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Build a city, make a fortune.
“In Magnate: The First City, you’re a property developer out to build an empire in the midst of a citywide property boom.
By snapping-up valuable land and constructing the right buildings in the right locations, you’ll attract high value tenants and start raking in the big bucks. But beware: as the city grows, everything you build will also open up new opportunities for your competitors. Will you make a fortune? Or will you be caught out when the boom inevitably turns to bust in a game-ending market crash?”
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Magnate: The First City is a midweight strategy game for 1-5 players. Each turn players try to grow their property empire by performing different actions, including: buying plots of land, constructing buildings, marketing their developments and selling them completely for their capital value. Once per round, they will also get the chance to attract tenants to any empty buildings they have. If they are successful, they will start collecting rent from their tenants and increase the value of their holdings. At the same time, they will also create new development opportunities for themselves and their opponents.
But in Magnate, as in real life, not all locations are equally appealing to all types of tenant. Magnate’s four types of tenant - residential, offices, retail and industry - all want to be linked to other types of tenant in nearby neighbourhoods. And they are all affected differently by what’s next door: The airport is an asset for offices, but it’s an unattractive place for new residents. By clever tactical and strategic building, players can increase their odds of attracting these tenants and improve their return on investment - without benefiting their opponents too much.
But while the players acquire more and larger properties, the price of land keeps rising higher and higher. Eventually, it becomes completely unsustainable and a game-ending crash that will destroy the value of players’ properties becomes inevitable. When exactly the crash happens, however, is shaped by the players: How much land they buy and how much property they sell will more make a crash on any specific turn more or less likely. Players must time their actions carefully to avoid substantial losses while maximizing their profits. Only then will they emerge victorious as the city’s wealthiest property magnate.
—description from the publisher
- engaging, interactive gameplay with strong thematic tie-in
- accessible to families and light gamers
- tangible components and production value
- fast play with up to five players
- exciting turn order bidding adds tension
- turn order bidding can be frustrating or feel advantageous to one side
- dice randomness can frustrate some players
- initial complexity may be intimidating though it lightens with play
- property speculation, market bubbles, tenants and rent
- 21st-century urban property market
- thematic, dice-driven tenant market with a bubble mechanic
- Terra Mystica
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- advertising to modify dice — Advertising can convert dice into fives to improve results.
- beginner vs advanced rules — There are beginner and advanced versions; advanced adds more tenant types.
- building types and sizes — Buildings fall into residential, retail, offices, and industrial, with small and large versions.
- Crash mechanism — End of round market checks; risk cards can trigger a market crash and end the game.
- deal with parkland modifiers — Proximity to parkland modifies dice outcomes and tenant quality.
- dice placement — Bringing in tenants is a dice-rolling exercise tied to nearby residential/retail/office availability.
- first-player bidding for turn order — First-player is decided through an open bidding auction, using a cute excavator marker.
- Grid building — Buildings fall into residential, retail, offices, and industrial, with small and large versions.
- land plots appear randomly and are bought — Plots of land come out randomly; players buy plots and then build.
- land value multipliers — Selling buildings considers land price, building value, tenants and bonuses to compute profits.
- tenant assignment via dice — Bringing in tenants is a dice-rolling exercise tied to nearby residential/retail/office availability.
- three actions per round — Each round, players take up to three actions to buy land, build, or sell.
- Turn Order: Auction — First-player is decided through an open bidding auction, using a cute excavator marker.
- tutorial cards — A deck of tutorial cards helps de-randomize setup and teach rules.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is by james naylor of nayla games
- fresh from crowdfunding
- the property game for the 21st century
- the market is going to crash hard
- two million dollars
- three hundred thousand
- three actions that you can use to buy land build properties or try to sell properties
- bringing in tenants is a dice rolling exercise
- dice equal to the lower of those two numbers
- advertising will give you turn some dice into fives
- the first player marker is so cute is this this little excavator thing
- open option
- beginner and advanced
References (from this video)
- Deep, thematic Monopoly-like feel with interdependent buildings
- Interesting crash mechanic adds tension and timing strategy
- High thematic complexity may challenge new players
- Mechanics dependent on player interaction to shine
- Market timing, tenant dynamics, and interconnected urban development
- Economic city-building with diverse tenants
- Thematic, interconnected city growth with economic pressure
- Monopoly
- Acquire
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area/land purchase and development — Buy land, construct buildings, and attract tenants.
- Market crash / timing — A crash track can end the game; players must time sales and investments.
- Market Pricing/Manipulation — A crash track can end the game; players must time sales and investments.
- Tenant-driven income and influence — Different tenant types provide varying rents and bonuses nearby.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Monopoly, a very uh polarizing game.
- it's pure open negotiation.
- Open negotiation. Anything goes, you could trade anything for anything.
- The open negotiation in this game is awesome.
- Magnate the First City is an economic citybuilding game where you're trying to have the most money.