Overall - 4.6 4 - Balance
Playability - 5 5 - Map Design
Creativity - 5 4 - Story/Instructions


      Best scenario I have played since Olympics. Not extremely hard, but requires both military and builder/manager skills.
Masada is a desert mission. The only water and farming land is on the elevated terrain that is controlled by Judean army - during the first two years several invasions of 120 men each occur in that area. You are starting with a ring of tent cities with 1000+ population around this mountain, each walled and supplied with basic services (prefect, engineer, temple, wells), and with healthy military basis : 3 barracks, academy, 5 forts partially manned, some towers. From the mountain lead two ramps to your city, one more or less straight, second winding along the slopes of the mountain. Both ways are closed with trees, so that you can decide when to start the battle. Until you cut the trees, enemy will wait at the mountaintop.
When you have dealt with the rebels, you should at once start building at the mountain, as requests for food from Caesar will come soon. One of the tent cities can be fed from wheat import, but to reach 4000 population and 35 prosperity you need to establish housing at the mountain and bring it to Insulae. It is your decision then, whether to leave the tent cities as tents, or feed them with surplus food you will produce later - or whether you delete them altogether. Because of lack of fountains they will never reach better than Large Shack level. I have used a mix of all possibilities - deleted some tents, from the rest one part was living on imported wheat, one on produced fruit, and the last (smallest) was left at Large Tent without food.
In the second half of allotted time there are some smaller invasions, including Caesars request for army - nothing serious, just a reminder that the end is near and welcomed distraction from building. If you are quick, you can finish the game before they come.
The game has several stages that require different tactics, and it isn't boring a single minute during the whole playtime. Development is quick, time limited, but sufficient. I have replayed the final part once again, so that I could see the invasions that come after the sixth year - at first attempt I finished before them - and very probably I will replay it once again. Map is nice to look at, terrain features are realistic and at the same time precisely corresponding with the needs of the game. Only the story didn't seem as intriguing as in most BTL's missions. Excellent work!