Welcome back to game mechanics 101! Today's topic is tile placement. It is a broad subject since the essence of the mechanic is that you have tiles that you place to construct some thing. We have had a lot of tile placement games over the years. Even though they utilize the same mechanic, they feel very different.
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Square tiles are very common in these games. Carcassonne, our first hobby board game, uses the tiles, drawn from a bag, to build a map with cities, roads, and cloisters. The completion of which will gain points for the win. Glenmore II is similar but each person makes their own individual map and it is combined with a rondel mechanic for tile selection. The placement of the tiles also activates the abilities of the surrounding tiles. In Alhambra, the tiles for your city must be purchased. It is combined with an area control mechanic as you want to have the most of the various colors available. Between 2 Cities is another city building game but it doesn't only use squares. It changes things up with some rectangular tiles and building with teammates. The tiles are chosen with a drafting mechanic. Castles of Mad King Ludwig has a variety of shapes to construct your castle. This is another game where you need to purchase your tiles. There is even a mash up of these 2 games, Between 2 Castles of Mad King Ludwig. With Tetris style tiles, Baren Park brings tile placement into the puzzle realm. The pieces build your zoo but they need to interlock efficiently to win the game. Patchwork is another of these type of games but adds a little economy as you need to make money to buy tiles. Share with us your favorite tile placement game or one you are interested in trying. I for one am interested in trying Cottage Garden. Join us next week for roll and write games.
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