Publisher: CMYK Games
Player Count: 2  Players
Game Length: 15 Minutes
Complexity 1.5/5

The definition of Lacuna means a gap between two things and is from the latin lacus, meaning “lake or “pool.” That cleverly defines this quirky, abstract game that likely doesn’t play like any game in your collection. In this gentle, 2-player game, players are collecting different colored flowers resting on a pond. It’s a spatial puzzle where you’re measuring between objects to collect while simultaneously planning for the future. It takes just a few minutes to explain, can be grasped by kids of all ages yet still has the potential to stir your strategic hankerings. Let’s briefly dive into the tranquil pond of Lacuna and see if this strange game is right for your home.

ON YOUR TURN

Packed in a cylinder shaped container, you can tell from the start this is going to be a bit of a different gaming experience. The game itself takes place on a square piece of fabric representing a night pond. Using the container as a pitcher, you pour out the 49 colored flower tokens randomly across the space and you’re ready to play.

The game takes place over 2 distinct phases followed by scoring. It’s a quick game, but the nature of it will allow you to analyze and process the board to your heart’s content.

During the first phase, players will take turns placing their own player pawns onto the pond between two unobstructed flower tokens of the same color. These pawns can be placed anywhere between the two tokens (which is critical to the next phase), but there cannot be any additional tokens or player pawns between the two.

Once players have placed their 6 pawns, play moves to the second phase. During this phase, each remaining token will be evaluated and given to the player with the closest player pawn. The game comes with a ruler to ensure no funny business. Players divide their tokens into sets based on the 7 different token types and point is awarded to the player with the most of each type. The player with the most points at the end wins.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

The art direction does a nice job of complimenting the game experience. Simplified, colorful flowers dance across the packaging highlighted with gold flecks of foil spot colors embracing the abstract nature of the game, but this is a game primarily driven by the components. The wooden flower tokens and metal player pawns contrast each other and are distinct on the fabric pond player board without feeling disconnected.

Everything in the game fits in this unique cylinder container. This may excite you or it may not. I personally love the choice, but I can see it causing some trouble for certain gaming shelves. All-in-all, Lacuna looks as different as it plays and will definitely be an eye catcher at your next game night.

PROS & CONS

Gameplay will challenge players with a unique spatial puzzle not common in standard strategic, modern games

Simple ruleset can be taught in a matter of minutes and setup and clean up are a breeze

This is truly a game for all ages. Anyone can play and players can bring their own level of engagement

The game’s quick play time will have you playing multiple games at each sitting

Fun components create a unique, tactile experience

Portable container great for travel

Highly replay ability

 The game plays at a slower pace. I attribute that to the game’s old school approach

The container may not fit conveniently on all gamer’s shelves

Because it’s a spatial game where you’re measuring, it can possibly be a challenge to truly measure between objects.

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

I really want to define this more clearly, but Lacuna is a game when you’re in the mood for “something different.” It’s a bit of a conundrum since it’s a family game that only plays with 2 players. It’s light hearted and simple. It knows who it is and doesn’t try to be anything more. The choices are satisfying, challenging and relaxing all at the same time. It plays quickly and is a breeze to set up, making it a perfect filler or weekday evening right before bed.

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

The best thing about this game is how easy it is to get into. While most games can take a couple plays to feel comfortable, Lacuna takes a couple turns. The entire experience is simple, clean and satisfying.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Lacuna is the type of game that can win over the harshest cynic. It’s straightforward and accessible, while still being engaging and a little mysterious. It sits in that sweet spot offering simple mechanics and decently challenging choices, but it does it in a completely refreshing way.

Its abstract nature isn’t going to sit well with everyone, but it tends to cross boundaries with a satisfying level of strategy that naturally adjusts to the player’s skill level. The spatial element is a nice change of pace for someone like me who typically plays more linear, traditional board games.

Replay ability is another major positive here. The quick setup and tear down make it a breeze to get to the table or layout on the floor and the short playtime guarantees it doesn’t have to wear out its welcome. Additionally, it wasn’t rare to play 2, 3 or 4 games in a row. My kids enjoyed this just as much as my (hardcore) gaming group proving it’s perfect for any sort of family.

