2 Games for A New Collection: “My City” & “Pictures” Reviewed
Pictures is a game that I’ve compared to a game like Apples to Apples. A great group game that is easy to learn and has great conversation around the table. My City is a “cozy” 2 to 4 player tile laying game that will find players quietly studying their board in an attempt to build out their “city.” Fans of Carcassonne or Isle of Cats might like this game. Both are award winning games that use very different mechanics to deliver a fun experience.
As the collection of game starts to grow, I want to expand the types of games you have. – I changed the scope of what I was looking for as opposed to the previous two games I highlighted. Those qualities are:
- Deduction
- Family
- Shared Experience
Pictures
- 3 to 5 Players (Best 5)
- Deduction/Pattern Recognition
- Ages 7+
- ~45 Min Play Time
- 1.5 Difficulty
- 2020 Spiel des Jahres Winner
- 2021 MinD-Spielepreis Short Game Winner
- 2022 Gra Roku Best Party Game Winner
What is it?
I have talked about this game before, most notably comparing it to a game like Apples to Apples to a certain extent.
Picture has become one of my go to games when I’m playing with another family that has some kids that might (or might not) want to play as well.
The game at its core is creative interpretation. Each round a player will receive a new set of materials to attempt to reconstruct/represent one of several pictures on the board. Now these aren’t your typical artistic materials – players will be tasked to use blocks, cubes, rocks and/or shoe laces to use to try and guide their representation to one of the photos on the grid.
Everyone is simultaneously working out their representations. Players will be drawing (no pun intended) out coordinates from a bag which tell them which picture they need to represent.
What a turn is like
A turn is trying to figure out how you can turn some random blocks, or string, or cubes into something that at least resembles what is in the grid that you’ve drawn to represent. At first it seems absolutely impossible, an exercise in futility – and then something happens. Something triggers in your brain to where you can see if you arrange the blocks in such and such way, or the colors of the cubes do seem to match up a bit, or some other connection is made. Something does seem to click – almost every time. Suddenly you find yourself using your creative side of the brain to come closer than yo ever thought possible to represent the picture you have been tasked with.
Meanwhile you are listening to everyone else bemoan how hard they have it as well, until they find their Eureka moment. It is generally a lot of laughs and appreciation of what the other person is enduring. After everyone has their representation completed, people will try and guess which picture each person was trying to recreate and then score accordingly.
Why I picked it
- Deduction – Pictures offers a chance to play a game that isn’t a race to the, or player elimination, or a victory point track. It offers a chance to use your creative side of your brain and attempt to deduce what other players have created that comes close to a picture in the middle.
- Family – Easily one of my top 10 family games. Pictures entry to barrier is quite low. There is no reading, so kids very young can get into the game. Younger one may struggle trying to get their representation just right, but there is no time limit each turn, so that level of stress is reduced. It is also one of our favorites to play at Thanksgiving or Christmas – the rules are so light it can get into action right away with other family members that don’t play alot of games.
- Shared Experience – Everyone will get a chance to try and represent a picture with two shoelaces, or some cubes, or random pictures. It is fun to see who other players use those tools to create pictures. You can easily relate with their struggles or appreciate their creativity because you’ve experienced it too.
Another point of view:
Bryan- The Dice Tower
My City
- 2 – 4 Player (Best 2)
- Tile Laying – Legacy
- Ages 8+
- 30 Min Play Time
- 2.00 Difficulty
- 2020 Board Game Quest Awards Best Family Game Nominee
- 2021 Årets Spel Best Family Game Winner
- 2021 American Tabletop Strategy Games Recommended
- 2021 International Gamers Award Two-player Winner
My City has us once again looking at a game designed by Reiner Knizia. The man is brilliant! I listen to a podcast called Board Game Barrage, and they constantly refer to him as: “the only true and living doctor.” I don’t know why, but it always makes me laugh. Anyway My City is a legacy game designed . Reiner Knizia in which players choose how to fit polyomino tiles (think Tetris pieces) onto their player board, adapting to the scoring conditions and new rules and that each game in the campaign produces.
what is it?
First and foremost, My City is a tile laying game. That means each turn you’ll be looking to place a drawn tile somewhere on your individual playing board. In a tile laying game you are generally trying to place your tiles in such away to garner you victory points. My City is no different in that respect. Usually in a tile laying game there are specific rules and you need to follow before you can place your tile – again My City follows those standards. What makes My City stand out among other tile laying games is that it is a legacy game. A legacy game is a game that generally follows a specific campaign – multiple games played in a specific order. The outcome of the previous game will have a direct impact on how the next game is played. In addition, a hallmark of a legacy game is that the players are actually physically altering the game components. This could mean destroying component, altering the game board or components, or adding new rules along the way.
It is considered bad form to outline the change that occur in a legacy game to a player that hasn’t played it yet. Half the fun of legacy games is seeing how the game unfolds to you. I won’t divulging that secrets and hope you are able to explore them on your own as well.
What A turn is Like
Each turn you have a tile you will need to place on your individualized playing board. In general you are looking to place the tiles in groups of colors touching each other. You’ll need to navigate “obstacles” on your board such as rivers, rocks, and trees to be successful.
While you and your opponent(s) will start the game with identical player boards – by the end of the first game you’ll already each be on different paths to vicotry.
The game is played as a campaign with multiple scenarios. While the base mechanics of how to play generally remain the same – as the game progresses, and new scenarios are introduced – you’ll be incorporating new scoring conditions and paths to points along the way.
Why I picked It
- Legacy Game – I really think each player at some point should experience a legacy game. They are a fairly recent addition to board gaming culture. Often legacy games can be quite expensive and getting your group together to play them out can be challenging. My City offers an affordable legacy game that still plays great with just two people or even solo.
- Family – Another great family game for the list. While you could play this a solo or two player adventure, this game can also accommodate a family of 4. There is not really any reading to be done once the game scenario is played so very young children can enjoy this game as well. The concepts aren’t so hard that they will exclude younger players, but will still offer enough interesting choices to keep older players interested.
- Shared Experience – One of the cool things about a legacy game is getting to the end of one game, and then collectively finding out what cool new additions will be added to the next. Often this can involve opening new packs of previously hidden components, adding new rules, or receiving special bonuses for your achievements thus far.
If you don’t think this particular legacy game is for you – I would encourage you to seek out others! It really is an exciting and unique experience.
another Point of View
“it is the most fun, most simple game, I’ve played in years. I would be excited at the prospect of teaching this to a table full of nine year olds all the way through a table of like 62 year olds.”
Quinns – Shut Up and Sit Down