Stats:
No. of players: 2-5
Amount of time to play: 60+ min (depending on the number of players)
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: 5 min

Ruins is the latest expansion for 51st State and the New Era. It adds 40 new cards and a few new game mechanics to the series.

Ruins Rules Description:

Though only containing 40 cards Ruins adds a lot to the both 51st State and the New Era. It can be combined with both base games and the Winter expansion too.

If you are not familiar with how the series game plays. You can read my overview of 51st State here and the New Era here. The rest of this post is only going to cover the new things added by the Ruins expansion.

There are a couple new game mechanics introduced. Some location cards (and one instant card) allow you to take one or more cards from the discard pile. Other let you have an extra leader (if playing with 51st State or Winter). There are also locations that let you store resources and produce resources or VPs when they are full. A handful of production locations are constantly open for your opponents to use (at least until you pass).

The two new leaders don’t help you gain VPs, but decrease a locations distance when you preform a conquest or agreement action.

Quick Review of Ruins:

Ruins introduces some fun new mechanics to 51st State and the New Era. The artwork and components are inline with the other games in this series.

Being able to draw from the discard pile can make for some interesting combinations. If you get a card that turns a resource you get every turn into VPs it can only hold 3 VPs. Well now you can redevelop it for 2 VPs and if timed right get it back from the discard pile to use again and again.

The new locations that store resources and produce them when full are cool too. They give you the flexibility to not use all your resources and possibly get some extra stuff at the same time. But you need to know when it is worth pulling off those resources and using them to get ahead. Especially if it will take you a few turns to refill the location so it will produce again.

It is nice how well Ruins integrates with the base games and other expansions. It adds some fun new mechanics but does so without adding a ton of new rules. If you are a fan of the series then you should pick this expansion up.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 5 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6