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Game Info
Year
2021
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Description
Brick & Mortar is a competitive game of narrow margins, quirky stores, and strategic market manipulation. Over a series of rounds, two to four players manage a collection of stores trying to maximize profits, build equity, and undercut the competition amid a fickle market that can change at the whim of their opponents.
Each round, players simultaneously determine the market, speculate on resources, sell what they can, invest in victory points, and manage their storefronts. Each new store in a player’s building provides unique benefits and restrictions. In the end, the player with the greatest investment in both stores and points wins!
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video HJzkgDK4Mig
Meeple University Review at 0:04 sentiment: positive
video_pk 64553 · mention_pk 158020
Click to watch at 0:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Cute themed artwork and color palette
- Interactive, replayable economy gameplay
- Lots of interactions and many unique shops
- Thinky game with competitive market dynamics
Cons
- Rules and artwork are not final as it's a prototype
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction — Players secretly choose market cards to influence supply and demand; revealed simultaneously and resolved by beating others to fill shops.
- hand management — Players manage cards and use them to open shops or influence market conditions.
- hand_management — Players manage cards and use them to open shops or influence market conditions.
- shop_opening_and_placement — At the start of a round, players bid for available shops or pay to build one from hand to open it on their board.
- Simultaneous Actions — Players reveal their chosen actions at the same time and resolve outcomes.
- simultaneous_action_selection — Players reveal their chosen actions at the same time and resolve outcomes.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it is actually quite a thinking game
- really appropriate themed and cute artwork with nice color palette
- so if you enjoy interactive highly replayable economy game you may enjoy brick and mortar
- the shops are so automatic to what it can do
- oh and this might be my favorite jewelry peddler
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 79YA2LR1_1I
Getting Games Rules Teach at 0:52 sentiment: positive
video_pk 63424 · mention_pk 156830
Click to watch at 0:52 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Multi-phase economy with supply/demand and auctions adds strategic depth
- Storefront abilities (e.g., clothing importer) create clear VP opportunities
- Auction and turn-order dynamics create tension and meaningful decision points
Cons
- High complexity with many rules can be challenging to learn
- Some buildings impose penalties or debt tokens that can hurt progress
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- advertisement phase — Each player selects market cards to place as supply or demand; after all decisions are revealed, the face-up supply cards add to the market and demand cards drive purchases.
- Auction / Bidding — During the building phase, players can start auctions for public buildings; the lowest bid must match the price in the top-left corner and bids proceed around the table.
- auctioning — During the building phase, players can start auctions for public buildings; the lowest bid must match the price in the top-left corner and bids proceed around the table.
- building phase choices — In each building phase, a player can construct a building from hand, start an auction, or pass; only one building can be added per phase.
- Card/Chit Market — Supply and demand cards determine market availability; goods can be purchased from the market depending on supply, demand, and store capacity.
- hand drafting — Players start with four random cards, select one and pass the rest to the next player, repeating until each player has three cards.
- inventory phase — At inventory, goods are lowered to lower shelves and may expire; expiring goods can grant points in some cases.
- investment phase — Players may spend money to buy victory points; buying many points is less efficient, and selling/buying points affects future turns.
- special buildings and synergies — Certain buildings provide ongoing bonuses or synergies (e.g., loading dock discounts, clothing importer points), and some allow unique selling conditions or extra actions.
- supply and demand market — Supply and demand cards determine market availability; goods can be purchased from the market depending on supply, demand, and store capacity.
- turn order track — Turn order is determined by a track showing relative scores; the player with the most points goes first, with tie-breaking rules tied to the track.
- utilities phase — Utilities costs are paid for storefronts and buildings; debt tokens can be used to cover costs but incur penalties.
- Variable Phase Order — At inventory, goods are lowered to lower shelves and may expire; expiring goods can grant points in some cases.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the goal of the game is to try and purchase these supplies for as low a price as possible and then sell the goods from our stores back to the public for as high a price as possible to be as profitable as we can
- now the way the game ends is if we go through all 12 of these months or if at any point during a round any player reaches the victory point threshold which in a three player game is 45 points
- the orange player has decided to start an auction for the duty-free store
- that says if you stock five clothing in a supply phase you get three victory points
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video aVKv6FWseiY
Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews Review at 0:23 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62350 · mention_pk 154862
Click to watch at 0:23 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong theme integration between retail simulation and mechanics
- Tension between maintaining cash vs buying points
- Dynamic market interaction requiring attention to opponents' actions
- Well-ordered insert/production and visual organization
- Multiple strategic paths (buildings, goods, demand cards)
Cons
- Lengthy gameplay; game could drag on beyond 10-12 rounds
- Complexity may be high for casual players
- Requires careful tracking of multiple resources (money, rents, utilities, goods)
Thematic elements
- store ownership, supply and demand, asset/risk management
- A brick-and-mortar retail environment; a strip mall economy where players own and operate stores
- economic simulation with competitive market dynamics
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Advertising / market cards — Play market cards to shape supply and demand; select cards behind a shield to conceal intent.
- Card/Chit Market — Play market cards to shape supply and demand; select cards behind a shield to conceal intent.
- End-of-round / game end — Progress through rounds with a point threshold; the game ends when someone crosses the threshold.
- Hidden money and resource management — Money is kept behind a shield, adding tension and uncertainty to decisions.
- Inventory and spoilage — Goods can go bad if not sold, moving down to the bottom shelf and potentially disappearing.
- Investment / points economy — Spend money to buy victory points; money is necessary but not directly worth points at game end.
- Limited Points — Progress through rounds with a point threshold; the game ends when someone crosses the threshold.
- Resource management — Money is kept behind a shield, adding tension and uncertainty to decisions.
- Store building / ownership — Acquire and manage stores across a main board and side rows, paying rent and utilities.
- Supply and demand — Reveal supply items and demand cards; fulfill demand to earn money based on market conditions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I thought this was really neat how you can manipulate the supply and demand
- the money is very important during the game but money gets you nothing at the end of the game for points
- you really have to pay attention to what other people are doing
- the insert was packed together so well; I really hope it has the same kind of insert in the mass release
- theme integrated so well
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 3Mx3r3qEUAY
Getting Games Discussion at 17:32 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 6941 · mention_pk 129383
Click to watch at 17:32 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
- Acquired for potential future content; shelf space considerations discussed.
Cons
- Limited discussion in this update.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- unknown — Not described in transcript.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm not doing great
- this is my entire income right now
- I miss doing the work I miss the people that I've worked with
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–4 of 4