Lacuna is a bit more “mass-market, retail game” than hobby game, but its quirkiness will still have you talking about it and bringing it regularly to game nights, road trips and parties.

Publisher: WizKids Games
Player Count: 2-5  Players
Game Length: 75-100 Minutes
Complexity 3/5

As the head of a Renaissance-era, Italian, aristocratic family, supporting the artists, builders and scholars of the day is essential for cultivating fame and prestige. Build your reputation as patrons seeking out worthy artisans, develop your own principalities and become the princes of Florence.

In this tile-laying, contract fulfillment and bidding game, players will bid against each other to help local artisan’s fulfill their creative pursuits. Resources will be tight and savvy bidders will know when to strike in an effort to maximize their returns over 7 rounds where tension continues to escalate and both long term and short-term planning are critical for victory. Are you ready to become a prince of Florence? Find out in the review below:

ON YOUR TURN

The Princes of Florence was originally published in 2000 from the designers behind classic titles such as El Grande, Tikal and Colosseum and more recently, Downforce. In this revised edition, the artwork and components have received a major upgrade to bring this traditional euro into the new era of board gaming.

The game takes place over 7 rounds with each round divided into 2 distinct phases. Players will earn prestige points through a variety of ways and in the end, the player with the most prestige is the winner.

One of the central objectives of the game is to gather professional cards and meet as many of the requirements listed on each card as possible. These cards represent artisans of art, architecture and scholastic pursuits. Each artisan is influenced and inspired in different ways and it’s up to you to cultivate your resources to meet these needs.

Each round begins with an auction phase where players bid on 1 of 6 available objects. These objects carry a variety of benefits that may serve your available artisans. The active player selects one of the objects and all players bid. You can only win 1 object per round and once you’ve acquired an object, you can no longer participate in that round’s auctions. Once a specific type of object has been bought, no one else can buy that object for the remainder of the round. The objects feature landscape tiles that will later be added to your principality board, prestige and recruiting cards that provide endgame objectives and the ability to steal professional cards from other players respectively and builder and jester tokens that provide price and scoring benefits.

Once all players have completed the auction phase they move onto the action phase. During the action phase, players will be able to perform 2 actions from a selection of 5 choices.

Among other things, this is where you cash in your professional cards. Each professional card earns points for meeting certain point-scoring objectives. You don’t have to meet them all, but each round has point requirements for cashing in cards that must be met if you choose to cash in a card, so the later you wait, the more you need to earn. Your professional cards earn points for having certain landscape tiles or buildings in your principality (which can be purchased during the action phase) as well as holding certain cards in your hand as well as owning other objects.

Just from a setup perspective, the principality board plays a fairly prominent role in the game’s presentation. This gridded board allows you to place purchased landscape and building tiles throughout. These polynomial shaped tiles need to fit together in the grid and will benefit you when you cash in artisans. This provides an additional puzzle to consider when executing your strategy.

Having finished the action phase, players can choose to take money earned into your hand for future rounds or use it to purchase prestige points. The player with the most money earned during the round receives a bonus. This continues for the 7 phases and a winner is finally declared.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

I am a huge fan of the artwork in Princes. The characters are colorful, credible and full of personality. It’s full of style and nothing is overly silly or cartoony which is a great tone for the game.  The game’s components are good and the overall production has a fairly classy feel to it. The game’s wooden token paws used to track points aren’t amazing. I would have liked to see a more custom shape than the traditional chess pawn, but they do get the job done.

The rulebook is fairly clear and easy to understand. I was able to jump quickly into both the base game and the solo mode without too much trouble.

PROS & CONS

 The bidding feels very tight and gaining those initial auction items is a real challenge

 Many paths to victory, but you have to be very intentional about your goals

 Great artwork and production

 Cool points/money split mechanic at the end of each action phase. This could be your key to victory, but you feel the tension in your choices.

 Overall set collection feels really cutthroat in a good, challenging way

 The game plays at a slower pace. I attribute that to the game’s old school approach

 This isn’t a crowd pleaser. It’s certainly for a niche audience.

