City building games are a bit of an addiction for me. Rarely does one come on the market that doesn’t immediately grab my by the face and scream  “Play Me!” Perhaps I was an urban planner in a previous life, or it could also be from my man years of playing the Sim City video game. Regardless, our newest Game of the Week does a great job of scratching that itch for me.

Quadropolis

Published by the king of accessible board games, Days of Wonder, Quadropolis tasks players with constructing their own bustling metropolis. Players will be competing over a shared pool of avaialable zones, each of which have their own scoring conditions. A set of arrow markers are used to choose buildings from the shared market, which opens up a wide variety of strategic options in the game play.

One of the great things about Quadropolis, other than the engaging game play, is that there are two modes of play: Classic and Expert. Classic play is perfect for playing with families and your non-gamer friends. The rules are easy to pick up and most scoring conditions make logical sense.

In expert mode, the game play gets a bit more strategic, both by introducing more complex buildings, and also by changing the way tile selection is handled. I’m actually not sure which mode I prefer, as they both have their plusses and minuses.

But regardless of the mode you chose, Quadropolis is a unique city builder that I’ve enjoyed countless times. The hardest part about learning to play Quadropolis is understanding the scoring conditions of each tile, but thankfully, their is a very helpful player aid.

Quadropolis has easily turned into one of those games I’ll put out when I’m looking for a lightweight euro game that can be played in under 45 minutes. While I’ve played it enough now that I’m definitely ready for an expansion, that doesn’t stop me from getting this title to the table quite often. And that’s why Quadropolis is our newest Game of the Week.

2-4 PLAYERS • AGES 8+ • 30-60 MINUTES • $50