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Description
Welcome, city planners! Design the best city block using patterns from the new and exciting "Cube Shaker". You'll place a mix of tiles to help grow the thriving city. The best design wins the game!
Shake That City is a family puzzly tile-laying game for 1-4 players, that plays under an hour! The game is played over a series of rounds. The active player shakes the Cube Shaker and presses its slider to reveal a 3x3 pattern, based on which they need to place the corresponding building tiles of a single color of their choice on their board. The building tiles correspond to roads, factories, shops, parks and of course, homes. The other players then pick any building color other than the one the active player picked, then place matching colored tiles in the matching pattern on their board. Players earn points for tile-placement combinations and for the completed bonus point tiles around the edge of their board.
• Roads wants to connect to an edge of the board.
• Factories wants to be next to other factories and roads.
• Homes want to be placed in clusters that are as small as possible — the smallest being a single tile — so long as they're not next to a factory.
• Parks wants to be next to homes and factories.
• Shops score increasingly more the closer they are placed to the city center, but if they're not placed on an edge, they need to be adjacent to a road connected to the board's edge in order to score. Without road access, you'll have no products to sell!
At game's end, players earn points for tile-placement combinations and for the completed bonus point tiles around the edge of their board.
Year Published
2023
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video Nijopt2sHpk
The Hunger Gamer game_review at 0:36 sentiment: positive
video_pk 62440 · mention_pk 154962
Click to watch at 0:36 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Innovative shaker mechanism that is both fun and functional
- Easy to teach and quick to play, making it ideal for lunchtime gaming
- Engaging puzzle that rewards proper planning without overbearing rules
- High component quality and a visually appealing, compact design
Cons
- Edge bonus tiles could be more varied to increase replay value
- After multiple plays, discovery may plateau due to tile repetition
- Some players may still experience AP if overanalyzing potential patterns before taking actions
Thematic elements
- Urban development, zoning, and infrastructure emphasis within a grid-based city
- City-building and planning on a small grid with tile-based pieces
- abstract, puzzle-driven, mechanically focused rather than thematic storytelling
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- board_flip_discovery — Flipping the board changes the scoring landscape, introducing limited discovery and additional strategic considerations.
- edge_bonus_tiles — Bonus tiles around the edge change the scoring landscape each game, altering strategies and replay value.
- Pattern Building — A shaker generates a pattern of colored cubes; players pick a color and commit to placing its tiles in the corresponding grid locations.
- pattern_reveal_and_selection — A shaker generates a pattern of colored cubes; players pick a color and commit to placing its tiles in the corresponding grid locations.
- Random Production — The shaker provides the random element each round, shaping available colors and placements and tempering long-term planning.
- randomness_from_shaker — The shaker provides the random element each round, shaping available colors and placements and tempering long-term planning.
- scoring_by_columns_and_features — Scoring tiles on the edge indicate objectives (like completing a column or having certain tile types). Points are earned when those objectives are met, and certain adjacencies grant additional points.
- tile placement — Players select tiles of a chosen color and place three in a fixed orientation on their personal 3x3 grid, matching the pattern revealed by the shaker.
- tile_placement — Players select tiles of a chosen color and place three in a fixed orientation on their personal 3x3 grid, matching the pattern revealed by the shaker.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I’m a fan of this
- my wife’s a fan of this
- this is a beautiful lunchtime game
- it is a simple puzzle in that it’s not hard to understand what’s going on
- the shaker… it’s just fun
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Gk8l3b1k6hs
Unknown Channel rules teach at 0:00 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 32662 · mention_pk 96707
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
- Clear, step-by-step setup and playthrough in the video.
- Illustrates color drafting and orientation-based cube placement in an approachable way.
- Demonstrates how adjacency and edge connectivity contribute to scoring.
- Compact game concept that fits a 3x3 grid and simple components.
Cons
- Limited clarity on some edge cases from a short excerpt.
- Potential ambiguity about how some scoring rules are applied in complex positions.
- May rely heavily on visual aids to fully grasp orientation matching.
Thematic elements
- Urban development and color strategy with adjacency-driven scoring
- A compact 3x3 grid city-building exercise where players draft colors and place cubes to create a connected urban layout.
- Instructional demonstration with explicit setup and scoring explanations
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Adjacency Scoring — Points are awarded for roads, parks near homes, factories near roads and other factories, and shops connected to roads.
- Color selection / drafting — The active player selects a color (e.g., blue) and the corresponding three cubes of that color must be placed; other players may choose from remaining colors, leading to strategic color control.
- Constraint-driven placement — Only the active color can be placed by the chosen color; other players cannot place the active color during that moment, creating tension and planning considerations.
- Edge connectivity scoring — Placed roads that reach the edge of the grid contribute to final scoring, incentivizing perimeter expansion.
