Age of Rome is played over nine rounds. In each round, you will build structures in different provinces assigned to you through a rotating board. You will have to balance war, politics, trade, and religion while scheming against your rival players.

In Age of Rome, each player is assigned a hero with their respective player board, then are given secret quests and starting resources of Denarii, Followers, Scheme tokens, Legions, and Votes. Then they spend nine rounds competing on a rotating board to earn Glory Points.

Players can earn Glory Points in various ways. They may build structures, place Followers to vote and win a majority, send Legions to conquer regions, trade or collect items, or even build a Pantheon. Completed secret quests also earn Glory Points. After the 9th round, the game ends. The final score is determined and the player with the most Glory Points is declared the new Emperor of Rome.