Foundations of Rome Solo Mode Review - with Mike DiLisio

Mike DiLisio takes a look at the solo mode for Foundations of Rome, a game where you construct buildings, vie for city lots, and compete to shape the city of Rome!

0:00 Intro
1:09 Overview
9:13 Review
9:31 Solo Benchmarks
12:22 Art & Components
14:25 Overall Solo Experience
20:21 Final Review Score

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[azfactor]

Mr. DiLisio, thank you for bringing up the aspect of value in this review. You're right in that it can be a challenging topic, but in these times of increasing prices and shipping costs, it's a very valid concern. Of course, people have differing thresholds regarding costs, but it's good to recognize that the expense of a game can certainly have an impact on the overall perception and response.

[Manny-M]

You're spot on there Mike. No way you can recommend this as a purely solo experience.

4 whole trays of lavish minis that will never get used.

[Nayr]

I backed this on KS, definitely one of those games where only one person per gaming group should own it. Tried it multiplayer and solo, really like how snappy and easy yet crunchy the game is. It's a really fun, smooth game. The price point though, whew!

[jonsparks]

Compare the solo version to the multiplayer co-op Will of the Counsel. I didn’t back the solo but am impressed with the co-op after three plays and could easily see soloing that. The rules seemed to have a lot of overlap. Can anyone speak to the differences? Was it worth the extra bit of money for the Garden of Ceres?

[stixaw]

I like these review however for me to see if I want it I like seeing it played in a solo mode. So I can see if the mechanics work for me.

[Boardgametherapist]

I used to be a solely solo gamer but nowadays I’ve been introducing a lot of games to non-gamers (coworkers, friends and family) and this seems to fit the bill in my opinion. Appealing due to the minis, and seems crunchy enough for seasoned gamers as well. Seems like the solo mode is just an ancillary to the game and it really is meant to be played and shared with others. Hopefully there’s good enough replayability!

[mikesalviani]

Mike...FYI, the link to your 4 square review is wrong

[JonoNZBoardGamer]

I'll wait to see if they come out with a cardboard only version in the future. They could definitely make individual player trays with double layered cardboard to organise the pieces and a slip case to keep them together (like Dice Forge does with the dice face upgrades)

[Orochi_]

I don’t question any DT employee’s review, but it’s very odd that more than half of all the game’s reviews are coming from the company slapping its name on the box. Not a good look, to say the least.

[ndmi]

Its as good as it can be for what its built on. Which i give turczi credit for.

[Nozdormu]

To me it isn't a solo game. Any solo game that is just about gathering points isn't a solo game xD.