Some empires cannot have fleets, and all empires are limited in where they can place fleets based on historical data. So, the Huns can't have fleets at all, and Britain can place them nearly anywhere. When a unit is placed it must be placed in a region that is adjacent to one controlled by that empire. If it is placed in an empty region it automatically becomes part of the empire. If it is placed in an occupied region combat ensues.
Attackers roll two dice, defenders one or two depending on terrain.
The player with the highest roll wins the combat and a unit of the other player is defeated. This continues until one or the other side has no units. Complicating life are events. These are drawn randomly at the start of play by each player and can be played during predefined turns up to two events per turn per player. Events may provide a small empire to control for the turn, result in a barbarian invasion, or give the controlling empire combat bonuses or additional units.