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Welcome to Which Game First where we boldly explore the hilariously huge world of board games. Did we unearth any hidden treasures you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out!
First up: We’re trying our hand at urban development one tile at a time in Streets
Next: We show the gods how much our royal blood cares about them in Amen-Re
And lastly: It’s 1830 as we invest our cards in the future of steam engines in Trick of the Rails
Streets
Designed by: Haakon Gaarder
Published by: Sinister Fish Games (2021)
Players: 1 – 5
Ages: 10 & up
Playing time: 30 – 60 minutes
Streets is a hand management and tile placement game where players are investors creating attractive new streets in a growing city, investing in new businesses and homes. Valuations are affected by the other buildings in the street, so smart placement is essential to maximize profit.
Players start with three building tiles in their hand. There are 4 sets (colors) along with wildcards. When a player places a building onto a street, they will receive a number of matching meeples as shown on the bottom edge of the tile. Place the matching people on the tile as well as an ownership marker. Buildings can only be placed in a way that it connects to an existing street, either in line with an existing street, or perpendicular to the existing street. A street can have a maximum of 5 buildings. When a street is closed off by having a perpendicular street on both of its ends, that street then scores. Collect your money and remove any ownership tags on that street. Any meeples on that street will move onto the perpendicular street.
You have limited ownership markers, so be careful about running out of them.
To earn the most money and win the game you need to manage your limited investment funds cleverly, planning ahead while keeping your mind open to fresh opportunities. The city is populated by hipsters, families, shoppers and tourists, each with their own preferred building type. Cleverly located properties can benefit from the growing crowds of people who further increase the value of the buildings they visit.
The player with the most money at the end of the game is the winner, while all other players get kicked to the curb.
Amun-Re: 20th Anniversary Edition
Designed by: Reiner Knizia
Published by: Alley Cat Games (2023)
Players: 2 – 5
Ages: 12 & up
Playing time: 60 – 90 minutes
Amun-Re is an area control and resource management game where The players are leaders of a royal Egyptian family, who are choosing their sites to control and to build their pyramids in thanks to Amun-Re and the other gods for their bounty.
In Amun-Re, each pharaoh wants to build the most pyramids. To accomplish this, they must first acquire a province where they can trade and farm by bidding on it. Try to get the province you want for the lowest possible price. Some provinces grant automatic bonuses when you win them. With their profits, they can buy power cards, bricks, and farmers. Place farmers in provinces you control, and you’ll get money at the end of every turn. Place bricks in provinces to build up pyramids. 3 bricks equals 1 pyramid.
After the purchasing and placement of resources, players then make an offering to Amun-Re. You silently choose a number of coins to make, then all cards are revealed, and add up all the offerings together. The higher the number, the more money per farmer players get. Sometimes players want the number to be smaller – depending on the provinces they own – so their contributions might be very small. At the end of each round, clear the board entirely, except you leave the pyramids. That makes those provinces more valuable again if you get it in a later round. This process continues for 3 rounds then final scoring occurs.
The player with the most points is the winner, whose reward is to be entombed alive in a pyramid in honor of the great Amon-Re!
Trick of the Rails
Designed by: Hisashi Hayashi
Published by: OKAZU Brand, Terra Nova Games (2011)
Players: 3 – 5
Ages: 10 & up
Playing time: 30 minutes
Trick of the Rails is a trick taking game, themed on the rise of the American railway period, that combines 18XX-like portfolio management with a trick-taking card game. Players collect stock certificates and make the companies more valuable by laying the rail network.
Five different rails each with a starting card placed on the table. Players get a hand of cards, each rail is a suit, and there are cards numbered 1-10 for each suit. Players are bidding to win a particular card from the exchange track, which is a set of cards on the table face up. Cards in the exchange track are won in order, one hand at a time. Those cards in the exchange can be stocks, rails, city, trains or reservations.
When someone leads, everyone has to follow suit. Winner of a hand gets to take that card from the exchange, and places it in front of them . All other players take the card they bid with, and put that in front of them. As the game progresses, players will eventually be bidding for train cards, which get assigned a place onto one of the rail lines. Those trains will help determine the value of the shares on that particular rail line, so place those trains very carefully. If you win a trick in which the reward is a reservation card, you can assign a card to that position in the exchange.
Scoring: each rail line will have one train card to determine the value of that line. Hopefully you have the most shares of rail lines that are valuable, because if you do, you’ll win the game, and become America’s next greatest rail baron. Don’t forget to choose wisely!