Overview
You are an architect building a neighborhood in 1950s America. Your job is to add pools, parks, fences, and assign house numbers in the most productive and pleasing way possible. But going against up to 99 other players, you'd better have your house(s) in order if you hope to have the most points at the end.
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| example 5-player game; image from here |
Each round, you will assign house numbers (and do other things, as summarized below). To assign a house number, you must choose a home on one of the three streets in your town and place the number on its roof. Here's the kicker, though—house numbers must ascend on each street. They needn't be consecutive (you can have 1, 2, 5, 8, for example), but they must be sequential (so no 4, 2, 8).
This game is played by all players simultaneously. Each 'round,' you will have a choice of three number-and-symbol pairs. Pick one, assigning the number to an eligible house, and using the symbol as directed by the game. The symbols are:
- pool: if you just assigned a house number to a property with a pool, circle the pool and cross out the lowest-numbered pool symbol at the bottom of your paper
- park: choose the street where you just assigned the house number and cross out the lowest-numbered tree symbol on it
- surveyor: build a fence anywhere on your board; it need not be adjacent to the house number you just assigned
- realtor: choose a column with estate sizes [a set of houses enclosed by a fence] at the bottom of your paper and cross out the lowest number on it. (At the end of the game, you will get points based on how many estates you have of that size, so this will influence where you build fences.)
- temp agency: add or subtract 1 from your current number, and then assign that number to an eligible house. Cross off the lowest corresponding symbol on the bottom of the paper.
- BIS: duplicate a house number already assigned on a street. This new number must be assigned to a house directly adjacent to the one duplicated. Cross off the lowest corresponding symbol on the bottom of the paper.
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| example scorecard; image from here |
If, in a given round, you cannot assign a house number, you fill in a spot on the bottom of the paper as indicated in the rules, and if this happens to any player three times, the game ends and final scores are tallied. Highest score wins!
Review
A "roll & write"-style game, this was my first experience of the genre. It was decent. I like the simultaneous play and general concept. There are two meaningful decisions here: which number/symbol pair to choose each round, and which house to assign the chosen number. The latter decision diminishes as the game progresses and your streets fill with numbered homes, which then affects the former decision. So the game 'constricts' as you progress and locks you in to certain choices. Thus, I felt the late-game anticlimactic, but it is okay overall.
Rating: B
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