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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!
We get orderly, as we align our shamrocks high to low in Lucky Numbers
We wedge, weasel, shimmy and slide our buildings into the perfect position in My City
We grill up steaks and veggies with just a pinch of sabotage in The Cook-off
Lucky Numbers
Designed by: Michael Schacht
Published by: Ravensburger (2012); and TIKI Editions Inc. (2020)
Players: 2 – 4, and solo mode
Ages: 8 & up
Playing time: 20 min
In Lucky Numbers, each player has a board with a 4×4 grid. For each row and column of the grid, tiles must be placed in numerical order.
On a turn, you take either a face-down tile from the pile or a face-up tile from the table.
Your options are:
(1) Place this tile in an empty space in your grid
(2) Swap this tile for a tile already in the grid
(3) Discard this tile face-up on the table
The goal is to be the first to fill all 16 spaces, in order to become the luckiest Lucky Numbers player in all of Lucklandia!
My City
Designed by: Reiner Knizia
Published by: KOSMOS (2020)
Players: 2 – 4
Ages: 10 & up
Playing time: 30 min
My City is a competitive legacy game in which you develop a city on your own playing board through the ages. The game consists of 24 episodes, beginning with the development of a city in its early preindustrial stages and progressing through industrialization.
During each episode, players will fill their grid with buildings to maximize point advantages. Bonus points are awarded for leaving trees uncovered. But there are negative points for leaving boulders exposed and grasslands undeveloped. Each episode has different achievement goals for even more bonus point opportunities.
Players’ choices and action made during one session of gameplay carry over into the next session, creating a personalized gaming experience.
For players who do not want to experience My City as a legacy game, a double-sided game board offers an alternate set-up for repeatable play, but we played it in Legacy mode.
So … are you ready to build Your City? I mean My City? Well, you get the point.
The Cook-off
Designed by: Luis Francisco
Published by: FunBox Jogos (2013)
Players: 4 – 6
Ages: 8 & up
Playing time: 30 min
The Cook-Off is a card game, with the theme of a cooking competition. However, sabotage is the secret ingredient, and there is no shortage of it on the shelf. Want to throw flies into your opponent’s dish? Go for it! Want to short-circuit one of the stovetops? Make it happen!
All Players have the same hand of action cards. Players program their actions by placing 3 cards face-down on the Countertop, following the desired order for their actions.
- Players simultaneously show the first card and take the action.
- Players then discuss and decide who sabotages who.
- Players also have the option to swap the second card with the third card.
- Once confirmed, all players resolve their second action.
- And then their third action.
After the three actions are resolved, each player returns the played action cards to their hands and chooses three cards again according to their plans for the next round. The competition is 10 rounds long.
The highest total declares victory, as there can be only one champion in The Cook-Off.