Over centuries empires in the Mediterranean Seas invested in expansion of their territory, mostly peaceful by merchants and not by soldiers. There have been immense opportunities to build trading powers in the rich and fertile regions all over the Mediterranean Sea. But the moment will come when the greed for more power and wealth can only be stopped by another powerful empire at the frontiers of yours that has ambitions and plans of their own. Players will have to decide to send armies or diplomats to regions far away from their capitol to declare war or keep the peace. The game series “History of the Ancient Seas” is the ultimate journey through these exciting times. Build new fleets in your city to explore unknown lands, conquer islands and build your own great empire. In MARE NOSTRUM, the third and final installment in the “History of the Ancient Seas” game series, you will lead one of the great Empire: The Roman Empire, the Mighty Seafarers of Carthage, the Greek City States, Egypt or Persia. Your goal is to become the leading empire in the Mediterranean Sea. To achieve this, you will need to build armies and fleets to increase your military might, expand trade routes, conquer islands and provinces, develop your military skills, economic efficiency and culture, while always keeping an eye on the wealth, happiness and stability of your people. The game is played in highly interactive micro-impulses. The heart of the game system is the action cycle: The players choose one of the eight possible actions. Actions chosen by a player can’t be chosen subsequently by the next player. The number of possible actions is limited each turn. MARE NOSTRUM is a five player game. New in this chapter of the game series is that each power has unique properties that players must use wisely to achieve advantage over their opponents. Which god will help their people the most in the struggle of dominance in the Mediterranean Seas? —description from the publisher