# Between Two Cities: Capitals ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2017 - **BGG Rating**: 7.6 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 1-7 (Best with: 5) - **Duration**: 30-35 min - **Weight**: 2.15 / 5 - **Designers**: Ben Rosset, Matthew O'Malley - **Artists**: Agnieszka Dabrowiecka, Beth Sobel, Laura Bevon - **Publishers**: Arclight Games, Ghenos Games, SD Games, Stonemaier Games - **Categories**: City Building, Expansion for Base-game - **Mechanics**: Open Drafting, Set Collection, Simultaneous Action Selection, Tile Placement ## Verdict Loved Between Two Cities and want more? This expansion adds extra spice with new urban planning challenges!More options and complexityIncreased replayabilityNew scoring strategiesSmooth integration with baseRequires the base gameSlightly increases complexityNew rules to learnRECOMMENDED ## Description Hey there, board game enthusiasts! Ready to take your city-building fame to the next level? In Between Two Cities: Capitals, you're no longer just a nobody building a random neighborhood. Now, two capital cities are eyeing you to construct their urban centers! And it's not just about placing a building here and another there. You'll have to deal with the terrain, the demands of the districts, and still satisfy the citizens living there. This expansion supercharges the base game with new challenges: landscape mats that give each city a unique flair, districts that grant bonuses if you connect specific tile types, and civic buildings, which are a special touch – each wanting to be adjacent to certain things and not others. Remember: this gem doesn't run on its own; you NEED the original Between Two Cities game to play. If you enjoy planning, optimizing, and strategically watching your city grow, and want more options and replayability for your favorite game, this expansion is for you! It's the kind of game that makes you think a bit more, but without losing that quick and fun vibe we all love. ## How to Play Game Objective In Between Two Cities: Capitals, you are a renowned architect, sought after by two capitals to build their city centers. Your objective is not only to consider the natural reasons for the cities' founding but also to ensure that civic buildings are well-positioned and satisfy the citizens' aspirations. The game expands the base game by adding new challenges such as landscapes, districts, and civic buildings. Setup Mix all civic building tiles with the building tiles from the base game. Give 1 landscape tile to each city (space between players) with the arrow pointing towards the center of the table. Place the 3 district scoring tiles in the center of the table. Randomly place 2 district cards on top of each of the district scoring tiles (forming 3 pairs of district cards). Discard the seventh district card. EXCEPTION: If any of the pairs is a house-factory pair, discard the second card of that pair and replace it with the seventh district card. Game Flow Refer to the manual for details on this section. Actions and How to Play Drawing Tiles In rounds one and three, each player now draws 9 building tiles to their hand, instead of 7 tiles as in the base game. This creates an extra turn in rounds one and three, meaning each city will have a total of 20 building spaces used during the game instead of the 16 used in the base game. Landscape Tiles Each city's Landscape tile shows a fragment of nature within the city's borders. 5 of the spaces on the landscape tile cannot be built upon. At the end of the game, your city must form a 5x5 grid, instead of 4x4 as in the base game. You cannot place a tile in a position that breaks the 5x5 grid arrangement. The Landscape tile must be completely within the city's 5x5 grid. Remember that the Landscape tile is placed with the arrow pointing towards the center of the table. The first building tile placed in a city must be placed in a free space on a landscape tile. Additional building tiles must be placed adjacent to at least 1 of the previously placed tiles, just like in the base game. BRIDGES: Tiles are considered adjacent when connected by a bridge for tile placement or scoring purposes. For example, if a house and a factory are placed on opposite sides of a bridge, they are considered adjacent. Districts Each pair of district cards is a district that citizens want in their city. There are always 3 districts in each game of Between Two Cities: Capitals. Districts are regions of connected tiles of the same types. A district does not need to have both types of tiles to score. A city only counts its largest district of each type. Civic Buildings Civic buildings score points at the end of the game just like any other building. Each civic building shows two types of tiles that can benefit it when placed adjacent to it, and one type that can harm it when placed adjacent to it. These are different for each type of civic building. End of Game and Scoring Refer to the manual for details on this section. Shop Scoring There have been no changes regarding scoring compared to the base game. Five shops in a row score 18 points (a row of 4 shops scores 16 points and an additional shop scores 2 points). District Scoring Districts score points at the end of the game after individual tiles have been scored. Each District Scoring tile shows the score for that district. For each district type, the city with the largest district of that type scores first place points. The second city with the second largest district of that type scores second place points. A city cannot score both first and second place points for a district type. TIES: If there is a tie for first place of a district type, combine the first and second place points and divide them among the tied cities, rounding down. If there is a 3-way tie for first place, each tied city receives 4 points. If there is a tie for first place, there are no second place points for that district. If there is a tie for second place, the tied cities divide the second place points, rounding down. For example, if there is a two-way tie for a second place that gives 5 points, each tied city will receive 2 points. Civic Building Scoring At the end of the game, check each civic building and score points individually as follows: If it is not adjacent to buildings that benefit or harm it, it scores 1 point. If it is adjacent to only one of the types that benefit it, it scores 3 points. If it is adjacent to both types that benefit it, it scores 6 points. If it is adjacent to the type that harms it, it scores only 1 point, regardless of the other types surrounding it (like 1 factory next to 1 house). When scoring points for a civic building, it does not matter if it is adjacent to multiple of one of the types that benefit it. For example, the Elementary School is only worth 3 points even if it is next to two houses but no park, and 6 points even if it is adjacent to two houses and two parks. House Scoring The presence of civic buildings in a city does not count as an additional tile type for houses. Tips for Winning Remember that each city's boundaries are 5x5 (including the landscape tiles). Plan your city's expansion so that the Landscape tile is completely within the 5x5 grid. When placing civic buildings, try to position them adjacent to the tile types that benefit them and avoid the types that harm them to maximize scoring. Pay attention to the districts being formed in the cities. Try to create the largest district of each type to secure first place points, or at least the second largest for second place points. ## FAQ ### Do I need the base game Between Two Cities to play this expansion? Yes! Between Two Cities: Capitals is an expansion and cannot be played on its own. You need the base game to use the new components and rules. ### How many players can play with the expansion? The expansion maintains the player count of the base game, supporting 1 to 7 players. ### Does the expansion make the game longer or more complicated? It adds more options and a bit more strategic complexity, but the playtime remains similar as the core simultaneous selection and building mechanics stay quick. ### What are the main new components? The expansion introduces landscape mats that define the initial layout, district tiles that offer bonuses for connections, and civic building tiles with adjacency requirements. ### Is this expansion good for hobby beginners? If the person has already played and enjoyed the base game, yes! For someone completely new, it might be better to start with the base game first to understand the core mechanics. ### Does the expansion add a solo mode? Yes, the expansion includes components and rules for a solo mode, utilizing the Automa Factory system. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 3.37 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=7046574&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 13.99 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=4885487&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 16.22 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=1657142&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 16.67 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=3433723&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 16.75 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=2083421&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 20.04 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6912963&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 20.65 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6075581&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 20.97 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=825242&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/20735/between-two-cities-capitals?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com