city building Archives - The Board Game Family

Magnate: The First City board game review

“Welcome to Humbleburg, a sleepy commuter community that has resisted development for years. That is until one fateful city council meeting where everything changed in the blink of an eye. Developers from all over raced to Humbleburg to make their fortunes in this small town. Will you be one of them?”

In Magnate: The First City players take on the role of developers who buy land, develop it, and lease space to tenants. But nothing lasts forever and sooner or later the bubble will burst.

The player who can manage their properties the best and sells at the right time will be victorious.

January 31, 2022 Dane Trimble 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5 players, action selection, area-control, auction, city building, dice, Naylor Games, resource management, solo

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Charterstone Board Game Review

Would you love to build your own little village and watch it grow?

We’re not talking about SimCity here. Instead, we’re talking about Charterstone by Stonemaier Games.

Charterstone is a campaign, legacy game where players compete to win the graces of the Forever King by building a grand village over the course of 12 games.

Since it’s a legacy game, choices players make will permanently alter the game board — making future game options and experiences all unique!

The game was published at the end of 2017 and we finally got a copy and a chance to play this summer. And now we’re ready to share our thoughts about this unique game.

August 23, 2021 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, campaign, city building, legacy, Stonemaier Games, theme

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Starting My Legacy in My City

No two cities are alike.

That’s as true in life as it is when playing My City by Thames & Kosmos.

That’s because players in My City will end up with a unique city every game. And there will be many games played!

And not just because My City is a “legacy” game, but because it’s so easy and fun to play you’ll want to play over and over.

At least, that’s how it is with us.

Let’s see if it’s a board game your family will enjoy too.

November 11, 2020 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, city building, luck, Thames and Kosmos, tile-laying, tiles

Board Games Family Games Game Reviews

Tiny Towns board game review

When you set out to build a City, you think big. When you set out to build a Town, you think a little bit less big.

But we imagine you still wouldn’t think about building a town as small as you do in Tiny Towns.

Tiny Towns is a new board game published by AEG that has players constructing their own towns on little 4×4 grids. The variety of buildings to place in those towns is huge. But the area is small.

You’ll have to make the most of your limited space to cram in as many valuable buildings as you can.

August 16, 2019 Trent 0 Comments 2-player, 3-player, 4-player, 5-player, 6-player, AEG, city building, solo, strategy, variable scoring, variable set up

Machi Koro Bright Lights Big City card game

Board Games Card Games Dice Games Family Games Game Reviews

Machi Koro: Bright Lights, Big City adds a lot more variety to an already fun game

Machi Koro is a family card and dice game where players compete to build their cities to become the largest in the region. Players do this by rolling dice, collecting money, buying Establishments, and building Landmarks in their city. The first player to complete all of their Landmarks wins the game.

The exact same thing can be said for Machi Koro: Bright Lights, Big City.

So why do we like this new game so much more?

We’re happy to tell you why.