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Let’s Play Trajan!! @Anchorhead Coffee!!

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Hosted By
Andrew / C.
Let’s Play Trajan!! @Anchorhead Coffee!!

Details

110 AD - the Roman Empire is at its height of glory, ruled by the Emperor "optimus princeps" Trajan. All borders are secured and people can focus their attention again on the empire's internal matters - ROME. Take your chances and boost your power! With proper tactics, you may outmanoeuvre your opponents and eventually claim victory.

Trajan is a development game in which players try to increase their influence and power in various areas of Roman life such as political influence, trading, military dominion and other important parts of Roman culture.
The central mechanism of the game uses a system similar to that in Mancala or pit-and-pebbles games. In Trajan, a player has six possible actions: building, trading, taking tiles from the forum, using the military, influencing the Senate, and placing Trajan tiles on his tableau.
At the start of the game, each player has two differently colored pieces in each of the six sections (bowls) of his tableau. On a turn, the player picks up all the pieces in one bowl and distributes them one-by-one in bowls in a clockwise order. Wherever the final piece is placed, the player takes the action associated with that bowl; in addition, if the colored pieces in that bowl match the colors shown on a Trajan tile next to the bowl (with tiles being placed at the start of the game and through later actions), then the player takes the additional action shown on that tile.
What are you trying to do with these actions? Acquire victory points (VPs) in whatever ways are available to you – and avoid being punished. At the Forum you try to anticipate the demands of the public so that you can supply them what they want and not suffer a penalty. In the Senate you acquire influence which translates into votes on VP-related laws, ideally snagging a law that fits your long-term plans. With the military, you take control of regions in Europe, earning more points for those regions far from Rome.
New players are welcome, and the host is happy to teach if you haven't played before.

2 - 4 players
60-120 minutes expected play time, depending on turnout and player familiarity.
BGG Link
6-min How-to (Boardgame Blitz)

A few important details:

  • The event space is in the basement and there are only stairs (no elevator) if you have mobility issues keep this in mind.
  • This event is scheduled to start at 1:00PM PLEASE be on time!
    I will already be on-site due to an earlier game. Please factor traffic & parking into your commute and if you will be late post in messages or the Discord.
  • Speaking of… It's Cap Hill/First Hill/Seattle U, so parking can be a challenge. Sorry, it's a walking neighborhood! Anchorhead is only a few blocks from the First Hill Streetcar (Broadway & Pike/Pine or Broadway & Marion stops are about the same distance) and very close to the #2 and #12 bus lines, though.
  • Purchasing something isn't a strict requirement, but it's nice to do since we're using the space. Please support the business if you can!
  • If you need to cancel please do so as soon as you know. People on the waitlist and playing that day will appreciate it!
  • Signing up for this event means other people are counting on you to attend; board games have both a minimum and a maximum player count, so with a limited number of seats available at the table, I want to be sure for everyone's benefit that those seats actually have people in them when the session starts. Last-minute cancellations (less than 12 hours), no-shows, and late arrivals (more than 15 minutes) without good reason will be marked as no-shows for the event and should expect to be automatically moved to the waitlist for any and all future events they join which are hosted by me.
  • I open signups for most of my events 1-3 days before pressing the "announce" button here on Meetup; if you want to know about that when it happens and have the opportunity to claim a seat before others, you can join the Seattle Board Games Discord server, where I'll post to let users there know as soon as RSVPs open as well as posting polls for future meetups!
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Saturday, May 10, 2025
4:59 PM
Anchorhead Coffee & Bakery
1115 12th Ave · Seattle, WA
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