Have you ever dreamt of crossing the Alps with thousands of soldiers and elephants to conquer Rome itself?
Emulating the exploits of Hannibal, Trajan or Scipio?
The ONUS! system puts you in command of armies of ancient world, in a battle system similar to that of miniatures wargames, replacing miniatures with cards with detailed unit illustrations and printed game statistics.
You can pre-order the expansion “Under the Eagle” on Kickstarter now:
The cards feature different units deployed on the battlefield, which will move, attack at range or melee, envelop and adopt special formations, among many of the actions available.
It can be played in historical scenarios or points-based battles, where each side builds its army, as agreed, according to its historical availability or freely.
Action cards
The ONUS! system uses an engine of action cards, which contain both orders and events that occur when combat takes place.
This card management system gives the ONUS! player limited control over his troops, while reflecting the chaotic nature of a battle and the difficulty of getting orders to all units effectively.
The player uses the top of the action cards in his hand to activate his units, in addition to gaining the special effects they grant him.
The events section of the action cards is used in combat: in each combat we reveal a random event from the deck and players can play one from their hand. This reflects the uncertainty and chaos of combat and adds a layer of decision making about which cards to use to activate units or reserve them to use their events – every card counts!
The units
Each card has several sections of amplitude and can perform enveloping movements, as well as extending its formation to provide a wider front.
The camel catafracts have 2 sections of the 4 that form their front locked in combat, so they can extend the other 2, indicated by the arrows, to envelop the Roman cavalry.
This results in enveloping attacks, with bonuses to combat, as well as the use of different unit formations, such as shield walls, phalanx, square formation, arrowhead, etc.
Movement is carried out using a standard unit of measurement in the game, according to the capacity of each specific unit as expressed on its card. For this purpose, the game has rules to make the movement easier.
The Celtic swordsmen would not be able to reach the Praetorian Guard with one move, as they would need half a UD (Unit of Distance) of additional movement.
Our troops do not go into battle alone. They are leaded by a general, depending on the side and historical period we play in. Each general has specific abilities, in addition to his leadership skills, radius of influence and the bonuses he brings to the units around him.
It is complemented by the “Terrain and Fortresses” expansion set, which includes elements for setting up the battlefield or emplacing fortifications, as well as rules for sieges, incendiary missiles and much more!
ONUS! Family
The first title in the ONUS! series, Rome vs. Carthage, launched the system with the confrontation between these powers during the Punic Wars. Its great success led to a second edition, as well as the inclusion of an expansion to cover the Medical Wars: ONUS! Greeks and Persians. Both titles are re-released in the new format of the series, in pack form, with revised rulebook and solitaire mode:
The expansion ONUS! Terrains and Strongholds expansion saw the light of day in a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstaster,
And the new title, ONUS! Traianus is a standalone game that shifts the focus to the Empire’s greatest period of splendour and expands the number of armies to 8, as well as bringing a revised rulebook system and a new solitaire mode that is backwards compatible with previous titles.
New game format including the titles Rome vs Carthage, as well as Greeks and Persians, with revised rulebook and new solitaire mode.
It allows us to set up our own battlefields with scenery and fortresses, and to apply the new rules for assaults and fires.