 A bit rules-y and that can slow down gameplay

NEUTRAL You have to be very particular about your choices. Failing to grab a needed object can disrupt your pursuits and cost you big time.

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

Fans of classic bidding and euro games are going to enjoy the old school feel. This is a tight, cutthroat game and it can get pretty competitive. There is plenty of interaction in the bidding phase and it can get a little nasty with the right group. It has a little Use Rosenberg with the tile laying and there are plenty of choices and paths to victory for fans of that sort of thing.

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

This is both the best and the worst thing about the game: The auction phase can be brutal. Sometimes you really need to overpay to guarantee the right piece. It can be incredibly irritating when your opponents start driving up the prices, but it’s also super satisfying to pull one over on them. I’m a fan of bidding games and the tight choices really elevate the bidding process here.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I wasn’t sure how Princes of Florence would translate 20 years after it was first released. It definitely has an old school euro feel, but there is still plenty of personality in the mechanics that make for a fun, engaging experience.

The pacing of the game is where it does feel a bit dated for me. I think we’ve come a long way when it comes to pacing in modern games and Princes shows a little wear in this area. Perhaps there is a way to condense some of the actions, but it is what is and while the pacing felt off it certainly wasn’t a deal breaker for me.

This is a set collecting game, but the path to get there is what really makes it interesting. The bidding and tile laying aren’t anything revolutionary, but it’s the limited choices that make them engaging. Grabbing objects (or resources if you prefer) is super tight here. This all starts with the bidding phase and how only 1 object of each type can even be drafted that round and each player leaves the phase with only 1 object. The choices are solid as well. Should I grab a jester that’s going to earn me additional points with each professional card I cash in or go with the builder who is going to decrease the cost of buildings later on? Maybe it would be smarter to grab a prestige card to provide an additional end scoring goal to pursue? Don’t forget Landscapes or Recruiting cards! It all comes down to your own strategy and how that conflicts with the other players as the bidding commences.

The principality/polyomino mini game follows in a similar fashion. The space is limited and makes choices more of a challenge. Buildings can’t be adjacent to other buildings early on and this creates a bigger spacial puzzle that needs to be planned for and solved.

The key to your engine is the end of round scoring choices. After players cash in professional cards they can either take the money or trade it in for prestige points. Obviously the player with the most prestige is the winner, but you’re going to need money to outbid your opponents and purchase objects during the action phase. I doubt this is the only game to employ this technique, but it’s brilliant and needs to exist in more games. This mechanic GUARANTEES at least one really interesting decision EACH round.

Princes of Florence is an unforgiving game. Making the wrong choice or bidding too much for something can completely derail your game. Resources are tight and the 7 rounds feel not nearly long enough to accomplish all your goals. When you’ve finally finished fighting the other bidders, you then turn around and realize you have to start fighting the game with its tough resource stipulations and limited actions.

If it’s not clear by now, this isn’t a game for everyone. It can sludge along with the wrong players and be a bit frustrating at times. But, for players looking for a cutthroat game with really tight and challenging choices, Princes of Florence may be for you. I think fans of old school euros are going to find a lot to like here, but there are some progressive ideas that play well in today’s gaming landscape. I found the game also gets better and better with each play and that’s a huge plus for me. I think if you find the right group that embraces a more challenging, interactive and cutthroat game, this can be a real gem that begs for repeat plays.

Publisher: Pegasus Spiele
Player Count: 1-4 Players
Dedicated Solo mode: Yes
Game Length: 90-120 Minutes
Complexity 3.75/5

Inspired by the life and business exploits of entrepreneur and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, who rose to fame in the steel and railroad transportation industries, becoming one of the world’s richest men during the late 19th & early 20th century. He ended up donating $350 million dollars to foundations and charities throughout his life building a legacy that still produces fruit to this day.

