Fight barbarians instead of disease in Pandemic: Fall of Rome

For the Emperor! Nope, we’re not talking Warhammer 40,000, but the next reimagining of disease-battling co-op Pandemic.

Pandemic’s upcoming outing is maybe its furthest-flung yet, travelling back in time to ancient Rome and swapping plastic plagues spreading across the planet for marauding barbarians threatening the Italian capital.

Pandemic: Fall of Rome is the latest in the globetrotting Survival Series of spin-offs that began with 2016’s Pandemic: Iberia set along the Spanish-Portuguese peninsula and continued with last year’s struggle against Dutch floods in Pandemic: Rising Tide.

Each instalment in the series takes inspiration from that year’s host of the Pandemic Survival Championships and features the contribution of a local celebrity designer – 2018’s effort showcases Ethnos, Libertalia and Unusual Suspects creator Paolo Mori.

Rather than holding back a medical epidemic, Fall of Rome sees players working together to defend Rome’s strongholds from Anglo-Saxons, Goths, Vandals and Huns as the Germanic tribes fight their way towards Rome.

Matching sets of cards will forge alliances with the tribes in place of curing diseases, which then allow their warriors to be brought into the growing military might of the Romans.

It’s not just Pandemic in a new skin, though – Fall of Rome includes a brand new battle mechanic to simulate clashes, with new meeples joining cubes on the board to represent soldiers.

Fall of Rome also features a completely new single-player mode that casts a solo gamer as the Roman emperor and challenges them to hold off the approaching hordes by juggling three separate roles – the variant doubles as a different way to play as a group, too. 

Pandemic: Fall of Rome will be out later this year and cost $50 in the US. Past Survival Series games have been ‘limited edition’, meaning that you might need to move fast to get a copy