For this latest entry in Ubisoft’s real-time economic strategy series, we step into the shoes of a Roman governor in Anno 117: Pax Romana.

Players have the choice to play the carefully curated story campaign or jump right into an open-ended sandbox. While the campaign provides players with a structured story and scripted challenges, the sandbox offers more freedom to enjoy the game in their own way.

Both provide hours of fun and are equally challenging.

The campaign presents players with the choice of playing as one of the siblings, Marcus or Marcia. Each character has their own individual story.

As the newly minted governor, players must build their settlement, researching and unlocking upgrades, all the while attending to the whims of the emperor. The campaign intersperses technological advancement goals with missions that grant additional rewards.

You start by building houses, which attract citizens who, in turn, have needs. Providing for citizens and increasing the population unlock new aspects of the game. In time, you can upgrade your houses, which also upgrades your population, and unlock yet more things to build.

Anno 117 is not a particularly forgiving game. Whilst its closest relative, 2K’s Civilization will let me off my ham-fisted grasp of economics, allowing me to play for hours, one false move in Anno and it all came crashing down for me. My first game lasted only a couple of hours until I got cocky and overextended myself. The second one lasted considerably longer before everything started to go pear-shaped.

The sandbox gives players the choice of starting either in the fertile Mediterranean-themed Latium or the boggy Albion, based on Roman Britain. The maps are randomly generated, presenting a fantasy version of the lands rather than historical locations.

The campaign starts off in Latium- a land of abundance, where I did very well. I built a city for the ages. The people were happy, and trade was booming. But then my fortunes turned. A new Emperor, with a grudge against me, set me up for failure by posting me to the barbaric realm of Albion. Starting again with a handful of citizens, I went from tiled roofs back to muddy huts and a diet of eels harvested from a bog.

This humbling reset in a more hostile region upped the ante. Whilst a few locals and the regional Roman garrison were more than happy to trade, a red-headed barbarian chieftess would have nothing to do with me, just wanting me gone.

Not only are you placating your people, making sure that they are fed, clothed and socially fulfilled, but you are also fending off your hostile neighbours. And one false move will have it all tumbling down. An economic downturn, coupled with an attack that needed the frantic assembly of an army, ended with debt, social unrest and a massive loss of population. With my fledgling settlement spiralling out of control, it was only a loan from a kindly ally that brought me back from the brink.

As is the norm in these sorts of games, there’s a research tree that unlocks new units and buildings. It isn’t immediately clear how to build the things you need. Instead of listing unlocked buildings, the emphasis is on the items you need, with the stages of manufacture being revealed that way. Say you need tiles. Well, you are going to need clay or mud (from an excavation or drying ponds), charcoal from trees (a sawmill, a charcoal burner, and then a tiler to actually make the tiles). Some items will require elements unavailable on your island, so you are going to have to either trade for them or set up another settlement elsewhere and ship them over.

If that sounds a bit overwhelming, you’d be right. Anno 117 wants you in for the long haul. 10 hours will barely scratch the surface.

You will need to negotiate with your neighbours and set up trade routes, erect defences around your settlements, raise armies, and ship your armies to other locations to cause a bit of trouble. All the while, you will need to fulfil quest goals and make sure that your citizens have a decent supply of things like soap. The game gives you all the tools you need to create a sprawling imperial outpost across a huge area.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is not for the faint-hearted. But that’s the appeal. This is a massive organic game that will be different every time you play. Each random map and every choice made will lead to different outcomes. The campaign, whilst offering more structure, will still surprise you every time. If you like huge strategy games that you can really sink your teeth into, you won’t be disappointed.