Open Format Chaos and a Solo Campaign for Imperial Settlers
Build locations across a short campaign about expanding, questing, and achieving victory for a faction in Imperial Settlers.
After trying out my custom campaign idea for the Romans, I wasn’t quite done with Imperial Settlers! Over the years, thanks to only playing with a single expansion at a time, I never had the chance to play as the Amazons. That time was finally here! My chaotic open format with all of the cards might have been unbalanced… Yet this was bound to be fun!
Game Overview
Game Name: Imperial Settlers
Publication Year: 2014
Designer: Ignacy Trzewiczek
Artists: M. Bielski, T. Jedruszek, J. Marcinek, and R. Szyma
Publisher: Portal Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Gameplay is typically rather quick, lasting just 5 rounds when buildings provide a variety of elements related to production, features, and actions. The solo opponent presents a challenge, while there are clever ways to add requirements for a victory. Onward to crafting an empire!
First Play
January 18, 2020
Complexity
3
Latest Play
July 11, 2024
Expansions
11
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
60
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
214
Game Area
40" x 24"
Low Score
0
Tons of New Cards
I based my faction choices on the artwork that seemed to be the cutest and the most summery… Enter my matchup of the Amazons against the Atlanteans! So cool!
My custom campaign idea worked out nicely again, giving me the chance to use provinces, technologies, and quests.
I enjoyed the Amazons, although their cards certainly added a lot of abilities that worked together. Lots and lots of text to check, yet it was worth it for the new content.
To add to the challenge, I set my target score as the latest technology card’s value. This was a tough one!
All the Little Details
Most of the Amazon cards featured some of the more intricate artwork, and I had to pause to admire most of the illustrations. Take a look at this delightful little scene!
I enjoyed how a lot of these buildings were more geared towards single-use with building bonuses and nothing else. However, that helped out with many synergies.
The one thing I didn’t take advantage of was the ability to re-shuffle a faction building if it was used as payment.
Just means I have more to try out in the future! This initial era was a lot of fun, but possibly a little too easy for me.
Completing Quests
I managed to complete 3 of 4 quests, going above and beyond the requirement to achieve victory! That might be another simple way to increase the difficulty level a bit.
Yet looking at the Leonardo da Vinci card, I was reminded of the small spelling and translation errors on the cards.
It didn’t quite fit in with the other adjectives, although it was pretty minor. These little things are just noticeble.
Completing these in the first era provided helpful bonuses when I needed them and offered some general ideas for what I needed to do. The Amazons were doing very well!
Building a Fortress
With the conquest ability in play, the solo opponent had a chance to steal somewhere from 0-3 faction buildings from me per round. It was hard to protect against that!
Yet the one thing immune to it were fortresses, and I found my first card early on. I used this to protect a couple of other action buildings, waiting to build more in round 5.
Luckily, the Atlanteans never picked this row and I slowly built it up over time to generate ongoing victory points.
Another cool discovery! There were a lot of excellent cards I had never seen before, and I enjoyed all the options.
Trying Out New Ideas to Add Fun to a Solo Game
Previously, I’ve always played to maintain the excellent balance present in the base game. Adding in a single expansion at a time definitely preserves this while adding a few new elements. But I looked at my play habits and how rarely I get this whole collection to my table, which is where I got the idea to try out the open format. Chaotic, yet excellent!
My custom campaign mode isn’t something I expect to gain any traction. It’s there for me to be able to appreciate the content I otherwise wouldn’t use. A simple 3-game campaign is also very manageable in terms of the time investment. That’s where I knew I would enjoy the game some more and have a lot more fun, even with unbalanced cards.
Now, I don’t try to adjust most new games. I like experiencing the system as it was intended, which then gives me an idea of whether or not it might work for me. For those that work nicely, variants and custom play modes are on the table! I didn’t do much to adjust this one, but hopefully you’ll find ways to have more fun with your games, too!
Barely Achieving a Win
For how neat the fortresses and other elements were, I came close to a nasty defeat from not completing quests!
The other options were very specific and I could never find the right buildings. So I had to pivot to a ton of action buildings over halfway through the play. And it was tight…
But after activating 4 action locations, it became easier to build more! The Amazons were both revolutionary and voluminous, which I think might make sense. Maybe. Ha!
It was nice to see a new province with a little duck in the moat, although banking showed up again. A popular idea!
Have Enough Cards?
For the final era, this might look like I wanted to showcase all of the Amazon faction cards. But no… This was my play area. Ha ha! It was an absolutely wild play with so much!
It started when I began with tons of villages and generated villagers left and right. They helped draw more cards, which kept turning into extra resources that first round.
The solo opponent was at the highest difficulty level and stole a lot of my buildings… But I got them right back!
I expected these plays to be all about chaos, and I got it here. Ha ha! It was worth it and I had an excellent time!
Session Overview
Play Number: 58-60
Expansions: Many
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Custom Campaign Eras 1-3
Outcome: 94, 77, 214 (3 Wins)
Even with all of the cards, I only completed 3 of 4 quests. Not a perfect play after all! Democracy also helped me out immensely with those starting villages that kept adding on bonuses. This may have been the definition of unbalanced… But did I care? Nope! It was so much fun, and that’s precisely what I was after. Nicely done, Amazons!
%
60 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
9
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
8
+ Pros (Positives)
- Each faction features its own unique buildings and style of play that provides lots of interesting combinations.
- Playing across a short campaign is an enjoyable way to see a lot of content without investing a ton of time.
- Although mixing all of the expansions might not be balanced, it’s awesome to pull together some of the best turns.
- The solo opponent’s difficulty level can be adjusted very easily, and it always provides an unpredictable challenge.
- There are slightly different art styles across expansions, yet everything is very intricate with details to discover.
- Lining up cards with the faction board is an excellent way to organize and group the different types of buildings.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There are many cards that interact together or activate during different phases, which can be hard to keep track of.
- Reserving enough room for the play area is often difficult since it can stretch out in different ways left or right.
- Typos are present here and there, and the combined rulebook includes more errors than it feels like it should.
- All of the text is in a pretty small font that’s hard to read from far away, and iconography might have been nicer.
Victory Conditions
Score 70+ Points or Finish an Era
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 custom campaign as the Amazons.
Win at least 1 custom campaign as the Romans.
Continue the Conversation
What do you enjoy the most about Imperial Settlers? Have you tried out all of the expansions in the open format? I likely wouldn’t recommend this mashup of everything as the best way to play the game, yet solo games are very much about finding the most fun. I do believe I achieved it! This one continues to be wonderful, and keeps on getting better!
0 Comments