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Manufacturer: Naylor Games

Top 10 Games of the year (2021) w/GBG
Magnate: The First City Review

Build a city, make a fortune.

In Magnate: The First City, you're a property developer out to build an empire in the midst of a citywide property boom. By snapping-up valuable land and constructing the right buildings in the right locations, you'll attract high value tenants and start raking in the big bucks. But beware: as the city grows, everything you build will also open up new opportunities for your competitors. Will you make a fortune? Or will you be caught out when the boom inevitably turns to bust in a game-ending market crash?

Magnate: The First City is a mid-weight strategy game for 1-5 players. Each turn players try to grow their property empire by performing different actions, including: buying plots of land, constructing buildings, marketing their developments and selling them completely for their capital value. Once per round, they will also get the chance to attract tenants to any empty buildings they have. If they are successful, they will start collecting rent from their tenants and increase the value of their holdings. At the same time, they will also create new development opportunities for themselves and their opponents.

But in Magnate, as in real life, not all locations are equally appealing to all types of tenant. Magnate's four types of tenant - residential, offices, retail and industry - all want to be linked to other types of tenant in nearby neighborhoods. And they are all affected differently by what's next door: The airport is an asset for offices, but it's an unattractive place for new residents. By clever tactical and strategic building, players can increase their odds of attracting these tenants and improve their return on investment - without benefiting their opponents too much.

But while the players acquire more and larger properties, the price of land keeps rising higher and higher. Eventually, it becomes completely unsustainable and a game-ending crash that will destroy the value of players' properties becomes inevitable. When exactly the crash happens, however, is shaped by the players: How much land they buy and how much property they sell will more make a crash on any specific turn more or less likely. Players must time their actions carefully to avoid substantial losses while maximizing their profits. Only then will they emerge victorious as the city's wealthiest property magnate.

Contents:
10 Houses
8 Retail Units
8 Small Office Buildings
8 Industrial Units
7 Apartment Buildings
3 Superior Office Blocks
3 Shopping Malls
3 Industrial Parks
60 Company Markers
56 "For Sale" Markers
33 Home Tenant Tokens
33 Retail Tenant Tokens
25 Advertising Tokens
12 Office Tenant Tokens
12 Industry Tenant Tokens
1 Land Price Marker
1 Crash Marker
1 Round Tracker Marker
1 First Player Marker
62 Building Footprints
10 Neighborhood Tiles
1 City Centre Tile
78 Tutorial Cards
36 New Tenant Cards
19 Risk Cards
210 Banknotes
20 Six-Sided Dice
5 Money Wallets
2 Property Market Boards
Rulebook
1 First Player Digger
31 AI Cards
12 AI Company Markers
1 AI Board


Ages: 10+
Players: 1-5
Game Length: 60-120 minutes

5 out of 5 stars

5 of 5 reviews


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5 reviews

Will Klaus

Average rating of 5 out of 5 stars

Great game. Highly recommend

September 21, 2023 7:32 PM

Magnate! The real property game!

Average rating of 5 out of 5 stars

This game is so good. It's city building but with an eye towards developing it for maximum corporate profits rather than 'for the good of the city,' but the good of the city is found anyway! You are incentivized to build certain buildings in certain places just enough to make things shape up to be like a real city, with industry along the outside edge and houses through the middle areas. The game lets you do whatever, but definitely makes it so that you want to develop low density first and high density last. Buying the most expensive thing isn't always the right move, so you have to carefully craft a plan instead of playing on autopilot. Easy to learn and teach.

April 8, 2022 10:45 PM

The GAME reflecting REALITY

Average rating of 5 out of 5 stars

Like a dream come true..... I want to be rich.

February 25, 2022 7:48 AM

Monopoly for the New Age

Average rating of 5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful and brutal. An real estate game for the new age

December 24, 2021 7:13 PM

Engaging and Delightful

Average rating of 5 out of 5 stars

Economic engine games can often feel arbitrary and pointless when a luck element features prominently. Magnate manages to walk this fine line with skill. In Magnate, you are buying and building with an inevitable market crash on the way. The demise of your empire will happen, you just don't know when. Gambling on when things are going to go wrong makes the end of the game tense and optimistic, even when one player has managed to snowball a victory that appears inevitable. There is always a chance you could outlast and outplay, you just have to be willing to risk it all. Everyone I've played this with is eager to play it again. I think that speaks volumes.

December 22, 2021 5:49 PM

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