Metropolys

Interesting merger of auctions (via route building) and area control. I think having the pieces be of different length, but quasi-hidden works in this context; I have enough information to make informed decisions, but not so much that it falls apart. The game excels when it's viewed as an auction first and area control second (though no less important, just in that order). The two incentive cards are ok (and just ok), I find some of them (the 3 in a row for example) to be much easier to complete and worthwhile to setup capture traps compared to others (the fountain one in particular I thought was tough and generally not worth effort). The district/color card is more interesting and I think is an example where you start to have real player differentiation in space valuation. As other's have said, the board is attractive enough to enjoy and annoying enough that I want to redo it (but am apathetic toward due to the former). I've only played with four so I don't know how my rating would change with less.

One of the few games where immediate repetition is valuable and improves the game, without it, you don't seem to develop enough of a meta surrounding how to trap people and what they value (which slowly changes over time in response to others). One of the most delightful spaces in terms of trying to put people into unpleasant situations and watch them squirm balanced against straight point efficiency.

edit: 25+ games later, this has proven to be a particular favorite. There is an interesting pacing question, how fast do you burn your cubes vs going on a run later when the environmental constraints are greater. Lots of balancing questions between opportunities and potentially waiting too late. Playing with less than 4 is almost not worth it (it's a 4p game, and 3 is tolerable, 2 isn't).

This is one of the few games I'd try my hand at designing an alternative map for, just to experiment with some of the environmental variables. I'm not sure it matters though, in the same way that having different maps for Stephenson's Rocket doesn't matter.

Interesting take on a placement game, with hidden objectives and multiple ways to score.

The gameplay starts with each player being secretly dealt two different objectives: 1) a unique colour region, where a player scores 2 points for each region they "own" (they have a building placed on that region at the end of the game), and 2) a unique placement condition where the points awarded vary depending on the particular condition but awarded each time the condition is met (again by having your own buildings placed in a particular way at the end of the game).

Once the game begins, a player's turn consists of placing one of their own buildings on one of the areas in a particular district. Each player in turn can either pass or place a higher value building, and this continues until each player finally passes, with the last player leaving their largest value building on the board. All previously placed buildings are removed and the winning player chooses a new spot on which to place another building. In addition to the hidden goal placement objectives, several of the spaces on the board are seeded (randomly at the beginning of the game) with different point chits- there are 1 pt subway tokens which award the valuable 3pt subway card, there are -1 pt tokens which also give the "hot potato" -2 pt card, and there are the valued 3 pt chits. If you win a placement on a region with the chit, you obtain the chit.

The game ends when one player has placed all of their buildings. There is one other scoring goal and that is to have the largest building in a neighborhood (similar to Manhattan) which is worth 5 pts. The game scales very well from 2-4 players, and quick to play. It allows for clever play, and offers and interesting bidding/placement mechanic which looks similar to Manhattan but plays quite differently. The board art is garish and difficult to look at which is probably my biggest complaint with the game. Seems to get a bit better with more plays.

Own the [boardgame=150634]Extension Cards[/boardgame] mini-expansion from the [boardgame=47156]Ystari Box[/boardgame], and the PnP Characters expansions.

100927 Pure clean slick. Like an old classic Euro but recent. I think the board could look real cool, but its hard to tell from just photos and it sure has its vocal detractors. Update: Just played the real board...yeah its hard on the eyes.

Mildly interesting bidding game. You bid by sticking buildings of varying values on different spaces; whoever sticks down the best building keeps it there, while everyone else takes back their buildings and then you start another bidding round. Meh.

A beautiful abstract chain placement game. My friend is right, this feels like a Rudiger Dorn title. My one complaint is that the first part of the game felt really slow. I feel like there were so many potential places to play that we would spend too long analyzing. I think the first half of the game should be played quickly, focusing on getting your specific color of property. Once it starts to fill up, the game gets more exciting, and a little more time spent figuring out your move is warranted. All in all, I really enjoy this. Until I get better at it I will probably prefer two or three players as opposed to four, just to make the game go a little faster.

Canada math trade may 2009

1 play / 3 players

LIKE: In my first play, I really enjoyed this. Very unique spacial auction that offered some interesting choices.

DISLIKE: It was difficult to see the obvious moves of taking something because it was blocked off. This is where first player advantage helped.

OVERALL: Impressed, similar to Knizia-style games. I'd love to see this reprinted and expanded with more end scoring cards. The game needs one more layer in the gameplay to keep it fresh and replayable.

Note on the reprint: I think Roxley made it too big of a game. The original is a medium-weight game that plays quickly. No need of miniatures. Modular boards would be enough.