Imperium: Legends Solo: Unify This, Egypt! (Overlord)

SOLO PLAYTHROUGHS' PATREON PAGE: / soloplaythroughs
In this episode of Solo Playthroughs, Greg presents the channel's first video of Imperium: Legends. A unique deckbuilder, Imperium's solo mode pits two ancient civilizations against each other (and some of the civilizations in this box are fictional). Can the Mauryans use their elephants to expand their control of regions and keep the Egyptians at check enough to claim victory? As a sidenote, this playthrough is also the first recorded playthrough on the complementary neoprene playmat created for me by Paul from Big Viking Mats.
#boardgames #soloplaythroughs #imperiumlegends

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Imperium remains a game I want to like more than I do...and I just might someday. Either way, this playthrough is a weird one - I certainly wouldn't mind any Imperium players out there giving me some pointers! Happy Gaming! Greg

[@danielweismayr7506]

I listened to a review recently that said something along the lines of "talking about this game is more interesting than playing it", which I certainly found in the 3 or 4 times I played it. The premise and idea of Imperium is really interesting, but the experience of actually playing the game just felt kind of flat for me. Lacking in both thematic immersion and engaging mechanics. Maybe I need to try some of the more complex/interesting nations (I bought Classics and Legends at the same time for a good price), but I haven't rushed to get this back to the table.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the great comment - talking about > playing feels so right! I did play it once with a friend, and my friend REALLY disliked it. I do want to try with another friend who might like it more. There are moments that are cool when you connect the historical significance of the cards but, if you're like me with a limited knowledge of history, those moments will be unfortunately rarer than is ideal. That said, like you, I think I need to try some of the "weirder" factions before I give up on this one.

[@Sajatzsiraf]

@@SoloPlaythroughs (let's face it, you knew I would show up) for me, this has been a great 'win' of a game, played a solid 60+ games with various mixes of nations, it works out (almost...) every time. granted, I played almost all games solo so there is that :) so for me anyway, I am happy to both talk about it and play it. and now, I shall watch the video, and make further comments as necessary!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Appreciate the comments, Sajat! Judging from my commentary on the game, let me know if there is a certain faction in the Legends box that you recommend me trying next - if so, you can pretty sure that I'll take your advice. :)

[@Sajatzsiraf]

@@SoloPlaythroughs my personal favorites are the Arthurians and the Atlanteans from the Legends box. Atlanteans I think you should be OK to play, but think ahead a bit not to *sink* your chances of winning ;) they are also probably the strongest nation in the whole game, so you have a good shot at trying out different things and still doing very well in the game.

[@mm678]

The Sam Kinison of solo board gaming! Watch that blood pressure

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! It's good to get the heart pumping once in a while!

[@peterxu5043]

Interesting game. Thanks for sharing!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Peter!

[@joshb4613]

Ok, solo playable deckbuilder, new to channel, Greg must like it! Heck, even the cards are sleeved. Must be a long-time game. Game is on my radar. Then the legitimate criticisms of everything. Game is off my radar. "But if you like deck builders and like history games..." Game is on my radar. How many times am I going to change my mind within 6 minutes? I'll shut up now and watch the rest of the playthrough.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Ha! That's quite the journey, Josh! Based on its first impression, this game is likely always going to be doomed to the "it's good...but" pile for me. But I'm still looking forward to exploring some of the "weirder" factions in the Legends box.

[@joshb4613]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Thanks Greg. Yeah I reckon this game is a pass for me. Like, at 40 mins in, I have no idea how you're going. Which is consistent with one of your criticisms. Oh, and you just said so as I have this message ready to submit. There's a lot that can be said about the 'tension' of a game state and wondering if there's a victory or a loss. But when there's no discernable information on the table, then it begs the question of how can this be engaging? Really appreciate that honestly with the criticisms of this game too. When it comes to the world of deckbuilders, I'll gladly stick with Aeons End largely, for my solo experience, though Pathfinder ACG is ok, albeit a little janky at times. Neither are amazing games, but good enough for me and my simple tastes. I don't care what anyone says, Mage Knight is not a deckbuilder. Speaking of, I'm hyped that Euthia is back on the scene again with a revived KS at the end of the month. Watching this game being played, it really made me want to play 7 Wonders again. I had no idea, but there's a digital version available so now I can play against bots... Also, yesterday you had 3.94K subscribers. Today it is 3.99K :)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Yeah - makes sense to pass on this IMO. Save that money for Euthia!! I am really happy that Steamforged revived it and I am eager to back it. :) As for the subscriber jump, being on Luke's channel Tuesday followed by a reddit thread about solo-focused KZbin channels really helped give me a boost this week. Crazy to think back to when I was meticulously counting down the subscribers needed to get to 1000. Been a fun couple years!

