Games Neom: Create The City of Tomorrow

Lookout Games' Neom: Create The City of Tomorrow has not only redefined our board gaming experience but also elevated our appreciation for strategic depth and engaging gameplay. This review reflects our overwhelmingly positive experience with this futuristic city-building masterpiece. The standout feature of Neom is its unique approach to city-building, seamlessly blending tile-drafting, resource management, and strategic planning into a cohesive and immersive gameplay experience. From the very first turn, the game captivates players with its endless possibilities for crafting the city of tomorrow. The tile-drafting mechanism is a stroke of genius. The tension and excitement during the drafting phase as players carefully select tiles to add to their city are unparalleled. The spatial puzzle of fitting tiles together while optimizing for points creates a captivating strategic challenge that keeps players engrossed from start to finish. The strategic depth in Neom is exceptional. Balancing short-term gains with long-term goals, optimizing resource production, and strategically placing tiles to maximize synergy add layers of complexity that cater to seasoned gamers. The game's elegant design ensures that even newcomers can grasp the mechanics quickly, making it accessible to a wide range of players. The inclusion of diverse scoring categories adds depth to the decision-making process. Players must consider a variety of factors, such as population, income, and cultural landmarks, to craft a well-rounded and high-scoring city. This multi-faceted scoring system keeps the game dynamic and encourages players to explore different strategies in each playthrough. The thematic integration in Neom is impeccable. The artwork, iconography, and overall design contribute to the immersive experience of building a futuristic city. The thematic progression, from basic buildings to advanced structures, mirrors the evolution of a city over time, adding a narrative layer to the gameplay. The interactive element of the game is a highlight. The ability to buy tiles from other players not only adds a competitive edge but also introduces a dynamic player-driven economy. This interactive element ensures that players remain engaged during opponents' turns and adds a layer of strategic decision-making beyond one's own city. The scalability of Neom is noteworthy. The game adapts seamlessly to different player counts, ensuring an enjoyable experience whether playing with a small group or a larger gathering. The scalability, combined with the variable scoring tiles, contributes to the game's replayability, making each session feel fresh and dynamic. In conclusion, Lookout Games' Neom: Create The City of Tomorrow has surpassed our expectations, delivering a futuristic city-building experience that is both intellectually stimulating and immensely enjoyable. With its unique tile-drafting mechanism, strategic depth, diverse scoring, thematic integration, interactivity, and scalability, Neom stands as a shining example of modern board game design. Highly recommended for gamers who appreciate the perfect blend of strategy, creativity, and thematic immersion in their tabletop experiences!

Carcassonne meets 7 Wonders in NEOM. Really enjoyable tile draft tableau builder that plays out in 45min once you learn all the tile effects. Set up takes a bit, but game play rewards the investment. Appreciate they included a scoring pad. The tile and even rule book text is rather small posing accessibility issues for those with poor vision. While the disaster tiles certainly pose a dilemma they don't ruin the game anymore than the requisite stomach punch built into virtually every one of Feld's games. The key is anticipating when they'll appear, or use the variant to plan for an upright disaster each age or merely discard those and use fire and police stations as VP tiles. Quit hating on a game for 3 attack tiles outta 150! That's like saying Everdell sucks because it has Rugwort.

Great Civ building experience. Check out the alternative rules for the disasters for a less “mean” game.

I remember when this game was $80. I'm not sure why it's so cheap now but if you like drafting games, tile laying, or city builders even a little this is a must own. I ALMOST gave up on this game. I read the rules and tried to figure it out and gave up. Then I tried to play it and gave up. Then, the THIRD time I just started playing with simplified solo rules (this is how I recommend to learn the game if no one wants to learn with you). No pile sorting other than the three ages. I just got those ready, and started playing tiles by myself, paying their resource cost when I didn't have the resource. What initially seemed daunting quickly became understandable, and then deeply enjoyable. Rough Edges First of all, I'll admit this game has some rough edges. The artwork is drab. The gameplay is a bit dry due to a lack of colorful bonus objectives, and a lack of futuristic vibe that the game sorely needs (there's SOME, but...not much). That said... The Mechanics Shine I used to play a ton of Sim City and Sim City 2000 back in the day, and this game gives you that same feeling in an hour or two (in of itself an accomplishment). While it's largely a solo quest to build your perfect city, there IS player interaction as you buy resources from other players, and disasters strike everyone but the person who plays the card. On top of that, there's the drafting, which always makes you feel like you aren't playing alone even if you largely are. The real magic here is that despite some tricky iconography, what cards do is actually pretty simple (you have residential, commercial, and industrial zones, and all tiles of a color behave similarly). You have one-time and recurring income from tiles, and specific cards have other bonuses (don't be intimidated by the variety, looking up cards isn't that bad). Unlike other games where you can quickly get bogged down in the sludge of useless tiles/card and complicated combos, here you're really just building an engine to acquire money and victory points. BUT!!! You can lay tiles OVER existing tiles, cutting off sections of your city (without roads, section die) and allowing you to UPGRADE what would just be sludge in your engine in other games. Overall, this plays like a more complicated version of New York 1901, one of my my favorite games of all time. In that game you have to play where there is space to put down your buildings, but tearing-down and rebuilding elevates it over a mess like Tiny Towns. Here, rebuilding and simple scoring elevates this game over Suburbia and 7 Wonders which gets bogged down in confusing iconography and scoring mechanics. In other words...this game LOOKS heavy, but it's actually a medium weight masterpiece of endless decision-making using simple scoring mechanics and engine-building. Here it's the CHOICES that add complexity and depth and most would agree that's as it should be. Give this game some better artwork, more futuristic aesthetic, and some bonus objectives, and it would be a 10 out of 10. As it is, it's MERELY a MUST-BUY for anyone who likes tile laying, city building, or drafting. Buy it now before it's $80 again.

Love this. Took it to a game group and half the folks bought a copy on the spot. Definitely a keeper for me.

The product description said that it is brand new, but I got a torn and dented box. This is a major turn-off and unacceptable for a board game collector like myself.