Asterix: These Romans are Crazy! (2009)

## The Game

Asterix: These Romans are Crazy! is a board game that can be played against CPU or a live player, taking turns on the same device. The game is played using only a stylus. The first player to cross the finish line wins.

When starting a game, two characters need to be selected for Player 1 and CPU / Player 2, the choices are Asterix, Obelix, Cacofonix and Vitalstatistix. For 2 Players mode the players also need to choose whether they want to play 1, 2 or 3 laps. Next, the player should choose one of the 4 boards: the village, the forest, the Roman camp and the coast. At the start of the game only the village is available. If the player wins a race on the village board, they will unlock the forest board, winning a forest race unlocks the Roman camp, and finally winning a camp race unlocks the coast. Each board offers 5 unique minigames, making a total of 20 minigames. Since the game is played by two players taking turns, all minigames are solo.

To make a move, the player needs to tap the dice icon, then punch the approaching Roman by sliding the stylus towards him. If the Roman does not get hit and walks off the screen, the player needs to try again. Once hit, the Roman will fly in the air and drop on a space, the player will move to this space. After moving to a space, the player can accept its function, or use a wild boar to ignore it and move 1 space forward. They can do this again for as long as they have boars. If the player has no boars left, they will automatically accept whatever the space does. The spaces have the following functions:

* Green with 1 exclamation mark – play a minigame
* Green with 3 exclamation marks – play 3 minigames in a row
* Green with a question mark – play a minigame of your choice, you can choose a minigame from any unlocked board
* Red with a lightning bolt – a thundercloud forces you to go a few spaces back, it is strongly advised to use a boar if you are here
* Blue with a carpet – the magic carpet carries you a few spaces forward
* Yellow with a boar – get an extra wild boar

1 minigame3 minigamesFreestyle MinigameExtra BoarMove ForwardMove BackAs the player completes minigames they will earn helmets, laurels and bonus moves. Minigames have two difficulty levels: Standard and Expert. The better the player does and the higher the difficulty, the more rewards and the longer moves they will get. If the player leaves the minigame without finishing it, they will not move or win anything. Helmets and laurels can be spent in the Rewards section to buy character information and artwork.

If the CPU lands on any minigame space, it will not play minigames. Instead, a spinning wheel with numbers will appear. The player should try to stop it at a number as low as possible. The bigger the number, the further CPU will move, if the number is 0 it will not move at all.

If both players stand on the same space, nothing special will happen.

Character Select MenuBoard Select MenuGameplayThe wheel used for CPU instead of minigames

In the Practice section the player can replay any minigame from available boards. They can set new high scores, but cannot earn helmets and laurels.

### Minigames

#### The village

**Spring cleaning**

Move Cacofonix left and right to collect objects with green outline (music notes and lyres). Do no collect objects with red outline (hammers, anvils and fish) or you will lose points.

In Expert mode objects fall faster.

**Obelix’s menu**

Look at the dishes on the four plates and memorise them. After the countdown they will turn invisible. Obelix will show you a dish and you need to choose the plate where you think it is. Repeat this for the remaining dishes. In the end you will earn points for each correct guess.

In Expert mode each plate has 2 dishes, the additional dishes are different variations of roast boar. First you have to guess the placements of roast boars, then the other dishes.

**My fish is fresh, I tell you!**

You have a table with a lot of different fish and a basket. Unhygienix and the basket will show you a fish, you need to find a matching one, then drag and drop it into the basket. Repeat for the rest of the fish. You can move fish around the table. If you drag the wrong fish into the basket, it will go back to its place, there is no penalty. Some Gauls will get in the way by stretching their arms over the fish and moving them up and down, tap the arms repeatedly to remove them.

In Expert mode arms move faster.

**Magic potion**

Move the stylus over the flames to make them bigger, they get smaller when you let them be. Bigger flames are hotter. Make sure that the flames keep the potion at the right temperature (green zone), you will earn points while you maintain it. You will lose points if the temperature is too low (blue zone) or too high (red zone).

In Expert mode the blue zone is extended and the green zone is shortened.

**The banquet**

Drag and drop dishes into the frying pan to cook them. When ready, they will emit steam and their colour will match the example. Drag and drop the cooked dishes onto a plate. If you cook for too long you will burn the dishes. You need to fill 4 plates with food, make sure that each plate has 3 different dishes. It does not matter which order you place dishes in, or which order you fill the plates in. You will earn points for the correct dishes that have been cooked properly. If the frying pan’s handle glows while it has food, you can shake it for a few bonus points.

In Expert mode dishes take longer to cook.

Spring cleaningObelix’s menu (standard)My fish is fresh, I tell you!Magic potion (standard)The banquet

#### The forest

**Flowers for Panacea**

Look at the bouquet that Obelix is holding and find a matching one among 4 bouquets given to you. You will move onto the next bouquet regardless if your choice is correct or not, mistakes will not change your score. Find as many matches as you can.

In Expert mode you have less time.

**To sing or not to sing**

Watch the music notes. When they touch the left field or are passing through it, tap the lyre of the same colour. If you tap a lyre at the wrong time or miss a note you will lose points.

In Expert mode there are a lot more notes.

**Collecting mistletoe**

Look at the 3 herbs, memorise them and their positions. After a countdown Getafix will point at the herbs’ locations and you will need to choose which herb you think is there, the choices include 3 more herbs which are not needed. If you make 4 mistakes for the same spot, the right herb will appear anyway but you will not earn points for it.

