First of all, check Eric Nielsen’s basic guide to Glory to Rome. Good stuff. To reiterate the key points:
- Get your influence up quickly
- Generally, you win by having the best vault. I’ve won by building two small buildings and a 19 point vault. Watch the merchant!
- Cardflow is golden – both in your hand and in your stockpile
- End the game when you’ve peaked. (If your vault is full or almost full).
A few new tips for new players:
- All clients are nice (they provide free actions), but merchants are especially valuable. A player with a merchant client can overcome a slow start (which they’ll have, if they got it early enough). [Stone cards in the stockpile are also nice].
- Watch out for ‘implicit collusion.’ Two (or more) players that share a client will call it more often. Jump on the bandwagon, if possible.
- Once a card ‘hits the table’ (as a role card, usually) it can never be built. [This is useful to remember].
- Taking a role when the other players can’t benefit is nice, but then they’ll think. If their hands were empty (or almost) that’s not a big deal. If their hands were full, that’s a small advantage. Don’t be afraid to think as leader, unless you are in a desperate situation.
- Often it’s better to follow with a role you have a client with, than to lead it yourself. You can think and act.
Jacks and other cards
There are times to play a jack even when you have an appropriate role card. In particular:
- You need that role card for building material
- You don’t want to put a potential client (or material) in the pool for the next player to Patron (Laborer/Legionary).
- You sometimes play a Jack as a Legionary, because you can’t show a Jack to demand materials. (So you’d play a jack, then show the red brick).
Spending three-of-a-kind as a wild can unclog your hand, but it also loads up the pool. This is a particularly good play if you worried about getting shut out of a laborer or patron.
Notes on Foundations and Buildings
Every building type only has as many foundations as there are players. This limits buildings and affects the course of the game. It also dictates how many of those materials will ‘disappear.’ For example, rubble and wood in a four player game, 4 of those cards will be buildings, four more materials. That leaves 16 cards for clients and vaults. Brick and Concrete (which require 2 cards to complete) will only have 12 cards for clients and vaults (assuming they all get completed). Marble and Stone (3 cards per building) would only have 8, but many/most of those buildings won’t finish.
The foundation limit means you can guess as to how the mid-game will play. On average each player will only get one building of each type, so pick and choose wisely. Sometimes you’ll grab a foundation just to deny another player, though. Remember that influence from buildings mainly matters as a vault limit, so don’t feel obligated to finish a building that doesn’t help much.
There are 6 of each 1-cost building, so they are ‘common.’ There are only three of each 2- and 3-cost buildings.
24 Rubble Buildings (Laborer/Yellow – 1 Material to complete)
Yellow buildings are the easiest to complete. They only require a single material, but wood doubles as the craftsman, which you need to start and add to a building from your hand. (So to finish a wood building requires a jack and a wood, or two woods, whereas finishing a rubble building requires a jack and a yellow, or a craftsman and yellow). With six of each rubble building, if you play one for a laborer you’ve got a decent chance of seeing another copy later.
Bar – The ability to take a patron from your hand (instead of the pool) is your one-stop-shop for getting a merchant client, which is worth its weight in marble.
Insula – The insula increases your maximum clientele by 3 (one for influence, and two bonus points). If you plan on building this early, then consider a patron for an early client.
Latrine -- Discarding before thinking improves cardflow (always nice), and there are a few extra tricks. If you have a laborer client, you can discard a card you want to grab. Or if the pool is short, you discard just so that there will be a card available. And on the turn before you are leading, you can discard a critical card to claim as a patron. [The latter won’t work if the prior player called Legionary or Laborer].
Road – The ability to use rubble to finish off stone buildings is a nice touch. This combines well with a Villa.
If Roads (and Towers) are built, quite a bit of Rubble will be used for building materials (apart from a few clients). That means that one or two rubbles in your vault may earn the 3VP chip. However, if those buildings don’t show up, then you may need an extra one. People won’t steal Rubble wily-nily, though. Vault space is limited.
24 Wood Buildings (Brown/Craftsman – 1 Material to complete)
The wood buildings also take a single material, but craftsman cards are valuable early. Until players build stockpiles the only way to finish a building is with a craftsman.
Circus – The ability to play two of a kind as a jack (instead of three of a kind) is a big jump. With five cards in your hand, you’ll have every role covered but one, or a jack. With just the basic rules, you can have two pairs and an odd card.
Dock – The ability to take cards from your hand means you’ll never get shut out of laboring, but then you’ll have to think more often.
Market - +2 Vault (and another point for the influence) makes this the king of graft.
Palisade – Immunity from Legionary roles will save you several cards over the course of the game. But if you have a Legionary client, you may want to stay vulnerable to entice your neighbors into calling it more often.
Wood, unlike Rubble, can’t easily be converted for anything else. But one player may try for the Marina, so winning the 3VP for wood without it is a lost cause.
24 Brick Buildings (Red/Legionary – 2 Materials to complete)
The two cost buildings are a nice step up in value from the one cost, which isn’t surprising since they take 50% more cards to build. Red (being the legionary) is slightly easier to spare than grey (the architect). With only three of each brick building, don’t expect to be able to pitch one away and then get another later.
Academy – The ability to think after craftsman needs no introduction. This is essentially a free action. Combine with lots of craftsmen clients.
Archway – Using the pool as your private stockpile will save some actions. But don’t neglect your stockpile. Apart from merchant, the pool gets emptied often (due to the Storeroom and Garden, not to mention laborer and legionary actions).
Atrium – Using cards from hand for a merchant is OK. The real benefit is keeping everyone guessing as to what cards you’ve placed in there. If nobody counts cards that won’t matter. A useful backup if you don’t get a laborer client and are running short of stockpile, but not a premier building.
