/pic7793781.png)
Game Info
Year
2021
Collection
Your Tier
Loading…
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
In Rainforest City, players repopulate the Singaporean natural landscape by piecing together rainforests, mangroves and ocean terrain with native plants and animals to restore food chains.
Learn about biodiversity, ecosystems and the importance of conservation in this interactive strategy game designed for both families and board game enthusiasts alike!
With competitive, co-operative and solo modes of different difficulties, Rainforest City is a game that challenges as well as educates.
—description from the publisher
Featured Videos
Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 6 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video PdcSi_G1tlw
Board Game Sanctuary Review at 0:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 109300 · mention_pk 315075
Click to watch at 0:25 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong theme and message about conservation.
- Beautiful visualization of a thriving ecosystem.
- Interesting connection between terrain and wildlife cards.
- Attracting specific animal species to terrains.
- Dual puzzle of terrain and wildlife placement.
- Meaningful effect of losing forest when building a home.
- Satisfying spatial puzzle and token layering.
- Illustrates hierarchy and food chain effects.
- Rotating dial mechanism provides consistent card acquisition.
- Consequences of other players' actions lead to dealing with what is thrown your way.
- Always have some choice about what to acquire.
- Always growth in your tableau.
- Always have some control over destiny.
- Walk-through nature is pleasant and nice.
- Variety of ways to play (cooperatively, solo).
- Easy to pick up rules.
- Brings immense joy.
- Love for puzzly-based games.
- Invitations for multi-layered strategy and racing elements.
- Composting mechanic is interesting.
- Puzzle and penalty weigh heavily on decisions.
- Each habitat has its own micro food chain.
- Otter card offers flexibility functioning in multiple habitats.
- A gem of a game that fills a niche for puzzly board game collections.
- Brain has to visualize how everything fits together.
- Has the right level of depth.
- Taps into a loved theme.
Cons
- If you don't have a spatially geared mindset or are not good with spatial patterns, the game might be a struggle.
Thematic elements
- Building and expanding habitats (mangroves, reefs, forests) and establishing ecosystems, conservation.
- Singapore
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action selection (dial rotation) — Players rotate a dial pointing their fruit at two cards they wish to take, with consequences for other players.
- Card placement — Terrain cards are placed adjacent to other cards, aiming to connect similar terrains.
- Drafting (Implied) — Other players can acquire cards based on where their fruit points on the rotated dial.
- End-game scoring — Negative points are accounted for at the end of the game from wastage.
- Pattern Recognition — The game is about recognizing patterns and laying out a foundation for future growth and survival.
- Push Your Luck — If wildlife cannot be placed in their preferred habitat, they die off and are composted, which is bad for the game.
- Set Collection — Wildlife cards are used to lay plant and animal tokens on your terrain, attracting specific species.
- Set collection (objective cards) — Objective cards are included for an advanced game, requiring players to satisfy conditions related to vegetation, animals, or terrain types.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Rainforest City is a gem of a game that fills in a niche in my puzzly board game collection that I don't think I have quite yet.
- If I were to give it a score, I would definitely give this game an eight out of 10.
- It is one that I really, really enjoy and it's one that I can definitely see playing at the beginning of a game night.
- What you take from nature, you must return.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZEiHDu4GqoU
Board Game Dad Top List at 7:39 sentiment: positive
video_pk 89175 · mention_pk 288174
Click to watch at 7:39 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Elegant design
- Unique game
- Teaches ecological lessons
- Simultaneous play
Cons
- Hard to find
- More expensive due to international shipping
Thematic elements
- Building little ecosystems of animals
- Ecosystems
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — Placing cards so that terrain matches.
- Simultaneous action selection — All players get to play their card at the same time.
- Tableau Building — Placing animals in the terrain so that they're all connected and building little ecosystems.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- If you're looking to get somebody a family board game for the holidays then first of all you are an excellent Gift Giver.
- All of the games on this list are brand new there's nothing on this list that was published earlier than 2021.
- While the age group goes as young as children of age four these are not children games these are family games meaning that they are picked to be just as enjoyable for the adults in the room as they are for the children.
- This channel is called Board Game Dad and many of my viewers and subscribers are board game dads and if there are any games that I am not aware of they are sure to leave excellent recommendations in the comments.
- I really like asking my kids to step up to a new challenge and give them something that is going to have them solving problems in a creative new ways that's why we play so many board games in my house.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video yycip7lZL_o
Board Game Dad Top List at 3:36 sentiment: positive
video_pk 42671 · mention_pk 129627
Click to watch at 3:36 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- innovative simultaneous drafting
- engaging ecosystem-building theme
Cons
- availability and shipping constraints (ships from Singapore)
Thematic elements
- animals, food chains, ecological balance
- rainforest ecosystem city
- eco-engineering, tile-drafting
Comparison games
- Sagrada
- Calico
- Tiny Towns
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Ecosystem Building — Place animals to form food chains and maximize points based on ecological compatibility.
