Tile Placement: Game Mechanics 101

Welcome back to game mechanics 101! Today's topic is tile  placement. It is a broad subject since the essence of the mechanic is that you have tiles that you place to construct some thing. We have had a lot of tile placement games over the years. Even though they utilize the same mechanic, they feel very different.

Square tiles are very common in these games. Carcassonne,  our first hobby board game, uses the tiles to build a map with cities, roads, and cloisters. Glenmore II is similar but each person makes their own individual map and it is combined with a rondel mechanic. In Alhambra, the tiles for your city must be purchased.

Between 2 Cities is another city building game but it doesn't only use squares. It changes things up with some rectangular tiles and building with teammates. Castles of Mad King Ludwig has a variety of shapes to construct your castle. There is even a mash up of these 2 games, Between 2 Castles of Mad King Ludwig.

With Tetris style tiles, Baren Park brings tile placement into the puzzle realm. The pieces build your zoo but they need to interlock efficiently to win the game. Patchwork is another of these type of games but adds a little economy as you need to make money to buy tiles.

Share with us your favorite tile placement game or one you are interested in trying. I for one am interested in trying Cottage Garden. Join us next week for roll and write games.