Alien City

About this board game

Alien City is a two-player city-building game that takes about 40 minutes, set on a newly colonized world in the far future. Players compete as builders, constructing a city while selecting towers they hope will earn the greatest profits.

Society is divided among four powerful guilds, each represented by a distinctive color and symbol. The Energy Guild uses red and operates power plants, the Synthesis Guild uses blue and operates factories, and the green Control Guild operates government facilities. The black Builder’s Guild is different: it has no towers of its own and is compensated with profits from towers chosen during construction.

• Towers: Large red, blue, and green Icehouse Pieces representing guild facilities.
• Domes: Piecepack coins placed suit side up to represent citizen housing.
• City grid: A 4×5 array of piecepack tiles, with each tile providing four building sites.

Guild towers want to be close to towers and domes belonging to other guilds, their customers, while staying far from other towers of their own guild to avoid competition. Each player may choose only three towers for themselves, so location matters throughout the construction process.

Players alternate turns, placing one tower or dome at a time. Construction ends when all available towers and domes have been placed or when no legal building sites remain. Scores are then determined by the relative positions of the towers and domes, rewarding careful choices across the developing city.

With its compact board, colorful components, and clear focus on positioning, Alien City presents a distinctive contest over space, customers, and competition in a distant future.