Pyramid Pick
Lost Cities: Daring Adventure for Two
Published by Rio Grande Games
Created by Reiner Knizia
Card game with board; $19.95
ISBN: 1-892081-23-7
As far as I can tell, Reiner Knizia doesn't know how to design a bad game, and Lost Cities is no exception to his exemplary track record.
Although connected to the reputed theme of the game (adventurers traveling to Lost Cities around the globe) in only the loosest of possible fashions, the mechanics here prove to be simple, but not simplistic: To borrow the cliche, Lost Cities is easy to learn, difficult to master.
Despite the fact that it comes with a board, Lost Cities is essentially a card game: You have five different color suits (each belonging to a different environment in which a lost city is located), with each suit containing three "investment" cards and ten cards numbered from 1 to 10. Each player receives a hand of eight cards, and play proceeds in turns, with each player either playing or discarding a card, and then drawing another card in order to replace it.
Cards are played off of the board (which has five playing areas keyed to each of the five colors), with each player playing on his or her side of the board. Cards must be played in order, with investment cards coming first, and then the numerical cards in order after that. (So, in other words, if you've played the red seven, you cannot go back and play the red five; you can only play the red eight, nine, or ten.) When you decide to discard . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: March 2, 2001
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