If you really want to create the most advanced city on the planet, you will have to have perfect balance among the 3 regions – only then can you succeed. Use the elements to the best of your abilities and complete the best projects in order to propel yourself ahead of the other entrepreneurs. We’d better get started!

What Is It?

Action Points – Players must do 3 actions per turn in any combination of drawing new project cards or placing one element on a region from an adjacent factory.

Pattern Building – To complete features and score points, players need to group elements in certain patterns (any feature can be created in any region). Players also want to try and create clusters of their own color for additional end-game scoring (1 point per element in their largest cluster in each region – to be added to the region’s base score).

Shared Board – Players are trying to complete patterns on their cards, but all players will play elements to all 3 regions, so they must be able to adjust their strategy quickly, based on how the board state changes.

Hand Management – While any project can be in any region, players can only play a project card if it is a different type from the last project played in that region, so they have to stay aware so that they aren’t being blocked out of finishing their cards.

Who Is It For?

  • 2 to 4 Players – I thought it worked well at any count. Of course, the board is tighter at 4, but I thought it was interesting how the different player counts affected how players placed elements, and which projects they chose to complete
  • Ages 12 & Up – Gameplay is fairly straightforward, since you only have 2 actions to choose from, but there’s definitely some strategy in planning out your projects, and skill in being able to reevaluate quickly as the board changes, so you can pivot that strategy
  • Fans of pattern building and/or puzzley multi-player games
  • Players who don’t get frustrated when their plans are messed with between their turns, and can adjust well to the new board state

PROS

  • Aesthetics – Vibrant colors, nice art
  • Components – Fine cards/cardboard, but I love the element tokens, they have a really nice feel/weight, definitely feel like a “deluxe” component
  • Scales well at any count
  • Game Length – Some turns can be longer if players need to reevaluate things, but overall, the game moves smoothly and quickly
  • Rules – Well-written and clear
  • I really like that it does not cost an action to play/score a project card, I think it just helps your actions stay meaningful throughout the game
  • I like that you can use bonus tokens during the game or save them for points a the end; the abilities are handy, but 3 points is also decent, so it is a tricky decision at times
  • I really like how scoring works – score your highest region, 2nd highest, and then 3x your lowest. Even though it can be difficult, the game is all about balance, so it just works well
    • I also like that the clusters add to your base score in the regions, so players have to keep that in mind when evaluating what patterns to play where
  • Since you’re always looking for places you can play your patterns, you remain invested on every turn

CONS

  • Theme – It definitely felt more abstract to me, I didn’t really get a strong sense of theme
  • The board can change a lot between turns, particularly at 4, so it can sometimes feel like you are continually blocked out of your patterns
    • Similarly, if you aren’t able to get a lot of cards with groupings of your color, it can feel like you have no control over your clusters, and it may be hard to score well on those
  • I wish the bonus token actions were listed on the back of the player card instead of only on the back of the rule book

Final Thoughts

I was nervous about the balanced scoring feature going into this, because I think it can often be difficult or even frustrating, but I think it worked really well here, so I was pleasantly surprised! I liked having to move to different regions when finishing patterns in order to keep your scores as consistent as possible. It made for a nice strategic experience since you couldn’t rely on just going back to the region with the most stuff, the game forces you to spread out, which is nice.

If you don’t like a shared board where your plans are sure to be messed up between turns, you definitely want to avoid the 4 player game. The 2 player game is much more open, but you may still be blocked occasionally.

If you like pattern building, this is one you just have to check out!

Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 7.5/10

Designers – Orlando Sá, André Santos
Artist – Tiago Lobo Pimentel
Publisher – Arcane Wonders
MSRP – $49.99
Website

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

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