Goal

The Year is 509 BCE: the birth of the Roman Republic.

Survive 12 rounds and 480 years as a Roman Senator.

You must balance the chaos of the Republic: politics, treasury, infrastructure, and the restless mob.

Will you fix it?

...or let it fall?

How It Works

1. Start the Game: Enter your Senator name. Select a difficulty. Click BEGIN.
2. Each Year/Round: Confront three random crises or decisions each round. Read the scenario and pick your response. Each choice impacts your treasury, unrest, infrastructure, politics, and sometimes grants unique badges or inventory!
3. Scoreboard: Tracks Year, Senator, Treasury, Unrest/Riot Tokens, Infrastructure, and Politics. High scores can unlock honorary titles and unique outcomes.
4. Badges & Inventory: Earn badges for clever (or foolish!) decisions. Collect items that may affect future events.
5. Game Over / Victory: Don't let the republic fail! Survive all 12 rounds for a heroic victory. If the treasury is empty, unrest is too high, or Rome falls to chaos: GAME OVER!

Tips

• Not every crisis has a perfect answer. Sometimes you must choose the least bad outcome.
• Pay attention to hints in event text and from Roman history.
• The mob is powerful—ignore them at your peril.
• Use your treasury wisely. Sometimes spending now prevents bigger problems later.
• Infrastructure and politics are key to long-term survival.
• Replayability: Each playthrough is different. Random events and choices change each time.
• Explore all options! Some events have multiple outcomes based on your choices.
• Use the audio toggle to change music tracks for different vibes.
• Check the credits for more about the game and its development.
• Have fun! This game is meant to be a lighthearted take on Roman history.
• Try new strategies and unlock different endings.

Controls

• Mouse/tap to select options and advance text.
• Audio controls in the upper right; music can be toggled anytime.

Accessibility

• Game text is readable and all events can be replayed at your pace.
• For best experience, use on desktop or tablet in landscape mode.

Game Design & Development

• Designer & Developed by: J. C. Naramore
• Collaborative Design & Brainstorming: ChatGPT-4.1 (OpenAI)

Story, Writing, & Dialogue

• J. C. Naramore
• ChatGPT-4.1 (for narrative prototyping and NPC dialogue inspiration)

Programming

• J. C. Naramore
• Code review, refactoring, and random event system logic: ChatGPT-4.1

Art & Visuals

• Pixel Art & UI Graphics: J. C. Naramore
  References: public domain Roman mosaics, Creative Commons icon sets
• Cutscene Art: J. C. Naramore

Music & Audio

• Mars the Avenger – “Mars, the Bringer of War” by Gustav Holst.
  MIDI adaptation by J. C. Naramore, based on sequence by Swiwious (Online Sequencer #251543). Final edit by J. C. Naramore (Online Sequencer #4735117).
• Jupiter Theme – “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” by Gustav Holst.
  MIDI arrangement by 12QWICK (Online Sequencer #2872915).
• Now We Are Free – Composed by Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard (from Gladiator soundtrack).
  MIDI adaptation by UGW_GaMeuR (Online Sequencer #4173091).

Fonts

• Romanesco and Montserrat (Google Fonts)

Historical References

• The Romans: From Village to Empire — Mary T. Boatwright et al.
• SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome — Mary Beard
• Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic — Tom Holland
• The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire — Anthony Everitt
• Various primary sources and open-source online translations

Special Thanks

• Playtesters: My 2024-2025 6th grade social studies students at Turner Sixth Grade Academy

They endured the original analogue version of this game on paper, and gave feedback for the original HTML-based version

• OpenAI for GPT-powered brainstorming and coding support
• You, the player, for helping Rome survive another day

Legal Notice

This game is a nonprofit fan creation for educational purposes.
All music, art, and code used under fair use, educational, or creative commons terms where possible.
If you are a rights holder and wish content to be removed or credited differently, please contact [your contact email].