Chang’an

About this board game

Chang’an is a 1–4 player board game about building the best districts of a major Tang dynasty city, with games lasting about 45 minutes. Players compete as urbanists seeking the favors of the court while shaping a cosmopolitan urban center filled with travelers, buildings, and influential characters.

Each player carefully projects their plans by placing cards on the top section of their personal board, known as the gates. These cards can later move into the city districts, where they help develop the city and contribute to the player’s score.

Every card built into a district provides different privileges and a certain number of victory points. Players must decide how to develop their personal city while using their cards to produce resources and activate character effects.

• Research: Work with cards on the gates to support your plans.
• Play and/or move: Place or shift cards on the gates to produce resources and activate character effects.
• Build: Move cards into the city districts to add buildings and welcome influential characters.

On your turn, you perform only one of these three main actions: research, play and/or move cards on the gates, or build. This focused action structure challenges you to plan ahead and choose the moment when your cards will have the greatest impact.

The game ends as soon as a player has nine or more cards built in the districts of their City board. Cards remaining at the gates do not count toward this condition. After the game ends, the player with the most victory points is declared the best urbanist of Chang’an.

With its card-based city development, resource production, character effects, and race toward nine built district cards, Chang’an presents a compact competition to shape one of the world’s largest cities during the Tang dynasty.