 Full Disclosure: I received a review copy of Lisboa from Eagle-Gryphon games. What is this game about? Lisboa is a heavy euro game about the rebuilding of Lisbon after it was struck by a catastrophic earthquake, a tsuami, and several days of fires in November of 1755. Each player represents a noble who is contributing to the relief and reconstruction effort, and you will all be competing to earn the most victory points. In Lisboa, victory points are represented by wigs, which were quite the important accessory for fancy men of the time. To help bring Lisbon back to its former glory, you'll be building shops, helping to open public buildings, producing goods, shipping goods, and more, all across a sprawling board with beautiful, period-inspired art from Ian O'Toole. Although Lisboa is a complex game where several different actions are woven together and impact each other, designer Vital Lacerda is not entirely wrong when he jokes that gameplay is simple—you just play a card, take an action, and draw a card. On each turn in Lisboa, you will play a card in one of two ways. In the game, there are three nobles you can visit—the chief architect, the Marquis, and the King—and each can help you to do certain actions in the game. On your turn, you can either play a card directly to the court in the middle of the game board, which allows you full access to one nobleman's actions, or you can play a card to your portfolio, which will grant you an in-game bonus and allow you to spend goods to trade with the nobles and access a more limited set of their actions. Playing to the court gives you more options, but also opens you up for follow actions by other players. Playing to your portfolio gives you more limited actions, but also helps you sell goods to make money and keep a bit of your tempo against your opponents. At the end of your turn, you choose the top card of one of the available decks, and you're all done. In addition to cardplay, there are several other game elements to keep track of in Lisboa. If you manipulate the cardinal track, you can get several bonuses and gameplay advantages. Make sure you pick up decrees, because they provide scoring bonuses at the end of the game. And when you build shops, you must place them strategically, both to score the most points possible and to collect sets of rubble cubes that represent your contribution to damage cleanup in the city. How does it play solo? In contrast to the rest of the game, Lisboa comes with a solo opponent, "Lacerda," that is fairly streamlined and easy to operate. The AI will essentially rotate through the three nobles throughout the game and take actions accordingly. It will have some advantages over you—it doesn't require money to construct buildings, etc. But it will also be highly predictable because it moves in a set pattern. To offset this, your goal in the solo version of the game is not only to beat the AI in terms of victory points, but to pull off a number of in-game achievements that will affect your overall performance rating.  There is a LOT going on here. And this image doesn't include the personal player board! Overall Thoughts
Lisboa is a euro game, but it is one of the more thematic euros I have played, and I love it for that. I had no idea about the earthquake in Lisbon before I decided to try this game, and I ended up learning so much about the disaster itself and about the people and policies involved in its aftermath. In fact, I was so taken with the historical aspects of the game that I recorded a video about it with Jason Perez from ENGN! I also found Lisboa easier to learn than I expected, because I was able to learn so much of the game thematically. I love it when I get to appreciate both a game and the historical events it represents, so on that front, Lisboa really did it for me. I also loved the way that all of the different actions and options in Lisboa weave together. The game takes a bit of time to fully grasp, but I can say with confidence that multiple plays have made me like it more, not less. Everything you do in Lisboa will have an impact somewhere else, creating a rich experience that is worth its weight. Solo mode in LIsboa is something I enjoy, but I both appreciate and have concerns about it. Having to control a highly complex AI opponent would probably have made Lisboa too complicated for enjoyable solo play, so I love that Lacerda is so streamlined. And honestly, I still find solo mode a challenge right now—I'd need to play a lot more Lisboa to feel confident that I had mastered it. At the same time, I think it will eventually be possible to play the solo mode out a bit, just because you can see what the AI will do before it actually does it. That predictability makes solo Lisboa a different game from its multiplayer counterpart in ways that make sense, but that also take a little bit away. I should also say that because Lisboa is a sprawling game with a lot of pieces and a lot going on, solo setup and takedown is an investment in itself. Depending on the kind of solo gamer you are, you may not mind that. But if you do, consider yourself warned! Do I recommend it? If you want a heavy euro with an awesome historical theme and deep, rich gameplay, then Lisboa might be for you. Just make sure that the solo mode it offers is one that is to your tastes. Overall Rating: 4 stars Rating scale: 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh.
