Machi Koro is a gateway level dice and tableau building game that is just on the fringes of what I would call a modern classic. It’s been well supported with a bunch of expansions over the years. I think it’s fair to say that Machi Koro was aimed at the family market. As a result, many gamers were turned off by the luck in the game. Games like Valeria Card Kingdoms and Space Base have built on its mechanisms and gained more favour with gamers.
However, the announcement of a legacy version of Machi Koro is certainly enough to make me take notice. Add to that designer Rob Daviau, who took Pandemic and turned it into the fantastic Pandemic Legacy, and Machi Koro Legacy is a game I’m very excited to try.
Gameplay
Machi Koro is a city building game where each player builds up a collection of different buildings in their town. Each turn, the active player rolls dice to activate buildings in their city and they might also activate some buildings for everybody. Cards in your collection have values 1-12, corresponding to the values you can roll on two dice. In general, your activations will result in you collecting money to buy more cards. Money can be used to build your own personal landmarks, as well as the observatory, all of which serve to help you win the game.
In legacy games, the key element is that the game changes as you play it. Typically, from game-to-game, you can expect to write on the board or the cards, tear up game components, add stickers and open surprise envelopes or tuck boxes, so that the game can evolve. Machi Koro Legacy will be a 10-game legacy campaign. At the end of the game you’ll have your own customised version of Machi Koro that you can continue to play with forever. Each game should last 30-40 minutes.
Machi Koro Legacy - Coming Soon
The majority of legacy games that we've seen so far have been aimed at an older age range. The only exception being Zombie Kidz, which is definitely aimed at children. Machi Koro Legacy looks like a great game for families with children of different ages. It could be a great way to slowly increase the complexity over the course of the game sessions.
In addition, I think it will appeal to gamers, like me, who want to see some more complexity added to Machi Koro. I love legacy experiences because it’s always exciting to watch the game evolve, so Machi Koro Legacy is a must for me.