Family Board Game Review: Neotopia

Set in the near future, in the year 2055, a group of entrepreneurs work to create an advanced city able to sustain itself and keep the balance harmonious between the three regions. Players use four elements produced in different factories to complete projects. Balance between the regions is the key in placement to optimize points to win the game.

Game at a Glance

Player Count: 2-4
Play Time: 30-60 minutes
Age: 8 and up
Gameplay: Tile Placement, Pattern Building, Hand Management
Publisher: Arcane Wonders

Components

Element Tokens: (25 each: Sustainable energy, Bio Farming, Technology, Community)
Character Cards
Project Cards
First Player Card
Score Pad
Bonus Tokens
Action Markers
Scoring Markers
Production Tiles
Game Board

Game Play

Neotopia plays over multiple rounds. The number of rounds is not a fixed number. Rather it is determined by the Production Tiles. More Production Tiles are placed during set up as the player count increases. Once the last Production Tile is used, the end of game is triggered.

On their turn a player must perform three actions. There are only two types of actions that players can choose from, and they may complete the same action more than one time. The actions are:

Draw one card either from the top of the deck or the Offer (which is the field of cards)
Move one available element from a Factory to an adjacent Region.

Scoring

Players score three ways in Neotopia. First, when a player fulfills one of their project cards, they immediately gain the points on the card on the score tracker for the region where the project was completed.

The other two ways to score occur at the end of the game. Each player gains one point for each Element Token of the color that matches their character in the largest cluster in each region. Clusters are tiles adjacent to each other. Players record the points from these clusters on the scoring track in that region. Scores are recorded on a scoring pad.

As you play it is important to spread your resources around to the three regions and not focus on just one region. In the first box on the scoring pad, you add the points of the region where you have the highest score. The second box is for the points in your second highest scoring region. The third box is for the region with the lowest points and will score triple.

Finally, you get three points for any unused bonus tokens. The player with the most points wins.

Family Game Assessment

Neotopia is an engaging tile laying game. It was a hit with our gaming group from the first round of play. While at its core Neotopia is a tile laying game, there are other components to the game play. Players also need to manage pattern making and hand management which make it a more dynamic game, and add layers of interesting challenges for the players to overcome.

During our first play of Neotopia, our group were all experienced gamers, so the mechanics were familiar from our previous gaming experience. Due to the multiple mechanics incorporated into Neotopia, having experience in each of the mechanics previously is helpful. While not a gateway game (a game well suited to a beginning gamer or a player new to the mechanic), Neotopia is a perfect next step for gamers ready for a slightly more challenging game.

What really stood out with the game was how easily the game flowed through the rounds and challenged our planning and strategizing. Especially early in the game there are more options on tile placement, and as expected the choices become more and more limited as the game progresses. By the last few rounds we had to really think and strategize on how to navigate the dwindling choices we had.

Final Thoughts

Neotopia is a light-midweight game, and great for players and families who are looking for something just a little more challenging than a gateway level game. The artwork is beautiful and has the aesthetic of a much more complex game. Neotopia is a great addition to a family board game collection. It is a solid game, engaging to play, and lovely on the table.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!

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