Cave-In: The Art of Creating a Profitable Mining Operation
Manage a mining operation with a small loan as drilling and excavating uncover resources and dangers in Cave-In.
Often, a lot can be done with a limited set of rules, particularly when gameplay goes along with the theme so well. I was greeted with a positive first impression as I took a look at Cave-In! The short introduction put me in the setting right away, although I wasn’t entirely certain how my mining skills would work out. Time to learn at my solo table!
Disclaimer
For full transparency, I received this copy for free from the designer and publisher in exchange for a review. All of the opinions are my own based on playing this solo game. As always, just making sure that’s clear right up front!
Game Overview
Game Name: Cave-In
Publication Year: 2022
Designer: Michael Erceg
Artist: Lucas Bertolucci
Publisher: ME Games
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Over the course of 12 rounds, or a year, copper and tin may be mined. Drilling provides information about what lies beneath the surface, while excavating can range from a very safe action… To one where a cave-in might happen! It all moves quickly on the way towards becoming profitable.
First Play
April 16, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
April 30, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
227
Game Area
20" x 12"
Low Score
16
A Digging Partner
Shortly after I started learning the rules, it was quite apparent that this wasn’t going to be an entirely solo activity… The Calico Critter moles were happy to stop by!
The rulebook was easy to move through, particularly since it included plenty of visual examples.
I sometimes use the word “simple” to describe shorter solo games, yet I mean that in a positive sense: Rules that are easy to understand and remember are important!
With a full understanding of how things worked and an eager mole crew nearby, I set out on my mining adventure.
More Than Dirt
Only 13 tiles are included, ranging from lucrative resources to… Literal dirt! There are also a pair of cave-in tiles, which are extremely expensive to encounter.
These form an upside-down pyramid of the area to mine. The neat part is that only 12 are used for this area, while the last one is saved for market prices.
All begin face-down, meaning that there is incomplete information. Decisions are quite important, and tricky!
Multi-purpose components always make me happy, and this is done in a very intuitive and easy sort of way here.
Planning to Dig
This is what the play area looks like for each month. The calendar advances, and might indicate a favorable month… Or one with poor weather conditions.
Everything costs money, naturally, yet it’s important to weigh risk and reward. Play too cautiously, and the bad months yield nothing but added expenses. Not good!
Note the extra tile in the bottom left for market prices. It’s all very clever, and adds plenty of interesting deduction.
Drilling reveals a selection of 3 tiles, while excavating uses that information to try to gather the most resources.
Leaving Out the Dust
With the initial drilling, some information is revealed. In the luckiest rounds, cave-ins might show up near the very bottom of the mining area. Avoid those at all costs!
Yet for the most part, only some of the tiles will be face-up for the excavations. What to collect? It all has to do with the available paths and making measured choices.
In a moment of extra luck, both drilling rounds uncovered the cave-ins… Allowing me to excavate around them!
This was all I left behind, which is about the best that can be done. Yet it only happened once, since it’s very rare.
Making a Game More Rewarding Than Repetitive
At a top-level, each game round consists of an identical set of steps with a familiar sequence. However, I didn’t find things to be overly repetitive. Part of this came from the months with poor weather conditions. Excavating was more risky during these times, so I had to carefully plan ahead. Yet with a stretch of 4 months, it wasn’t so easy!
The arrangement of tiles was always unknown, too, and having the lone one set aside for market prices always left something up in the air. Aside from the rare times when I uncovered both cave-in tiles, there was always the chance that I might excavate into one of them… Ending the excavation, and taking away a sizable amount of my money.
I don’t want to make it seem like every round is entirely unique and novel, yet the puzzle remained just different enough to make me want to keep on playing! The connected months also added to the fun, as did the small chance that I might have an excellent month uncovering tons of copper and tin. If not… There was always next month to try again!
Collecting Copper
The most common resource is copper, which can show up in different quantities. Tin is rare, yet quite important: Combining both through smelting produces copper bars.
I found the challenge very rewarding! Every round was repetitive in some senses, but the unknown arrangement of the tiles kept me guessing and trying new strategies.
Naturally, I hit the cave-in tiles a couple of times. That set me back a lot, and was a lesson in more careful plans.
But through it all, gameplay moved quickly and I felt like I was making educated guesses about excavating. Very fun!
Running Out of Time
Alas, despite a few excellent months of mining, the full year was over before I knew it… And I hadn’t made the most of the starting loan. Defeated by dirt! Ha ha!
I wasn’t as far off from a victory as I thought. Without my cave-in blunders, I probably would have been very close to managing a successful mining venture. Not this time.
The variable market prices also made a huge difference, sometimes making me sell low just to play it safe.
Poor weather conditions required pre-planning, too, since I rarely excavated more than a small amount of copper.
To the Experts!
I do believe there was some grumbling and outright laughter coming from the peanut gallery nearby. So, I brought in the moles to see if they had any advice for me!
They were quick to take a look at the rulebook, and agreed about how useful the examples were. Not too much to study, although the images were excellent reminders.
Tin. It apparently all came down to tin, judging by these very emphatic discussions! It did make sense, though.
Smelting copper used up 5 copper and 1 tin, yet was worth a whole lot. Back to the mines for better results!
Making Way for Tin
Push-your-luck elements made this all quite exciting! I found the months rather different in that sometimes it was about collecting resources, or simply saving up.
Market prices didn’t differ too much, yet it was important to take advantage of the higher values when I could.
Cave-ins continued to prove challenging, often locking out lower areas. Some tin had to be left behind, yet there was nothing else to do. Just had to keep rolling forward!
The mining theme stayed strong throughout, and flipping over the tiles was the best part of most rounds!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Outcome: 160 and 212 (1 Win and 1 Loss)
With the moles overseeing this operation, things finally went well! I reached the threshold a full round before the end, although things were very close. Another month might have finished me off with some bad luck mining… I even caused a cave-in during some cautious excavating. Can’t always avoid the worst-case scenario! I had a very enjoyable time with this small game, and appreciate the rewarding challenge it offered. Plus… Visiting moles!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
6
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
6
Quality
Components & Rules
7
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
6
+ Pros (Positives)
- The rulebook is clearly laid out with straightforward sections and plenty of visual examples to teach concepts.
- Hidden information, deduction, and push-your-luck work well together to create an interesting solo challenge.
- Not a lot of space is needed for the play area, and setting up for each round flies by in a matter of seconds.
- Managing the mining operation from month to month is an interesting experience where planning is needed.
- Poor weather conditions make some months riskier than others, which adds to the overall theme and gameplay.
- There is a sense of excitement about flipping over each tile, even when it results in an unfortunate cave-in.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Gameplay is generally very quick, but may feel like it takes a little too long in the last couple of rounds.
- There are enough included coins, yet it seems like there is a missing denomination for easier counting.
- Although challenging at first, there aren’t difficulty levels that might make excavating a little more dangerous.
- Tokens to track elements work nicely most of the time, but are very easy to accidentally bump out of place.
Victory Conditions
Score 200+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 200 points.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Cave-In? I had a great time working out the strategies and solving the puzzle presented with each month. Are there any other solo games that involve deduction or push-your-luck that you enjoy? The mining theme may not seem like the most exciting idea out there, but this experience was filled with lots of fun tension!
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