Lost Cities

In my last post I mentioned that games were great for date nights. So I decided to review one such game. Lost Cities is a 2 player game that even if you have never heard of it before you should be able to teach yourself and whomever you’re playing with in 5 minutes or less.

The Components

This is a very simple game. In the box you will find 60 over-sized playing cards (2-10 in each of 5 colors as well as 3 “handshake” cards in each color),

a small tri-fold game board,

and the instruction booklet.

In our box, we also keep an absolutely beautiful score card that we printed out from BGG. We use the little glass beads that can be found in games like Bazaar or Basari to track our score on this card.

The Play

Each player is dealt 8 cards. The remaining cards are set on the side of the board as a Draw pile.

On each turn you will be removing one card from your hand and adding one card to your hand.

The card you remove can go one of two places. You may simply discard it in the appropriately colored pile on the board, or you may play it in front of you to start or add to one of your expeditions.

Then you must add a card to your hand. This card, as well, may come from one of two places. You may either blindly pick up a card from the Draw pile or you may take the top card from any one of the discard piles (even if you had previously discarded it).

A quick note on the Theme. You are an explorer setting out to discover (potentially) 5 Lost Cities. Each expedition you decide to take part in will cost you something, so you best make it worth your while.

There is only one other rule really, and that is in regard to the cards played in front of you. The cards 2-10 show the progress of the expedition. Therefore you must always play a higher card than the one you previously played (in that specific color).

The handshake cards represent investors. In order to get help from these investors you must meet them prior to starting an expedition. Therefore any handshake cards you wish to play (in a specific color) must be played prior to any numbered cards you play (in that color). These cards can double, triple, or even quadruple your earnings (or loss).

The round ends when the last card is drawn from the Draw pile.

When the round ends, you each add up your score. You can play any given number of rounds, but the game can swing drastically from round to round, so it is suggested that you play no less than three rounds.

Scoring in Lost Cities can seem complex, but it’s really not that bad once you’re used to it.

It costs you something to start an expedition. So when you start a new stack in front of you you’re at -20 points. So at the end of the round you total up the number cards in a given stack and immediately subtract the 20 points that it cost you to start it (this could put you in the hole). Then if you have any of the handshake cards in that stack, you apply them. Finally, if you managed to play at least 8 of the possible 12 cards in that color you receive a bonus 20 points for that stack. (This bonus is added after the multiplier takes effect.)

Scoring for the examples above:

White Stack: 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 10 = 45 – 20 = 25 + 20 = 45

There were 45 points in the numbered cards. It cost 20 points to start the expedition. You receive a bonus 20 points because you used 8 cards.

Blue Stack: 2 + 4 + 6 + 9 = 19 – 20 = -1 x 2 = -2

There were 19 points in the numbered cards. It cost 20 points to start the expedition. Having one handshake card doubles that total.

Review

Lost Cities is easy to teach and easy to learn. It can be a relaxing filler game, but there is enough room for strategy to hold the attention of more advanced players. I would also recommend this as a good game to play with your younger kids. It may even help them with their math homework.

One of my favorite aspects of this game is the artwork on the cards. I often forget to look at it, but the cards show the progress of the expedition and are fun to look at during the game.

This game plays quickly, and you should be able to get three rounds done in less than half an hour. So if your opponent crushes you in the first three rounds, you should have time to challenge him again.

I hope you find what you’re looking for while you Game On!