Sprawlopolis Review

City planning. I mentioned this in a previous review, and how bad I would be if it were my job. Well, maybe I could if it were on a small scale. Like, really small. Enter Sprawlopolis. Will I have better luck planning out the cityscape when I can cover up the poorly-designed areas and replace them with better ones? Let’s find out.

DISCLAIMER: We have reviewed Sprawlopolis before, but as a Solo Chronicles segment piece. So you are NOT reading the same review, as this one is for the multiplayer game mode. I also do not intend to rehash the rulebook again in this review, but to give my opinions on this little micro-game. -T

I have a game on my Shelf of Shame (Patchistory) that I need to get played that uses a similar mechanic to that which is employed here with the card lying, but you can cover up portions of previously laid cards. Is there a more succinct mechanic name for that? If so, please enlighten me because that’s wordy! In any case, while we were trying to achieve our goals in what seems like a VERY short amount of time, my spatial awareness in relation to time awareness was horrible. I just could not figure out how best to use my cards to satisfy our goal cards. This is not a knock on the game, but on my poor play. I do believe this game can suffer from very unfortunate draws for the goal cards which make it nigh impossible to win, but that just means you have to play again right away. And that’s not all bad…

Components. As with all of Button Shy’s Wallet Series games, this is comprised of a small deck of cards in a vinyl wallet. The wallet is fine, and the cards are of good quality. The art is really nice and each district shown on the cards is unique but distinctively belongs to a matching family of districts: parks, commercial, residential, industrial. As always I have no problems with Button Shy components.

There are many things I like about the game. I really like the table presence as the town is being built. It’s colorful while also sticking to a specific color combination palette. The game play is very interesting, especially when you are able to visualize your cards and strategize with them. The game play time is pretty quick, and it is not really intended to be a brain burner, so it is very light. Sprawlopolis is not the greatest game I have played, but I certainly wouldn’t turn down more plays of it. I am glad we have it in our collective library, and we at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a sprawling 8 / 12.