SPONSORED: Go full “Et tu, Brute?” on your friends in UBOOT creators’ backstabby Roman politics board game Triumph

This article is sponsored by Phalanx. Find out more about Triumph and back it on Kickstarter from January 30th.

The next board game from the creators of submarine sim UBOOT is Triumph, a traitorous wrestle for power in the ancient Roman Republic that sees players working together to fend off barbarians while competing to be the dominant ruling family. Dicebreaker can exclusively reveal the Kickstarter launch date for the game after more than five years in the making.

Triumph tasks up to five players with building up the Roman Republic from a burgeoning settlement to its domination as an empire. Each player is the head of a noble family looking to become the fledgling empire’s first emperor, using their reputation and wealth to secure various positions in the Roman Senate.

Doing so lies at the heart of Triumph’s auction-drive gameplay. Players bid against each other using the cards in their hand - representing the influential members of their family - to become consuls, praetors and censors in the Senate, needing to negotiate to work their way into power without spending beyond their means or giving their rivals too much of a helping hand. Securing positions of power will grant players access to the gold, clients and legions they need to rule regions of the republic, controlling valuable sites and leading military campaigns.

The players will also need to form temporary alliances to defend the republic against invading barbarians, using their combined military strength to see off attacks and avoid everyone suffering defeat together.

That cooperation is only fleeting, though, as only one player can become emperor - so you’ll have to get your “Et tu, Brute?” on at the right moment and turn against your former allies without leaving the republic at risk from outside invaders.

In the works for over five years from UBOOT, Purple Haze and Huang publisher Phalanx, Triumph will see a Kickstarter launch on January 30th.

The game will include mosaic-style visuals in a colour palette inspired by artwork of the Mediterranean. The Deluxe edition of the game will also include miniatures inspired by the statues of ancient Rome, which form a combination of dioramas, panoramic cityscapes and army-filled battlefields. A Standard edition will instead include standees. The crowdfunding campaign will offer content exclusive to the Kickstarter, as well as adding new content in a free expansion offered to backers.