillaging

ways and head back home. One example was Alexander Severus

who, on the advice of his mother, attempted to buy off the Franks

who had invaded Gallia. It caused the Roman legions—who

felt like the Franks should be punished for their insolence—to

look down on him, eventually leading to the assassination of

both Alexander and his mother. Art: Photo of the 33-lb. haul of

bronze and silver Roman coins dating from the third century

unearthed by Swiss archaeologists in July 2015 in the country’s

northern municipality of Ueken.

Foederati: Foederati was the practice of providing benefits

in exchange for military assistance. The term was also used,

especially under the Roman Empire, for groups of barbarian

mercenaries, who were typically allowed to settle within the

Empire. Basically, Rome gave barbarians land in return for

help defending the empire. Art: A scene from Trajan’s Column

showing three barbarian foederati behind a Roman legionary.

The looping lines around them are war bugles.

Time of Crisis Rules

Damnatio Memoriae: A Latin phrase whose literal translation

is “condemnation of memory,” meaning that a disgraced person

must be stricken from memory. It was a form of dishonor that

could be passed by the Roman Senate on traitors or others who

brought discredit to the Roman State. The intent was to erase the

person from history. Art: The Severan Tondo, a circa AD 199

tondo of the Severan family, with portraits of Septimius Severus,

Julia Domna, Caracalla, and Geta. Geta’s face has been erased,

because of the damnatio memoriae ordered by his brother.

Yellow 1: Painting of a carpet salesman by Ettore Forti (1850-

1940).

Quaestor: A Quaestor was a magistrate in charge of the city’s

treasury. As time passed their duties were expanded to include

collecting taxes and tributes from the territories as well as re-

cruiting new soldiers for service in the army. Eventually each

provincial governor would have his own Quaestor. This event

supposes your Quaestor is looking after your interests in the

province while your attention is focused elsewhere. Art: Color

lithograph of a Quaestor by Jacques Grasset de Saint-Sauveur

(1757-1810).

Mob: Over one million people lived in ancient Rome and many

of them did not have a regular job. Even the most powerful

emperors had to keep this vast mob of Romans happy. Most did

this by distributing grain and holding vast spectacles to keep

them occupied. The Roman satirist Juvenal described this in his

famous quote, “Two things only the people anxiously desire—

bread and circuses.” Couldn’t have a game on ancient Rome

without a Mob event. Art: Drawing of a mob assassinating P.

Clodius Pulcher by Augustyn Mirys (1700-1790).

Pretender: A person who claims or aspires to a title or posi-

tion—in this case Emperor of Rome. Most Emperors spent a lot

of time and money stamping out numerous pretenders during

their reign. Art: Queen Zenobia before Emperor Aurelianus by

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770).

13.2 Events

Art: All event cards are original illustrations created for the

game by Kurt Miller.

#1 Plague of Cyprian: The name given to a pandemic, prob-

ably of smallpox, that afflicted the Roman Empire from AD 251

to 270. Its modern name commemorates St. Cyprian, the bishop

of Carthage, who witnessed and described the plague.

#2 Ardashir: The founder of the Sassanid empire.

#3 Priest King of Emesa: Uranius Antoninus successfully

defended Syria against Shapur I in 253, but declared himself

Emperor when he felt his actions were not appreciated by Rome.

#4 Palmyra Allies: The defeat and captivity of emperor

Valerian at the hands of the Sassanian monarch Shapur I in

260 left the eastern Roman provinces largely at the mercy of

the Sassanids. Odaenathus, king of the Palmyrene Kingdom,

attacked the Sassanids before they could cross the Euphrates,

and inflicted upon them a considerable defeat. He was murdered

in 267 under mysterious circumstances (some say it was Rome

worried about his growing power), leaving his widow Zenobia

as the leader of Palmyra.

#5 Shapur I: Son of Ardashir, who took over as King of the

Sassanid Empire upon his father’s death in 242. The most notable

event of his reign was the decisive defeat of the Romans at the

Battle of Edessa, where the Roman army was defeated and the

Roman Emperor Valerian captured. The Emperor was never

released and for the rest of his life was used as a footstool by

Shapur when he mounted his horse.

#6 Postumus: Marcus Postumus was a western Roman em-

peror of provincial origin. He usurped power from Emperor

Gallienus around the year 260 and assumed the title and powers

of emperor in the western provinces of Gallia, Britannia and

Hispania, thereby founding what was called the Gallic Empire.

He ruled for the better part of ten years before he was murdered

by his own troops.

#7 Ludi Saeculares: A Roman religious celebration, involving

sacrifices and theatrical performances, held in Rome every 100

to 110 years. The celebration lasted for three days and nights.

#8 Cniva: A Gothic chieftain who invaded the Roman Empire

and successfully captured the city of Philippopolis in 250, and

killed Emperor Decius during the battle of Abrittus. This was

the first time a Roman Emperor had been killed in combat

against barbarians.

#9 Zenobia: The second wife of King Odaenathus, she became

queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus’ death

in 267. By 269, Zenobia had expanded the empire, conquering

Aegyptus and beheading the Roman prefect who attempted to

recapture the province. She ruled over Aegyptus until 271, when

she was defeated and taken as a hostage to Rome by Emperor

Aurelian.

#10 Bad Auguries/#14 Good Auguries: The practice of

divining the will of the gods from the observed flight of birds.

#11 Raiding Parties/#12 Preparing for War: Barbarian

activity along the borders of the Empire was not constant and

tended to wax/wane over time.

#13 Inflation: The Roman Empire faced inflation caused by

years of coinage devaluation. The easiest way for emperors to

raise money for campaigning was by inflating the coinage, a

process made possible by debasing the coinage with bronze

and copper.

#14 Diocletian: Lived 244-312 AD, emperor of Rome 284-305

AD. His overarching reforms stabilized the empire and marked

the end of the Crisis of the 3rd Century.

Time of Crisis Rules

GMT Games, LLC • P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308 • www.GMTGames.com

Credits

Design: Wray Ferrell & Brad Johnson

Art Director: Rodger B. MacGowan

Package Art & Design: Rodger B. MacGowan

Counter Art: Dariusz Buraczewski

Event Card Art: Kurt Miller

Map Graphics: Mark Simonitch

Manual & Player Aid Card: Charles Kibler

Proofreading: Scott Blanton, Aaron Cinzori, Jonathan Squibb

Production Coordination: Tony Curtis

Producers: Tony Curtis, Rodger MacGowan, Andy Lewis,

Gene Billingsley and Mark Simonitch

Playtesters: We would like to acknowledge all the people

who have played Time of Crisis over the years at various

conventions and gaming groups. Your contributions helped

turn an idea into a game. For going the extra mile, we would

like to thank:

• Scott Blanton, Jeremy Maciejewski, Jed Humphries,

Jamey Cribbs, and The Gamer’s Armory

• Gordon Pueschner and the First Minnesota Historical

Wargame Society

• Bill Dyer, Mark Ashton, Bill Desmarais, Lee Proctor,

Glenn McMaster, Joe Abrams and the Ludophilia gang

• Jim Murray and his local gaming group