- simultaneous card/tile drafting — Four pairs of cards are dealt; players select a pair for themselves, guiding how other pairs are distributed to opponents.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the game is called raising robots
- it's Wingspan if Wingspan was played with everyone taking their turns simultaneously
- every round you get to perform the two actions that you selected as well as any actions that other players selected
- Earth is another Tableau Builder game where players are building an island
- there's a lot of engine building in here because on one person's turn they are selecting an action and triggering every card that matches the color of that action
- every other player is doing that too
- it's possible to buy two copies of this game and combine them so that you can play up to eight players
- it requires a few modifications to the rewards
- Rainforest City players are building an ecosystem and attracting animals into their rainforest City
- each round four pairs of cards are dealt to the center of the table and one player chooses the pair of cards that they're going to add to their own City but their choice dictates how the other three pairs of cards get given to their opponents
- the objective of the game is to place animals in ecosystems in such a way that their food chain is supplied
- the big difference if you're familiar with pandemic then you know that it's everyone taking one turn at a time and because everyone's taking one turn at a time it kind of lends itself to that Alpha player problem
- everyone has a hand of cards and everyone is playing their cards simultaneously
- they can take as many actions as they want until they choose to stop but while everyone is playing simultaneously there can be taable talk
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video t1kCOB7dpuU
Board Game Dad Top List at 9:31 sentiment: positive
video_pk 42414 · mention_pk 128758
Click to watch at 9:31 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Elegant drafting twist with simultaneous choice
- Overlay card orientation is intuitive and satisfying
Cons
- Intense and can be stressful to optimize every turn
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Planet Unknown
- Earth
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — Lead player chooses a preferred pair; others are constrained to a single card from their own color.
- card drafting with pair selection — Lead player chooses a preferred pair; others are constrained to a single card from their own color.
- Melding and Splaying — Cards are oriented with overlays to determine best fit and scoring tokens are received accordingly.
- overlay orientation — Cards are oriented with overlays to determine best fit and scoring tokens are received accordingly.
- shared resource pool and scoring — Resources go into a shared pool and can be spent for cards or converted into points.
- Simultaneous Actions — Selections happen in parallel to accelerate pacing and interaction.
- simultaneous selection — Selections happen in parallel to accelerate pacing and interaction.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Everything about the design of this game is obvious. It's so intuitive how it works.
- Simultaneous worker placement. Simultaneous.
- I think that's a key identifier of a truly innovative game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video BoXThBt_Ep8
Board Game Dad Review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 41361 · mention_pk 125453
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Tight theme integration where mechanics reinforce ecological concepts
- Intuitive rules and clear flow, easy to teach
- Elegant card drafting and placement loop that keeps decisions meaningful
- Beautiful tactile components and on-theme artwork
- Cooperative variant adds a fresh, collaborative experience
Cons
- Can be stressful and slightly punishing as the city grows
- Not a light game; may not be family-friendly for casual players
- Some may find the component quality average
- Endless feeding considerations can be mentally taxing
Thematic elements
- Environmental stewardship, habitat restoration, ecological balance
- Urban rainforest city in Singapore focused on wildlife repopulation
- Educational, informative, thematic integration with mechanics
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — Each round players choose a pair of cards (terrain or flora/fauna) from a shared display; opponents pick one card.
- Compost heap — Discard tokens that cannot be placed in any habitat; counts against end-game scoring.
- cooperative variant — Co-op mode where players share objectives and aim to satisfy all; failure if compost pile grows too large.
- End Game Bonuses — Advanced variant with objectives (types: train, flora, fauna) awarding end-game bonuses.
- Food chain and feeding — Termites, crabs, fish, otters tokens with environmental placement and feeding rules determine viability and points.
- Habitat and tokens — Environmental tokens must be supplied by adjacent cards; unsatisfied tokens reduce points or viability.
- Houses and penalties — House tiles score points but disrupt habitats, potentially reducing nearby animals' viability.
- Objectives variant — Advanced variant with objectives (types: train, flora, fauna) awarding end-game bonuses.
- scoring and end-game — Points for flora/fauna that are supported; compost penalties subtract; houses reduce habitat score.
- Tile Placement — Place terrain cards adjacent to existing city tiles with at least one contact; placement affects ecosystems.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I think the design is absolutely brilliant
- Excellent flow not a lot of downtime intuitive rules
- They're getting attached to the animals and so the puzzle frustrates them
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SmV27eSrUq4
Board Game Dad Top 10 List at 4:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 37575 · mention_pk 298421
Click to watch at 4:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- teaches food chains and ecological thinking
- good for spatial planning
- accessible for families
Cons
- slightly more complex than Planet
- may require guidance for younger players
Thematic elements
- ecology and biodiversity
- A developing ecosystem where players place tiles to grow an environment
- educational and engaging
Comparison games
- Planet
- The Spill
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / region scoring — scoring requires a complete food chain within a region
- Tile Placement — placing ecosystem tiles to build regions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the objective of the game is to collect animal cards by making an attractive planet for them
- it's cooperative which is why I think this game can play well with younger players
- the Spill says it's for ages 10 and up I do think you could play it with younger players
- this is an excellent game if you want your children to memorize the dates of specific events
- Risk if Risk was designed to be educational basically what's happening
- it's called Memoir 44 and in Memoir 44 it is a two-player game
- I cannot recommend Twilight Struggle because it is just too complex
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6