Review: Nucleum

Introduction & Overview

When Elsa von Frühlingfeld used recently isolated uranium to heat a pitcher of water and then used the resulting steam to power an engine in a process she called “atomization,” a new era of energy dawned. Her device, called “Nucleum,” made Saxony the center of European science and engineering. Now, a generation later, inventors, engineers, and industrialists flock to the Saxon court to become the leader of this new industrial revolution.

This is how we are presented with Nucleum, a design by Simone Luciani (Grand Austria Hotel, Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar) and Dávid Turczi (Imperium, Tawantinsuyu: The Inca Empire). First published in 2023 in an English version by Board&Dice. The artwork is handled by Andreas Resch (Istanbul, Il Vecchio, Great Western Trail) and Piotr Sokołowski (Loot, Merchants).

It is published in Spanish by Maldito Games (although the game is language-independent, except for the rulebook). It allows 1 to 4 players, with a suggested minimum age of 14 years and an approximate duration of 60 to 150 minutes. The MSRP is €70. For this review, a copy of the Spanish version by Maldito Games was used, kindly provided to us by the publisher as a review copy.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom) measuring 29.7×29.7×7.2 cm (standard square box like Ticket to Ride), we find the following elements:

Main Board (cardboard)
Side Board (cardboard)
4 Player Boards (cardboard)
72 Action Tiles (cardboard)
50 Contract Tiles (cardboard)
Flag Marker (cardboard)
10 Neutral Building Tiles (cardboard)
5 Urban Rubble Tiles (cardboard)
3 Mine Rubble Tiles (cardboard)
3 Turbine Rubble Tokens (cardboard)
65 Coins (values 1 and 5) (cardboard)
46 Achievement Tokens (values 1 and 5) (cardboard)
8 Goal Tiles (cardboard)
4 Nucleum Tokens (wooden)
4 Power Plants (cardboard)
1 Coal Power Plant (cardboard)
5 End-Game Condition Markers
First Player Tile (cardboard)
13 Coal Tiles (cardboard)
24 Uranium Cubes (wooden)
28 Cards (62.5×88 mm):
- 13 Setup Cards
- 15 Automa Cards
8 Large Cards (80×120 mm):
- 4 Reference Cards
- 4 Experiment Reference Cards
4 Experiment Boards (cardboard)
32 Technology Tiles (cardboard)
4 Turbine Effect Tokens (cardboard)
26 Goal Markers (wooden)
72 Workers (wooden)
16 Turbines (wooden)
12 Income Markers (wooden)
48 Building Tiles (cardboard)
16 Mine Tiles (cardboard)
4 Victory Point Markers (wooden)
Automa Die (resin)
Rulebook
Solo Mode Rulebook

How to Play

Nucleum is a game in which players compete to develop Eastern European cities and power them by activating power plants that must be supplied with coal and/or uranium. Each player has a set of action tiles displaying two different actions, which can be: building a building (paying a cost in money), building infrastructure (to store and transport uranium), advancing their production tracks, obtaining a contract (which shows a specific requirement), acquiring new action tiles, or energizing (activating plants as long as the buildings are connected to power sources). Alternatively, players can place these tiles as railway connections, activating their actions when connected to matching-colored elements, though losing the tile for the rest of the game. When energizing buildings or completing contracts, players gain benefits, notably technology effects available on their player board (there are four technology sets). Instead of playing a tile, a player can take a turn to recharge, recovering their action tiles and producing according to the number of played tiles and the position of the income markers (coins, workers, and victory points). Additionally, players will accumulate achievement points that allow them to place a marker on a track with several end-game scoring criteria. Each star acts as a multiplier applied to one of these criteria. The game ends when a number of criteria out of five possible ones are met.

Key Concepts

Let’s start with the Main Board. It displays a series of cities represented by color-coded regions (white, purple, green, or orange) with square spaces for buildings, hexagonal spaces for mines, and circular spaces for turbines. Some cities have a power plant placed on them, which can produce energy if activated. In the upper area and on the left side, there are two coal depots. Along the edge of the board, there is a victory point track with spaces numbered from 0 to 99. One specific city, Prague, features all colors and provides double points at the end of the game.

Associated with the main board is the Supply Board. It features a track of star-shaped spaces divided into two types of sections: equidistant sections associated with a goal, and sections marked with colored flags that carry a multiplier applied to that goal. On the right side of this board, there are reserve spaces (from top to bottom) for: action tiles, contracts, end-game condition markers, and goal markers.

