Ragusa

Place houses on corners between hexes to build a Renaissance Dubrovnik and a fine-tuned economic engine.

Designer: Fabio Lopiano
Publishers: Braincrack Games, Capstone Games
Editions by: Giant Roc, Giochix.it, Atalia, Fishbone Games

Ragusa is set in the 15th-century city we now call Dubrovnik, and the job is to build it. Your houses go on the spots between three hexes, so each house works like a worker that triggers three things at once. In the countryside they give you resources, in the city they give you actions. You turn the raw materials into buildings, trade and valuable goods, whose price shifts as ships come and go from the harbor. It looks like simple worker placement, but it becomes an engine-builder, because each house you place feeds the others. Plays one to five, around eighty minutes, and best with four.

Houses trigger three spots at onceCommodity prices shift with ships in the harborContracts and set collection reward planning

Who it's for

You like worker placement that turns into an engine-builder, enjoy spatial placement puzzles and want solo play.

Not for you if…

You prefer direct conflict or want something very light. This is a quiet optimization puzzle.

Vibe's take

Puzzly and satisfying. Every house you place sets up the next one, and the harbor prices give you a reason to watch what others craft.