Cities: Skylines – The Board Game

Hey everyone! Ever thought about being the mayor of a city and dealing with all the struggles and glories of building a metropolis from scratch? Cities: Skylines – The Board Game puts you on that mission, but with a special twist: it's a cooperative game, based on the famous computer game by Paradox Interactive. That means you and your friends will work your butts off together to make the city thrive!

We start with a few empty land boards, and the goal is to complete important milestones and, of course, keep the population happy. With each new milestone, an additional board is added, flipping from its 'nature' side to its 'developed' side – time to get to work! Each player has cards showing what they can build, and the key to success is communication: plan together where to place each piece, as buildings have varied effects on the city. A park might give bonuses, but an industry could increase the need for garbage collection or crime. Cardboard tiles represent the different types of construction – residential, commercial, industrial – and come in varied shapes (hello, polyominoes!), which you fit onto the grid of the developed boards.

When a milestone is reached, you choose which new board to buy to expand, tally your current happiness, and move on to the next challenge. The game ends when the last milestone is completed, and the final score is the sum of accumulated happiness. Oh, and there's a single city treasury for everyone, so managing money is crucial. Run out of cash? It's bankruptcy for sure and game over! The game comes with a series of scenarios that teach you the rules step-by-step, introducing new elements like News, Unique buildings, Policies, and Roles, ensuring that each game is a different experience full of new challenges.