The core element of the game is the Action Tiles. Each player starts with a set of tiles that can be expanded by acquiring new ones. These tiles show two actions on one side and a railway track on the other, each associated with one of the city colors. Players can activate these actions during a normal turn, locking the tile until they perform a recharge/production phase. Alternatively, tiles can be activated one final time by placing them on the main board as a railway line (their actions trigger as long as they connect to a matching color end).

During the game, players obtain Contracts that can be fulfilled during a turn when activating an action tile. These contract tiles show a requirement and a reward (usually victory points and/or technologies). There are two types of contracts (silver and gold) that must be claimed beforehand to be completed. Three common contracts (purple) are prepared on the shared board and can be fulfilled without being claimed beforehand.

Another key element is the Personal Buildings. Each player has an identical set of 12 buildings divided into three types, each with a coin cost, required energy level, and a reward when energized, as well as achievement tokens equal to the required energy value. Energized buildings provide end-game victory points. The highest-cost building of each type awards points based on matching building types in the player’s network containing that building. A network consists of connected cities joined by the player’s railway lines.

During setup, a number of Public Buildings are placed on the map. These work just like personal buildings, except that any player can energize them. When evaluating government buildings, public buildings count if they match the required building type.

Players can build Turbines and Mines, which are necessary to supply uranium to the plants. Mines are represented by hexagonal tiles capable of storing 2 or 3 uranium cubes. Whenever a player gains uranium cubes, they must place them in one of their mines with available space to avoid losing them. Turbines are used to transport uranium to power plants. Each plant can transport 1 cube by default; an additional turbine is required for each extra cube transported (opponent turbines can be used, though a cost must be paid).

Uranium Cubes are placed on mines and are mainly obtained when building mines (cubes are received proportionally to the number of mines built, though they can be obtained through other means). Players must have available space for any uranium cubes received, though cubes can be converted into workers (and workers into coins) at any time.

During setup, a deck of Setup Cards determines which power plant is active at the start of the game, the locations of public buildings, and spaces that are blocked.

Depending on the setup cards drawn, Block Tiles are placed on the board, preventing the construction of Buildings, Mines, and/or Turbines in certain cities. These spaces remain blocked for the duration of the game.

One of the main resources in the game is Coins. These are used primarily to pay the building cost of personal buildings, but are also needed when placing railways, turbines, or mines. Coins can also boost the action strength when acquiring new action tiles. At the end of the game, left-over coins in the player’s supply grant points.

Workers are the second resource type. They are used to pay for turbine and mine construction, as well as placing railway tracks on the board. Remaining workers grant victory points at the end of the game. Workers can be converted into coins at any time.

When energizing, players select a Power Plant to supply fuel to. There are five plants on the board: four nuclear (with a Nucleum token placed on top to show activation) and one coal power plant (with a cloud coming out of the chimney). Nuclear plants accept both uranium and coal as fuel, while the thermal power plant naturally accepts only coal. It is not possible to generate power across multiple plants in a single action.

Coal is represented by Coal Tiles placed in the two coal depots on the main board. These tiles display a coin cost that players must pay to obtain a unit. The front side displays a cost of 1 coin, while the back shows a cost of 2 coins. Purchasing coal at 1 coin flips the tile to its 2-coin side. Purchasing coal at 2 coins removes the tile, revealing a 3-coin cost printed directly on the board.

Each player has a Player Board featuring three production tracks at the top (coins, workers, and victory points) along which three markers advance. Above these tracks, there are spaces to place action tiles played during turns. When producing, players receive income up to the last column covered by action tiles that the track marker has reached or surpassed. The bottom area houses the building supply, with designated spaces and costs for each tile. The right side contains infrastructure reserves for placing turbines and mines, along with spaces to place contracts and receive associated placement bonuses.

Goal Tiles define scoring criteria that players can score at the end of the game. Each criterion can be scored up to twice per player, provided they manage to place goal markers in the matching track section.

Each player has a set of Goal Markers that are placed on the corresponding track whenever a recharge/production phase is performed. These markers are also one of the conditions that trigger the end of the game.

To place these markers, players need to earn Achievement Tokens. These tokens display one or five stars and are obtained mainly by energizing buildings (private or public), though alternative ways to gain them exist. Whenever a player produces, they spend all their achievement tokens to place one of their markers.

During the game, there are five conditions that players can fulfill to trigger the end of the game (triggered when two conditions are met in 3/4-player games, or three conditions in a 2-player game). Whenever a player triggers one of these conditions, they claim the corresponding marker, which awards immediate victory points.

