
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,216
- BGG rating
- 7.7
The Great Battles of Alexander: Deluxe Edition
- 1–4 players
- 240 min
- Complexity 3.6/5
- 1995

Rules assistance for The Battle of the Tagus River
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Battle of the Tagus River is an expansion for SPQR released in 2006 for 2 players and 240 minutes per game. It was designed by Richard H. Berg, Mark Herman, and Dan Fournie and its main mechanics are Hexagon Grid.
The Battle of the Tagus River (220 BC) is GMT's Battle Scenario for SPQR, published in RBM's C3i Magazine Nr. 18. It depicts Hannibal's first battle in Spain 220 BC. After laying siege on the Vaccei's cities of Hermandica and Arbocala, Hannibal sacked the towns within a short time. On his way back to New Carthago he travelled full of booty offering the Spanish tribes the chance to strike back against Hannibal's Carthaginian force. After Hannibal realized that the Spanish tribes comprise a 100,000 men force following him, he slipped out of the situation by using a maneuver he copied used by his father Hamilcar during a battle in Tunis 241 BC. He raced his army south, simulating a rout, crossing the Tagus River and suddenly turning back towards the Spanish force, just wading through the river. The rest turned to be a smashing victory... Expansion module for the Great Battles of History (GBoH) series game SPQR.
The Battle of the Tagus River supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for The Battle of the Tagus River is 240 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The Battle of the Tagus River has a complexity rating of 3.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Battle of the Tagus River belongs to these categories: Wargame, Ancient, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Hexagon Grid. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The Battle of the Tagus River are: Richard H. Berg, Mark Herman, and Dan Fournie. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Battle of the Tagus River as an expansion for SPQR. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need SPQR to use it. Check that your edition of SPQR is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.