As somebody who finds pleasure in journey and the power of city landscapes—whether or not exploring large cities for arts and tradition or strolls via city parks—Cities felt like a pure choose. This board recreation invitations gamers to think about themselves as neighborhood planners, shaping the structure of main metropolises like New York, Lisbon, and Sydney whereas chasing numerous objectives and maximizing effectivity. I’m additionally a puzzle fan at coronary heart, so a recreation that gives layered scoring and strategic placement will all the time catch my eye.
Cities, designed by Steve Finn and Phil Walker-Harding and revealed by Devir Video games, positions itself as a medium-weight recreation that’s simple to get to the desk. With art work by Jorge Tabanera, the query turns into: how nicely does Cities ship on theme, technique, and participant expertise?
Gameplay Overview:
In Cities, gamers tackle the function of city builders constructing out their very own neighborhood in a significant metropolis. The sport’s core mechanics revolve round tile-laying and employee placement, making a system that feels acquainted. Every recreation options distinctive objectives tied to the chosen metropolis—New York, for instance, rewards gamers for prioritizing park area or constructing lengthy blocks of steady buildings. Mexico Metropolis rewards a number of small buildings in homage to its historic middle, whereas Venice prizes end-to-end water like its iconic canals.
The sport is performed over 8 rounds (4 if taking part in with 2 gamers), with gamers gathering assets and inserting tiles or metropolis options onto their private neighborhoods. A number of scoring alternatives come up all through, and far of the endgame hinges on the participant’s capacity to handle each city-specific and particular person goals. Fairly than following a single path to victory, gamers should stability instant features with long-term technique, adapting their method based mostly on the particular neighborhood they’re growing. The sport may be accomplished in underneath an hour as soon as gamers are accustomed to the principles.
Sport Expertise
Essentially the most charming a part of Cities is its promise of discovery. Every metropolis board is vibrant, colourful, and visually distinct. Jorge Tabanera’s art work instantly attracts the attention, creating metropolis boards that really feel inviting and distinctive. That mentioned, the general board can really feel a little bit too “busy.” There’s a visible overload at instances that makes it more durable to shortly parse your choices, particularly for newer gamers. Then once more, maybe it’s a mirrored image of the massive cities themselves.
Theme-wise, the connection between mechanics and city-building is current, however it doesn’t all the time really feel cohesive. You’ll be able to see what the designers have been going for—every metropolis having particular objectives tied to its real-world identification—however the precise mechanics don’t all the time reinforce the sensation of constructing a residing, respiratory metropolis. The theme is extra of a body than a full immersion, offering sufficient context to make choices really feel significant with out creating true city planning immersion.
Strategically, the sport provides a stable stability of sunshine planning and tactical adjustment. Planning forward for the top recreation factors which are each identified in the beginning and as play develops units up win situations for gamers more proficient at each long-term technique and turn-by-turn pivots. There may be, nevertheless, a noticeable benefit for many who are naturally expert at this fashion of play. In my gaming teams, I do know precisely who has the benefit, and that predictability makes it barely much less satisfying for the remainder of us. Think about the way you may handle this when taking part in with a combined group of informal and extra critical players.
Luck performs a modest function—sufficient to maintain issues fascinating with out making the sport really feel arbitrary. Useful resource shortage ramps up pressure in greater participant counts, as extra folks compete for a similar goals and tracks. However in two-player video games, this pressure softens significantly, giving room for extra informal, heads-down play or pleasant competitors, relying on the group’s vibe. The abundance of decisions with out corresponding shortage could make choices really feel much less consequential in smaller participant counts.
The aggressive nature of Cities feels oblique. Whereas gamers are definitely competing for assets and sometimes defensive approaches might assist arrange a win, the sport avoids the aggressive confrontation that characterizes many strategic video games. This makes it a superb selection for teams that desire strategic depth with out cutthroat competitors.
On the finish of the sport, the victory level monitor feels redundant; a job which may simply be achieved with pen and paper. I’ve not performed a recreation but the place no less than one in every of us didn’t lap the board.
Cities doesn’t fairly obtain the cohesive excellence that will make it essential addition to any assortment. I’m glad to have it in my assortment, however I discover myself pondering it’s a recreation that will be equally at residence on another person’s shelf or accessible for pickup play throughout open gaming periods.
Remaining Ideas:
It’s a enjoyable, approachable recreation that slots properly into an informal recreation evening lineup and succeeds in its modest ambitions whereas revealing some limitations that stop it from attaining greatness.
For gamers looking for an approachable city-building expertise that doesn’t outstay its welcome, Cities delivers precisely what it guarantees. It might not revolutionize the style, however it gives a stable, satisfying expertise that can enchantment to a broad vary of gamers who admire puzzles and city-themed technique video games while not having deeply immersive mechanics.
Remaining Rating: 3.5 Stars – enjoyable and approachable bridge recreation delivering gentle strategic puzzle expertise.
Hits:
• Pleasant competitors with out aggressive battle
• A number of cities present variable objectives and wonderful replayability
• Accessible gameplay that’s simple to show and study
Misses:
• Victory level monitor feels redundant
• Sure gamers might dominate persistently as a consequence of puzzle-solving benefit
• Restricted long-term strategic depth in comparison with heavier alternate options
