- Publisher : Pixie Games
- Designer(s) : Dani Garcia
- Artist(s) : Zuzanna Kołakowska, Aleksander Zawada
- Players : 1–4
- Playing time : 60–90 Min
- Weight BGG : 3.33
What's this?
In the game Barcelona, you will play as 19th century builders working on the new expansion of the city. Your main objective is to construct buildings to accommodate citizens who want to leave the old city.
How do you play?
Barcelona is played over a variable number of rounds interrupted by three scoring phases before a final scoring phase.
➡️ Your turn:
1: Place two citizens on a crossing empty main board. Perform the actions associated with the crossings where you have placed these citizens.
2: Construct Buildings by removing citizens from the crossings to construct or improve buildings. Place the citizens on the corresponding Citizen tracks
3: Cerdà Counting: Check if a counting phase is triggered at the end of your turn.
4: Draw 2 citizens from the bag.
< br />➡️ In actions you will:
– Place a Pavement on an annex board for different bonuses.
– Develop pavements by building roads and boulevards.
– Develop an intersection.
br />- Improve a Modernism project space (Move a Modernism marker upwards by paying any costs.)
– Recover a Modernism Project (Each Modernism tile offers victory points at the end of the game)< br />– Build a Public Service (Each tile offers victory points, progress on the Cerdà track and a specific action.)
– Move your Tram and place a passenger to benefit from bonus actions.
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➡️ The end of the game is triggered when the last section of a Citizens track reaches its Cerdà Countdown box.
Is it good?
The Barcelona board game is a great choice for players looking for an accessible and tactical game.
It is important to find the right tactics and adapt to other players to win. Barcelona is a dynamic game where there is always something to do, without ever being stuck. The game rewards players with points in different ways, and there are a few combos to make. The tempo of the end of the game will be decided by the players.
The Barcelona theme is fairly well integrated. The material is of high quality.
However, the game is not without its flaws: it can become repetitive after several games. Analysis paralysis can be a problem for some players. The tram mechanics are not necessarily intuitive for everyone and the game may not be suitable for players who prefer more restrictive games.
Despite these flaws, Barcelona remains a good board game that will appeal to players who are looking for an accessible, tactical, thematic game and who like points salad.
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Review Barcelona
Positives
- Many ways to score points: The game rewards you constantly, regardless of your strategy.
- A fairly thematic game.
Negatives
- May not be restrictive enough for some players
- You have to like “point salads”: The final score can be high, which may not please all players.
- Watch out for the 4 player AP.
Breakdown
- Components and illustrations 8.5
- Mechanics 8.0
- Theme 8.5
- Replayability 7.5
- Handling 9.0
- Interaction 8.5
- Originality 8.5