In this heavy network building and economic efficiency game, players will manage a staff of workers and a series of interconnected company departments. Players will be working to establish companies across major train routes in the United States in order to build a network of transported goods while growing your work force and individual business as you earn wealth and contribute to various charitable organizations. In Carnegie, points represent an impact in both economic and charitable endeavors with the high score proving the biggest imprint on culture. Is this historical, economic builder right for you? Check out our in-depth review:

ON YOUR TURN

The game of Carnegie takes place over 20 rounds, with each round consisting of 4 phases. Players will take turns being the first player and choose 1 of 4 timeline actions that will trigger an event, a department within the players company to activate and an end-of-round clean up phase.

Timeline actions are the primary motivator for each round. The timeline is a series of 4 company actions and 16 event actions across 4 tabs that are randomized at setup and triggered one at a time. The active player will choose 1 of 4 actions that serve as different aspects of the company’s organizational structure: Human Resources, Management, Construction and Research & Development. Choosing 1 of these actions will activate those departments within the company later in the round. This is followed by an event where players have the potential opportunity to take income or make a donation to a cause.

Each player has a personal player board that, to begin, consists of the same 5 company departments. New departments can be added as your company grows giving you new and more powerful actions. To use a department, that department must have at least 1 active worker. Each department’s actions vary, but maintain similar end goals based on the department icon. Human Resources moves workers around the company, Management allows you to acquire goods and money while expanding your operation, Construction allows you to build new projects and R&D allows for new designs and to develop transportation networks.

Throughout the game, players will be sending workers to different regions of the United States. These workers can then be brought back through events within that region. These events act as a secondary action, but precursor to the primary department actions. Each region has a track that can be upgraded through R&D. When that region is activated, any workers in that region can be returned to your player board taking with it the rewards on that region’s track. In addition, your company can take income earned on project tabs. These project tabs serve as a catalyst for R&D to develop new building project designs and generate residual income.

Another big portion of the game is the opportunity to make donations to various causes. By donating money, players reserve end-of-game scoring opportunities in a variety of ways across 4 charity categories. While players can grab the occasional victory point during the game, the primary way to earn points is by snagging these end-of-game multipliers earning you points in a variety of ways such at “most buildings in the midwest” or “most human resource departments” on your player board.

All of Carnegie’s different areas are so interlaced, I couldn’t discuss building until now—which is one of the game’s primary features. Building or Construction allows players to build projects in various cities across the map. Connecting cities (specifically major cities) will earn players points at the end of the game for how connected the game’s 4 major metropolitan areas are as well as how developed those regions tracks have become.

I know this description is a little wordy, but I wanted to properly convey how the theme is tied into the mechanics for those who are into those things.

Once players have completed all 20 rounds (exhausting all the timeline’s actions), the game ends and the player with the most points is the winner.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

Carnegie can be a bit of a challenge in your first few plays, but the production does a great job attempting to bridge the concepts with both beautiful and informative pieces.

The board is bright, colorful and well organized. The layout and illustration style compliment each other very well. There is a ton of iconography to learn, but it’s relatively easy to pick up on and you likely won’t need to reference the rulebook by your second play.

The standout component is the personal player boards. These triple-layered boards have space allowing for project tabs to slide in and out charting your building opportunities. Not only do these look and function great, they provide a unique and fun way to organize and reveal new information available to the player. I’m starting to see this type of thing more in other games, but Carnegie was the first (that I saw) and have really done it the best so far.

The rulebook does a good job explaining the game. The game’s concepts can be a little confusing at first, but the rulebook does its best to communicate everything up front, but also serves as a great reference for the first few plays.

PROS & CONS

Think-y gameplay that not only rewards forward thinking, but building contingencies that benefit you in light of your opponents choices.

Beautiful presentation including some standout components

Tight resource system that forces you to stay on your toes

While it is a solitaire-style game, each player is directly affected by choices made by their opponents

Careful planning can build nifty combo opportunities throughout the game

Turns move quickly for seasoned players

 Familiar mechanics aren’t anything new

 Grabbing the more beneficial department tiles can give you an unfair advantage

 Despite a 3rd AI player, the board feels a little loose at 2 players

 While the iconography is pretty good, it takes a couple plays to really familiarize yourself with them

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

Economic, Eurogamers looking for a unique theme and think-y gameplay with quick turns and satisfying results are going to find a lot to like here. Carnegie is an efficiency puzzle, but it doesn’t come across as work. Colorful choices, engaging gameplay and a bright theme masks what could have been another relatively dry euro.

