City planners wanted! It’s time to shake things up in order to design the best block and help this thriving city continue to grow. Only one can be dubbed the very best city planner around – will it be you?

What Is It?

A tile placement game where players are building out their city with various building tiles. Each turn, the cube shaker and shaken, and a grid of cubes is revealed. Then, players select their building type, and must place it in the same pattern that it came out in – the first player each round has 1st choice, and no other player can select the same color as them. All other players are free to select any color they want.

Each building type has a unique way to score points, so players must be strategic in how they place their tiles, planning for that end game. Players are also trying to fill their grid to score the bonus tiles for having full rows/columns, or having a certain number of a specific type of building in particular rows/columns. After 15 rounds, players score all their tiles, and the player with the most points wins!

Who Is It For?

  • 2 -4 Players – Scales well for any count
  • Ages 12+ – Rules aren’t too complicated, but more in-experienced players may need some help with the scoring
  • Fans of tile laying + pattern building and various ways to score
  • Anyone who likes a fun shaker component!

PROS

  • Aesthetics – looks good on the table, good graphic design
  • Flow – game plays smoothly, turns are quick
  • Rules – well-written, great example images included
  • Lots of opportunities for scoring; can try different strategies each game
  • Cube shaker is a super fun way to randomize the cubes each round, and it works well
  • Number of rounds accounts for all player counts to give equal 1st player turns with power of 1st choice
  • 2 different board add some variety as well

CONS

  • If you’re bad with cardinal direction, set up might be confusing for you. The rules do explain it pretty well, but just be sure to pay attention to ensure all board are facing the same way

Final Thoughts

I thought that this game was super neat! Sure, the cube shaker is a bit silly, but it adds a cute feature to the game that’s way more fun and interesting than just pulling cubes from a bag, for example.

It has a fun, puzzley element to it, trying to figure out your best choice each turn since you might need certain building types, but you also need certain patterns to fill in your gaps, and, of course, you’re always trying to look for your best scoring options. But even though it’s sort of thought-provoking in that way, turns are quick and it doesn’t bog gameplay down.

I definitely recommend this one!

Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 7/10

Designers – Mads Fløe, Kåre Torndahl Kjær
Artist – Olga Kim
Publisher – Alderac Entertainment Group
Kickstarter – November 29th to December 16th

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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