Tangram City - Tile Laying Strategy Board Game, Build Your City, Bring Harmony to The Human & Natural Realm, Ages 10+, 1-5 Players

Great Puzzle game... Different than the normal polyoninoes games with enough new to be very enjoyable!

This is a great puzzle game though there is little difference each time you play.

Great game for the family

We are a board game family and have a number of other games by Uwe Rosenberg. We like tile laying games so I ordered Capstone Games Tangram City.The game is a tile laying game where everyone has the exact same set of tiles and plays them simultaneously on their own boards based on the cards that are dealt. Each turn, all players are given a card with a tile shape on it (and some may be placed on the table for lower player counts). The players can look at their own card so they have a bit of secret information on what is coming so they can better play their own tiles during the next step. One by one cards are revealed and each player will take that piece and place it anywhere they want on their own game board. The object is to make the largest solid square/rectangle each turn for scoring. As the game goes on, you will have less room to place tiles and may have to skip placing anything. As an added piece to the game, the tiles are double sided; one black and one green. After each turn you count both colors and move their corresponding colored marker on your board. You are going to want to try to get the numbers as close as possible because, at the end of the game, the closer they are to each other, the more bonus points you can earn.While it's not a complex game, it is a lot of fun watching everyone trying to use the same tiles differently. My wife is not a heavy weight gamer and loved this game. It is easy enough for newer and non-gamers but still fun for those who are into heavier fare thanks to the end of game bonus points that are possible.If you are looking for a fun, quick, family game that is easy to learn and teach, Tangram City is a great option. It can be a filler game for those into heavier games but is also a great way to get those who like a lighter game to the table. At only $30 (on sale for $18 at the time of this review), it is well worth the price tag for what you are getting.

Read the manual before punching tiles. I messed up and had to try fixing it. That stunk.

I really tend to enjoy games with polyomino tiles (or as I call them, tetrisy games), which is good since there's been a lot of them over the past several years. This designer, Uwe Rosenberg, in particular has made several, of which Patchwork and Spring Meadow are a few of our favorites. The nice twist with Tangram City is that most of the pieces include one or more 45-degree-angled edges, which isn't a massive change, but is enough to give it a unique feel.Gameplay here is super simple - work through a deck of cards which each match a piece, with each player placing the piece on their board as each card is revealed. Each board has a slightly different starting tile printed, so players will never do the exact same thing, and scoring happens every 4-5 pieces throughout the game. You're generally trying to make the largest rectangle possible before each scoring, while also planning ahead to leave spots for future pieces. There's also an interesting 'balance' element to use both sides of the tiles somewhat equally, which I like but it also gets a bit annoying to keep track of late in the game - you end up constantly recounting each type and they're not always super easy to see.The overall rules are easy to learn and pretty loose without a lot of weird specific conditions to keep track of - basically just place your pieces wherever you want within the grid. As such, it's also easy to teach and get new players into the game quickly. There's not a ton of depth so I can't imagine developing more complex strategies after numerous plays, but as a light quick game I'm totally fine with that - I have plenty of other games if I want something deeper. I also appreciate the more compact box, and the art is simple but fantastic, making it fun to create a colorful little world.Overall, as a quick little tile placement game that plays in about 20 minutes and presents a nice little puzzle, I'm really happy with this. Feels like a mix of Patchwork along with the deck system of NMBR9 or F.I.T.S. If you like tile games and want something like Patchwork for more than 2 players, I have no problem recommending this one.