  
 Quick Start Guide and Sample First Turn Commands
If you are just now signing up for your first game of Fall of Rome, just print out the
Quick Start Guide (click the printer icon at the top) and have these pages ready to refer to
when you are notified by email that your game has just begun. You can scan the Guide
now, but it will make a lot more sense when you are signed into your game and can see
the maps and screens in front of you and follow along. Once you have begun your
printer, just click here to go on to sign up for your first game!
The Quick Start Guide is intended to provide you, a first time player entering your first
turn, just enough guidance to learn a bit about the game controls and what the various
playing pieces do so you may jump in and issue commands prior to digesting the
Rules in their entirety.
Click the “Launch” button for your game after you Sign In with your email address and
password on the Fall of Rome web site. The first time you load the game it will take a bit
longer than it will in subsequent times: a minute or two with broadband, much longer
with dialup. If the game doesn’t load, visit the Support Page – a link to it is there in My
Kingdoms where you launch the game.
After the game loads, notice the fourteen or so buttons in a row near the top of the screen:
the Menu Bar. Some of these screens will contain scant information right now, before
any turns have run or even any of your commands (also called orders) issued. For
starters, hold your mouse cursor over the left most button in the row. The name of the
button appears, in this case “The Plan”. The Plan stores information on the commands
you have given in the current turn. Click the button and you see The Plan screen. It is
barren at this point because you have issued no commands for the current turn. When
you do issue commands, The Plan will record these and list them in the sequence they
will be executed (not the sequence in which you issue them) when the turn is run. It also
shows the resources consumed so far by the commands you have issued, and your
remaining resource balances. Take a couple minutes to left click on each of the menu bar
buttons to learn what kind of information each holds.
The fourth button from the left opens the Character Screen, listing each character (King,
High Priestess, Nobles, Leaders, and Agents) you know about. At the beginning, this
will be a listing of all of your characters, but none from any other kingdom. You should
also find the icon representing each of your characters on the map. Most of these will be
located at your capital at the start of the game. Each character may be given one
command per turn, subject to your command limit and available resources (gold and
supplies). Your King’s Rulership score determines your command limit each turn. Most
Kings begin with a Rulership of 13, meaning they may give 13 commands in a single
turn. Almost always you will be best served by issuing as many commands as you are
permitted each turn.
|
