Warsaw is a resilient city. It is known as the City of Ruins because it has been the focal point of conflict and destruction throughout its 700 year history. And yet, despite this cycle of hardship, each time the citizens rebuild and remake the city, living and growing above and around these layers of history.

Each player will oversee the rise and fall their own district within Warsaw, hoping to guide it to prosperity from the 1600s to the present by laying tiles representing residential, commercial, cultural, industrial, public and natural areas. At the end of each round time passes and each area will score. But you can only build out so far. Then you must build up, changing the landscape of your district and preparing for the inevitable destruction that war will bring. At the end of 6 epochs, Warsaw will rise into the present and the player whose district has flourished the most will win the game.

Written review continues after the break.

Warsaw: City of Ruins     Granna  |  North Star |  BGG  |  Buy

The Concept 

Warsaw is a resilient city. It is known as the City of Ruins because it has been the focal point of conflict and destruction throughout its 700 year history. And yet, despite this cycle of hardship, each time the citizens rebuild and remake the city, living and growing above and around these layers of history.

Each player will oversee the rise and fall their own district within Warsaw, hoping to guide it to prosperity from the 1600s to the present by laying tiles representing residential, commercial, cultural, industrial, public and natural areas. At the end of each round time passes and each area will score. But you can only build out so far. Then you must build up, changing the landscape of your district and preparing for the inevitable destruction that war will bring. At the end of 6 epochs, Warsaw will rise into the present and the player whose district has flourished the most will win the game

The Components 

There are 105 cardboard city tiles in the game. Each player will use these tiles to construct his or her district of Warsaw. Basic city tiles in the game depict color coded areas representing different categories. Red areas are residential, for instance, green areas are parks, purple areas are cultural and so on. These basic tiles are divided into 6 sets, one for each epoch in the game and are numbered on the back.

There are also five double sided milestone tiles which represent noteworthy structures of historic and/or cultural significance. These milestones will be awarded as a bonus, one per epoch, to the player who best fulfilled the requirements listed on the tile. There’s a small scoreboard with places for 5 milestones, so you will be able to plan ahead and build toward different ones as the game progresses.

There are coin tokens and, last of all, each player gets a lovely acrylic mermaid token as a scoring marker and a starting city tile.

OK, now wait a second. You might be saying to yourself, “I might not be Mr. Geography here, but Warsaw isn’t exactly on the coast of anything….” And you’d be right. If someone tries to sell you beachfront property in Poland, run.

So why the mermaids?

The mermaid is the mythical protector of the city according to a medieval legend. There were two mermaids, sisters, and each chose a city. One chose Copenhagen. The other, Warsaw. Much like the ill-fated city, the mermaid that chose Warsaw fell prey to misfortune and was captured by a greedy merchant. She was eventually freed by a fisherman’s son and from that day forward, she donned a sword and shield and pledged to protect the city. There are monuments erected throughout the city celebrating her.

The Mechanics

Warsaw is a tile drafting game. Each round (or epoch), players will select and play four tiles to add to their city district or discard tiles and collect coins.

The game lasts six epochs. At the end of each epoch is a scoring phase where different areas of the city will generate points or money. The city district with the most points at the end of the last epoch wins the game.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of drafting, here’s how it works. You start with a hand of four city tiles. You will select (or draft) one of those tiles from your hand and play it to your city. The rest of the tiles in your hand are passed on to the next player and you will receive a new hand of three tiles from the previous player. Again, you select one tile and pass the rest, continuing this process until all tiles are gone.

Each player’s district covers an area that is either a 4x3 or 3x4 grid of tiles. Each tile placed must fit within this grid or be built on top of another tile. When you decide to build a tile into your grid, you pay the cost in coins listed on the tile. If you are building over a tile, you get a discount. Subtract the cost of the tile you are building over. Each tile must be orthagonally adjacent (edge to edge) with another tile.

