“Construct buildings, vie for city lots, and compete to shape the city of Rome..”
Link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/284189/foundations-of-rome
Playing Time: 60-90 minutes
Weight: Light
Genre: Economic Territorial Control
Designer: Emerson Matsuuchi
Players: 2-4
The first thing that you notice about Foundations of Rome is the mammoth box size. In recent years, I’ve become more skeptical of games with huge box sizes – even with my relatively decent income and McMansion life existence, shelf space is at a premium and a game with a box has to justify its existence. And Foundations of Rome does, and does it in spades.
Which is amazing because the game is light. What’s included in the box is a full palette of buildings in each of five player colors (as well as a tray of wonders), which players will take turns building on a central map. You’ll buy lots – hope to acquire adjacent lots, and when you do, build buildings that (usually) take multiple lots but (hopefully) offer big benefits. The end result is a quick and breezy game reminiscent of a deeper Acquire but with a final game result that looks like a beautiful model of a bustling roman city.
Could Foundations of Rome work without the big chunky pieces? Possibly, maybe. This year, the same designer released Foundations of Metropolis, a modern take on the game only with cardboard tiles designed to fix in a standard-sized box. And while the gameplay is undoubtedly great even if its at all similar to Rome, I just feel like once you play with the big, chunky pieces, there is probably no going back.
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