Foundations of Metropolis is a much cheaper version of a popular game.

Rome can go to hell!

Players will compete over three rounds to be the greatest architect in the city by purchasing deeds to empty lots and constructing new buildings on them.

Foundations of Metropolis Game Overview

Quick Rules Summary

I demoed this at Essen and we only played one era. I have since played a full game of 3 eras so here is the review!

Players start with a bit of money and draft plot cards giving them access to these plots of land on the main game board.

On a player’s turn, they can buy a new plot from those available, adding their token to that plot on the board. Or they take income which is $5 plus the number of money shown on buildings they have built with the dollar sign.

Or they build a building by replacing the tokens on the board with a building from their player board that matches that pattern.

They can build over a building you have on the board but the newly placed building must be bigger than the one you’re replacing.

How do you win?

At the end of a round, players score for their population (raised by certain buildings) compared to other players. You also gain points showing for certain larger buildings you have built.

Some civic buildings score for other buildings they are adjacent to.

After 3 eras, the player with the most points wins.

Main Mechanisms

Tile laying and pattern building.

USP

This takes the highly-rated gameplay of Foundations of Rome and puts it in a more affordable package which is great.

Theme

The theme of building feels very abstract, it’s more pattern building than town building.

Setup

Put the boards out, and tiles in their spaces, shuffle the deck and you’re good.

A good thing is that the tiles on the player boards are held in place by the box insert. This means you just gets the boards out ready to play each time.

Components & Artwork

Obviously not as nice as Rome here… But the player board and scoreboard are dual-layered which is nice.

The art is fine with some nice little details on the building tiles.

Ease of Teaching

The rules around the game are very easy. Scoring is the hardest part, especially around population scoring as you score depending on where you are on the track in relation to everyone else.

Everything is open information which will help new players.

Similar Games

Any abstract game. It’s the same weight as games like Cottage Garden.

Buying the plots reminds me of Chinatown.

Foundations of Metropolis Review

Positives

Simple gameplay.

Nice and tactical play, you can try and take away available plots from other players to restrict their building.

As the board gets tighter, it gets even more tactical.

Negatives

Maybe a bit too simple? I worry about replayability.

Players need to make sure they look at where they are building in relation to the other players civic buildings.

Summary

A very fun and simple to play game.

Jesta ThaRogue