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

The best thing for me are the community/timeline actions. You can plan ahead, but with Carnegie’s tight resource management system and unpredictable opponents, you’re never guaranteed things will play out like you planned.  Carnegie rewards players who not only build a solid, strategic plan, but one that accounts for contingencies.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It took me quite a few plays to fully appreciate Carnegie. This is a game tightly wound where mistakes can be costly, but successful planning can be truly rewarding.

The biggest initial hurdle was learning the iconography (which is well done). There are a number of different icons from department labels to worker activation, project types, map symbols and donation benefits. There is a reference sheet on the back of the rulebook, but it still took me a game and a half to get a good grasp on these. From there it was building a strategy.

Carnegie is truly an efficiency puzzle. Figuring out how to manage your departments in a way to benefit one another, gain resources and plan for the future… all the while building in contingency plans since the timeline actions aren’t going to always trigger at the time and in the order you want them to. You can definitely thank rogue opponents with their independent strategies for this one! But that’s what keeps you on your toes and makes Carnegie so engaging. It’s the layers that force you to think through your approach, consider obstacles and then make the best of it.

As I got more plays under my belt, I could definitely see more optimal approaches that worked best for me, but Carnegie is a game that shifts from game to game (thanks in large part to a variety of setup options from the timeline to new department growth opportunities). There are many different ways to approach the game and I found most to be equally satisfying.

As long as you’re playing with players familiar with the game, the turns go by quickly and the time length is acceptable. There is definitely room for over thinking, so you may want to be careful who you bring along to the table.

While I’m really enjoying Carnegie, I do wonder if I’ll get into a groove where I follow a similar strategy each game. While there is a fun amount of variability, I could see this becoming “same-y” after you’ve seen everything the game has to offer. The mechanics aren’t necessarily unique in their own right, so it could eventually fall into that preference area where choosing Carnegie over something similar depends on our thematic tastes for the night.

My only other criticism was at 2 players. I did enjoy it at 2 players, but I had some issues with the 3rd, mandatory, AI player and the looseness of the board. A 3rd, AI player is used to block random donation goals, limiting your end game scoring opportunities. I can’t think of a better option, but it was frustrating to see my favorite goals tied up before the game began. Additionally, the 2-player board (despite certain building spots blocked prior to the start by the AI) felt a little too loose. Most often 1 player would move out west while the other would start work in the south. This may be the case of just having a limited number of plays, but there never seemed to be too much tension fighting for spots on the board.

Criticisms aside, Carnegie is a very good game that I would highly recommend. If you’re looking for a tight, thematic euro with fun, satisfying decisions, you should definitely give it a look. It took me a minute to get into it, but once I did, I really enjoyed the turns, the planning and exciting finish where players tally up their donation bonuses and you see how you stacked up. Carnegies is one of the better heavy euros of the last few years and one of the best of 2022.

Publisher: Wizkids
Player Count: 1-5 Players
Dedicated Solo mode: Yes
Game Length: 60-120 Minutes
Complexity 2.75/5

In June of 1889, a fire burned through Seattle’s business district. The city quickly rebuilt on the ashes of the previous establishment with sturdy, brick buildings. The result was a boom in population, quickly establishing Seattle as the largest city in the newly admitted state of Washington.

As city planners in this light/medium weight, eurostyle, economic simulation, it’s your responsibility to oversee this rebuild as well as expand the district with buildings, suburbs and iconic landmarks to appease the growing population and make Seattle better than ever. Rebuilding Seattle employs a polyomino tile laying system where you grow your land area and build it upward. Earn income and prestige through multi-use cards that increase the industries quality and reach.

ON YOUR TURN

I’m always game for a good economic simulator and at first glance, Rebuilding Seattle comes across as a toned down, urban version of the contemporary Uwe Rosenburg classic, Feast for Odin. A game I really appreciated, but eventually passed on to someone else thanks in large part to its enormous setup—which is somewhat mirrored here. So while there was plenty of room for optimism, I also had some apprehension when it came to the setup.