Bath – The bath earns you extra actions whenever you get a client. Not bad. Also, discarding clients means that you can switch around if you are trying for the Forum and doubled up early.
Foundry – A much-improved version of the docks. Now you can never get blocked from growing your stockpile, and it doesn’t cost you your hand. And who knows, you may get lucky if there are no cards you want in the pool….
Gate – The Gate activates incomplete purple buildings. Powerful. If you’ve got this working then you can slap down a Palace or Ludus Magna or even a Forum.
School – The ability to “double think” means you can fill up your hand and get a jack. Works nicely with an Academy or Senate.
Shrine -- +2 hand size grants flexibility. Combined with a Circus, you’ll always have a jack (or two).
Because Legionary is on the brick cards, bricks will be (slightly) safer than any other materials from being taken from you.
24 Concrete Buildings (Grey/Architect – 2 Materials to complete)
Like brick buildings, these are a step above the 1 material buildings. They are, perhaps, a touch harder to finish than brick buildings (as architects seem to be more popular clients than legionary).
Amphitheatre – Taking one craftsman role for each influence (on completion) doesn’t improve much as the game goes on, unless you increase your hand size (or spent plenty of turns building up a huge hand). However, it may let you finish that building and then suddenly end the game.
Aqueduct – Four additional clientele (with another two for influence) means you’ll never be at a loss for space. On the other hand, in most games the Insula provides enough breathing room to get started, and then influence covers the rest.
Bridge – Ignores palisades and lets you hit all opponents. In a five player game, that’s a big deal and not to be chucked away lightly.
Marina – This increases your vault size by the number of wood you have (effectively), and makes wood worth 3VP, instead of 1. If you have one of these, you’ll probably earn the VP chip for wood, as well (and anyone fighting you for it will suffer, unless they also have a Marina).
Senate – Getting a free thinker after leading will save you several turns, and lets you play more aggressively overall.
Storeroom – This ability to “sweep up the pool’ will grow as you expand influence, but the storeroom isn’t likely to grow as fast. (Unless there are plenty of Latrines built).
Tower – Using rubble for any building is nice, but if other players have Roads then they’ll fight you for it. Using Rubble sites can be a minor benefit, but 1-material sites go fairly quickly, so it only helps if few rubble buildings show early.
Wall – 1VP for every two cards in the stockpile (rounded down) will require a few laborer clients (and probably a docks or foundry). But it saves the need for those pesky merchants.
24 Marble Buildings (Purple/Marble -- 3 Materials to complete)
The three material structures are powerful, as befits their expense. The material will be hotly contested (for the vault). Usually the game will end before most of the foundations are completed.
Basilica – Doubling your vault size makes it effectively infinite (if you still hit your limit, you’ve probably won).
Forum – A strategy in a single card. The Forum grants you a victory if you have all six clients. Go for clients first, then finish the forum (rather than risk a Prison). A player aiming for the forum victory must be carefully considered. Don’t let them get any marble into their stockpile, and sweep the pool for appropriate clients. This is often left to the player going just before the potential victor. (If that’s you, be sure to plead that you are lacking the appropriate cards). A Coliseum is about the only defense to someone who has the clients. When aiming for the forum, Palisades and Bar are useful.
Ludus Magna – Merchant clients are already good. This makes them great.
Palace – In some ways, the palace is no better than the School or Academy, or Shrine. Thinking less often (as your turn) means more actions. The Palace eschews subtlety and provides actions in a nice gaudy way. You’ll almost certainly want a Shrine (or Temple) to really make the most of this.
Scriptorum – The ability to use any foundations means you can build cool buildings quickly (which is nice) and it serves as a minor Catacomb, letting you end the game when the mood strikes you (once it gets close, though).
Stairway – This reduces all other building costs to 1, assuming you use an architect. This is best with Stone and Marble buildings. If you finish this early you may be able to race the buildings to completion, but it will be hard to get stone and marble. A road compliments this nicely.
Statue – +3 VP is nice, but don’t overlook holding onto this card to grab the final foundation (whatever it may be) and end the game, or to block an opponent. If you’ve got a legionary client (for example), grab a wood foundation to stop a palisades from showing up. [Note that you’ll need 3 wood to finish it].
Temple – The extra hand size is nice.
24 Stone Cards (Blue/Merchant – 3 Materials to complete)
Because merchants are so sought after as clients, these are the hardest buildings to complete (unless you have a Road or Tower).
Catacomb – Building the Catacomb ends the game. When one hits the table make sure to put a card (or two) into your vault.
Circus Maximus – Huge flexibility.
Coliseum – Killing off clients will a) fill your vault and b) reduce the number of free actions your opponents get c) make you lots of enemies. You’ll probably need a bigger vault. Usually a game winner, and stops the forum, too. Obvious combo with Bridge and Palisades.
Fountain – Turning all clients in Craftsman (as well) requires a large hand size to fully use, so you’ll want a Shrine, Temple or Academy.
Garden – Lets you fill up on clients (unless you have an Insula or Aquaduct, you probably lose several of the clients you are owed). A Bath also helps. Time this right to get a good selection in the pool.
Prison – Stealing a building for yourself is a huge swing. Often you’ll start this and then wait to finish it. Remember that you can only take completed buildings and No influence changes hands. Don’t just blindly take a large building … getting a good combination (and breaking one up) may be better.
Sewer – Discarding all cards to the pool (before thinker) is OK, not great. The new version allows you to place your role card (not jacks) into your stockpile, instead of the pool, which is great.
Villa - Why a single stockpiled stone is valuable. A great initial build, if you can pull it off, but probably easier to get as a second building (after a Road or Latrine).