Carthaginians

## **Historical brief**

**Carthage** was a settlement in what is now known as modern Tunisia that later became a city-state and then an empire. Founded by the Phoenicians in the ninth century BC, Carthage reached its height in the fourth century BC as one of the largest metropolises in the world and the centre of the Carthaginian Empire, a major power in the ancient world that dominated the western and central Mediterranean Sea. Following the Punic Wars, Carthage was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, who later rebuilt the city lavishly.

## Rulebook entry

Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆

As the Cartaginians, you main concern is trade and the acquisition of materials. Use your unique power alongside your *Caravans* and *Trading ships* to manipulate the market in your favour. Once an empire, continue your expansion with your famous *Elephants* let by *Hannibal*, or dominate trade using *Monopoly* to export unrest and other unwanted cards to your opponents.

## Civilization spotlight

In Imperium, **Carthage** is a trading nation, and as such, is all about the physical goods.  Many nations in the game have their most famous daughters and sons represented as leaders. Carthage is no different, and you’ll want to play its founder, *Queen Dido* early on to get your barbarian kingdom started with a new region. Your unique faction power and your *Carthaginian Traders* put materials onto cards in the market. Then once you get your *Caravans* into play you can start directly buying up cards your traders have set eyes on giving you a higher degree of control over acquiring cards to support your strategy of amassing even more materials and territory. Then you can collect more materials and gain population from your played regions by using your prosperity card.

As an empire you choose which cards to develop so you have control over your strategic direction; you could continue trading using your *Trading Ships* and your Monopoly card to export unrest and other unwanted cards to your opponents. Alternatively you could take a more military route and use Hannibal and his formidable war elephants to further expand your empire and disrupt your opponents. Seeking fame is risky, as playing the Glory card requires you to abandon 3 regions, which is counter to your main strategy.

## Strategy

### Barbarian

Try to use Dido, queen of Carthage to grab a region with at least 1 sack icon. Caravans is a key card and a very potent way to acquire good cards on the cheap (keep in mind it doesn't use up an action), in combination with Carthaginian Traders or your nation ability. Because of this, you'll generally not want to use your Advance early on unless you have a large surplus of materials (I often garrison the one in my starting deck). Play Prosperity mostly for materials once it gets you at least 3. You should aim to rush through your dynasty deck until you find Caravans. Once you have, you can slow down a bit. You generally won't use Glory a lot as the Carthaginians, but if you have some materials saved up at this point, now would be a good time to play it (you'll generally have better things to do as an Empire). Towards the end of your dynasty deck, make sure to use Carthaginian Traders to put your barbarian cards in history.

### Empire

Monopoly is your most impactful development card by a fair margin. It's the only card in your whole deck that will let you manage unrest, and it will also help collect materials to continue using Caravans or developing other cards. You should save up materials to get it as soon as possible. If you can't afford it on your first develop opportunity, get Elephants so that you can continue to save up your materials. Trading ships is generally only worth developing for the points in the end game, as it's often redundant with and generally worse than Caravans.

#### Best common cards

You need a lot of materials throughout the game, so cards like Mountain, double-sack regions, Town, Port, the Aksumites tributary, Onagers, Coinage are all precious. Besides Carthaginian Traders which you can't use as an empire, you don't have any effects to consistently put cards in history and keep your deck slim, so grabbing Education or a couple City to go through your deck more consistently can be beneficial.

## Epic matchups

* **The Punic Wars :** Take command of Carthage as you engage in the epic conflicts of the Punic Wars against Rome. Defend Carthaginian territories and challenge the growing power of Rome in the Mediterranean. Can you recreate the strategies of renowned Carthaginian leaders like Hannibal and thwart the ambitions of Rome's generals such as Scipio and Fabius ? Can you delay your inevitable downfall facing the roman legions ? The Punic Wars will seal your: you either conquer Rome or withness Carthage get sacked to rubbles as a retialiation.
* **The Greco-Punic Wars:** Clash with ancient Greece during the Greco-Punic Wars. Lead Carthaginian forces against the Greek colonies in Sicily, vying for control of the island and its valuable resources. Can you utilize Carthage's prowess to outmaneuver the Greek forces ?
* **Clash of the Ancient**: Experience the interactions between Carthage and Egypt, two ancient powers with trade relations and occasional conflicts. Lead Carthage as you navigate the complexities of diplomacy and military strategy against Egypt. Can you protect Carthaginian interests in the Mediterranean while contending with the mighty Egyptian civilization?

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient\_Carthage
2. ↑ https://ospreypublishing.com/uk/osprey-blog/2021/imperium-civilisation-spotlight-the-carthaginians/
3. ↑ https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2691786/advanced-strategic-tips-each-nation
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punic\_Wars
5. ↑ https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-punic-nightmares-series/