The scoring philosophy revolves around finding a balance or synergy between 2 different sets of tracks. The Quality Track gauges the overall quality of the 3 primary industries (entertainment, dining & shopping) while the Amenity Track charts the overall population as well as how each industry is meeting the demand of that population.

The game plays relatively quickly, taking place over 3 rounds, with each round having 4 phases. I found it interesting that while the game looks complex, the rules and rulebook are incredibly simple (despite how convoluted it may sound below).

The majority of the game unfolds in the build phase where you have the opportunity to expand your land area (suburbs) by purchasing a suburb tile and building cards. These building cards are different colors representing 6 different industries (entertainment, dining, shopping, railroad, education and profit [which I assume is some sort of additional investment]). Each building card can be purchased from a market where cards are randomly assigned different costs prior to each round.

Each card provides a polyomino-shaped building tile to place in your district as well as a unique secondary action. These secondary actions do a variety of things including increasing the Quality Track of a specific industry or providing an end-of-round or end-of-game bonus (points or money). Much of the building phases plays out with each player hunting and pecking for the right combination of industry tiles and secondary actions to benefit their strategy.

Players also have the opportunity to enact a law for that round. Laws are unique to each player board and provide a variety of benefit options. You might be able to gain extra cash, but have to lose a point or maybe buy something at a discounted price. These can only be done once per round.

In addition to building, players can activate 1 of 6 event cards that provide bonuses for the active player as well as benefits for all players. It also serves as a timer for the end of the round. One of these benefits is scoring a specific Quality Track. Each Quality Track has a current value. The player receives the benefit (points, money or the opportunity to choose between the 2) depending on the position of that industry in relation to your current population total. Basically, if that industry exceeds the overall population on the Amenity Track you receive the full benefit. Any spots behind the population marker and you subtract that distance from the benefit. With the population increasing each round, it’s tough to keep up and you’re more often only earning a fraction of your Quality Track level’s potential.

At the end of a round, players receive money and points based on certain tiles and end-of-round benefit actions.

At the end of the 3 rounds, the player with the most points (or prestige) is the winner.

SOLO MODE

Rebuilding Seattle has a dedicated solo mode deck that simulates a second player. While it does its best and is super easy to implement, the experience pales in comparison to a real opponent.

ARTWORK & COMPONENTS

The artwork in the game is limited to the cover and a few special landmark tiles. The game is mainly a well organized, yet somewhat underwhelming series of boxes and minimalistic icons. The graphic design does its job to present the game cleanly and clearly, but there really isn’t anything to get too excited about. As far as components go, the majority is totally acceptable… everything but the endless supply of miniature polyomino tiles. This may be just a personal thing, but these tiny tiles are a pain. While they can be a pain when it comes to placing them on the suburb tiles, the real issue is with setup. The game doesn’t come with an insert, but even if it did, I’m not sure if it would help too much here.

PROS & CONS

 Easy to learn & teach

 Plays quickly

 Straight forward actions

 Zero randomness

 Theme doesn’t shine through

 Setup is extensive

 Rulebook feels like it needs another 2-4 pages to flesh everything out a bit more

NEUTRAL

Limited player interaction besides hate drafting and activating events at inconvenient moments

WHY WOULD YOU LIKE THIS GAME?

Fans looking for a lighter-weight, more introductory economic euro are going to appreciate what Rebuilding Seattle has to offer.

BEST THING ABOUT THIS GAME?

The best thing about Rebuilding Seattle is the dual purpose cards. There are a number of different choices available each round and finding the best fits will be the difference between winning and losing.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As with almost any game, Rebuilding Seattle grew on me with more plays. Understanding an effective strategy and what to expect from the cards helped me appreciate the game more.

I stated in the opening that I am a fan of these economic engine builders. These are typically pretty heavy in nature and I appreciate the lighter, more accessibility approach. The actions are pretty straightforward and shouldn’t take you too long to get comfortable developing a strategy.

