Game Overview
Light city and tableau builder. Purchase businesses to improve your infrastructure & product offerings. Earn income from these buildings based on special effects on die rolls. Save up to buy landmarks. First to 3 landmarks wins!
Board Game Scores & Ranks:
- BGG Weight: 2.50
- Play Time: 45 Mins
- Player Count: 2-5 players
- Year Published: 2021
Board Game Designer:
- Masao Saganuma
Gameplay:
Purchase cards to build your city, be the first to buy three landmarks and you win. Landmarks get more expensive the more you own (i.e. you own one landmark you pay the first cost, two landmarks the second cost, etc.). Your cards generate income based on die rolls either on your turn, opponents’ turns or all player turns. There is an option to roll one or two dice, allowing players to focus early game on cheaper cards in the 1-6 pip market or go with two dice for all cards from 1 – 12. Many cards work in conjunction with one another providing powerful combinations.
Theme & Components:
The artwork, from the box to rulebook to cards showcases a variety of Japanese businesses. Winery (hello Yamanashi Prefecture), check! Sushi Restaurant & Flower Garden, check!
Replayability Review
The dice make this game very replayable, as does the revolving market. There is also enough variety in the business types, when income is collected and card effects to try out a number of different combos.
For a lighter game, we feel that there is enough going on to keep both beginning and ‘gamer types’ happy for multiple plays. A pleasant surprise for us!
Who is this game for?
The bright colour scheme and art style makes this easy to get to the table, as well as the quick set-up and 20-30 min play time for 2 player (longer with more players).
Machi Koro 2 contains enough interactive elements, yet a simple enough ruleset to be considered a gateway board game, yet has enough going on for ‘gamers’.
You can play nice (ie earn income on die rolls) or semi-mean (take money from other players on their turn).