Race For The Galaxy: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire

I just got through playing my first game of Race For The Galaxy solo, and wow,
it's almost like the real thing! Often you find that when you play a game that was intended for group play solitaire, it just feels "wrong". Like it's lacking something. Which really wasn't the case here.

Furthermore, playing against the robot makes for a great challenge. Even with a considerable number of lucky draws, rolls and, being two cards ahead upon ending the game, I still lost! Only by two VP in fairness but, I had an amazing tableau. A set-up that if I'd achieved in a group game, I would have expected to win with.

Winning isn't everything though and, I do love a good challenge. The cards as they came out also tell an interesting story, detailing both the rise and fall of an empire.

The Cards

The Robot's Tableau: New Sparta, Contact Specialist, Aquatic Uplift World, Pirate World, Investment Credits, Damaged Alien Factory, Colony Ship, Alien Tech Institute, Alien Robot Sentry.

My Tableau: Alpha Centauri, Mining Robots, Runaway Robots, Exploration Force, New Earth, Mining Conglomerate, Imperium Armaments World, Galactic Survey: SETI, Export Duties, Improved Logistics, Gem World, Plague World.

What story do you see?
In the Robot's Tableau I see a world torn apart by war where the scientists fled to the stars to find a better way of life. On some distant ocean world they found a lost alien factory, that with their knowledge turned into a highly profitable venture. They could only gleam the surface technology but, it was more than enough to fund the colonisation of a new world. A world free of military oppression where the alien technology could both be studied and protect them.

In mine I see a group of mining prospectors trying their luck amongst the stars only to have their mining robots go rogue and flee. In order to limit the damage that they may cause as well as obviously trying to recover their expensive merchandise. Not being able to do this alone, they turn to private military contractors (possibly former military specialists from the fallen New Sparta) to aid them in the recovery process (capture the robots if possible, if not, destroy them).

Upon catching up with the robots they discover that far from going rogue, they had actually detected mineral deposits in another star system so rich that in accordance with their programing they had sought to mine them. This new world would become New Earth and would bring them great wealth. This new bounty would need defending however, so in return for the protection of their new mining conglomerate the mining corporation allowed the private security force that they had hired to use this new world as a base of operations, and as a cache for their black market arms. To hide the activities of this group various legitimate scientific projects were established, such as SETI, with which it was claimed many new world with potential mineral deposits could be found. Although the most likely reason for setting up a deep space radio relay station capable of long-distance communication is likely far more dubious.