I had a couple issues with the game and it started with the setup. This may not be a big deal for some, but it definitely put me on the defensive from the get go. It probably isn’t that rough in reality, but I would have hoped for some alternative to sorting and stacking tiny tiles together for 10-15 minutes. Another of the more glaring issues was the theme. While I believe the designer started with the theme and the game evolved over time, it feels completely lost at times. This is certainly a case where theme integration and personality could help elevate a game. The game as a whole is pretty dry with very little ups and downs. Building out your “engine” never feels that exciting and is more of a slow shuffle toward the end. I appreciate the effort to remove luck from the game, but with that comes very little surprises.

The Quality Track scoring is fairly unique and inspired, but still kind of rubs me the wrong way. While the quality level always shows an “optimal” scoring opportunity, I almost never reached the level in regard to the Amenity Track to unlock its full potential. While I was still gaining big rewards at times, I still felt like I was underperforming by having to subtract points or money from the reward. Again, this is a cool idea, but one that never left me feeling satisfied.

All that being said, I really like the idea of a serious, light/medium weight economic builder. Rebuilding Seattle definitely delivers on some of those heavier, economic game ideas by shrinking them down to better fit the style and audience. I love that you can have this experience in 1-2 hours and feel like you’ve tackled something fairly monumental. Being able to look over the city you built at the end of the game and see where you succeeded and failed is actually satisfying no matter which side of the trophy you were on.

It’s not for everyone, but if you love a dry, cube pushing, economic builder and appreciate a more streamlined game with quicker play time, Rebuilding Seattle might be right up your alley. I think it’s a good value and will be a hit with the right audience.

Published by Stronghold Games
Designed by Sydney Engelstein, Jacob Fryxelius & Nick Little
Art by William Bricker, Garret Kaida, Nio Mendoza, Justine Nortje, Naomi Robinson & Andrei Stef
1-4 Players  |  45-60 Minutes

As one of a number of competing interplanetary corporations, your goal is to create a habitable (and profitable) environment on the planet Mars. Investing in programs that promote breathable oxygen, warmer temperatures and life-giving water will guarantee high returns as the terraforming process moves closer to completion. Do you have what it takes to win the race to establish your corporation as the most profitable in the pursuit to establish life on Mars or are you just a terraforming poser?

In Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, players will corporately activate phases which will allow them to build new projects, take special actions, receive production and do additional research. Finding the right combination and balance to your projects is essential for your corporation’s efficiency in this engine building adventure.

ON YOUR TURN

Players begin the game by receiving an asymmetrical corporate identity which provides the player a starting credit/money total along with additional player-specific abilities and a handful of project cards.

The game takes place over a series of turns in which players individually choose to activate 1 of 5 unique phases. When activated, each phase allows ALL players to perform a specific action with the activator earning a bonus. If multiple players activate the same phase, they still only get to perform that phase’s action once each.

So what are these phases and what do they do? The phases dictate things like which project cards can be built or activated, which actions can be taken as well as resource production and research.

Terraforming Mars is an engine building card game which means every card played has the ability to benefit you on a later turn or provide added benefits (such as extra resources or discounted costs) when paired with a previously played card or series of cards.

There are 2 types of buildable cards in the game. The development cards (activated during the development phase) improve your resource production which in-turn, earns you resources during the production phase. Construction cards (activated during the construction phase) have the potential to earn you bonus actions and reoccurring benefits.

Performing the action phase allows players to activate any card with an action (gaining credits, resources, etc) as well as perform any of the game’s standard actions. These standard actions require players to trade resources in exchange for improving the oxygen level, planet temperature and establishing oceans. The pursuit of these 3 areas not only trigger end of game conditions, but also provide players higher terraforming ratings (which contribute to your credit production as well as points at the end of the game).

Players may also take the production phase which earns you money and resources based on your company’s current production totals or activate the research phase which gives you the ability to draw additional project cards.

Once the end of game requirements are triggered, players add up their victory points and a winner is declared.

PLAYER COUNT

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition plays 1-4 players. The solo mode gives you a limited number of turns to meet certain objectives, but the gameplay doesn’t really change. I actually really enjoy the solo mode here because it’s so easy to get into and there isn’t a ton of added upkeep to bog down your play.

