Description

Scythe is an engine-building game set in an alternate-history 1920s period. It is a time of farming and war, broken hearts and rusted gears, innovation and valor. In Scythe, each player represents a character from one of five factions of Eastern Europe who are attempting to earn their fortune and claim their faction's stake in the land around the mysterious Factory. Players conquer territory, enlist new recruits, reap resources, gain villagers, build structures, and activate monstrous mechs.

The official solo version of the game, that ships with the base game, pitches the player against a AI (card)-controlled opponent faction. The opposing faction is controlled by a special deck of cards called the automa deck with each card giving instructions on what the automa opponent will do on every turn. It is designed to increase in capabilities as the game progresses and may attack the human player, or win by the traditional expansion/economy.

The complexity is modest in that it does require less upkeep than a fully fledged human player (it never uses the bottom half of the player boards at all), but it does require some administration in performing the card actions.