Storm Over Jerusalem: The Roman Siege

By 70 AD, the province of Judea had been in revolt against Rome for nearly four years. The demonstrations and riots that began in 66 quickly turned into open rebellion. Roman punitive forces led by the Syrian legate Cestius Gallus, having failed to capture Jerusalem, were annihilated at Beth Horon. General Vespasian then took command of the Roman army in the region to suppress the rebellion and restore order. However, unrest in Rome saw Vespasian recalled to become emperor.
In early 70, Emperor Vespasian sent his son Titus (a future emperor) with four legions to put down the rebellion in this important province. Titus arrived in Jerusalem in April to find the city in the grip of internal strife. Throughout the rebellion, the various Jewish factions waged internal warfare against each other. The main factions fighting in Jerusalem at this time were controlled by Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala. With the arrival of Titus and his legions, they were now faced with a common threat to their immediate survival and had to put their dissensions aside.

The siege of Jerusalem lasted nearly five months. During the siege, the city walls were broken down one by one, much of the city was devastated and the Temple - central to both the Jewish religion and the defense of the city - was destroyed and burned. With the capture of Jerusalem, Titus had effectively ended the Judean revolt, with the last rebels finally surrounded and eliminated in the legendary siege of Masada in the year 73.

Storm Over Jerusalem: The Roman Siege is a two-player war game simulating the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
One player controls the Roman forces, and the other player controls the Judean forces.

The game uses the map and area movement system from the series begun with Storm Over Stalingrad and continued with Storm Over Dien Bien Phu. The use of tactical cards adds uncertainty to the fighting, adding to the tension experienced by both sides. The rules are similar in length to previous Storm Over games, and are of the same level of complexity, with additions for the situations encountered in this battle.

Additional rules have been added to the game, including siege towers, the walls of Jerusalem, and Judean leaders. In addition to these new rules, new cards have been created to represent the events encountered during the battle. These include "rams", "famine", "setting up the colonnades" and "escape from the siege".