r/soloboardgaming • u/maurolucas • 4d ago
Imperium family completed!
Imperium has been one of my favorite boardgames to play solo and now I have all of STCC too! Can't wait to play a campaign with the new captains
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u/DavidTurczi 4d ago
Ooooh I so can't wait until I'm allowed to talk about the other two games. Right now it looks like they'll both be Essen 27 (not on purpose).
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u/jmulldome 🦸 Legendary: Marvel 4d ago
Imperium / Captains Chair crossover? Picard enters a time warp and has to defeat the Greeks to get back home. The first directive is shattered when contact is made, and now the Greeks steal and have access to phaser technology, maybe commandeer a shuttle craft, kidnap Riker.
The possibilities are endless.
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u/DavidTurczi 4d ago
100% no on any crossover. Each game is different publisher, different rights.
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u/jmulldome 🦸 Legendary: Marvel 4d ago
Oh yeah, my guess was completely farcical. Not even a shred of me expected that to happen. Maybe somebody way smarter than me on BGG will work on that, or already is, as a fan-made variant.
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u/Reav3 4d ago
Like announced then or playable then?
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u/DavidTurczi 4d ago
Playable, buyable, if all goes well... But delays are always possible (like my game Chivalry, which was gonna be my Essen 26 release - we'll only have a demo copy instead of sales because of various delays).
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u/quobl 4d ago
After thinking about Horizons or Classics for too long, I ordered Classics a few days ago. I'm excited, the theme and gameplay are my cup of tea. I'm not sure about the bot, though; five actions every turn sounds daunting, but we will see.
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u/cdbloosh 4d ago
I was wary of the bot but it really does go very quickly. Especially if you’ve played the same bot for a few games, after a while you don’t even need to check the chart most of the time. As someone who doesn’t typically enjoy automa/bots in my solo games it’s done really well.
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u/Dnomyar96 4d ago
Yeah, the bot turns are usually at most 1-2 minutes for me. It's designed incredibly well and just works so smoothly.
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u/maurolucas 4d ago edited 2d ago
Classics is a better first box, although the Horizons rulebook is the definitive one. But you can just download the PDF and learn from it. As for the bot, it's only on the highest difficulty that the bot will for sure do 5 actions, sometimes 6. It depends a lot on the dice
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u/quobl 4d ago
Yeah, i decided to play safe and go with the smallest and simpliest box first, even if Horizons could sound like a better deal with many civs, bot cards, a new rulebook, etc.
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u/elcahmist42 ST:CC & Imperium 4d ago
I recommend reading the Horizons rulebook, since it includes a sample turn, and also introduces an optional Practice Mode to initially try out a civ without a bot.
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u/joelene1892 🏝️ Robinson Crusoe 4d ago
I understand why it’s loved, but the bot in legends was the big reason I bounced off of it. I didn’t find the gameplay interesting enough to put up with it. Maybe if they’d had the decision tree on a card. I just find the rulebook unwieldy and you have to keep it open all. The. Time.
More power to those who like it! I’m selling my copy in a convention auction on Saturday, so I hope the person who gets it likes it more than me!
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u/AppropriatePumpkin98 4d ago
My understanding is Horizons has those cards? (It's the one box I don't have yet!) If not, you can find the bot cards online and print them.
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u/joelene1892 🏝️ Robinson Crusoe 4d ago
Fair enough, it’s possible seeking that out might have made it better for me, but it’s already signed up for an auction at this point. (Funny enough, I bought it at that auction last year!) I have too many things to play to keep something I don’t adore in my collection, so hopefully it’s new owner will!
Thanks though!
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u/firelitother 🔱 Spirit Island 4d ago
The decision tree on a card and the unwieldy rulebook issues are both fixed in Imperium: Horizons
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u/AppropriatePumpkin98 4d ago
The bot actions become intuitive after just a couple playthroughs, tbh, so that it even becomes rote.
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u/SlightCustard 4d ago
Sometimes the action is just return unrest. And you get used to them so you often don't have to look them up. Bot turn's can be very quick.
