Tiny Towns

2019

Immerse yourself in Tiny Towns, a strategic board game where you are the mayor of a hidden forest civilization. Plan, build, and use resources wisely for the prosperity of your town, but beware, wasted resources negatively affect your score! The player with the most victory points wins!

60
minutes

1 - 6
player(s)

14+

Medium

About the game

Tiny Towns is a delightful, strategic board game that invites you to wear the hat of a town planner. The game transpires in a whimsical world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Here, you are tasked to oversee the evolution of a tiny town with the aim of making it the most thriving among competitors.

Set in a charming, forested landscape, the game offers a tranquil, yet challenging, environment. Your task is to transform a simple grid into a bustling town, utilizing a variety of resources represented by wooden cubes. These include brick, wheat, glass, wood, and stone. The setting is made more immersive by the beautifully designed cards that illustrate different types of buildings you can construct, each with its unique benefits and scoring methods.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Tiny Towns has a variety of components, each with its own unique function within the game. Below are the components included in the game:

1. Rulebook: The rule book is your guide to playing Tiny Towns. It contains all the rules and details on how to play.

Interaction with the game: It doesn’t interact with the game directly, but it is crucial for understanding the gameplay and the roles of the other components.

2. Building cards: The game includes 15 different types of building cards, with 4 cards for each type.

Interaction with the game: These are the buildings that players can construct in their town. The type of building and its placement can earn players points or grant special abilities.

3. Resource cubes: There are five different types of resource cubes: wood, wheat, brick, glass, and stone.

Interaction with the game: Players collect these resources in order to construct buildings. The type of resources required depends on the building.

4. Monument cards: There are 10 unique monument cards.

Interaction with the game: Each player starts the game with a unique monument card. These monuments provide special benefits once constructed.

5. Scorepad: A pad for tracking each player’s score.

Interaction with the game: The scorepad is used at the end of the game to tally up each player’s points based on the buildings they have constructed and the resources they have collected.

6. Player boards: There are 4 unique player boards, each representing a different town.

Interaction with the game: Players use these boards to plan and construct their town. The boards also show the player’s current resources and buildings.

7. Building tokens: There are wooden building tokens for each type of building.

Interaction with the game: These tokens are placed on the player boards to represent constructed buildings.

8. Master builder token: A single token that is passed around the table.

Interaction with the game: The player holding this token decides which resource will be collected by all players during the next turn.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Tiny Towns is a game where players are tasked with constructing their own tiny town from a limited pool of resources. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up this engaging board game:

Player Roles:

In Tiny Towns, each player is the mayor of a tiny town in the forest. As a mayor, your goal is to build the most prosperous town possible using the available resources.

Board Placement:

Each player receives a 4×4 grid board to build their tiny town upon.
The resource deck, monument cards, and building cards should be placed in the center of the table where all players can easily reach them.
The resource cubes should be placed beside the resource deck.

Initial Resources:

Each player starts the game with no resources on their board. The resources are acquired through the course of the game.

Random Elements:

The game includes a random element in the form of the resource deck. This deck is shuffled at the beginning of the game, dictating the order in which resources become available to players.
Monument cards are another random element. At the beginning of the game, each player is dealt two monument cards. They choose one to keep, and the other is returned to the bottom of the deck. These monuments provide unique benefits and add a level of strategy and unpredictability to the game.
Building cards are also drawn randomly. They determine what buildings can be constructed and what benefits they provide.

Set Up Steps:

Each player receives a player board (4×4 grid).
Place the resource cubes, monument cards, and building cards within reach of all players.
Shuffle the resource deck and place it face down.
Deal two monument cards to each player. Each player chooses one to keep and returns the other to the bottom of the monument deck.
Turn over the top card of the building deck and place it face up for all players to see. This indicates the available building for construction.
Choose a player to go first. That player will be the one to draw from the resource deck first.

Now, you are ready to start building your tiny town!

Game flow Round and round we go

Tiny Towns is a strategy board game where players are tasked with building their own tiny town in a grid. It is a game that is played in rounds until the game ends, which occurs when all players can no longer construct any buildings. The game does not have distinct phases; instead, each round consists of a series of player actions.

