# Lost Cities

Lost Cities is a board game for 2 players. It plays in 30 minutes and is meant for ages 10 and up. It is rated 6.9 out of 10 by 164 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $28.52 (United States).

- **Players:** 2
- **Playing time:** 30 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 10+
- **Complexity:** 1.5 out of 5
- **Year published:** 1999
- **Categories:** Card Game, Exploration, Number
- **Mechanics:** Hand Management, Push Your Luck, Set Collection, Score-and-Reset Game, Melding and Splaying, Ordering
- **Ludoya rating:** 6.9 out of 10, from 164 reviews
- **Owned by:** 361 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 2,781
- **Unique players:** 690

**Designers:** Reiner Knizia

**Artists:** 李小娜 (LI Xiaona), 徐昀享 (Xu Yunxiang), Vincent Dutrait, Claus Stephan, 杨静雯 (Yang Jingwen), Anke Pohl, 陈杰 (Chen Jie), 郭紫颖 (Guo Ziying), Franz Vohwinkel, Dennis Lohausen, Michaela Kienle, Thilo Rick

**Publishers:** KOSMOS

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ludifolie | 13.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/176-lost-cities-duel.html |
| Spellenhuis | 14.99 € | https://www.spellenhuis.nl/lost-cities-kaartspel |
| Zatu Games | 14.89 £ | https://zatu.com/products/lost-cities-the-card-game |
| Get Your Fun | 19.99 € | https://www.getyourfun.it/043109-lost-cities-das-duell-giochi-per-2-giocatori.html |
| La Gameria | 22.5 € | https://gameria.es/juegos-de-mesa/lost-cities-11652.html |
| Spielezar | 22.9 Fr. | https://www.spielezar.ch/kartenspiele/lost-cities |
| Mono de Juegos | 24.95 € | https://www.monodejuegos.shop/juego-de-mesa/lost-cities/ |
| Nexus | 3495 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/lost-cities/ |
| Midgard Games | 339 kr | https://midgardgames.no/products/lost-cities |

## Expansions

- [Lost Cities: Expedition 6 – The Lost Expedition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/lost-cities-expedition-6-the-lost-expedition)
- [Lost Cities: Milestones](https://www.ludoya.com/games/lost-cities-milestones)

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## Rules questions

### Do I have to play a card on my turn, or can I pass?

You must first place one card from your hand each turn — either add it to one of your columns (start or extend) or discard it to the matching discard pile — and only then may you draw a card (pages 2–3).

### Can I place a card that's lower or equal to the last card in that column?

No — each new card placed in a column must have a higher value than the most recent card you placed in that column (page 3).

### Can I play wager (bet) cards after I've already played a number card in that column?

No — wager cards may only be placed at the beginning of a column, and once you have placed a number card in that column you may no longer play wager cards of that color (page 3).

### If I discard a card, can I immediately take it back by drawing from that discard pile?

No — when drawing you may choose the top card of any discard pile or the draw pile, but you are not allowed to draw the same card you have just discarded (page 3).

### How do wagers and empty-or-wager-only columns score — what happens if I only play wager cards?

Score each column by summing its cards and subtracting 20 expedition costs (no cost if you placed no cards at all); wagers multiply that result (×2/3/4 for 1/2/3 wagers), so a column with only wager(s) (no number cards) has a 0 sum and still incurs the −20 cost which is then multiplied (pages 3–4).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/lost-cities)
- [Lost Cities in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/lost-cities)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/50)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._