In Expert mode you need to memorise and guess 5 herbs. 1 herb in the selection is not needed.

**Getafix captured!**

Move the stylus or tap with it to move Getafix around the field and dodge Romans. The amount of Romans will gradually increase. The minigame ends when Getafix and a Roman bump into each other.

In Expert mode Romans move faster.

**Save the forest!**

You automatically walk through the forest in a loop. Move the stylus up and down over the fallen trees to replant them. Drag and drop bones into the bowl in the bottom left corner for bonus points.

In Expert mode the scrolling speed is faster. Besides bones you can collect Roman helmets, they need to be put into the barrel in the bottom right corner. If you put items into the wrong container you will lose points.

Flowers for PanaceaTo sing or not to sing (standard)Collecting mistletoeGetafix captured!Save the forest! (expert)

#### The Roman camp

**Menhir tossing**

Try to hit the running Roman by throwing menhirs at him. Tap the arrows to change direction, tap the hand to throw. You will earn more points if you hit the Roman closer to either side, but if you miss you will get nothing. You have 5 attempts and unlimited time. If you see a boar, tap it for bonus points.

In Expert mode the Roman moves faster.

**The wild boar hunt**

Move the stylus or tap with it to move Obelix around the forest. Run into Romans and boars, but avoid thunderclouds or you will lose points.

In Expert mode Obelix moves faster.

**Roman bashing**

Romans emerge in a repeating pattern (top left then top right x3, bottom left then bottom right x3) and hide, with increasing speed. Tap them to bash. If you tap the Romans 5 times in a row without missing or letting them hide unharmed, you will earn bonus points. You can also get bonus points by quickly tapping a gourd of magic potion which appears in one of the top corners.

In Expert mode you have less time and the Romans start out at a higher speed.

**A Gaulish puzzle**

Look at the picture that you will need to reassemble. After the countdown you will get the picture divided into 12 parts and greyscale. Swap the pieces by tapping them. When you put a piece into the right place, its colour restores and you get points.

In Expert mode you have less time.

**The return of the patrol**

Sort the Romans in red and blue uniforms into tents of their colour. Slide the stylus beginning from the Roman and towards the correct tent. If you throw the Roman into nowhere that will not affect your points, but if he lands in the wrong tent you will lose points. If you see a boar, tap it for bonus points.

In Expert mode you also need to sort Romans in yellow uniforms into the yellow tent in the middle.

Menhir tossingThe wild boar huntRoman bashingA Gaulish puzzleThe return of the patrol (expert)

#### The coast

**Pirate pugilism**

Move the stylus or tap with it to move Obelix around the sea. Defend Asterix’s boat by running into enemy ships, but do not touch it yourself. If Asterix’s boat gets hit, it will take damage and you will lose points. The game will end early if Asterix’s boat breaks.

In Expert mode the boats move faster and Asterix’s boat is more fragile.

**Sculpture competition**

Follow the object’s outline with the stylus to colour it black. The object is sculpted when its outline is fully black. Sculpt as many objects as you can. You will not earn points for unfinished objects.

In Expert mode you are given more objects.

**Draw me a Gaul**

Look at the picture and memorise the colours. After the countdown you will get the same picture without colours. Tap a paint on the left, then tap a part of the picture to colour it. You will earn points for the correct colours and lose points for the wrong colours. Tap the eraser to instantly clean the wrong colours from the picture. Tap the question mark to see the picture in colour again for a few seconds.

In Expert mode you are given more detailed pictures and you cannot see the coloured picture again after the countdown.

**The Obelix collection**

Drag the circle to move it around and push the Roman helmets into the slots in the corners. Make sure that the colour of the helmet’s outline matches the slot. You earn points for the helmets sorted correctly and lose points for mistakes. If you see a helmet vibrate, tap it for bonus points.

In Expert mode you have more helmets to sort.

**The village attack**

Move Asterix around and push the Romans. Try to push them out of the field and avoid leaving the field yourself. The last character standing wins the round, there are 3 rounds. If the player is out and 2-3 Romans are left, they will push each other instead. Run into boars for bonus points.

In Expert mode the Romans move faster and push you with more effort.

Pirate pugilismSculpture competitionDraw me a Gaul (expert)The Obelix collectionThe village attack (note: Asterix's circle is glitched, it should be red)

## Production

Sean Kolton is credited for sound design.

## Trivia

* The game is named after Obelix’s catchphrase “These Romans are crazy”, where Romans can be replaced by another group of people.
	+ All translations of the title keep this phrase, except for the Italian one where Romans are replaced with Gauls to make “Sono Pazzi Questi Galli”.
* The game was released around the 50th Anniversary of Asterix.
* The Rewards section, like a decent part of the game, consists of official artwork.
* The illustration for the magic carpet space is the cover art for the comic Asterix and the Magic Carpet (1987).
* Characters:
	+ The Roman punched throughout the game looks almost identical to Courtingdisastus from the comic Asterix in Corsica (1973), only difference is the open sleeves.
	+ The woman in Spring cleaning is Bravura from the comic Asterix and the Secret Weapon (1991).
	+ The Roman in Menhir tossing and the animation before The village attack is Gluteus Maximus from the comic Asterix at the Olympic Games (1968).
	+ The woman in the animation before Draw me a Gaul is Latraviata from the comic Asterix and the Actress (2001).
* The music for the Roman camp board does not loop.