Gangs of Rome: Blood on the Aventine

One of the new games that I have been following with keen interest recently is Gangs of Rome by War Banner. Since I prefer small scale skirmish gaming with a focus on the individual fighter and great terrain, Gangs of Rome appears to be just right. As a member of the Gangs of Rome Facebook community I was super lucky to win a copy of the newly released starter box set "Blood on the Aventine". So now is the time to take a closer look at the game and boxed set.

Ever since the first photos of Gangs of Rome surfaced on the web, I got increasingly interested in the game. Granted, ancient Rome hasn't been one of my preferred eras for wargaming (yet), but the photos of small groups of fighters roaming the streets of an ancient Roman city look so cool that it's hard to not want to try this out.

Gangs fighting it out in the streets of Rome

Roman fighters in front of a mighty temple

The new box set "Blood on the Aventine" is the perfect way to get into the game. For only £35 you get a lot of stuff: 7 miniatures, an MDF temple under construction terrain piece, a rulebook for Gangs of Rome, dice and lots of other accessories. Check out the full list of contents in the product description in their online store.

The "Blood on the Aventine" starter box set (front)

The "Blood on the Aventine" starter box set (back)

Photo of the box's contents

Close-up of the miniatures

One really has to point out how much value this is: the temple set by Sarissa Precision alone would be worth the price. Speaking of Sarissa, I am very impressed by the terrain range they created for Gangs of Rome. In general, I am not a fan of MDF terrain. I prefer the higher detail of resin models. However, the Streets of Rome range features a huge variety of nice buildings and other terrain pieces: different buildings, walls, cranes, a temple, a fountain, a bridge and a giant amphitheatre. I especially like the many "under construction" buildings - something you rarely see in other terrain ranges and a nice "trick" to create accessible terrain pieces without going the usual "ruined building" route.

The impressive amphitheatre (source)

The raw amphitheatre with miniatures for reference
(photo taken from the Gangs of Rome Facebook group)

So far I had only had a quick look at the rules when the game was first released (the rulebook is available as a free PDF download from their website!). Now, with a printed copy of the rules and everything else at hand, I can't wait to run my first game of Gangs of Rome.