I don’t really see too many differences in any of the player counts. More players leads to a slightly longer game, but since you’re encouraged to resolve each phase simultaneously, the turns go by pretty quickly for groups who know what they’re doing.

There’s also a co-op mode where 2 players play together, but again, the rules stay pretty similar.

This game seems to definitely maintain its integrity at any of the player counts.

COMPONENTS AND ARTWORK

I am reviewing the deluxe edition of the game so your copy may vary when it comes to components.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the components. The duel-layer production boards are nice. They hold your resource cubes nicely in place and there is enough room for everything you collect. While I appreciate the game board being smaller (which equals to the game box being smaller), it isn’t quite big enough for everything that goes on. The ocean tiles are easy to knock around because they’re in such close proximity and the tracks don’t really provide enough space for all the cube action. This hasn’t ruined my enjoyment of the game, but it is kind of annoying.

The cards all have a nice finish and feel great in your hands. There’s also 2 cube trays that are a lifesaver. Since you’re moving so many cubes around during the game it’s so nice to have these plastic trays to keep things organized. They also benefit a ton when it comes to setup and cleanup – huge bonus points!

The artwork is really good here. Each card features unique artwork and it’s all really well done. The graphic design throughout is ok, but it’s colorful and tech-y and it gets the job done.

Outside of the small-ish game board, my only complaint is that the red cards look pretty orange. Not a huge deal – but it did throw me off at first.

Finally, the rulebook is both good and bad. It definitely gets the job done and I appreciate that they clearly separated each individual phase. That being said, it’s a little half baked and I feel they could have cleaned it up just a tad to make it less wordy and more visually helpful.

MY THOUGHTS

I couldn’t be happier with Terraforming Mars: Area Expedition. I really love almost everything about this. I’ve avoided comparing this to the original board game up to this point, but some of my excitement exists in how well it compares to the original.

The gameplay is really quick and smooth here. Each round is triggered when players all simultaneously choose their phase—it’s really simple and clear. And then all players simultaneously resolve each phase together. In a game about efficiency, I love the efficiency built into the game’s process.

The strategy here is awesome! There are over 200 project cards in the deck, they’re all unique, and all clearly communicate its benefits in both icon and written form. I’m not sure if I’ve played every single one of them yet, but I just expected a couple to lead to some debate… has not happened. With so many cards, every game is going to require some variance to your strategy. Every one of my games has been dictated by that game’s unique card draw which means you have to stay on your toes. I LOVE how the cards interact. The engine-building aspect is done really well here. Master TM crafters are going to be able to chain cards together in really exciting and fun ways.

There is also a nice amount of depth to the gameplay. There is a lot of luck when drawing cards, but being able to make the most of the cards available and turn them into productive pieces of your corporation requires a good amount of finesse and can be really satisfying. Wise players should still be able to stay competitive even with the luck factor working against them by creating an engine that cycles a ton of cards through their hands.

If you’re looking for player interaction… you’re not going to find it here. This is essentially a solitaire experience where the only engagement depends on card requirements relating to global achievements (how many ocean tiles have been turned over, etc.). That hasn’t stopped me from enjoying it when playing with other players, but interaction in euro games doesn’t mean that much to me to begin with.

There are some minor production issues with the board, but I really like the size of this game. It’s compact and the storage seems to be really well thought out. So I’m willing to compromise on those minor issues to keep my nice, tight Terraforming Mars package.

FINAL TAKE

I’m a huge fan of this edition of Terraforming Mars. While it doesn’t do everything the original board game does—it does more than enough and even adds a fun element with the phase selection.

I have had some resistance to this strictly based on the theme. This is pretty hardcore sci-fi theme, but it’s done in a very logical, realistic way. I suppose the theme could turn you off, but the game play, for me, really transcends the theme.

I’ve never been a super fan of Terraforming Mars, but I’ve always enjoyed the game. With this new edition, the quick setup, accessibility and shorter game length makes this something that’s going to get regular time at the table. In fact, I’ll probably end up selling my old version of the game. Whether it’s in a group or solo, this is a game that hits a lot of the right notes for me. So if you’re looking for a deeper engine-builder that’s quick paced and think-y… I don’t really think you can go wrong with Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition.