City of the Living

2013 · Economic

City of the Living

Players lead rival post-collapse city-states, rebuilding territory while fending off undead threats and managing environmental costs. Gameplay cycles through decades as players draw tiles that trigger shared effects (energy, ecology, capital, research, prosperity) and then take two actions: gain money, reduce pollution, advance research, or purchase infrastructure tiles. Tiles slot onto personal boards with color-coded placement limits and can cover older tiles at the cost of losing their effects. Research levels lower purchase costs and unlock forward development, but industry and transport choices increase pollution, which can limit scoring. Endgame scores combine research, energy, ecology, capital, and prosperity to determine the best leader.

Players
2–4 best 3
Playing time
60 min
Age
13+
Complexity
2.5 / 5
5.1 on Ludoyafrom $28.99EnvironmentalTile PlacementIncomeTrack Movement

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Full stats in Ludoya
38
Plays logged
44
Players
1h 15m
Average play
9
In collections
1
On wishlists

5.1/10

from 7 Ludoya reviews

  • Evan3.5

    I loved this game after my first play of it, over a year ago. Returning to it, the shine is gone. The game has some things going for it. I like how you need to manage the two technology branches to get your board's resources to balance. I like how you want to manage your pollution levels. Trying to time your build actions to catch the next semi-predictable event is also a lot of fun. The problem is the game has a little too much flip luck, not enough players can do to catch up when flip-luck kicks them in the balls, long downtime between turns, and poor graphic design. This is solidly in the ok but not great camp.

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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.