From the IndieGoGo campaign

The union of history, art, strategy, entertainment and passion, that’s what M400 was born from. A game of conquest, which revolves around an important and defining historical period: the 1400.

But this century is so much more than just a bunch of years: it’s one of the most magnificent periods in the history of Italy and the European culture. Because it’s not a coincidence if the end of this century marks the beginning of the “Modern Age”.
M400 comes from the idea to bring strategic board games to the next level; neither the name nor the historical references to the XV century are just a fortuity. The century that saw the fall of the last Eastern Roman Empire, the birth of the power of Spain and England, the ascent of the Russian Republics, and the achievements of the glorious Republic of Venice are the ideal background for the birth of this new way to have fun with history.
M400 has a high level of playability with multiple players, and the cards allow an always different gameplay, helping the creation of new and different matches. Every time a player finds themselves in the late Medieval period of the game, they can rewrite important pages of history in new ways, through trades, battles, journeys and revolutions. The challenge and the strategy also allow to create with the opponents new dynamics of gameplay beyond the rules: deceptions, bluffs, silent and secret alliances. The almost total absence of chances and coincidences, linked to the dices, reduces the possibility of a player to win just by chance.
M400 is a game which contains very different elements, elements that can mix, and give the player a unique and unpredictable kind of entertainment. This game is for everybody, and the choice of the Latin makes it reach a new level of universality, just like the one of the world of the XV century.

M400 is a card-driven Risk-like game. A player's turns consists of four phases: 1) draw cards, 2) trade cards with other players, 3) move army, 4) expand. Players use cards to resolve combats and score points by occupying a region (temporary points) and defeating opponents (permanent points). The game is won by the player who first achieve a determined number of points, depending on the number of players.