Machi Koro 2: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Dice Rolling, Engine Building
Age: 10+Player Count: 2 - 5 PlayersTime to Play: 45 Minutes
Game Designer: Masao SuganumaGame Artist: Noboru Hotta, Masao SuganumaPublisher: Pandasaurus GamesYear Published: 2021BGG Weight: 1.44Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.
Game Designer: Masao Suganuma
Introduction:
Machi Koro 2 is a standalone sequel to Machi Koro that mixes up the gameplay of the original. In this game, you are gaining establishments to create engines and combos for when certain dice values are rolled. Once a player has earned enough money they can build a landmark. If a player builds three landmarks they win the game.
Game Anatomy:
Dice:
On a given turn players can choose between rolling one or two dice, making certain outcomes possible or more likely.
Establishments:
Each establishment has; a symbol on the top left that some cards will use to build combos, die/dice value(s) on the top of the card which will determine when the card will activate, a cost on the bottom left, and an ability.
There are two establishment decks; one numbered 1-6 and based on a one-die roll, and one numbered 7-12 which is based on a two-dice roll. These cards will come in four colours; blue establishments that are activated on any turn, green and purple that will only activate on your turn, and red that will activate only on opponent’s turns.
Landmarks:
Landmarks don't activate when dice are rolled (like establishments do), instead, they will award the player an effect and help them to win the game. The landmarks have three costs. This cost will be based on whether it is a player’s first, second or third landmark, starting with the cheaper cost on the left.
Setup:
Game Setup:
- Sort the cards into three decks based on the back of the cards. Shuffle each deck separately.
- Reveal cards in a row next to their deck. If any of these cards are duplicates, stack them onto the identical card and keep revealing until each row has five unique cards.
- Give each player five coins and put the rest aside into a bank pile.
- Carry out three building rounds.
Initial Building Round:
These rounds occur so players can build out some opportunities for when the dice are rolled. Taking turns, each player can spend their money to buy one establishment card. That row will then be refreshed back to five unique cards. This will occur for three rounds.
How to Play:
Each turn is fairly concise. A player will roll the dice, earn income, and build. This will continue until a player wins the game by building their third landmark. These three phases are Roll Dice, Earn Income, Build.
Roll Dice:
This is where you try to plan your luck. You can either roll one die, hoping for a particular result between 1-6 or increase your range and hope for larger numbers by rolling two dice.
Earn Income:
Based on the establishments that activate, you will receive the corresponding income. The part to note is the activation order because this can affect people stealing your income or combos. The activation order for the cards is red, blue/green, purple and then landmarks.
Build:
In this phase, you can only build one card by paying its cost, then you will refresh the card row. If you used all your money last turn and didn't gain an income, you will now gain one coin for free which can be used immediately to build.
Final Thoughts:
- I enjoy rows of cards to buy from instead of a static group of cards.
- Quick turns and game.
- The purple and red cards have a lot of negative player interaction, stealing coins or establishments from each other.
I still don't know the proper mechanical term for this engine-building type of game but I also loved this concept in Valeria and Space Base. Machi Koro 2 has a different feel than those games as it is focused more on the race to victory. Each turn you can select the kind of numbers you want to build, where you want to focus on slowing your opponents or simply going for your engine. Engines come from either stacking high on one number or creating an even flow of multiple outcomes. One part I particularly enjoy is the dice control. If your opponent is focusing on high numbers you can instead roll one die, creating better odds for yourself and ensuring their red and blue cards won’t activate. Currently, there aren't enough games using this mechanic so I encourage the play of all games that do. If you also like this mechanic but are looking for more of a family weight game with constant player interaction and a fast playtime, Machi Koro 2 is one to try.
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