Machi Koro 2 will release in October, rezones rules for the popular city building board game
Updates rules on attractions and add an initial buy phase.
Strap on the hardhat and prepare for another round of competitive civic planning with the upcoming board game Machi Koro 2. The standalone sequel to 2012’s dice-rolling city builder is currently available to preorder ahead of an October 6th release date.
Publisher Pandasaurus Games announced Machi Koro 2 on July 6th, claiming the core experience of the first would be preserved, but “veteran players will notice some big changes.” Players take turns rolling a pair of d6 dice and using the results to collect income from businesses they own, represented on cards. That money is used to construct new establishments ranging from bakeries to factories to influential landmarks, such as metro stations or shopping malls, which are purchased from face-up rows drawn from a deck.
Machi Koro 2 will introduce a series of three initial building rounds that replace the usual starting array of fields and bakeries from the original. Each player will use five coins to draft businesses one at a time until everyone has spent their investments, then the proper game begins. As the publisher stated, Machi Koro 2 looks to maintain much of the first in its round-to-round action: dice rolls garner income based on activation number and different coloured cards earn coins by various methods.
According to the quickstart rules the publisher has made publicly available, landmarks will have an increasing cost depending on how many that player has already competed, giving the late game more of a tail and likely punishing those who invest in early game synergy to rake in money fast. The establishment cards will also be randomised game to game and drawn from three different decks, offering a bit more in-the-moment strategising to each session.
We praised the first Machi Koro as one of the best family board games on the market for its simple, yet satisfying decision-making, plus the fact that keeping score doesn’t involve head-scratching arithmetic at the end of the game. It also makes a solid entry in the legacy board game genre by providing a choice-driven narrative that feels impactful without interrupting the loop that makes each session so enjoyable.
Machi Koro 2 is currently due to release on October 6th. It can be pre-ordered through Pandasaurus Games’ website for $30 (£22) and comes with three promotional cards - though these will also be available at local brick and mortar stores, as well.