Each turn you must select a tile from your hand BUT if you cannot afford or choose not to play the tile, you can discard the tile you select and collect 3 coins. Unless you are super efficient (and a bit lucky), you’ll most likely have to collect a few coins this way during the game.

Believe it or not, that’s the entire flow for the game. Six rounds with four tiles to select each round. That’s 24 decisions that will shape your little corner of Warsaw and determine its fate.

Each decision is meaningful and mitigated by its scoring potential and the inevitable destruction that will shape and reshape your city.

What Sets This Game Apart 

Scoring

Unlike many tile laying games which dictate that certain colored areas or regions must match or line up when played, in Warsaw any tile can be placed anywhere so long as it stays within the city’s grid and lines up fully edge to edge with at least one other tile.

The key to building your city one tile at a time is understanding how each colored region will effect your scoring and money making potential.

You’ll step through a scoring procedure for each colored category of tile in order and see how you fare. Starting with residential and park areas, you’ll look at your city and select one contiguous green park area. Then count the number of red residential areas adjacent to this park. The more separate red areas, the more points you score. Each yellow commercial area generates coins based on the number of adjacent red residential areas. Purple cultural areas have points printed on them. They generate those points each epoch. Likewise blue industrial tiles generate coins based on the number printed on each tile. Transport tiles, public tiles and milestone tiles each have their own abilities and scoring potential that will shape each decision you make in the game. And because you will almost inevitably have to build up instead of out, the way your city scores early in the game may change radically by the end since the colored regions will shift and the tiles stack up.

There are many paths to generate points and money in Warsaw and each game will present you with a new and challenging mix of decisions to enjoy and navigate through.

Destruction

The threat of war looms large as the game moves forward. As with scoring, the better you anticipate the coming destruction, the more you can mitigate its effects and rebuild.

After tiles are placed in epochs three and four, Warsaw will suffer from the effects of World War I and World War II. During World War I, you must remove one tile (or stack of tiles) from your city. During World War II, you must remove two tiles (or stacks of tiles). The district must not be divided into separate parts, so all remaining tiles must still be connected after the destruction. Removing one or two tiles might not seem horrific but remember your city grid is only 3x4 or 4x3, so there’s not much extraneous space to lose! If you do not plan for this inevitable destruction, it can ruin your potential for a big score later in the game.

History

The designers of the game have invested a great deal of time and passion to connect the game to Warsaw’s rich history. Each of the 27 public tiles and the 5 milestone tiles are specific buildings or landmarks in Warsaw. There is a write up provided in the rules that lays out the details for each one. Tying the game directly to the place enhances the experience tremendously. This is not some abstract tile laying exercise. The abilities and scoring potential for each of these special tiles is integrated with the story behind the tile. The player with the Warsaw University of Technology pays 2 coins less when building industrial tiles on empty spaces. If you build the Main Railway Station you can convert money into points or points into money at a fixed rate. If the Old Town tile is part of your Warsaw, you’ll gain points for each overbuilt tile in your city.

Each ability or scoring rule is simple but meshes perfectly with the background and history of the building or landmark depicted.

The designers deserve high praise for finding a way to marry theme and gameplay to create an experience that feels inextricably connected to the place - not some token gesture. Strip Warsaw from the game and all that’s left is a cold mechanical exercise.

Final Thoughts 

Warsaw: City of Ruins has layers just like the city itself. The flow of each game turn is approachable for anyone interested in modern games. Pick a tile, pass the rest. Pay for it and play it or turn it in for cash. do this four times and then step through the scoring to see where and how you do for each colored area you create in your city. You can learn by doing in this game and build on that knowledge from round to round and the more you learn, the more hidden depth and strategy you’ll discover beneath the surface.

The game rewards thoughtful and strategic play without being overly involved or complex. The result is an experience that grows more rich the more you explore the boundaries of this diverse city that survived its own death and found a way to thrive.

Written by: Stephen Conway

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