SimCity: the trading card game from Mayfair

Review by Ken Tidwell, October 30, 1994.

Mayfair have adapted the popular SimCity computer game to the even more popular trading card format. The basic game play doesn't sound very different from the original. The cards represent both undeveloped land and later development. Undeveloped land is played first then covered with housing developments, freeways, office space, and the like. Transportation and power lines must traverse the playing surface in unbroken lines in order to function properly. Players attempt to balance growth with the load on their infrastructure to create the "best" city. Each card successfully added to the city scores points and certain cards score bonuses when played in concert.

The cards themselves are illustrated using photographs. I think most folks will find them unexciting unless you really enjoy photographs of generic skyscrapers and power plants.

The game threatens to sink under the weight of its own interconnected nature. I wonder if folks will find the game as entertaining as its computer counterpart when they have to keep track of powerlines, traffic, and zoning laws by hand.

Look for this one "real soon."

The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Ken Tidwell

The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Ken Tidwell