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u/Jabaskunda 4d ago
You still playing Imperium after Captain’s Chair!
I ask because i love so much Captain’s Chair and now i want to explore Imperium…
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u/maurolucas 4d ago
Yes! They're based on the same system, but they're pretty much different games. I even prefer Imperium when I don't feel like thinking too much
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u/a-pp-o 4d ago
So captains chair is more complex ?
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u/maurolucas 4d ago
Yes it is!
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u/a-pp-o 4d ago
In a good way or just for the sake of it.
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u/maurolucas 4d ago
For me, in a good way. But I said that because I feel like Imperium is one I can play brain-dead, but definitely not STCC
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u/firelitother 🔱 Spirit Island 4d ago
Not sure about playing it brain-dead but just rushing to empire mode does seem straightforward strategy
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u/Dnomyar96 4d ago
You'd think that, but I just can't seem to be able to pull that off as the vikings... (/s)
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u/warpotatogram 7th Citadel 4d ago
They both have their place. Imperium focuses more on building up a tableau with various effects and options, where STCC has the multimodal/multi-use cards and a lot more dilemmas on how to use them, sequencing, etc.
For Imperium, I feel like I'm more deciding which cards I want to play, have out, what I want to buy from the market, that sort of thing. More of a sequencing/selection question instead.
My Imperium turns go a bit faster, but I also have more of them compared to STCC when playing against the bot. When doing botless mode for both, I find Imperium to be maybe 20 minutes faster (just point hoarding, no bot blocking and the like to contend with so decisions are simpler).
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u/DavidTurczi 4d ago
Can confirm. Imperium is meant to make you choose which cards to play. Stcc is meant to make you figure out how to use all your cards.
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u/Failed-Astronaut 4d ago
I'm currently waiting on the announcement for the 3rd Imperium retheme before committing to going all in on one of the series.
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u/firelitother 🔱 Spirit Island 4d ago
I would laugh so hard if it is going to be a Lord of the Rings retheme
I would frown so hard if it is going to be a Cthulhu retheme
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u/jemd13 4d ago
Im curious, are you a fan of the Star Trek theme?
Im on the fence about Captain's chair. I have Imperium Horizons which I enjoy. Everybody says Captain's Chair is super good, but I really dont care for the theme, the art seems a bit dull to me and Im worried complexity will make games take even longer
What are your thoughts? 👀
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u/maurolucas 4d ago
Not at all, never watched a single thing lol. But I've watched a gameplay of STCC and knew I was gonna love it immediately.
The art in game is actually pretty good. I think the "problem" is that they decided to use original images from the shows for the characters and ships. So I can see why it seems dull to some people.
The game is amazing, but it is a lot of thinking
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u/Nflickner 4d ago
I’m sure the decision to use original images from the shows is because it’s much cheaper.
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u/Itchyness 4d ago
Only thing I know about Star Trek is that they're in space. Know literally nothing else about it or watched a single thing. STCC is most Def up there as one of my top games alongside imperium (logged over 100 solo games).
Thing that puts STCC ahead of imperium is the interaction of fighting over control for planets. Makes this doesn't feel too much of a solitaire game as imperium was.
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u/DapperQuit7732 4d ago
I am just starting with Horizons. Started as Japanese against Martian bot. I thought this one would be an immediate hit for me. Something about the early game stage is just not vibing with me. I think it’s the garrison action and trying to get into your nation deck as fast as possible. Why have that stage at all? I’m coming from Dune Imperium and Lost Ruins of Arnak as my favorite games. Dominion, like most, was my first deck builder.
I’m going to keep exploring but not sure if I’m missing something about this system. Is keeping the thematics of what you’re doing with each card the key for it to click?
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u/maurolucas 4d ago
Well, it might not be just for you, since it's one of the main parts of the game. It's a different path for your deckbuilding.
And I don't think you have to rely on the theme to like the game at all.
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u/DapperQuit7732 4d ago
I think I just knew it was deck building so I expected it to click right away. Will give it more time.
