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Description
City of Gears is a unique steampunk game of exploration, area control, worker placement, and engine building. From your incredible Factory, you must race to claim ownership over the magnificent ruins of an abandoned clockwork metropolis. Each game plays in under an hour, and because only nine of the city tiles (from dozens available) are randomly chosen and placed each game, no two games ever play the same.
Each turn, you roll a number of production dice and activate City Tiles, then you move your automaton workers and perform a variety of actions (such as drawing and placing gears to reactivate areas of the city, sabotaging opponents, and activating unique steam powers) as determined by your resources. Along the way, you will develop your Factory with special powers which set it apart and provide you with powerful bonuses.
As the city is revealed and its abilities are discovered, players must concoct plans to accrue prestige and hinder opponents so that once Opening Day arrives, they will emerge victorious! Do you have what it takes to set the City of Gears in motion?
Year Published
2012
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video 9VGG4tz7CWA
Chas just played game_review at 0:28 sentiment: positive
video_pk 40130 · mention_pk 121309
Click to watch at 0:28 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Impressive table presence that draws players in
- High customization with many tile configurations and a large gear bag
- Strong middle-ground between gateway and euro game in depth
- Replayability via many tile configurations and layouts
- Engaging strategic depth once you realize you control areas via your gears
Cons
- Fiddly 3x3 tile grid can be awkward to flip and reposition during setup
- Some icons lack detailed descriptions in the rulebook; may require external references
- Initial intimidation from the striking table presence for new players
Thematic elements
- Industrial power, gears, and control of a shifting city
- Abandoned clockwork metropolis in a steampunk-inspired world
- Analytical, experiential, and lightly humorous
Comparison games
- Forbidden Island
- Downforce
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players place gears to influence and claim sectors of the city as the board unfolds.
- area control / area influence — Players place gears to influence and claim sectors of the city as the board unfolds.
- Dice-driven actions / resource activation — Production dice are rolled to activate actions on tiles and power worker actions.
- Resource management — Gear resources power actions and unlock advantages or “superpowers” for players.
- Resource management and upgrades — Gear resources power actions and unlock advantages or “superpowers” for players.
- Robot workers / automation — Automated workers are moved to perform tasks, interact with tiles, and enable capabilities.
- Sabotage and conflict — Gears and actions can hinder opponents, creating choice-based contention.
- tile placement — A modular set of city tiles is used; players draft, place, and flip tiles to shape the city.
- Tile placement and city tile drafting — A modular set of city tiles is used; players draft, place, and flip tiles to shape the city.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- table presence of this game surprised me
- the table presence actually intimidated quite a few people
- city of gears totally lives up to my expectations for it
- it's not a big thing, it's a euro game, it's not a really high-stakes Ameri game
- I might call it a little more than a typical gateway game
- two great designers who go together like chocolate and peanut butter
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Ok7xvOBEed0
top_20_list at 11:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10558 · mention_pk 31060
Click to watch at 11:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- distinct gameplay feel unlike other euros
- high production and interactivity
Cons
- hard to understand without playing
- requires some learning curve
Thematic elements
- architecture and automation with gear-based visuals
- steampunk city in conflict/reconstruction
- thematic, mechanical
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area control / worker placement hybrid — putting out robots and connecting regions via plastic cogs
- tile/board interaction — actions chain back to linking tiles and regions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's one of those games that can be played by anyone
- it's basically Taboo but trap words
- one of the best-looking covers of a ball game I've ever seen
- a dynasty of games that feels different to anything else
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video BM4FTFpZBzc
John Backus general_discussion at 18:56 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1285 · mention_pk 3761
Click to watch at 18:56 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- interesting interaction in a strategy game
- compact for a strategy title
Cons
- unknown depth for non-fans of the theme
Thematic elements
- influence and interaction with mechanisms that affect other players
- Strategic city-building with Victorian steampunk vibes
- strategic and competitive
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- tableau-building / worker placement like — Influence and interaction determine payoff; others can affect your space.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is from I games in Ukraine and this is from one of the designers of mysterium
- we had a lot of laughter with this one
- surprising amount of skill to hitting that Tower
- this is a reversed dungeon cruel
- I had loads of fun with it last night
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3