Name: London
Designer: Martin Wallace
# of Players: 2-4
Playtime: 90 minutes
MSRP: $65.99 CDN
Link to Rules
Synopsis: Rebuild the city of London after the Great Fire of 1666! You will take control of the various aspects of the city (economic, political, scientific) to try to build the most efficient and profitable city you can without causing too much poverty! The person who can do this the best will be declared the victor.
This card-driven game by Martin Wallace allows players to recreate the rebuilding of the London by using an elegant card driven mechanic which Tim has already covered marvelously in his teaching tutorial. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend giving it a look.
London is surprisingly thematic, approachable and easy to learn, especially considering Wallace's propensity for designing deep games with somewhat obtuse rulesets. Not so with this gem. And yet, there's an amazing amount of depth to the game. While you're constantly balancing the need to get cards, or play down buildings, or run your city to generate points and money, you always get a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Ultimately, that's the hook that keeps me coming back for more: trying to get my city to run as efficiently as I can.
As an introduction to mid-weight games, and to Martin Wallace games in general, I would highly recommend London. It's a game I'm always willing to play and definitely in my Top 5 from 2010.
Jasen
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