All players work simultaneously in each round, which can be broken down as follows:

Master Builder Declaration: The player with the Master Builder token declares a resource type that all players must take. The type of resource can be one of five: wood, wheat, brick, glass, or stone.
Resource Collection: Each player takes a cube of the declared resource and places it on any empty square in their town grid. Placement is permanent and cannot be moved later.
Constructing Buildings: If a player has placed resources in a pattern that matches a building on their building card, they can decide to construct that building. The player removes the matching resources from their town grid and replaces them with the relevant building token. The player can also choose to construct a cottage, which does not require a specific pattern of resources. Once constructed, buildings cannot be moved.
Passing the Master Builder Token: After all players have placed their resources and constructed their buildings, the Master Builder token is passed to the next player clockwise. This player will be the new Master Builder for the next round.

The game continues in this manner until all players can no longer construct buildings in their town grid. At this point, the game ends, and players count the points awarded by their buildings. The player with the most points wins the game.

Note: Some buildings provide special abilities or scoring opportunities, so it’s important to plan your town layout strategically to maximize your points.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

‘Tiny Towns’ is a strategy board game where players take on the role of the mayor of a small town in a forest. Each player’s turn consists of selecting a resource and placing it on their board. The goal is to construct buildings and generate the most victory points. Below is a thorough breakdown of what happens during a player’s turn:

1. Resource Selection:

The active player chooses one of the five resources: wood, wheat, brick, glass, or stone. All players, including the active player, must take a cube of the chosen resource.
Remember that the Master Builder variant changes this rule slightly. In this variant, the active player does not choose the resource. Instead, they draw a card from the resource deck. All players take a cube of the resource shown on the card.

2. Placement of the Resource:

Each player must place the chosen resource cube on an empty square in their 4×4 town grid.
Strategic placement is crucial. The position of the resources will determine where you can build your buildings. Buildings require specific patterns of resources to be constructed.

3. Building Construction:

If the resources in your town form the specific pattern of a building, you may construct that building. Remove the resource cubes from your board and replace them with the building.
Each building grants Victory Points and/or special abilities. Buildings can also influence the placement of future resources and buildings, adding a strategic layer to the game.

4. End of Turn:

The player’s turn ends after they have chosen a resource and all players have placed that resource on their boards. If applicable, any buildings are constructed before moving on to the next player’s turn.

Throughout the game, players should keep an eye on their opponents’ boards. Anticipating the resources that other players might choose can help you plan your own resource placement and building construction more effectively. The game ends when no player can place any more resources on their board. The player with the most Victory Points is declared the winner.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Tiny Towns’ concludes when all players cannot construct any more buildings in their town. This usually occurs when players have filled their grid completely, or when they are unable to place resources on their grid due to the existing layout. After this, the final scoring process begins.

Victory Conditions:

The player with the highest total number of victory points is declared the winner. Players accumulate victory points during the game through the construction of various buildings, each with their own unique points value. Some buildings even provide extra points based on their placement in the town or their relationship to other buildings.

Final Scoring Actions:

Before final scoring, players must perform the following actions:

Calculate Building Points: Each player calculates the total number of points they have gained from each type of building in their town. The points each building type grants is indicated on the building cards. Some buildings, like the Factory and the Cottage, have special conditions for scoring.
Subtract Empty Spaces: For each empty square on their 4×4 grid, players must subtract 1 point from their total score. Resources left on the grid do not count as empty spaces.
Count Monument Points: If a player has built a monument in their town, they score the points indicated on the monument card. Some monuments may grant extra points under specific conditions.

After all players have calculated their scores, the player with the highest total is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the fewest buildings wins. If there is still a tie, the victory is shared.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Tiny Towns is a game of strategic town-building where players compete to construct the most prosperous tiny town. The scoring system in Tiny Towns is simple but can be a little complex to understand initially. Here’s a detailed explanation:

1. Building Scores:

Cottage: A cottage is worth 3 points, but only if it’s fed by a farm. Unfed cottages score no points.
Chapel: A chapel is worth 1 point per cottage in the same row and column.
Farm: A farm feeds up to 4 cottages anywhere in your town.
Tavern: Taverns score based on how many you have built: 1 tavern scores 1 point, 2 score 4 points, 3 score 9 points, 4 score 17 points, and so on.
Warehouse: A warehouse doesn’t score any points. However, it allows you to store resources for future use.
Factory: A factory doesn’t score any points. Instead, it changes the way you gather resources.