[@bryanscollick8305]

The Mauryan Dynasty ruled northern India after Alexander the Great’s exit. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, but it was the third emperor Ashoka who was integral to bringing Buddhism into mainstream Indian life. Ashoka converted to Buddhism and helped to bring religious tolerance to his people. Following emperors were weak and the empire split into several competing kingdoms. You’re welcome! 😁

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Nice! Thanks for the education, Bryan! :)

[@Sajatzsiraf]

Couple things on the rules front: - civilized cards start with a progress during setup (to avoid immediate exiles), would have granted you one extra progress - when you should "find" a card in a deck, you should go top-down (see 19:46 it was at the start of the game so it does not matter in this case, you shuffled the cards) - you should place a progress on a market card at turn end before drawing new cards (as well as possibly shuffling) - the exhaust tokens are cleared before you advance your civilization so it would have stayed on top of your nation deck (see 22:50 ish)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Sajat! 1 and 2 make sense, and I'll reread the end of turn sequence a lot more closely regarding 3 and 4. I thought clearing exhaust tokens was the last thing you did after drawing up to your hand limit!

[@Sajatzsiraf]

@@SoloPlaythroughs basically you granted yourself a bit of extra info, not a big deal, but could be abused. in terms of the exhaust tokens, it never came up that you would cycle so quick anyway, so it was not an issue. (with Romans, I had a deck+hand of 6 cards total in two separate games...)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Makes sense!

[@anab0lic]

Adore the artwork in this game.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Oh yeah - definitely should have said that as one of the counterpoints to my rant. :) The artwork is really good!

[@robertdascoli949]

I couldn't begin to agree with you enough on the insert and the rule book. I don't know why the insert is so terrible. There's so much empty space that they could have used to put all the billions of tokens they give you. I watched 2 videos before this one on how to play and I was only 50% there which is more effort than I like to put into something that shouldn't be so hard. Congrats on the win. Would love to see some more races played on the channel.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the comment, Robert! I'm going to try to learn the Utopians or Arthurians next to let me try out a different "flavor" of this game. Should have it on the channel at some point in the next 2-3 months. :)

[@XHuntinatorX]

Yeah, I hear you. I usually like these type of games but I have watched a lot of plays of this one and I just don’t get where the “fun” is. On an unrelated note... I got some new games and among those was a solitaire design from GMT called “Navajo Wars”. I am REALLY enjoying it, and It being a solitaire design I think you would also enjoy it. It’s very difficult and the strategies are not apparent even after you understand the rules.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Hey Hunt! I've heard about Navajo Wars a couple times and I'm definitely interested, esp as I have really grown to love Space Empires. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@madcapmartini]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I tried Navajo Wars but struggled to get past the tutorial. Too much game for me, but I would love to watch YOU play it! As far as Imperium goes, it's an odd one for sure. I think it's original, and doesn't feel like other games, but it can be frustrating and feel dull since there is no way to know how well or poorly you are doing. I'm going to keep playing it and hope it grows on me a bit more, but, as I said, it's originality scores big points for me.

[@johnathankokoski]

Love Navajo wars! Even though I’ve yet to beat the first scenario. Very cool game

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

I hear you on the originality, which is easily one of the main things that encouraged me to stick with this game as I was learning it. As for Navajo Wars, I'll reach out to GMT and see if I can get a review copy!

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Uhoh. Knowing your taste in games even to the limited extent that I do, you being stuck on the first scenario makes me nervous!

[@tzera_rhuon]

Yoooo I was wondering if you'd be playing this! Hopefully you find a nation(s) that click for you, the game is quite awesome (I don't care much for Rome/Egypt, however Maurians and Olemecs are so much fun to play) (I will agree with your opening rant however, the rulebook could be so much better)

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the encouragement, Tzera! I'm definitely looking to trying out the more unique factions. :)

[@tzera_rhuon]

@@SoloPlaythroughs Utopians are wiiiiiiiierd Something I've learned is to be less committed to stockpiling resources/population unless I'm playing a nation (or acquiring cards) that score for doing so; in essence you really only need enough resources to purchase advancement cards and clear some unrest Uniquely for solo play, hate-draft those * cards lol

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Awesome. Two good pointers that I'll be sure to keep in mind! :) Thanks!

