China
Fight for influence in nine Chinese regions by placing houses and emissaries with cards.
Who it's for
You like area-majority games with a short playtime and a clean map. A lovely choice for three players who like to calculate.
Not for you if…
You want a lot of theme or a lot of player interaction by negotiating. It is an abstracted scoring puzzle, and one clever opponent can pull ahead.
Vibe's take
Tidy, tactical and tense. Every card helps you and gives your opponents ideas, and the scoring creates a slow squeeze on the board.
About this game
China is an abstract game of political influence, played out on a map of China divided into nine regions. Hundreds of years ago, regional rulers fought each other to become the new Emperor, and now you play cards to place your pieces, houses and emissaries, into those regions. When every house space in a region is filled, or at the end of the game, players score the majorities. At the end, you also score emissary majorities across two neighboring regions, plus bonus points for a chain of four or more houses along a road. Clever timing matters, because every card both helps you and gives others a chance. It is easy to learn, tense, and over in under an hour. A strong pick for three to five people who enjoy outthinking each other.
Get it
Mechanics
Categories
By the numbers
Players
Duration
45 min
Ages 10+
Complexity
2.3 / 5 — LightBGG Rating
6.5/10
Rank #1,419
4.6k ratings
Published
2005
Designed by
Michael Schacht
Published by
ABACUSSPIELE, Überplay
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