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Hamburg box art

Hamburg

Game ID: GID0151623
Collection Status
Description

Hamburg is a card game in which each card has five different uses, and players must cleverly choose the best use for each one, all while avoiding disasters and racing for different objectives.

In the game, players act as mayors of the city of Hamburg in the late 19th century. The game is played over eight rounds. At the beginning of the round, six colored dice are rolled, with players receiving a threat marker in the color of any die that rolls a 5 or 6. The black die is a "wild" threat, with players drawing a threat token with one of the other threat types hidden on the back. If a player ever has three of one type of threat, they receive a penalty.

Next, players have the opportunity to pay a number of coins (equal to the pips on all dice
showing a 1 or 2) to advance on the mayor's track. The black die also activates the clergy in St.
Michael's Church, which serves as a round counter and awards points for certain building types at the end of the game.

On their turn, players play five cards from any of five stacks of cards, one for each of the five colors in the game. These cards are in thirteen categories, each representing a different location around Hamburg, with seventeen individual cards within each category. Each card in a player's hand may be used for a number of purposes, including building the city wall, activating boats (if a 3 or 4 is rolled), starting a building plot, and constructing a building (card) on the plot, with this building granting a new ability or endgame scoring condition.

Players receive points for various accomplishments during the game. In addition, they may receive bonus points by being the only player to have achieved one of five conditions for that round. Whoever scores the most points after eight rounds wins.

Hamburg is a reimplementation of Bruges, including The City on the Zwin and Pets expansions and some new content, with some moderate rules enhancements.

