Glad you liked Furnace and Interbellum! It's such a solid game and I agree that the bidding is what makes it special. Fun fact: I bought a top hat for a livestream and I now I wear it whenever I play the game. 😊
Normally I won't buy a game if I'm not interested in the theme... The fact that it's still on my shelf means I REALLY enjoy the game itself! It's also the only auction game I've ever played that I've actually enjoyed, so good for Furnace! My only criticism would be that I found it and its expansion a bit expensive. I managed to pick up the base game for $15 used; now I'm waiting for a really good deal on the expansion. (I also wish there was room in the base game insert for the expansion components, but I guess I'll just have to toss the insert if I ever get the expansion. :/
Furnace has intrigued me since it was released/hyped, but I never heard that the 2 player mode was good too! I just assumed it was 3-5 players. I might be tempted now given that the majority of games I play are 2 players
Yeah I like it! Will I pull it out over other 2 player games? That's a tough one because it depends on the mood, but I definitely think it works better than a 2 player mode should. I probably enjoy it a bit more with more players but still 2 gives the same feeling which is great
Foundations of Rome is incredible but definitely not affordable. I’m excited for the smaller box version. I’d be curious to see what you think of Ra if you like bidding games
Ra is phenomenal, highly recommend. I got introduced to it through the World Series of Board Gaming and so have played a bunch of it, it's so so good and the newest edition from 25th century games is gorgeous, well made and also affordable.
I've had Furnace in my collection for a couple years now and have really enjoyed it. I just got the Interbellum exp. about a month ago. I've only tested out the solo AIs So far. It was fine, but I mostly only want to play this with two or more. It misses the fun in the auction when solo. However, it made me rekindle my love for an older engine builder/tech tree game I haven't played in awhile. Progess: Evo!ution of Technology is great solo, having a lot of the same feel as the second phase of play in Furnace. It too is a highly under rated game that is easily found second hand.
I think Ra definitely works better at 3+. I like the tension of pushing the bidding, I feel like you can go on more of a run of long tile pulls at 2 players. I do love Ra though, but I wouldn't be super inclined to play it at 2 just because the flow of bidding is so tense with more people.
@@RoomandBoardReviews yeh, I can certainly see the appeal of Ra and look forward at playing it at a higher player count…but 90% of my gaming is simply me and my wife, so it just hasn’t occurred yet, unfortunately. Great content as always.