Warsaw: City of Ruins

About this board game

Warsaw: City of Ruins is a city-building board game for 2–4 players, played in about 60 minutes. Across six epochs, players develop their own districts while jointly building a city that evolves from Warsaw’s rise as Poland’s capital to modern times.

Each epoch has a construction phase followed by an income phase. During construction, players receive tiles from the current epoch, choose one simultaneously, and then decide whether to build it or discard it for three coins. Building requires paying the tile’s cost, so managing your money is an important part of developing your district.

New tiles can be placed on empty spaces or built directly over existing tiles. Covering an older tile reduces the new tile’s price by the price of the tile underneath it, allowing districts to change as the city develops. Every district must fit within a 3×4 or 4×3 rectangle.

• Build across six historical epochs.
• Choose between construction and taking three coins.
• Replace older development by building over existing tiles.
• Earn income and victory points from your district.

City tiles are divided into four quarters, with each quarter representing a building type. Public buildings and milestones occupy entire tiles as separate areas, even when they stand next to other buildings. At the end of each epoch, districts generate income and victory points, while milestones are placed during the income phase.

Warsaw: City of Ruins also introduces wars at the end of the third and fourth epochs, adding notable turning points to the city’s six-stage development. After the sixth epoch, the player with the most points wins.