Year Published
2022
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment: pos 5 · mix 2 · neu 0 · neg 0
Mentions per page
Top
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video ymoh303358I Bethany from Ryan board game reviews general_discussion at 0:37 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62310 · mention_pk 154815
Bethany from Ryan board game reviews - Hamburg video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:37 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Elegant integration into The City Collection
  • Distinct city-themed scoring with strategic depth
Cons
  • Potential rulebook overload across languages (per video)
  • Steep learning curve for new players
Thematic elements
  • urban planning, economic routing, guild influence
  • Hamburg as part of The City Collection
  • structured eurogame with spatial and economic scoring elements
Comparison games
  • Amsterdam
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Area Control — tile-based city development with control of districts for points
  • Resource management — manage resources to trigger actions and score efficiently
  • tile/area control — tile-based city development with control of districts for points
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Green game made in Germany
  • bag of bags
  • heart elevate
  • it's just one of the things as a gamer that you're like starting to expect it now
  • we all love a nice recess board
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 0JkQmgKimhs Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews game_review at 0:57 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62308 · mention_pk 154812
Ryan and Bethany Board Game Reviews - Hamburg video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:57 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Smooth, balanced, and mid-weight Euro feel
  • Dice mechanism creates engaging tension around high/low numbers
  • Very large variety of cards; aided by a handy reference book for quick lookup
  • Expansions add depth and significantly increase replayability
  • Solid interaction between players and multiple viable strategies
Cons
  • Card-heavy with a lot of text; can slow play and may require consulting the reference book
  • Calamities introduce chaos and potential downturns, which some players may find punishing
  • Complex board and mechanics can be intimidating for newcomers
Thematic elements
  • urban planning, construction, and resource management within a city-building Euro framework
  • port city development in a German Hanseatic context (Hamburg)
  • Eurogame flavor with thematic city-building propulsion and dice-driven tension
Comparison games
  • Bruges
  • Bora Bora
  • AquaSphere
  • Kokopelli
  • La Isla
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Card-driven action selection — Cards come in five colors and each color enables different actions; discarding cards triggers actions and resource flows.
  • dice-driven round structure and calamities — A central dice mechanic determines color strengths and triggers calamities that affect player boards.
  • foundations and buildings — Certain buildings require foundations; you must play earlier cards to unlock placements and profits.
  • production & scoring variations — Buildings provide immediate or end-game benefits, scoring points based on symbols and completion of structures.
  • Resource management — Players manage meatballs and coins to pay costs and fuel actions, with ongoing bonuses tied to card effects.
  • walls, towers, and expansion interactions — Walls and towers provide strategic placement and bonuses; expansions add variability and ship-tile interactions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • I really liked how the dice worked in this game
  • this is an excellent weight of a game as far as the complexity of it
  • you can play it over and over and over again and not get sick of it
  • If you're a Feld fan I think you're going to love this game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video krvN3GmzMrw Chairman of the Board top_14_list at 16:51 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10691 · mention_pk 31567
Chairman of the Board - Hamburg video thumbnail
Click to watch at 16:51 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • dynamic, highly interactive engine-building system
  • well-balanced design that feels fresh
Cons
  • depends on card draw; luck can factor in
Thematic elements
  • card-driven engine-building with modular card use
  • port city; re-interpretation of Bruges
  • dynamic, card-driven, toxin-free carnage
Comparison games
  • Bruges
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Card-driven engine building — color-coded cards fuel actions, money, and build/defense
  • multi-use card system — cards do multiple things: fight threats, acquire money, build, etc.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • There is a lot going on here, way more than I can summarize in a short clip like this
  • this took us over five hours to play with a teach, and that's unforgivable
  • an older Martin Wallace game, paint-by-numbers and ultra generic
  • it's not my favorite of the racing genre
  • five minutes to play and it's just a different Unique Style game
  • the core system is brilliant and it keeps you engaged throughout
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video RcFHaU-hz0Q Tabletop Turtle general_discussion at 6:23 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 10095 · mention_pk 29738
Tabletop Turtle - Hamburg video thumbnail
Click to watch at 6:23 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
  • multiple scoring paths and track options
  • variety in building strategies
Cons
  • perceived lack of theme and engagement for some players
  • very punishing at times and can feel off-putting
Thematic elements
Comparison games
  • Stefan Feld titles
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • risk/ push-your-luck dice mechanics — round-by-round dice rolls influence outcomes and can punish players
  • worker/punishment tracks — multiple tracks where advancing can punish you (production, sickness, etc.)
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's couch time so it's candid time don't buy Hamburger it's just Hamburg
  • we have three different opinions
  • these aren't real reviews we played once we played it's not enough
  • subscribe and comment below what games we should try out next month
  • get out of the house please
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video dd8KTlibFys Board Gameco general_discussion at 5:39 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 8495 · mention_pk 25027
Board Gameco - Hamburg video thumbnail
Click to watch at 5:39 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
  • More deck control than Bruges
  • Good modules to explore
Cons
  • Some players prefer less control
  • Less variety in deck composition
Thematic elements
  • City building
  • Hamburg city
  • Abstract city development
Comparison games
  • Bruges
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Card Play — Play cards to develop city
  • Deck building with control — More control over decks than Bruges
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • I love Huton. Oh my gosh.
  • Oh my gosh, I am in love with that game.
  • It knocks out of the water.
  • One of the better games I've played in a long time.
  • The components are so much better. It makes a better game.
  • It's a fun little like watch the world fall apart and burn and see who can survive that process the longest.
  • One of my favorite party games, if not my favorite party game.
  • It's a lot going on. Very thinky. But very rewarding, too, at the same time.
  • When trick taking gets to a point where I feel like I'm just trying to math out every probability and it starts to feel like homework, I start to like it less.
  • I cannot wait to play it again.
  • My ideal would be combining the best parts of Bruges and Hamburg into one game, but I can't do that.
  • It's just easy, straightforward, satisfying.
  • There's not quarterbacking, there's assisting, because it's so much happening at once and so much daisy chaining that the quarterbacking is almost impossible.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZacScz9pnBE Chairman of the Board top_10_list at 14:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6740 · mention_pk 20019
Chairman of the Board - Hamburg video thumbnail
Click to watch at 14:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • highly card-driven with broad scoring routes
  • color-coded card interactions feel intuitive once learned
Cons
  • complex rule set can deter new players
Thematic elements
  • presence, building foundations, and worker integration
  • medieval-to-early-modern city-building
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Card-driven engine-building — cards grant powers and actions across a colored, modular board
  • foundation-building and worker deployment — cards enable character actions and building foundations for scoring
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • there's this real tradeoff of how much do I want to invest in building my engine which cards do I want to hold back to actually reap the benefits from that engine
  • the tempo of the game is dictated by the players
  • you can use the cards as money, to unlock more actions, or to push your engine—it's all about balancing short-term gains with long-term setup
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Oa1DT58hxgg Board Gameco general_discussion at 17:06 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3303 · mention_pk 9783
Board Gameco - Hamburg video thumbnail
Click to watch at 17:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Solid weight-light city-building experience
Cons
  • Leaving in favor of a preferred alternative
Thematic elements
  • city-themed tile/area-control
Comparison games
  • Bruge
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • tile drafting/area control — City-building mechanics with spatial placement and routing through the city.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Kuruka is absolutely fantastic.
  • Barcelona is being added. I really enjoyed it and want more plays.
  • Leaders is replacing Pillars of Fate. Pillars of Fate is my favorite from the Fate series, but Leaders offers a different two-player experience.
  • Recall is subject to more plays. The review still hasn't gone up.
  • Galactic Cruise is great, but I feel a little guided by what the game asks you to do.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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