- grid-based placement — Players place three cubes on a 3x3 grid in an arrangement that matches the orientation of the placed cubes.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- shape of a three by three grid
- you gotta take three because there's three
- it's orientation as those cubes
- score points for having your roads connected
- factories next to roads and other factories
- edges of the build
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video AdFb4VVm6r0
Board Game Brody - Meeple Mountain game_review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 30811 · mention_pk 90800
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Family weight and approachable for casual players
- Cube Shaker adds tactile, unpredictable fun
- Engaging tile-placement puzzle with strategic depth
- Good replayability due to random shaker outcomes and tile distribution
- Beautiful thematic city visuals
Cons
- Unpredictability of the cube shaker can limit planning precision
- Not all tiles can be scored every game; luck influences outcomes
- Scoring rules can be complex for new players
- Endgame and round structure differences (rounds 13-15) can be surprising
Thematic elements
- Urban development, tile placement, scenic city-building
- A stylized modern city-building scenario where players place tiles on a shared grid to develop their own cities.
- Abstract/infrastructural
Comparison games
- Tiny Towns
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cube shaker randomness — A cube Shaker provides a 3x3 pattern of colors each round, determining available colors for placement.
- end game bonuses — Bonus tiles provide end-game scoring opportunities based on completing specific conditions.
- End-game scoring by tiles and city layout — Players score roads, parks, factories, shops, and homes with adjacency and pattern considerations.
- Pattern Building — Tiles must be placed following a precise color pattern and orientation as shown by cubes.
- pattern matching — Tiles must be placed following a precise color pattern and orientation as shown by cubes.
- Scoring via bonus tiles — Bonus tiles provide end-game scoring opportunities based on completing specific conditions.
- set collection — Active player selects a color; other players must choose from remaining colors.
- Set collection / color picking — Active player selects a color; other players must choose from remaining colors.
- tile placement — Players place tiles on their personal boards in patterns dictated by the chosen color and configuration.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is probably one of the coolest things about this game
- the cube Shaker itself will be proud of
- Shake That City ... build your city
- don't rush take your time in building
- you will have a high probability to win the game
- we're gonna be playing with it my family have had a great time playing it
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video dkpHSY36_8A
Undetermined (see channel_id) playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12381 · mention_pk 36166
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique physical gameplay mechanic (shaking cubes)
- Town/city building theme
- Engaging kinetic element
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- urban development
- city building
- physical play
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
No quotes stored for this video.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video M_7A5q4cm-U
Attackers playthrough at 0:20 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10028 · mention_pk 29542
Click to watch at 0:20 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique shaker gadget that is more than a gimmick
- Colorful components and durable production
- Accessible rules with a satisfying puzzle
- Multiple play modes including family variant and solo variant
- Replayability potential with expansions
Cons
- Setup time is longer due to sorting and baggies
- Rule complexity for casual players may be high (five tile types scoring)
- Replayability may benefit from expansions
- Print crooked components (noted by the reviewer) and potential production variance
Thematic elements
- City planning and density scoring
- Urban city-building with parks, factories, shops, and roads
- Puzzle/strategy with clear scoring rules; modular board
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Adjacency Scoring — Parks and factories score based on adjacency to other tiles.
- Column/Row completion scoring — Complete a full row/column to trigger extra points.
- Construction tiles (solo variant) — Optional construction tiles that modify setup and scoring.
- Edge-connectivity scoring — Shops score if connected to the board edge via roads.
- Shaker gadget — A built-in mechanism that reveals a 3x3 grid of tiles after a push.
- tile placement — Place colored building tiles on a grid in your city board.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a really cool Gadget
- not it's not just a gimmick
- it's really simple really simple to play
- it's fun to shake that and press on here
- the setup time is a little bit longer than I would think
- I really like this game
- it's very cool
- I want to use expansions to keep it alive
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZK8C1uKaBM8
Family Plays Games general_discussion at 40:00
video_pk 6891 · mention_pk 20403
Click to watch at 40:00 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Shaker games
- Bingo-like mechanisms
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- spreading the gospel of board games
- it's a must-have
- don't sleep on this
- we love talking about gateway games
- we're taking the game out to people
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video p0Lpqj58sY8
Gen Con Digital Demos (Paula & Matthew) general_discussion at 5:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6237 · mention_pk 18475
Click to watch at 5:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive (fun, social, stream-friendly with satisfying visual appeal).
Pros
- Bright, appealing art and chunky components
- Fast rounds with meaningful decisions
- Great for streaming because of clarity and pace
Cons
- Scoring can be intricate and eye-crossing live
- Board can become visually busy
Thematic elements
- urban planning and zoning
- city-building with roads, parks, factories, and various buildings
- light, family-friendly, tongue-in-cheek city creation
Comparison games
- Carcassonne
- Cities: Skyline
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Bonus tiles and end-game scoring — certain rows/columns with complete sets unlock bonuses and flips for additional scoring opportunities.
- Scoring from zones and bonuses — points come from road networks, park/housing distributions, and bonus tiles.
- Tile placement and zoning — players place tiles to build roads, parks, shops, houses, etc., scoring based on adjacency and border connections.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We are going to do a prediction and this time we are going to offer a buy option.
- This is Call of Duty the board game we’re demoing, sponsored by Arcane Wonders.
- Fiction is a Wordle-inspired, traitor-filled word game.
- Mind Space is a thoughtful polyamino game with a clever dice-driven draw system.
- Shake That City is a bright city-building card game on a small footprint.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7