Underwater Cities is a worker placement and engine-building game for one to four players. In this game, you gradually build underwater domes and production buildings that generate resources, which can then be reinvested in further development.

Gameplay

The game plays over 10 rounds. In each round, players take turns placing their workers on 12 or 15 primary action spaces (depending on the number of players) to gain various benefits. These action spaces are grouped by color: green spaces are the weakest, red spaces are stronger, and orange spaces are the strongest. But there’s a twist. Each player has a hand of cards in the same three colors. Playing a card when placing a worker is mandatory, and if the card matches the color of the action space, you also get to perform the effect on the card. Since your hand is usually limited to three cards, matching them with your desired actions isn’t always possible. This adds a unique layer of planning and strategy, as matching cards with your actions is something you’ll want to do as often as possible. Interestingly, the strength of the cards is the opposite of the action spaces of the same color: green cards are the strongest, while orange cards are the weakest. Balancing actions with your hand while advancing your plans leads to consistently engaging decisions. It’s worth mentioning that while the limited hand size helps keep options manageable, the decision space can sometimes feel overwhelming for players prone to analysis paralysis.

Building up your cities on your player board is a challenging puzzle. Each type of building provides a different resource, and upgrading them unlocks additional production. Resources are always tight, and making everything work is not easy. Planning ahead and making sure you generate the right resources during the production rounds is key to executing your strategy.

The cards are one of the best features of the game. At the beginning of each era, a new deck of cards enters the game with better and more powerful cards than the era before. As mentioned before, you get to play cards when matching the color with the action you take. Some cards provide instant benefits such as resources, building opportunities, or more cards. While the rewards from these cards can help you do more in any given round, the best type of cards are the ones that provide long-term abilities and contribute to your engine. These long-term abilities include producing extra resources during production, improving action spaces on the board, and increasing your hand size. These cards are crucial to building a stronger engine. Another type of card provides endgame scoring opportunities that can shape your long-term strategy.

Besides cards from the deck, there is another type called Special Cards. These cards are divided into two decks. One deck contains only objectives for endgame scoring. Six of these cards are randomly selected during setup, displayed throughout the game, and can be claimed by players, and the rest are returned to the box. The other deck contains powerful cards placed on the board with its top card face up. All special cards require an action to gain and credits to play, and they take up space in your hand, so they are quite expensive to play. However, they are powerful enough to justify their cost. The objective cards, in particular, are key to winning, but timing matters. Claiming them too early won’t help your engine, and paying their cost too soon can set you back—but wait too long, and you risk losing them to others.

Besides cards from the deck, there is another type called Special Cards. These cards are divided into two decks. One deck contains objectives for endgame scoring. Six of them are randomly selected during setup, displayed throughout the game, and available for players to claim, with the rest returned to the box. These cards are crucial for winning the game, but timing is key. You don’t want to claim them too early as they won’t contribute to your engine, and paying their cost too soon can be detrimental. However, waiting too long may result in losing them to other players. The other deck contains powerful cards placed on the board with the top card face up. These cards contribute to your engine. All special cards require an action to gain, credits to play, and they take up space in your hand, making them quite expensive. However, they are powerful enough to justify their cost.

It’s worth mentioning that luck of the draw is present in the game. In particular, not drawing cards that match your desired actions can interfere with your plans. However, since this can and likely will happen to all players, it doesn’t affect the balance of the game. It’s also easy to add a house rule to draw two cards and choose one whenever you draw cards or even introduce a display of available cards. Regardless, being able to pivot and make tactical decisions when you don’t have the right cards is another important aspect of a winning strategy.

Another challenge in the game is managing the cards in your tableau. With many cards providing additional benefits during specific events, it can be easy to forget about your bonuses. Missing these benefits can hinder your progress, and backtracking isn’t always possible, so keeping track of them is important.

Artwork and Production

Given the game’s age, some limitations in the artwork and components can be overlooked. However, I’m not particularly fond of the art. While the player boards with their domes and 3D presentation look great, the main board and the art on many of the cards don’t feel as visually appealing.

The components are also a bit of a mixed bag. There are a few areas that could be improved. Most notably, meeples would have been a better and more practical option than flat cardboard pieces for workers. Thicker resource chits would also improve the experience. The card quality could be better as well. Since the cards are frequently handled and shuffled, it’s a good idea to sleeve them to keep them in good condition.

In summary, the game could benefit from upgraded components to enhance the overall experience. A deluxe version with modern artwork and upgraded components would be a welcome update.

The New Discoveries Expansion

The New Discoveries expansion introduces upgraded player boards, new mechanics, and more variety. It brings 44 new cards for the era decks, 8 new cards for the special card decks, and several new variants.

New Player Boards

The new recessed player boards instantly improve the experience. City domes, production buildings, tunnels, and metropolis tiles fit nicely and don’t move during the game. But that’s not all. Instead of the 4 double-sided boards from the base game, you now get 8 double-sided boards, bringing the total to 16. Eight of these boards are the same as the ones in the base game. Four new boards are highly asymmetric and introduce a new type of metropolis tiles. These new green metropolis tiles provide powerful benefits like increased hand size, additional cities and production buildings, and improved production. The remaining four boards are designed for the Museum module.

Quick Start

This module gives players a head start at the beginning of the game. Rather than using the usual starting resources, players take turns in reverse player order to draft one starting resource tile. These tiles offer a variety of setups, such as extra cities, production buildings, and tunnels. However, the total number of rounds is reduced to 9 (instead of 10). While I prefer having more control with three actions in the extra round of the base game, this module can be a good addition if you want to cut out the slow start and shorten the length of the game.

This module also introduces a fantastic change: new personal assistants. These assistants are asymmetric and far more powerful than the generic ones in the base game. In addition to the action you can take with these cards, which mostly provide production buildings, each assistant includes a unique power for the player. These new cards are a must-have, and it’s unclear why they are tied to the Quick Start module. We used the new assistants without the starting tiles and had no issues.

Museum

The Museum module adds a new two-sided museum board to the game and must be played with four of the new player boards. The idea is that donating discoveries made in your civilization to the museum earns you rewards. Certain building spots on the player boards have discovery tokens attached to them. When you build on these spots, you place the associated token in the museum. Tokens must be placed in order across five areas of the museum, with the rewards becoming progressively better. These rewards include cards, extra production, free special cards, additional metropolis tiles, and victory points. The module adds a bit more interaction to the game and introduces a race element, as available rewards become more limited with each discovery. It’s a fun addition that brings extra depth to the game.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the mechanics of the game are highly enjoyable. The tight economy and unique card/action matching mechanics create decisions that keep you engaged from start to finish. Improving your cities and increasing production is also very rewarding. While the artwork and components could be improved, the strong mechanics make up for it. If you enjoy engine-building games and interesting cardplay, this game is definitely worth checking out.

The expansion adds a lot to the experience and improves several aspects of the game. The recessed player boards are a great quality-of-life upgrade, the new assistants are a must, and the museum module is a fun addition. On top of that, it adds more variety across different parts of the game. It’s expensive and not a necessary expansion, as the base game still holds up on its own, but it certainly elevates the experience and is worth considering if you play the game often.

Disclosure: We received a review copy of this game. Also, there may be an affiliate link in the links included at the end of this article.