[@isaacq517]

hey Greg! i love this game, it's a favourite for sure, but Osprey could not have botched the design + release more. if i was Nigel and David i would regret ever agreeing to publish with Osprey. all the design issues you pointed out are awful, plus the card quality is on the low end, the tokens and "board" are thin, and as you said no player aids. what blows my mind is that Osprey also published the 2nd edition of Martin Wallace's game London: i have that one and the component quality is out of this world! i can't imagine why this one was given such shoddy treatment, given that Nigel and David have "next big thing" status in the world of game designers. one day this game will get the premium release it deserves. in the meantime, i have 3d printed a bunch of solutions to trick my copy out and make it better to play and organise.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Denys! The amount of "miss" in this production really is hard to comprehend, especially from an established publisher like Osprey. Hopefully the next expansion is a lot more player friendly!

[@Sajatzsiraf]

Mauryans as barbs are encouraged to accelerate the deck, same as well for Egypt, hence the quick game. The civ and the region deck cards were gone super quick. It did not help that with Elephants you forced the bot to recall regions and replay them for further exile triggers. Eventually if you play enough you can try to negate some of the strengths of the bots, but honestly, it takes a while... :) some other points on strategy and tactics: - I personally feel that buying those two initial civ cards delayed you more than the point values you gained. Slowed your engine, and probably cost you one extra round, which could have given you comparatively more points. - Your unrest strategy is something I have never done. In terms of action-economy, I feel this is a lot weaker than alternate cardplay options. Usually either garrisoning them for a while or collecting in hand for a 3-4 card revolt round is more efficient in my eyes. - You bought too many regions. I find that even the region-happy nations work best with 3-4 regions in active play, and if you buy more, just simply shove them into history. I have also seen this approach by a lot of other gamers, so maybe in this I am kind of like the outlier. - Your plays of Prosperity were pretty much lost actions. If you have cards buying you cards without resources, you really should not care about "producing" directly. For the same reason, Qanat is also sub-optimal. - I would encourage you to play the same nation combination 3-4 times at least to get a feel for what your are doing and how you are doing it. Will help a lot in terms of long-term learning in this game.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for all of this analysis, Sajat! I actually did this matchup a few times before filming this (more than 3-4) and, as I say on the video, part of my problem with the game is that all my games left me with little ability to evaluate cause/effect and strategies. As a result, a fair amount of what I did in this playthrough was just me trying new strategies. That said, your advice gives me a lot of helpful stuff to consider, especially both the idea of buying less regions and the utility of a Revolt turn (which I'm pretty sure I've ever done!).

[@Sajatzsiraf]

@@SoloPlaythroughs I mean, as a Mage Knight player talking to a fellow Mage Knight player - noticing the patterns takes a while, and even then, you don't always have consistent outcome (meaning the same result from the same plays). I will also say that certain nations and cards will work better for some people so much so that you can start actually preferring them... you know, kind of like the wound vs no wounds or magic vs more damage approaches in MK. :) if someone asked me of my opinion on this game, one of the things I would highlight is - don't even start playing if you cannot commit 10-15 hours to it. can happen that even then you won't like it much, but I feel it requires as much to start it rolling. and since we are here, let me give you some of my preferences: - secure a card very early that can history your cards. even history cards that are good, so that you can play cards that are better. and obviously this helps you go through your nation deck - if you can get extra actions, do whatever it takes to get them, I have not played a single game where it was not worth it - if extra action is not an option, then increase hand size - unless you are playing against a nation that collects unrest cards like crazy / dumps them on you due to attacks, you probably don't need to bother with unrest cards in the first 4-5 turns, and often not even after that. - learn your bot, and make sure you leave them cards of the sort and with the symbols you think it is least valuable to them. having said that, don't take * cards from them just to deny the points if those cards are useless for you - prolong the game. add progress tokens to limit exiling. play fewer cards that exile. the player's long-term ability to generate points I find is better than the bot's - prepare for the barbs-empire transition with at least one universal card that can buy you new cards - ...and obviously consider your nation's strengths and play to them. this can significantly change even the above kind of general approach.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks, Sajat! Tons of stuff to think about here. I'll be sure to consider at least some of this (i.e., whatever I remember :) ) the next time I loop back to Imperium!

[@johnathankokoski]

The score is VERY dependent on matchups. I’ve come to really enjoy this game, but I totally agree that they didn’t make it easy with the rulebook, scoring, bits. I think you will really like some of the factions if you keep at it. But I can’t fault anyone for bouncing off this game hard once they open the rulebook. And I have zero desire teach this game - or even to play thus with other people.

[@SoloPlaythroughs]

Thanks for your thoughts, Johnathan! Yeah - I know I need to give it a go with some of the "weirder" factions before I'm ready to fully move on from this one. I can at least recognize that there's a lot to like there...just find it a little buried at the moment. :)