Contents
Rules for Playing Sprawlopolis
Hey there! Are you ready to dive into the exciting world of Sprawlopolis? Well, here’s a breakdown of the game rules to get you started.
Objective
The goal of Sprawlopolis is to build the best city you can by strategically placing cards on the table. The city will grow and develop as you play, so get ready to use your wits and spatial reasoning skills!
Setup
First things first, let’s set up the game. Shuffle the 18 double-sided cards and draw three of them face-up. These will be the cards that the players will work with.
Card Placement
When placing cards, remember these simple rules:
– Each card must touch at least one other card,
– Roads must connect to each other (no dead ends!),
– Green spaces and roads cannot share an edge,
– Parks and industrial zones cannot share an edge.
Scoring
Scoring is based on four criteria:
1. Population: Points are earned based on the total number of residential zones in your city.
2. Parks: Points are earned based on the number of parks adjacent to the residential zones, with more adjacent parks earning you more points.
3. Highways: Points are earned based on the total length of highways in your city.
4. Goals: Each game will have specific goals that can earn you bonus points if achieved.
Game Over
The game ends when there are no more available cards to be placed or when the players decide to end it themselves.
Final Score
To calculate your final score, add up the points earned from population, parks, highways, and goals. The higher the score, the better!
And there you have it! Now you’re ready to take on the challenge of building your own Sprawlopolis. So, grab your cards, start placing them strategically, and watch your city come to life! Enjoy the game!
Hey there! So, you and I have been given an epic job – to create the most awesome city ever!
Our challenge is to design a city that makes the higher-ups super happy. And let me tell you, they’ve got a long list of things they want. It won’t be easy, but if we strategize, we can totally meet their grand expectations!
Components
- There are 18 cards with blocks and scoring conditions.
- You’ll find instructions included.
Setup
- First, we need to shuffle the cards. Then, randomly select and set aside 3 cards with their scoring conditions face up. These 3 cards will show us the specific conditions that apply to this game. We don’t need to worry about the scoring conditions on the backs of the other cards. Each of the scoring condition cards has a unique number. Let’s add these three numbers together. When we do that, we’ll get the Target Score. This is the total number of points our team needs to reach or exceed in order to win.
- Next, we’ll choose a start player. That person will be dealt 3 cards, keeping the “blocks” side face down. All other players will receive 1 face-down card. It’s important to take your card(s) into your hand without showing the “blocks” side to your fellow builders.
When you’re ready to play, here’s what you need to do:
1. Keep the remaining cards aside with the “blocks” side face up. These will form the draw deck, and everyone can see the top card.
2. Start your city by placing the top card of the deck into the Build Area.
3. The game begins with the start player, and play proceeds in a clockwise direction.
That’s it! You’re all set to enjoy the game. Have fun!
What are “blocks”?
“Blocks” are rectangular quadrants located in different zone types within the city. These zones include commercial (blue), park (green), industrial (grey), and residential (orange). On each card, there are four blocks, one for each zone type.
What about roads?
In each card, you’ll find one or two roads. A “road” is a continuous stretch of roadway that can be as short as one block or several blocks long. It might end at a block edge or at the edge of the city. Roads play a crucial role in your final score and affect certain scoring conditions.
How do I build the city?
If you’re the start player, you get to choose one of the three cards in your hand. Reveal it and add it to the city with the block side facing up. Once you’ve played your card, pass the remaining two cards to your left neighbor. They will now have three cards in hand and become the start player for the next turn.
So, here’s how it works. First, I’ll draw the top card from the deck to have one card in my hand. If there aren’t any more cards in the deck, I’ll just keep playing with an empty hand. And here’s a tip: if I end my turn with less than two cards left, I’ll just pass those cards to the next player.
We keep playing like this until all 15 cards have been added to the city. It’s a simple concept, but trust me, it gets exciting!
Now, let me explain the placement rules:
When it’s my turn, I have to place a card in a way that one edge of the card touches an edge of an existing block. Or, if I want to, I can place my card on top of another card, covering one or more blocks. The choice is mine.
- Do not put a card under another card in your city.
- Do not place a card in a way where it only connects to your city by a corner.
When you place a card, you can rotate it 180 degrees, but it must be placed horizontally.
You can create an open space or gap in your city as long as you follow the placement rules mentioned above.
Let’s Talk About the Game
It’s totally fine to talk about the cards in this game – in fact, it’s encouraged! You can chat about anything you want, but there’s one rule: no showing your hand to anyone. Once you pick a card and reveal it, you have to play it. But don’t worry, feel free to strategize and discuss where to place your card!
Game Over
Once all 15 cards have been played, your city is complete! Now it’s time to figure out your team’s final score. Here’s how:
Blocks: You earn 1 point for each block in the largest group of each zone type. A “group” is a bunch of matching blocks that are connected by at least one side. Only the biggest group of each type counts. If you have more than one group of the same type that are equally big, you get to decide which group to score.
Roads: For every road in your city, you lose 1 point from your total score. Remember, a “road” is a long stretch of a roadway.
How Scoring Works
When you play the game, you earn points based on your base score. But there’s more! You also get points for the 3 cards you put aside. Each card has different scoring rules, so watch out! Sometimes, you might actually lose points instead of gaining them.
Here’s how you calculate your final score: first, add up the points from your block groups. Then, subtract the points from your roads. Finally, take into account any points from your scoring condition cards. This will give you your final score. And guess what? If your final score is equal to or greater than the total value of all 3 scoring condition cards, you win the game!
I’m going to break down the scoring for you. We have different block types in the game: Commercial, Industrial, Parks, and Residential. Each block type has a certain number of points assigned to it. Commercial and Industrial both score 2 points, Parks score 4 points, and Residential scores 3 points. So, let’s calculate the block score.
In terms of roads, you have 7 of them, and each road has a penalty of -1 point. So, in total, you lose 7 points for roads. Now let’s subtract the road score from the block score. We had a total of 11 points for blocks, and we lose 7 points for roads. The difference is 4 points, which is your base score.
Now, let’s move on to the final score. You need to consider three scoring conditions and add their scores to your base score. If your final score equals or exceeds your target score, you win the game!
Time to Play Alone
When you’re playing alone, the rules are the same as in the cooperative game, except that you have only 3 cards to work with each turn. After you place a card, draw a new one so that you always have 3 cards in your hand. Take your turn, and if there are no more cards in the deck, keep playing until you run out of cards.