Card City XL

EvEvanstar5,9

This is a delightful I split you choose game. The active player takes cards, and then splits them into piles of half faceup and half facedown cards. The other players then get to select the pile they want, and then add those cards to their city. During the placement phase there are tight rules defining what can be placed where, but then if you built well, your building chains will grow if their growth requirements are met, getting you free cards, and increasing your ability to score. Playing the original version of this game unlocked my brain's excitement and love for Town Center, which has very similar rules but a 3-d aspect. I'm so happy the designer looped back around to Card City for this new version, adding many super exciting new modes of play to spice up a game that was far too basic in it's original version. If you want to play Town Center or Small City, I highly recommend picking this game up and giving it a play. It's not only a good teaching tool for those games, this version makes it a solid game unto itself. ★ Art, Iconography and components functional ★ Clever or interesting mechanisms ★ Reasonably low downtime between turns with mildly AP players ☆ Multiple plays stay interesting ★ Low or mitigatable luck elements ★★★☆☆ Raw enjoyment