In Manhattan, players construct a skyline of skyscrapers over several districts, or city blocks, of Manhattan Island. Ultimately, each player seeks to have built the tallest buildings in the most city blocks of the Island.
Each turn, players will play a card that illustrates which part of a city block they may place a "floor" on a building. The placement card is unique for each player in that the section they may place in is relative to their seating at the table. The player who has placed the top most floor controls that building. Each round, scores are tallied based on control of each of the neighborhoods.
At the end of the game, the player who has scored the most points through area control and tallest buildings wins.
Note: In the Finnish edition, the districts are named after six great cities of the world: Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Cairo, Sydney, Frankfurt and Manhattan.
(Español)
En Manhattan los jugadores construyen un 'skyline' de rascacielos en distintos distritos o zonas de la isla de Manhattan. El fin último de cada jugador será haber construido el edificio más alto en la mayoría de zonas de la isla.
Cada turno, se juega una carta que ilustra en qué parte de un bloque de la ciudad pueden poner un "piso" sobre un edificio. La carta de colación es única, en tanto cada jugador coloca en cada sección del tablero, en relación a su posición alrededor de la mesa. El jugador que ponga el piso más alto controla el edificio. Cada turno, se realiza un recuento basado en quién domina cada uno de los barrios.
Al final de la partida gana el jugador que ha conseguido más puntos mediante el control de las áreas y los edificios más altos.
- classic, accessible for families and kids
- colorful modern tactile components in the reprint
- City-building/area control with color tokens
- Islands and waterways in a stylized map
- Abstract/Family-friendly
- Tikal
- Torres
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- now this is how you do a reprint tikal
- this is not a straight reprint this is a complete overhaul of the system and again again it's an example of how reprints should be done it looks absolutely fantastic
- I love stacking a metal elephant on top of a strongman
References (from this video)
- beautiful translucent plastic pieces
- colorful appearance
- comparable accessibility to Ticket to Ride
- fun gameplay
- can be a little mean with area control
- urban development
- skyscraper building
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- these games have amazing table presence by which i mean people are going to glance across the room and go what is that person playing and i want to play all these games
- stacking games have table presence like nothing else
- looks beautiful it looks like a load of sweets on the board
- one of my favorite games of all time
- i don't like that sort of game i find that one of the most frustrating game mechanisms
- the central marble dispenser is your main draw in this game
- absolutely brilliant strategic game quite complex game
- it's actually my favorite of the mask trilogy
- i'm almost scared to say this but i don't really like azul very much
- biggest most overlooked game on this list
References (from this video)
- Excellent table presence
- Very competitive gameplay
- Simple but elegant mechanics
- Gateway-style accessibility
- Great visual presentation
- Often overlooked classic
- Tropical color choices seem odd for Manhattan theme
- Building skyscrapers in major cities
- World cities
- Urban development simulation
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area majority — Controlling different areas to score points
- Competitive gameplay — Direct conflict over territory control
- Simple action selection — Limited available actions each turn
- tile placement — Placing building tiles on board
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- hi i'm adam porter and this is my board gaming vlog and we're looking at my top 100 board games
- i found in a german board game shop i've never heard of it so i was very excited
- there's these nice little stories narratives that come through and they're not in your face nothing's written
- it does feel like you're running a little sort of tavern business in oldie worldy uh sort of germany
- this is just a mind-bending game
- really power grid is way out in front as the best freedom and freeze game
- as far as economic games go it's one of the best ones out there as well
- luna really stuck with me
- it's just really satisfying board game
- it's just fun to sit around the table and all know you're allowed to lie to each other
- really satisfying if you like puzzles
- it's one of the classic gateway games
References (from this video)
- Easy to teach
- Good gateway abstract strategy
- Can feel mean with blocking
- Limited replay depth
- City planning
- Urban zoning competition
- Abstract
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card placement — Play cards to place translucent buildings on grid sectors.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's important to think about my health as well
- i need to take a break
- it's only a game
- think of your health particularly in this day and age
- take care and remember it's only a game
References (from this video)
- simple core loop with a satisfying tension
- minimalistic yet engaging scoring
- dynamics can feel punishing if you draw badly
- tall towers and city planning
- urban skyline development on a city map
- minimalist, abstract scoring emphasis
- Citadels
- Carcassonne: The City
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area/territory control — building towers and controlling city blocks for points
- card-driven placement — cards influence where you place and score structures
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is a masterpiece
- infinitely replayable
- an absolute Masterpiece
- this is such a cool game
- an absolute joy to play
- seven and a half out of ten