Timber Town: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Tile Placement, Variable Setup, Drafting
Player Age: 10+
Player Count: 2 Players
Game Designer: Ryan Boucher
Game Artist: Isabelle Overturf
BGG Weight: 1.80
Publisher: Seabrook Studios, Alley Cat Games
Time to Play: 30 - 45 Minutes
Year Published: 2025
Introduction:
Timber Town is a clever two-player point salad game that has players drafting select tiles to create a thriving town. There are varied scoring possibilities that will be randomised each game so these thriving towns can be as unique as possible. The clever twist to this game is that there is a shifting river board that will be used to draft tiles. Every round the river drops one side of the board and returns to the starting position on the opposite side to be filled with new tiles. When drafting, each player can only place the tile they are drafting into the column that matches in their river below.
Furthermore, any paths found on tiles legally have to connect to existing paths or to the edge of the board when placed. Slowly both of these elements limit the options for players, creating tension as they try to develop their town optimally.
Game Anatomy:
River:
The river will consist of four column tiles, two containing each player's emblem. If a player's emblem is at the first river tile then they are the first player for this round. Each round the furthest tile will shift off the river and return to the start with replacement tiles on that column. Players have to consider how the river is moving to properly gain the tiles they need.
Building Tiles:
There are seven types of building tiles; a red building, a beaver, and 5 coloured (green, purple, yellow, orange and blue).
The 5 coloured building tiles will score based on a randomised scoring card that changes each game. The red building will have the same conditions with each side containing a path and will award the players tokens which can be used as bonus actions throughout the game. The beaver tile will award a player a beaver which is an added element that requires a path at the end of the game. If the player can send the beaver at the end of the game from the left side of their town to the right side through the beaver tile (originated from) they will gain a bonus five points.
Scoring Cards:
Each colour contains four scoring cards that will randomly determine how each building will score at the end of the game.
This is where the layer of variability comes from.
Raft, Crane and Dam Tokens:
When red tiles are placed in a player's town they will gain either a crane, raft or dam token.
During the game any of these tokens can be placed to create a path on a tile, helping players connect their buildings legally or to count as two points if unused at the end of the game. Instead during the game these tokens can be used as different actions. The crane can be used as a free action to place the drafted tile into any column. The dam token allows the player to take an additional tile on a turn. Lastly, the raft can reserve a tile that has no other raft token on it. This takes up a turn but is a free action to activate later on when collecting and placing that tile.
Setup:
- River column tiles will be placed on the board together creating an alternating pattern between the two symbols.
- Shuffle the river tiles together to create three draw piles next to the river then draw three tiles for the starting river column.
- Create the scoring conditions starting with the construction card and the town square, then shuffle and reveal a scoring card for each remaining tile colour.
- Place all remaining tokens within reach of each player.
How to Play:
Timber Town will have both players drafting (normally one tile) from the river one at a time, until one player fills their board. That player will gain the builder beaver which scores five extra points. The other player will continue to take turns until their board is also full. Each round will have the player matching the emblem on the first river tile. After each player has a turn the furthest river tile will be moved to the start of the river whereby pushing the river forward. This discards any tiles on that river tile and three new tiles are drawn. All the other tiles on the other river tiles remain. The emblem will change the starting player per round, meaning players will be taking two turns in a row throughout the game.
On your turn you can take one main action, which is; select a tile, reserve a tile, or pass. Selecting a tile will allow the player to place it on any space within their corresponding column, as long as it can legally be placed by connecting paths to exisiting tiles. A player can reserve a tile using a raft token. Players may want to reserve a tile to let it flow down the river further so it can be placed in a column that better suits the placement. To pass, the player will declare their choice and no action will occur.
As free actions on a player's turn they can use the crane or dam tokens, or place a token on a tile to create a path.
The other free action a player can do is remove an already placed raft token to play that tile in addition to the chosen tile for this turn.
At the end of the game each player will score all of their tile types based on the scoring cards in play. Players will also score 5 points for any beavers they have gained through tiles during the game if they can move the beaver across the grid, passing through the tile that created them. Lastly, whichever player has the builder beaver will score five points and any unused tokens will score one point. Whoever has the most points is the winner.
Final Thoughts:
- The paths are an excellent change, not only are they crucial to placing tiles but they also create a challenge to focus on when it comes to creating a path for the beaver to travel through.
- Decent variability of scoring cards although I would love to see more in the future.
Timber Town is an easy keep game for me. This is the kind of game that is designed as a two player game yet isn't dual focused. Instead it is focused on the puzzle, creating a dynamic town that meets numerous scoring cards. Not only do tiles have to be placed in the same column as the river they are drafted from, they also need the paths to connect to those existing. For a 16 tile board this can lead to a lot of challenging decisions. For fans of point salad games like Tiny Towns, as well as two-player games that aren't focused on player interaction, this is a great game that should be enjoyed by many and has earned a Go-To Golden Game Seal.
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