Review #24: Welcome To...

# of Players: 1-100
Playtime: 0-30 Minutes

Core Mechanic: Roll-and-Write

Theme: City Building
Type: Family

Weight: Light

Year: 2018

Rating: 8.5*

Roll-and-write games in general entered 2018 with enormous buzz and hype. Welcome To... was probably the roll-and-write game that was making the most noise. Although it didn't end up being the first one I played, it definitely made its mark and is in very strong contention for the best one I have played. It is easy to learn, quick to play, has a fantastic theme, and I personally really enjoy city-building games and this gives game gives a very light city-building vibe that is enough to scratch that itch.

The theme of the game revolves around being planners for a few city blocks in the 1950s. Seeing the cover for the first time immediately made me think of Food Chain Magnate - not a bad way to make a first impression. The game falls into the roll-and-write category, although for this game cards are used instead of dice. Each round, three cards are flipped over to reveal three pairs of cards that can be selected from this round. Each player then selects one of the pairs to add the house number to their board and take the corresponding action if they wish.

Of course, there are rules on how numbers can be placed - each of the three blocks must have numbers in ascending order and you aren't able to use the same number twice beside each other within a block unless you Bis (more on that in a bit). This makes it important to think about placing low numbers near the start of the block, high numbers near the end, and everything else in between. However, the numbers aren't the only thing to consider when selecting a pair - you also need to pay attention to the special action that goes along with each number and how it will help your score.

The special actions are building fences, increasing estate values, building parks, building pools, adjusting the house numbers, and duplicating house numbers. When selecting the Surveyor to build fences, you are able to put down a fence anywhere on the board. Fences are important since they are used to form estates of 1-6 houses which score you points only when complete.  The end-game values of these estates can be increased when the Real Estate Agent is selected. With the Landscaper, players can build a park along the same street as the house they numbered to score extra points. In a similar fashion, the Pool Manufacturer grants extra points if the numbered house has a pool.

Temp Agency allows you to adjust the number it is associated up or down by 0, 1 or 2. In doing so, players mark down that they have used this ability and whoever uses it the most gets bonus points at the end of the game. Finally there is Bis, which is the most complicated of the actions. With Bis, players are able to duplicate one of the house numbers already on the board on either side of the house they are duplicating. This allows players to use Bis to fill house numbers quicker, hopefully helping them complete objectives quicker, but the more players use Bis, they take larger end game penalties. There also is one other caveat with Bis - fences cannot separate the duplicate house from the original house.

I just mentioned the objectives, so I should move onto scoring. As mentioned earlier, players will score points for pools, parks, completed estates, and temp agency usage and lose points for Bis. Players also lose points if they cannot build one of the houses drawn. As for the objectives, there are three at the start of each game. The first player to achieve one of these will gain the larger number of bonus points while the rest will gain the smaller number once achieved. These objectives can range from having a certain configuration of estates, a minimum number of parks and pool, or even using Bis a minimum number of times. The game ends when any player has completed all three objectives or has filled in all the houses on his or her board or has refused to build three times.

This game seems to have a lot going on, but after the first couple numbers have been written down, most players are able to see how things work, making it quite easy to learn. And quickly most players will see midway through the game how poor planning early on can severely hamper the ability to put down future numbers. But the game is fast enough that everyone will likely want to play again and again and again to try to fine tune their strategy. For a more strategic variant, players can make Roundabouts, which allow them to restart numbering within a block at the cost of end-game penalties.

This game is a winner. In the end, it might not be my favorite roll-and-write (that will be covered in an upcoming review), but it is very close and extremely fun. The use of cards helps separate it from the pack and it is by far the most thematic. This is a simple game, making it perfect for the Gateway collection, but also has some depth that makes it suitable for the Middleweight collection. It also has the makings of being a modern classic so would fit in well as part of the Essential and Collector collections. My only gripe with the game is that it is so good that I've played it so many times that I'm almost finished with the sheet pack that came with the base game. Luckily there's a Kickstarter now with dry erase boards or you could always laminate the sheets that come with the game!