NEOM (2018)

About this game

NEOM is a modern city-building game featuring simultaneous drafting and tile placement that takes inspiration from games such as 7 Wonders, Carcassonne, and Sim City. Players compete to build the most impressive city utilizing a tree of 17 different goods (from three different tiers) that can each be unlocked, allowing the placement of increasingly powerful tiles as the game progresses. Tiles also feature roads which must be connected without being rotated, meaning that players must always plan their city layout with an eye to the future. At the start of each game, players draft cornerstones — powerful, unique tiles that heavily change what is most valuable from game to game. NEOM has been in development for seven years and the rules and tile set have been iterated on over the course of more than 3,500 games logged in a custom online prototype, leading to an exceptionally well balanced game with a wide variety of viable strategies. Rahdo's #3 game of 2018 Tom Vasel's Dice Tower Seal of Approval

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 1 to 5. It has a designed solo mode.
• Rules load. At 2.5/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.