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 Full Disclosure: I previewed this game while it was on Kickstarter, but I backed the project and bought my final copy of the game with my own money. What is this game about? Dreams of Tomorrow is a tableau-building game in which you are a dream engineer. The idea is that you are living in a future that is pretty bleak, so you're sending dreams back into the past to encourage people to make different decisions and improve the outcome for humanity in the future. The way you'll ultimately do this is to catch dreams and weave them together into the most compelling sequence possible. The first player to weave five dreams together triggers the end of the game, and the player with the highest score will win. There are two ways to score for dreams in Dreams of Tomorrow. The first is just the point value of the dreams in your sequence—some dreams cost more resources to weave, but are also worth more points. The second way is through resonance. The top and bottom of each dream card will contain one or more symbols, and if you manage to line up multiple symbols across multiple dreams, you create resonance. More resonance thematically means that your dreams are more coherent and more likely to inspire the recipient to act. In game turns, more resonance means more points. To catch dreams, to weave them, to collect resources, and to take special actions, players will move around a rondel. You can move up to three spaces for free, and up to six if you pay resources. But what is most interesting is that the rondel can be manipulated. Want to make a move easier for yourself or harder for someone else? Good! The cards that make up the rondel can be rearranged or flipped based on the actions available to you. Dreams themselves are worth more than just points, and if they are not woven into the middle of a dream sequence, you can use them for special actions. How does it play solo? As with any game developed and published by Carla Kopp, Dreams of Tomorrow comes with a solo bot—in fact, three levels of solo bots so that you can increase the difficulty of your game. When you play against the AI, your opponent does move around and manipulate the rondel, which means you get to fully enjoy the most exciting part of the game. However, the AI will not score points the way you do—instead, it will score for the number of turns it takes. This forces you to play very efficiently, weave some good dreams together, and bring the game to an end before the AI's turn count gets completely out of control.  The rondel is made up of cards, which you can manipulate throughout the game. Overall Thoughts
Dreams of Tomorrow is a mostly typical tableau building game with one very interesting design element: the rondel. Being dependent on the rondel to get your actions completed in the game, combined with the fun of manipulating it using special actions, really gives Dreams of Tomorrow some zing. I also appreciate the multiple levels of solo difficulty, and the addition of the Night Mare, a mini-expansion that brings added chaos to the game and that can be used in both solo and multiplayer games. When I think about Dreams of Tomorrow, the first thing I think of is that rondel. As usual for a game from Weird Giraffe, I also like the streamlined AI turns. Carla Kopp is excellent at making a bot opponent difficult, but not too much of a burden on you in terms of upkeep. I also have a few quibbles with Dreams of Tomorrow. I am not entirely won over by the theme—"dream engineer" sounds potentially interesting, but it doesn't really come through in the gameplay, and is ultimately too abstract. As is typical of Weird Giraffe games, you should also expect Dreams of Tomorrow to be interesting, but not necessarily tense. Resources are easy to get, and you will rarely feel desperate or worried that you won't get something done within the game. You'll still have to play smart to win, but the game doesn't feel particularly dramatic, so be aware of that if you are considering Dreams of Tomorrow for your collection. Do I recommend it? Possibly. Dreams of Tomorrow is a pleasant, light game with a cool rondel and an easy-to-operate solo opponent. If that's what you're looking for, then this one may be a good fit for you. Overall Rating: 3.5 stars Rating scale: 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh.  Life has been crazy for me in the past month or two, but I'm getting back into my groove! And part of that groove involves perusing Kickstarter and finding games of potential interest to solo players... so without further ado, let's look at some. 1. Hour of Need I am a huge fan of the Modular Deck System developed by Adam and Brady Sadler, and Hour of Need is another MDS game based on superheroes. MDS games share quite a bit of DNA with my current favorite superhero game, Sentinels of the Multiverse, so I am very curious about whether a more tactical version of Sentinels with a few more Sadler twists will make Hour of Need my new go-to. The KS campaign is offering you quite a bit for your money, and an all-in pledge is $109. I personally won't be missing this one.  2. Thunderbolt-Apache Leader (and others)
One of my top solo games is reprinting right now! Dan Verssen Games is doing a reprint and expansion of Thunderbolt-Apache Leader, along with Fleet Commander Nimitz and Tiger Leader. I haven't played the latter two, but TAL is a phenomenal solo game that I recommend for anyone who loves the idea of a campaign game where you carefully choose your pilots, aircraft, and weapons for maximum destruction against the enemy... with some luck thrown in for good measure to make a mess of all your careful planning. If I didn't own TAL already, I'd back it, and I'm definitely eyeing the expansion! There are several other active Kickstarter campaigns I could mention, but you know what? I won't. These are the two games I am legitimately excited about right now, and ones I would drop my own personal money on.  Full Disclosure: A review copy of Mint Delivery was sent to me by Five24 Labs.
What is this game about? Mint Delivery is a follow-up to Mint Works, a pared-down worker placement game that fit into a mint tin. Mint Delivery is a highly streamlined pick up and delivery game, scaled down to fit into a slightly larger mint tin. In Mint Delivery, players will race for the most victory points by racing around the city to pick up orders, acquire the mints necessary to complete them, and jet to the correct locations to fulfill them. Once players want to move beyond the base game, there are some additions they can play with, like road blocks and special abilities. How does it play solo? Mint Delivery has a solo mode that plays differently from the multiplayer game. Solo mode does not, however, include road blocks or abilities—only the basic solo game. There is a solo-specific city map, where players can face off against one of five AI opponents, each of which has a special ability and has an easier time getting mints. (To acquire mints, solo and AI players pull mints off of one of two conveyor belts, and then return them after fulfilling orders—ideally in ways that are disadvantageous to the opposition!) The AI's priorities will shift based on whether the AI needs to acquire more orders, pick up mints, or fulfill current orders, and it's possible to use what you know about those motivations to block your automated opponent or slow it down. Much of the strategy of the game is advancing your own interests while throwing a wrench into the AI's plans. Overall Thoughts I definitely appreciate that Justin Blaske put so much work into creating a solo-specific mode of play for Mint Delivery. It's nice to be catered to, and it was great to have five different opponents to play against, right out of a small mint tin. The game is also easy to set up, easy to carry around, and easy to learn—in that regard, it is definitely doing what it set out to do. However, Mint Delivery just doesn't do it for me. I enjoyed my first few plays well enough, but I got less interested in it as the games went by. It may be that the game is too streamlined—the actions quickly start to feel repetitive, especially in solo games, where you are unable to use the special actions and roadblocks that are included to spice up multiplayer. In some ways, it feels as though Mint Delivery is straining hard to fit the mint tin constraints. Unlike Mint Works, which really was the size of a box of Altoids, Mint Delivery's tin is deeper and straining under the weight of more and more varied components—all of which are tiny. It might have been better to just let it grow into a fuller, and full-sized, game. My other quibble with Mint Delivery is that while the game is simple and the AI rules are pleasantly streamlined, there are ambiguities that players will have to resolve for themselves when managing the AI turns. For example, how would the AI player put mints back on the conveyor belt after fulfilling an order? According to the rules, the player may return mints "as they see fit." There is a lot of room in that rule for players to be easier or harder on themselves, depending on their choices. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can frustrate players who want to play a game "correctly" or who want to be consistent when managing the AI. Do I recommend it? Personally? No. There are other small-box games that I'd prefer to spend my time with. (For example, Sprawlopolis, any of my top 5 roll and writes, even an aging classic like Friday.) That said, Mint Delivery is a fully functional game, and if it seems like your kind of thing, it's entirely possible that you will enjoy it. Overall Rating: 2.5 stars Rating Scale: 5 stars — I love it! 4 stars — I really like it. 3 stars — I like it. 2 stars — It's okay. 1 star — Meh. |
AuthorMy name is Liz Davidson, and I play solo board games. A lot of solo board games... Archives
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