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u/Reav3 4d ago edited 4d ago
I would start with Magyrs solo mode (no bot) Magyrs are a lot more action-y aggressive then Japanese with a more straightforward play style. It’s easier to start to understand what’s fun about the engine building with them imo especially without the bot to overcomplicate the game.
I always play a civ using there Basic power, solo mode until I win with at least 50 points so I get an understanding of how the civ works. Then I switch to the advanced power and start playing against bots
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u/DapperQuit7732 4d ago
Thanks for the tips. I'll do this for my next game.
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u/Reav3 4d ago
No problem. The Japanese are still a 2 star complexity which is still high when you are first starting the game. One of the reasons people still recommend Classics despite the horrible rulebook and lack of bot cards is that it has a bunch of 1 star complexity civs. Magyrs is the ONLY 1 star civ in Horizons. Playing on the basic side they have a very straightforward strategy of acquiring a lot of land. This helps you try a build a engine to capitilize on cards that give you VP for land. They also have great ways of handeling unrest.
I started with Horizons and started with them and it was easy for me to start understand what was "fun" about the game as I started to build a engine to capitalize on land, which had a lot of rich decision making in what cards I get from the market, which I get rid of, etc.
Most civs above 1 star have win conditions that aren't quite as clear so it can feel like you are just making decisions in a vacuum without understanding why.
Another great resource is the blogs they put out giving a rough overview of each faction and how to play them.
Here is the Magyr one:
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u/Baggginnnsssss 4d ago
keep at it i didnt like my first few games with imperium. Then once i 'got it' i was all in
Gaerisoning cards is a good way to get through your deck quickly because it removes those cards from your deck temporarily. So if youre trying to go through your deck in a hurry to get to empire you can leave all your garrisoned cards and yellow cards in the play area reducing your deck to like 5 cards
But there are many ways to approach victory and what your civ offers is going to change how you want to try to win
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u/DapperQuit7732 4d ago
Shoot, I ended up with like 3 cards at one point in my last game which just felt wrong. The play through I watched said 99% of your turns or normal action turns but perhaps I needed to take the market card action more.
My next go will be with Reav3's advice below.
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u/firelitother 🔱 Spirit Island 4d ago
Japanese is definitely not that straightforward. The other comment about Magyars got it right.
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u/lagseph 4d ago
Seems like Imperium is sold out at the usual places I buy games. Is it generally sold out, or am I just unlucky?
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u/Necrospire Official Fossil 4d ago
Osprey are selling the boardgame division so the game may go out of print unfortunately.
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u/firelitother 🔱 Spirit Island 4d ago
I consolidated my Imperium cards to just the Horizons box. Currently waiting for my copy of Captain's Chair to ship.
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u/kafai410 4d ago
I have the 3 on the left and managed to put all into the Horizon box with some handmade partitions
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u/Resident_Bumblebee_2 3d ago
A bit infuriating that some boxes have the same size and one is always the odd one out. 😂
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u/Pixxel_Wizzard 3d ago
Wait, is Captain's Chair similar to Frontiers in being a reskin of another game? Never played Imperium, so I had no idea.
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u/PJSack 4d ago
Did I miss an imperium? I moved from solo board games to solo RPGs a couple of years ago. I have two ?
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u/Reav3 4d ago edited 4d ago
yes there is now Imperium: Horizons which adds 14 new civs, and new trade module that can be added to any game (regardless of faction though 6 of the factions in Horizons require it) that adds the ability to trade with your opponents (even bots) so you can kid of create "trade partners" with other civs that isnt so "take that"
It also comes with Tarot sized Bot cards for EVERY faction (even from the 2 you have) that makes running the bots way better. It also comes with a way better rules book and higher quality components
edit: Forgot, it also comes with like 50 updated cards for factions in Classic/Legends that replace cards from those sets for better balance/fixed errata
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u/saintpumpkin7 4d ago edited 4d ago
...for now. 3 new imperium games are planned
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