Noxford

About this board game

Noxford is a 2016 steampunk city-building game for 2–4 players, with games lasting about 40 minutes. Each player leads a crime syndicate competing to become the most influential force in a Victorian city that is perpetually expanding through the rhythm of its gears.

The city is built entirely from cards. On your turn, you place either a card showing your syndicate’s influence or a neutral card representing a valuable district or a barracks. Every new card must touch at least two cards already in play, with at least two of its edges aligned with the edges of the cards it touches.

Neutral districts are worth victory points, but their control depends on the syndicates surrounding them. Barracks are especially important because they cancel syndicate influence around those areas, changing the balance of power as the city develops.

• Influence cards: Expand your syndicate’s presence around the city.
• Neutral districts: Provide points based on the symbols shown on each card.
• Barracks: Cancel syndicate influence around their locations.
• Card placement: Connect new cards while meeting the required touching and edge-alignment rules.

The game ends as soon as one player plays their last syndicate card. Players then win neutral districts where they have more syndicate cards than their opponents, earning 1 victory point per symbol shown on each district.

A district also grants a +2 bonus when it depicts the favorite field of the player’s syndicate. In Noxford, careful placement and shifting influence determine who controls the city when the final cards are played.