Board Game Review: Micro Rome

Designer: Michael Bevilacqua

Publisher: Self-Published

Players: 1

Weight: Super Light

Play Time: ~15 min

Type: card laying, set collection, city building

Micro Rome is a small solo card laying game where the player is constructing the city of Rome in order to build the… best city ever! I guess we are (solo) city planners in some way, shape, or form. The more we build, the more crowded Rome gets and certain types of people like to be next certain types of buildings. As the city planner, the player must ensure the residents are happy with the layout to get the most victory points.

Why Review Micro Rome?

Micro Rome is a self-published, easily accessible solo card game. These games rarely get any airtime from mainstream board game media for either being a solo game, a self-published game, and especially for being a print and play game. A lot of folks simply ignore the print and play ‘genre’ citing poor components, lack of play testing, or too much work. I think there is a huge accessibility piece around print and play we do not talk about. Let’s face it, board games are a luxury and they are not cheap. Print and play allows gaming to be accessible to a wider audience and I plan to support and feature more print and play games.

Component Quality 2/2

To be fair, since this is a print and play game, the component quality is really up to the person creating the game. There are services out there that will print custom cards and if you wanted, you could send in the PnP files provided and get a ‘professional’ copy. I did it a cheaper way and printed the cards out on standard printer paper and in color. Then, I cut out all of the cards and put them into extra card sleeves I had with a standard playing card in the middle of the front and back to provide the stiffness of a real card. Functionally as well as visually, these cards work perfectly for this game.

The files provided have everything you need to create the game and really, you do not have to do a lot of work in order to create a copy. The files contain high resolution images that print well.  There are no tokens or extra components you will need to find in order to play. Simply, print, cut, and play!! Full points from me on component quality.

Theme 0.5/2

Take it or leave it for me. The Roman theme is overused and it feels like it is slapped on top of the card laying / set collection mechanisms. This literally could have been a myriad of themes… city planning in any place/era, building a house/office floor plan, creating a museum exhibit, etc. Because of the replaceability of the theme, I ranked this category low. When I am playing the game, I do not feel like I am building Rome, rather, I feel like I am playing a set collection, card laying game, placing cards in the best possible way to score points.

Mechanics 1.25/2

What I like about Micro Rome is the simplicity of the mechanics and how well it works with such a small card set. On a turn, the player draws the next card in the deck and decides where to place it. The cards are double-sided and the player must choose which side to use. There are a variety of symbols (people and buildings) on the cards the player must pay attention to. When the final card containing the colosseum is place, the game ends. The rules are simple in how a card may be placed and the set collection scoring rules are easy to remember. With that said, there is really nothing new or innovative about the mechanics… which is not a bad thing, just an observation.

Engagement 1.5/2

Micro Rome is exactly the right length for a short filler solo game. Any longer and it would outstay it’s welcome and drag. I know what i am getting myself into when I play. This is not a deep game. This is not a very strategic game. But this does allow me to get in a quick game when I might not have the time for a longer one. Because it is so short, I am focused through the game and it holds my attention.

Fun 1.25/2

I have fun when I play Micro Rome and I usually play the game two or three times in one sitting. If I only have 10-20 minutes and I want to play a game, I will pick up Micro Rome. Usually, if I have more time, I will not bother since there are games I find more fun but take a bit longer. If you are looking for a quick and fun card laying game, I would encourage you to print out Micro Rome!

Overall Rating 6.5/10

See more at https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/171721/micro-rome.