Romans In My Carpet! Review
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Romans In My Carpet! Review

Our Review by Campbell Bird on May 29th, 2014
Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: SMALL STRATEGY
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Command legions upon legions of tiny Roman armies in a quest to conquer a bedroom in this turn-based, multiplayer-focused strategy game.

Developer: Witching Hours Studios
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.02
App Reviewed on: iPhone 4S

Graphics / Sound: Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar
Game Controls: Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Gameplay: Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Replay Value: Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar

Romans In My Carpet! is a multiplayer-focused turn-based strategy game from Witching Hour Studios, the minds behind the popular iOS Ravenmark series of strategy games. As relative veterans to the genre, Romans In My Carpet! has a lot of the polish players have come to expect from the studio, making for a fun tactical experience overall.

Unlike their previous games, Romans In My Carpet! is a little bit on the goofier and lighter side. As the title suggests, players take control of Roman armies that are small enough to wage epic battles on carpets and other small environments. In keeping with the miniature theme, these armies look tiny - even while set against itsy-bitsy levels like the inside of a game console - and units like cavalry ride dust mites instead of miniature horses.

All of this helps set the stage for what is a more casual turn-based strategy experience from the Ravenmark series. While still a tactical experience, Romans In My Carpet! has a simpler rock-paper-scissors formula that makes for more accessible, but simpler, play. Similarly, it includes a single-player campaign to get players acclimated to the two different army factions, but very little story is involved and the main push of the title is to get players into asynchronous multiplayer battles.

In multiplayer, players choose to play as either the Romites or the Breetles, two warring factions that distinguish themselves with different colors and a few different unit types. From there, players choose a preset arrangement of armies to begin fighting with. Unlike some other strategy titles, there is no "leveling-up" or persistence of units, no hero characters, and only a handful of unit types, but this just makes jumping into the action all the easier. Romans In My Carpet! also further separates itself by having units queue up maneuvers and then having all unit movement occur once all actions have been decided.

The particular distinction regarding unit movement makes Romans In My Carpet! a little hard to get the hang of at first. For instance, new players may think to move a unit somewhere that appears strategic given the current game board, only to stumble into a trap that their opponent setup in their turn. Fortunately there are some tools like the chase feature that make unforeseen opponent movements a bit easier to deal with, but I could see how this style of strategy may put off some players.

Other issues with Romans In My Carpet! are present, although they are pretty minor. Updating asynchronous online matches doesn't seem to work as well as it should, and the tiny units can sometimes make the game a bit hard on the eyes, particularly when using a phone to play.

All in all though, Romans In My Carpet! is a very solid strategy experience with a cool 16-bit aesthetic. Fans of the Ravenmark series may be left hungry for a little more depth, but the game's accessibility makes it a good entry point for checking out Witching Hour Studios' brand of mobile strategy.

iPhone Screenshots

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iPad Screenshots

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