Mare Nostrum (board game)

Mare Nostrum is a board game for 3 to 5 players, designed by Serge Laget and published in 2003 by Eurogames. It was also the name of a 1983 board game in the Fronte Mare series.
Gameplay.
Players assume the roles of one of five Mediterranean empires - Rome, Greece, Babylon, Egypt or Carthage.
Units are placed on a game board representing the Mediterranean and the surrounding area, divided into provinces which contain one or more resources.
Players take turns in rounds of three phases:
The first player to do any of the following wins the game:
Game interest.
"Mare Nostrum" is intended by the designer to be a more playable version of Civilization. The goal of the game is to bring glory to your civilization by acquiring great heroes and by building architectural wonders in your kingdom. Prominently featured in the game are historic personalities such as Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Hammurabi, as well as the Seven Wonders of the World.
The game incorporates many features found in other games, for example:
The game itself supports three to five players, but it is best played with all five.
The game has been criticised as being too inflexible in the player's roles; for example, Rome must play aggressively while Egypt must trade. Further, players are forced (to a certain extent) into certain actions early in the game; if Egypt is allowed to acquire too many resource cards they will quickly build the Pyramids; if Rome is not then held in check they will achieve military victory. However, once the game has been played a few times these strategies become less effective and the game opens out again.
Expansions.
"Mare Nostrum: Mythology Expansion" adds mythological and religious elements to the game. These include: