Glory to Rome

[Gerald]

Okay, I'm the first to admit that at times, I have the tendency to drone on and on.  So, to those who'd rather read a VERY short review, let me just say that Glory to Rome is my current favorite game and I rate it a perfect 10/10. 

Oh... still here?  Hehehehe... well, I guess I could delve a bit into the meat and potatoes of this gem of a game.



Glory to Rome is a medium-heavy strategy game that seems simple at start but the more you play it, the more you see the bountiful strategies within the game.  I have yet to play a game (and I've played it quite a bit) that has ended the same way or that has been won the same way. 

Playing Time:
With 3-5 experienced players, you can finish a game in maybe an hour to an hour and a half.  That's assuming that AP is kept to a minimum and everyone is familiar with the rules (if not all the cards).  But, I love the game so much, that time just seems to fly by when I play it.  I love how there's virtually zero downtime and how every move you make can affect the people around you.  A perfect 10/10 for me.

Components:
Now, before we judge the components, allow me to say that I got this game dirt cheap.  Even so, I feel that the cards (despite being a little flimsy) have excellent artwork (so sue me, I like cartoony drawings) and they're very colorful and easy to read.  The instructions printed on them are very clear and the rulebook (for version I.V at least) is very well written and I was able to understand the game with just one read through and simply coming back a couple of times to check the exact property of a card.  The chips that came included with the game are of the average quality and the player mats (pictured below) are very nice, colorful and informative as well.



As you can see, the play mat guides you thru what each card can/can't do quite well.  And to those who might want to see a quick overview of the game:



So despite the fact that the game bits are not exactly "Rio Grande" quality... I'll still give 'em a solid 9/10 for keeping the costs down and still delivering an excellent game.

Flow of Play:
Though gameplay might be difficult to grasp during your first play, most of the people I've played with tend to get the gist of the game by the 4th or 5th round of play.  The game flows very logically and once you get the hang of it, everything feels very natural and intuitive.  As I said, not counting AP players, the game goes quite fast and there's rarely ever a dull moment.  I give it, again, a perfect 10/10.

Conclusion/Value:
PLAY THIS GAME.  That's it.  STOP READING and GO PLAY THIS GAME.  This game, along with many new others are now available at Game Crab Boardgame Cafe! 

[viscoos]

I won during the OGM
I think this is on par with RftG for me

[Alger B C Lim]

I recall that OGM session pretty well -.-''

Haha yes the game has good appeal and probobly even better because of replayability.

My only problem is that there are way too many cards to keep track of hahaha but then again i enjoy getting confused and messy sometimes so its not much to complain about. Thanks to titus for introducing the game and thanks gerald for the review


-alger

[[GCGM]lilmonster]

THIS GAME....
u'll get the hang of it after playing 2-3 times and by the 4th game, memorize the possible auto-win/game-ending cards to be played. still, a lot of strategy as you base your moves on :
1. your cards
2. your buildings
3. other players structures

- sometimes u can even use other player's buildings to win the game instantly. haha.

warning: not for the faint of heart - u'd really get overwhelmed! ( i was at first, welcome to the club alger) hahaha

[Titus]

Played my new copy of this with 5 players at the last OGM and viscoos absolutely blasted us with this combo: 3 Legionary clients + Bridge (steals from all other players from hand and stockpile) + the structure that gives him 1 VP for every two materials in his stockpile. Near the end we all agreed to concede to him.

We also played half a 3-player game last night.

So far, I really like this. It has a lot more interaction than RFTG and seems deeper somehow. I really want to play this a couple more times before I post my own detailed review.

[viscoos]

Thats the wall, bridge and legionarry clientele combo, but I was able to place all those legionarry there due to another card which places clientele depending on your influence (i had , it was a slow buildup and maybe lucky that the pool was such...

[Alger B C Lim]

Thats the wall, bridge and legionarry clientele combo, but I was able to place all those legionarry there due to another card which places clientele depending on your influence (i had , it was a slow buildup and maybe lucky that the pool was such...

it was a dreadful moment in the game when i saw the bridge being completed LOL thats practically what sealed the win for viscoos...hehe

-alger

[Adrian (the other one)]

This game is growing on me because of the amount of combo's possible with the buildings.  At GC, I had a mean combo towards the end...

Condition:  I had 14 influence already, and Tower allowed me to use rubble everywhere.

1.  School allowed me to do thinker 14 times, and draw 14 cards into my hand.
2.  Ampitheatre allowed me to do craftsman 14 times.
3.  Built 2 statues, and two other 2-influence buildings, for 16 VPs.

[Gerald]

Parang ang lupit nung nagawa mo Adrian ah!  Did you end up winning? 

[Adrian (the other one)]

Parang ang lupit nung nagawa mo Adrian ah!  Did you end up winning? 

Nope.  Lost by 1 point to Gaebril.  Wahahaha.  Kainis kasi yung bonus merchant chips at the end scoring!

[Gaebril]

Haha, to be honest I'm not sure if I can claim that as a clean victory, I may have confused woodcuttercraftsman with architect at some point. Looking back, I agree that the table seriously underestimated merchant/vault.

[maskmanjoe]

Haha, to be honest I'm not sure if I can claim that as a clean victory, I may have confused woodcuttercraftsman with architect at some point. Looking back, I agree that the table seriously underestimated merchant/vault.

aha! sleigh of hand!

[ChineezPnoy]

Here's my take on the card games I played as of late:

Legend:
"[]"   means absolute value
">="  means greater or equal to.

Equation:
Dominion >= San Juan > [RftG]
AND/ OR
Dominion >= (Hera + Zeus) > [RftG]

GtR is a variable that yet to be defined.

Solution:
Try out GtR someday to see its place in the equation.