2. Monument Scores:

Monuments score points based on the specific monument and its conditions. For example, the “Obelisk of the Crescent” scores 1 point per 3 resources left in the general supply at the end of the game, while the “Statue of the Bondmaker” scores 1 point per building type in your town that is adjacent to at least 1 other building of the same type.

3. Remaining Resource Penalty:

Each resource cube remaining on your board at the end of the game counts as negative 1 point.

4. Tie-Breaking:

If two or more players have the same score at the end of the game, the player with the fewest buildings on their board wins. If there is still a tie, the player who is earliest in player order wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

In the game of ‘Tiny Towns’, you’ll find a few rare or special rules and exceptions that may require some clarification. Below are some of these unique aspects of the game:

Master Builder Rule:

Under the Master Builder rule, the first player or ‘Master Builder’ has the ability to call out the resource type that all players must place on their board. A key point to note here is that the Master Builder changes each round, passing to the next player in clockwise order.

Feeding Your Town:

A common misunderstanding is around the ‘feeding your towns’ rule. In Tiny Towns, there is no requirement to feed your town or its inhabitants; the food resource is simply another type of resource to be used in building structures.

Building Placement:

When it comes to building placement, the buildings do not need to be adjacent to each other, and they can be placed on any open spot on your board. However, once a building is placed, it cannot be moved.

Empty Spaces:

An important exception to remember is that empty spaces on your board at the end of the game will subtract points from your final score. This encourages players to utilize their space as efficiently as possible.

Monuments:

Monuments are unique buildings that each player can build only once. Each player chooses a different monument at the start of the game, which can give them a special ability or advantage.

Scoring:

The scoring in Tiny Towns can sometimes be confusing. Each building type scores points in a different way, as detailed on the building cards. Some buildings may score points based on their location relative to other buildings, while others may score based on the number of a certain type of building you have.

Resources:

Finally, players should note that resources cannot be discarded or replaced once they have been placed on the board. They can only be removed when they are used to construct a building.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies for ‘Tiny Towns’

Tiny Towns is a game of planning ahead and maximizing your limited space. Here are some advanced strategies:

Adapting to Available Resources: You should always adapt your strategy based on the resources that are currently available. Don’t stick rigidly to a plan if the necessary resources are not forthcoming.
Maximizing Space: Try to make the most of your 4×4 grid by building structures that provide the most points for the least amount of space.
Strategic Resource Calling: When it’s your turn to call a resource, consider what resources your opponents need and try to disrupt their plans by calling a resource they don’t need.

Beginner Tips for ‘Tiny Towns’

If you’re new to Tiny Towns, these tips will help you get started:

Start by focusing on building simple structures. As you become more comfortable with the game, you can start to plan for more complex structures.
Remember that you don’t have to build a structure just because you have the resources for it. Sometimes, it’s better to wait and build a more valuable structure.
Keep an eye on your opponents’ boards. If you can see what they’re planning, you can potentially disrupt their plans when it’s your turn to call a resource.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in ‘Tiny Towns’

Here are some common mistakes that players make in Tiny Towns and how to avoid them:

Ignoring Your Opponents: Tiny Towns is not a solo game. You need to pay attention to your opponents’ boards and adapt your strategy accordingly.
Mismanagement of Space: Remember, once a resource is placed, it cannot be moved. Be careful not to box yourself in by placing resources haphazardly.
Overcomplicating Structures: While it can be tempting to build complex structures, often the simpler ones will provide more points and take up less space.

Optimizing Gameplay in ‘Tiny Towns’

Finally, here are some ways to optimize your gameplay in Tiny Towns:

Make a plan before the game starts, but be flexible and ready to adapt as the game progresses.
Try to keep your options open. Don’t commit to a single strategy too early in the game.
Remember, the game is not just about building structures, but also about managing resources and disrupting your opponents’ plans.