51st State
Build a new nation from the ruins of America with a deck of cards that each do three jobs.
Who it's for
You like card-driven city builders with a gritty theme and want to optimise your own little engine. Good for two to four, with a lot of options each turn.
Not for you if…
You want direct fights between players or a game that explains itself. The icons and the three-way card use take a game or two to settle.
Vibe's take
A brainy tableau-builder where every card is a tiny dilemma. You slowly build an engine, and the fun lies in finding that one clever combination.
About this game
The United States has collapsed, and thirty years on, four factions are trying to stitch together a new country: the 51st State. In this card game you lead one of them, the mutants, traders, New Yorkers or Appalachians, and build your own patch of the wasteland. You put locations into play, hire leaders and send people to work in your buildings to earn resources and skills. The clever bit is that every card can be played in three different ways, so each draw is a small puzzle about what the card is worth to you right now. Think of a post-apocalyptic city builder squeezed into a deck of cards.
Get it
By the numbers
Players
Duration
40–90 min
Ages 12+
Complexity
3.1 / 5 — MediumBGG Rating
6.2/10
Rank #2,244
3.1k ratings
Published
2010
Designed by
Ignacy Trzewiczek
Published by
IELLO, Portal Games, Edge Entertainment, Toy Vault, Inc.
/pic2945432.jpg)
/pic1114682.jpg)
/pic9303743.png)
/pic6871609.jpg)