Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 45-60 min
Age requirements: 10+
Set-up time: 5 minutes

Sunrise City Rules Description:

Sunrise City is a tile-laying game of city development. You need to create zones, bid for lots and build buildings. The higher you go, the more points you score. Can you rise to the occasion and beat your opponents?

Sunrise City takes place over three rounds of play. Before the first round you are dealt three role cards. At the start of each round you choose your role for that round. Roles might allow you to break some rules or score points. They also have a unique number that determines the turn order for the round. You can only use a role once per game.

During the Zoning Phase you add zone tiles to the city. There are five different zone types. You will need to match these zone types to the buildings you plan to build. Extending zones scores you a point for each adjacent matching zone tile.

Before you are able to build you must first bid on lots. Players have six bidding tokens and take turns bidding one token in turn order. You bid by placing your token on an empty space or by placing your token on top of an opponent’s token. If you have two tokens in a row on one stack you win that lot. If not the player whose token is on top of the stack wins.

Next you place building tiles on lots you have won. Building tiles take up two lots and you must have won at least one of the lots you build on. You score points for placing a building and bonus points are scored by the winner of each lot.

Once buildings are placed you can add tiles on top of the previously placed ones. In order to do so, you still must match zone types. Every odd level will score extra points, but no one scores bonus points for owning the lot after the first level of a building.

Every ten points you convert into a star and the player with the most stars after three rounds wins. If you manage to land exactly on the ten spot on your scoring rack you earn an extra star.

Quick Review of Sunrise City:

Sunrise City is a fun game that plays quickly but offers good tactical challenge. The first thing you’ll notice when you pick up Sunrise City is the weight of the box. Once you open it you’ll realize the excellent quality of the components. The tiles are very thick and the entire game looks fantastic.

The rules are easy to read and you can be playing Sunrise City shortly after getting it. The game is easy to teach and after one round everyone will get the idea. My only complaint is that the purple and blue tiles are a bit too close in color. There are icons for each building type, but they are rather small on the tiles.

I really like the bidding mechanic and how you can score when other players build. After a few plays you’ll learn what lots tend to be worth bidding on just to steal points.

Being able to get two stars for landing on ten on your score track is cool. You’ll love when it happens, but it is fairly hard to plan for. Your opponents will build on lots you expected to build on or you’ll score on their turn.

It is kinda hard to plan for anything in Sunrise City as tile draws and other player’s actions may limit your plans. I am torn about the randomness as it creates a situation where you have to make the best with what you’ve drawn. I just wonder if drawing six tiles and keeping four would be more strategic or too unbalanced.

If you like tile-laying games it is worth your time to try out Sunrise City. It is a bit random but it plays fast and is easy to teach. So it should it your table often. If you like Sim City and other city planning games you should try this game out too. You won’t be disappointed.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6