CHENNAI: The Manhattan skyline, apart from the Statue of Liberty, is perhaps the single feature that most often comes to mind when people think of New York City. We’ve seen it in multiple TV shows and movies, but today we’re taking a look at a game where you’re one of the people responsible for creating that iconic skyline over a century ago. In New York 1901, players are building skyscrapers in Lower Manhattan at the very beginning of the 20th century.
You’ll acquire various properties in and around New York’s Financial District, competing for majorities on famous thoroughfares like Broadway and Wall Street and, if you plan well, you maybe able to build genuine legends of the skyline such as 15 Park Row or the Woolworth Building. Turns couldn’t be simpler — you either acquire a property and optionally build on a property/ properties you control, or you demolish an existing building and rebuild with a more modern skyscraper on that ground.
Taking a closer look at these two actions, however, starts to reveal New York 1901’s hidden depths a bit more. Let’s start by talking about acquiring property, which you do by choosing one of four face-up cards on the table and claiming an available lot of that size and colour somewhere on the board. You mark that lot as yours by placing one of your four workers on that space, and that’s where things start tightening up a little. You see, the buildings you’re trying to construct are of various shapes and sizes and won’t necessarily fit neatly into the lots you own - more often, you’ll need to build up a few adjacent lots before you can put a building down.
However, with only four workers, you simply can’t just go around hoovering up properties like some unprincipled moustachioed would-be real estate magnate - you’ve got to be picky. That runs counter to what games like Monopoly (and movies like Wall Street, funnily enough) have taught us over the years, and it signifies pretty early on that New York 1901 isn’t interested in that well-trodden path. So far, so good; but why would you want to demolish something you’ve previously built? At the time, buildings quickly became obsol e t e as new construction methods were invented and tested - for context, the title of ‘tallest building in New York’ changed hands six times over the course of around 20 years, and this game is set during that period of turbulence and innovation.
To reflect that, you’ll discover that you need to tear down earlier buildings (that scored you points when you built them) in order to make way for newer, more lucrative options. It’s always wonderful when a game manages to ground its mechanisms solidly in its theme, and New York 1901 does a stellar job of that. Ticket to Ride is a game I’ve praised on multiple occasions in this column, because I think it’s the gold standard for a game that offers interesting decisions while still being accessible enough that you could use it to introduce just about anybody to this hobby.
New York 1901 ticks all the same boxes — it’s straightforward without being overly simplistic and it offers the potential of increased complexity through special powers and varied objectives that you can throw in to mix things up once you’re familiar with the game. Every collection needs gateway games like these, and New York 1901 is an excellent option.
WHAT’S NEW?
Dune: Imperium
Although Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has been pushed to 2021, there’s still a chance we could see Dune: Imperium come out this year. Based on (stylised) art from the upcoming movie, Imperium is looking to take a more high-level and cerebral angle at the conflict over Arrakis.
Bonfire
In Bonfire, players play as tribes of gnomes seeking to relight legendary bonfires by completing tasks for the holy guardians of light. It does sound vague and possibly even generic, but there’s one major reason why everyone’s paying attention to this one — it’s maestro Stefan Feld’s big 2020 release.
Wingspan: Oceania Expansion
Initial reactions when Wingspan released fell into two camps: ‘This game is lovely!’ or ‘What about the birds of
Oceania Expansion, which adds varied birds of Australia and New Zealand to the mix.
Arjun Sukumaran
http://goo.gl/uNBWN3
(Arjun is a gamer, book lover and an all-round renaissance man)