Achievement comes in different forms and is viewed in many ways by diverse people. To some, attaining an enviable status in society, acquiring more properties, or completing a difficult task is the definition of success or triumph. Nevertheless, the art of playing board games has come into the public consciousness as a medium of becoming an achiever.
Engine building is a genre of board games that allows players to complete specific tasks, generate resources/money, and attain victory points in the process. These types of board games are not only thrilling but also gives the player(s) a sense of satisfaction, especially when the built engine runs efficiently. If you’re interested in this and wondering about the best engine-building board games you can play, the following highlighted games would certainly fascinate you.
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1. Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization
The theme of Through the Ages is to create and solidify a newly-constituted era of civilization. Suitable for the age range of 12 and above, players are expected the complete the building process of the game within a 240-minted playtime. Ideally, about 4 players are expected to deploy their resources, skills, and creativity to create the best form of civilization. With its centering on card drifting, the game demands that players would need to have effective management of resources, set up a solid defense to keep them away from the antics of the enemies.
2. Puerto Rico
Designed by Andreas Seyfarth and released in the year 2002, Puerto Rico is a Euro-styled board game that demands players to assume the roles of Governors in the hitherto Caribbean government that was earlier in existence in Puerto Rico. With a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 players, the game has a maximum set up time of 10 minutes and an overall building completion timeframe of 150 minutes (2 hours, 30 minutes).
Puerto Rico is structured in a way that players would amass victory points by using individual separate boards to construct buildings, and ship goods to Europe without getting in the way of the enemies.
Players are mandated to assume either the role of a Trader or Builder; a role that empowers such players to complete the task of shipping goods to Europe or constructing a building in exchange for victory points or doubloons.
3. The Manhattan Project
Do you love being in control and having people conduct tasks on your behalf? The Manhattan Project is an engine-building game that places the workforce, armory, and the destiny of the nation in your hands. As the leader of the country’s armed forces, this engine-building game empowers you to use the range of atomic weapons to suppress the enemies from launching reprisal attacks against the country.
The major player in The Manhattan Project who also doubles as the leader of the country’s atomic weapons has the duty of assigning roles to other players to help in budding better armory for the nation. Some of the roles include taking over jobs completed or under construction by the enemy, directing your army to erect structures and to spy on the activities of the enemy.
In general, The Manhattan Project is an engine-building board game that aims at fostering competitions among nations with the aim of helping them build better atomic weapons to suppress each other’s rising influence.
4. Race for the Galaxy
The universe or galaxy as the case might be has innate potentials that are still untapped. With an engine-building board game like Race for the Galaxy, players are mandated to bring about galactic developments by picking up different roles, as enshrined in specific cards in the game. Players are required to select from the seven roles in the game and act accordingly to achieve the necessary technical and social developments, and completing the phase of the rounds in the game in the process.
5. Star Realms
In warfare, opponents are interested in neutralizing the influence of their players. By playing Star Realms, you would be working with the duo of compact and deck building to bring the activities of your opponent(s) to naught.
Produced in 2014 and featuring 2 players, this 20-minute engine-building board game allows you to either by taking the battle to your enemy’s fronts (compact) to reduce their total scores, or embarking on trades with the aim of acquiring bases and ships from the enemy.
6. Innovation
The world has come a long way since the Stone Age. Following the launch of the 21st century, we have seen many technological developments in many spheres, such as the internet. Now, Innovation, an engine-building board game helps to bring out your creative sides by allowing you to make your way through the different cultural and technological stages that lead you to civilization.
The rule of the thumb is to play the different cards in the game to help your advancement in attacking other forms of civilizations that tend to pose a threat to yours.
7. Dominion
Humans are naturally domineering beings, and the mandate given to them at the time of creation affirms that fact. Therefore, the Dominion engine-building board game is another medium of accentuating the fact that humans continually seek more opportunities to reveal their domineering tendencies.
In the course of the game, about 2-4 players are expected to complete the scheduled tasks within 30 minutes. The theme of the game revolves around a young monarch who had just taken over the throne from his deceased parents.
As expected of a younger leader, the main player has more ideas and wishes to implement them for the betterment of the kingdom he rules. To achieve this milestone, the player has to look for more lands for the construction of a better castle and to construct better structures that would improve the looks of the kingdom. Therefore, the player needs to be witty to beat other monarchs (players) in the game to gather the necessary resources that would aid the construction of his kingdom.
Board games, such as those centered on engine building, do not only help you derive a sense of fulfillment from accomplishing milestones/tasks but also helps you to be creative, as your thoughts would greatly improve. You may want to purchase and play the engine building board games on the list to attain victory points after completing specific tasks.