New York City Board Game Essential Edition (Stefan Feld City Collection 3)

Build sky scrapers and develop transport in the city that never sleeps.

A game of New York City Board Game Essential Edition (Stefan Feld City Collection 3) is played over 5 game rounds. First, players each draw 3 cards from the deck. Then deal out cards in sets of two cards equal to two times the number of players plus one additional. In turn order, players draft a pair of cards until they have a total of 7 cards in hand.

Next comes the bidding round, where in turn order players will play cards to bid to determine the strength of their action, with the player who bids the highest getting a bonus. In order, the actions are:

1. Press: Advance on the Press track to determine player and tie-breaking order.
2. Money: Receive money to be used for special actions.
3. Characters: Take a character with a special ability or scoring up to the value of cards played.
4. Building plans: Take a number of skyscrapers from the general supply.
5. Prestige: Receive points equal to your bidding value. I addition, the first and second place bidder gets to increase the value of a borough.
6. Skyscrapers: Players place skyscrapers from their board into borough currently being visited by the mayor.

The game is played over five rounds (there are six boroughs, one is randomly not visited each game). Each game, the value of boroughs is randomly assigned, and the player with the most skyscrapers in a a borough receives full value, and the next player receiving half, and so on. There is also a bonus for building in every borough. Points are also awarded for certain characters, and the player with the most points is the winner.

Based on Rialto, a previously designed game by Stefan Feld.