Atlantis Rising

Today's review is of the 2019 release, Atlantis Rising (second edition). For 1-7 players, it takes 1-2 hours. 

Overview

The ancient gods are furious that the Atlanteans have abandoned the old ways and embraced technology. As the gods pummel the island to systematically sink it, you and the other councillors (players) have one goal: save the inhabitants before the island sinks. To do this, you work cooperatively to place workers to gather resources to build 9 components and a power core to turn on a cosmic gate and allow everyone to escape to a faraway land. But can you do it in time?

In Atlantis Rising, there are six peninsulas, each with six segments. Three peninsulas are 'wild,' granting resources (gold, crystal, or ore) to those players who place workers there and roll the required number on the dice. The other three:

• forges, enabling a player to turn ore to Atlantium, a substance you'll need to build the components.
• libraries, enabling a player to draw cards with powerful one-time or permanent effects.
• cities, enabling a player to recruit more workers to play in future turns.

the peninsulas and come components; image from here

Each turn, perform the following actions:

1. Place Atlanteans
• Place your workers on free spaces on peninsulas of your choice.
2. Suffer Misfortunes
• Draw one misfortune card for each player. Most cards flood a given peninsula; when that happens, flip over the segment of that peninsula furthest from the center that is not yet flooded, removing any workers on that segment.
3. Take Actions
• Each worker that survived then performs its action, be it rolling a die in an attempt to gather resources, drawing library cards, recruiting more workers, or forging Atlantium
4. Endure Wrath Of The Gods
• Flip over segments (players' choice) corresponding to the number on the wrath of the gods track (0-3)

For phases 1 and 3, players perform their actions at the same time. This is a cooperative game, so all are free to discuss their actions or debate when there is a conflict. The first player (which rotates clockwise each turn) makes the final decision should players be at an impasse. 

The game ends when everything floods (losing the game) or players can build the cosmic gate to escape.

Review

This is a good game. We played a 6-player game, and it seemed brutally difficult, but we eked out a victory. This is essentially a worker placement game, and it's done well. It seems like a lot of rules, but it's pretty straightforward once you play a round or two. The misfortune cards can be crazy; I'm shocked we won. But it made the victory more satisfying. This is the rare strategy game that is better (I think) with more people and doesn't take forever, as players perform many actions simultaneously. Finally, replayability is high, as it comes with 10 councillors (each with their own special ability) and many more components than the 9 needed for a given game. Highly recommended.

Rating: A