First off, I have to say how surprised I was how well this balanced being derived from it's video game influence whilst implementing great board game mechanics. I was very much looking forward to this game after hearing that it would be launching earlier this year, but it still went well above my expectations.
The game is co-operative where the basic mechanic is to place down different zones to balance the city in an effective way. In the opening game while you are learning the game, you are literally just placing Residential, Commercial and Industry tiles along with a few utilities whilst trying to keep various factors (e.g. pollution, crime, garbage, population/workforce) balanced. This quickly escalates with each new game adding a new module for you and your team to use (e.g. roles [similar to pandemic], special building and policies) which often on the face of things seems like a benefit, but obviously comes at the cost of increasingly difficult decision making as you struggle to implement everything the way that you want. Once you have learnt a new module, it can then be added to each new game depending on your groups wishes. This means that there are a number of unique and different combinations of ways to play this game, keeping it fresh every time. There is a mini-game element of trying to actually fit the differently shaped tiles into the zone of your choosing which adds another nice layer of decision making without being the primary focus of the game.
There is a need for constant discussion on every turn and I think that as co-operative games go, there is a good balance between joint and individual decision making with everyone feeling able to make their own decision if they felt strongly enough about it - although I can imagine that this could depend on who you are playing with. As everyone's cards are visible to all players, it does lead to the possibility for a single player to just dictate other players' moves. Hopefully you don't have that issue in your games!
Overall then, this is a great game whether you are interested in it because you have played the video game or whether you are interested in board games (or both!). I have played this with a different groups and have found it to work well with most people and is definitely accessible to families.
| Marca | Peach |
|---|---|
| Produttore | SPILBRÆT |
| colore | Multicolore |
| Dimensioni prodotto | 29.46 x 7.11 x 29.46 cm; 1.55 Kg |
| Numero modello articolo | KOS9146 |
| Le batterie sono incluse | No |
| Peso articolo | 1.55 kg |