Each player has an Experiment board with eight technologies. This experiment is tied to a specific set of basic action tiles. Whenever a player obtains a technology advancement of a given level, they choose one inactive technology of equal or lower level, applying its effect. Immediate effects must be resolved right away. Completing an experiment by activating all 8 technologies is one of the conditions that can trigger the end of the game.

Finally, the ultimate goal is to accumulate the most Victory Points. These are earned during the game by completing contracts or as income during recharge phases. At game end, points are awarded based on goal criteria and placed achievement markers, energized buildings, and activated endgame scoring technologies. Reaching 70 points during play is another end-game trigger condition.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

Place the main board on the side appropriate for the player count.
Place coal tiles in the depots showing the 1-coin side (in 3-player games, leave one space empty in each depot).
Form a general supply with coins, achievement tokens, and uranium cubes.
Place the flag marker on the 70 victory point space.
Place the supply board next to the main board.
Shuffle the goal tiles and place four on the matching spaces.
Form the tile supply by shuffling the 20 basic tiles (with a dot) plus 10/15/25 non-basic tiles for 2/3/4 players. Place them on the tile supply space and reveal the top five.
Shuffle contract tiles by type and place 6/9/12 silver contracts and 10/12/16 gold contracts for 2/3/4 players, placing each stack in its space and revealing the top 2 tiles of each stack.
Shuffle purple common contract tiles by type and place 1 of each type on the reserve spaces.
Place the 5 end-game condition tokens on their corresponding spots.
Place the five power plants on their positions.
Shuffle the public building tiles to form a draw pile.
Shuffle the setup cards and reveal the first card to determine which plant is active, placing a Nucleum token on it. Reveal the first public building tile and place it on an open space of the starting city (preferably a red space, then a matching building icon space, then a multi-icon space, or lastly a space with no icons). If not possible, draw the next public building. In 3-player games, place turbine block tokens. In 2/3-player games, place block tokens on indicated spaces. Reveal 3 more setup cards to place 3 more public buildings (skip other setup steps on these cards).
Place the 3 Nucleum tokens on the spaces associated with goal tiles.
Set up the four experiments with their basic action tiles and associated turbine effect tokens.
Each player chooses a color and receives: a player board, 3 income markers (placed on the leftmost space of each track), 1 victory point marker (placed on space 0 of the track), 12 buildings (placed on designated board spaces), 4 turbines (placed on designated board spaces), 4 mines (placed on designated board spaces), 18 workers (2 in personal supply, rest in general supply), 6 goal markers (3 placed at the bottom of the supply board), and a starting contract (shuffle the 4 starting contracts and deal 1 to each player, placed on the star bonus space).
Randomly choose a starting player and give them the first player tile.
Each player receives 4 coins, and in reverse turn order, each player selects an experiment board along with its components.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Nucleum is played over an indeterminate number of rounds. In each round, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, every player takes a turn.

On their turn, the active player must choose one of the following:

Play an Action Tile. The player places an action tile into the leftmost open space of their player board and resolves the actions shown in any order. Afterward, the player may complete a contract whose criteria they satisfy at that moment (including common contracts), receiving the listed bonus.
Place an Action Tile as a Railway Track. The player places a track on an open board space face-up with one of their workers on top (paying any additional placement cost). Doing so activates any actions on the tile whose color matches the connected city or adjacent tile. This may trigger previously placed tiles to activate their actions (if owned by other players, actions trigger in turn order starting from the active player). Once a tile completes both actions, it flips to its railway track side, keeping the worker on top to show ownership. If this tile completes a 2- or 3-segment route, each player advances their VP income marker (2 steps per tile on 3-segment routes or 2-segment routes in 2-player games, and 2 steps on 2-segment routes in 3/4-player games, regardless of whether a single player completed both segments).
Produce / Recharge. Follow these steps:
- Income. The player receives coins, workers, and victory points from the rightmost column covered by action tiles that has been reached or passed by the track’s marker.
- Milestones. The player evaluates their accumulated achievement points and places one available goal marker (starting with those from the milestone board that can trigger game end) onto a space of equal or lower value to their achievement points. Each player may place only one star per color section (multiple stars from different players are allowed on the same space). If the player lacks enough points, the marker is placed in the penalty space below, yielding 2 coins and 1 worker instead. If a goal marker reserve space is cleared, the player occupying the highest-value space scores 6 points, while second place scores 2 points. If it is the first marker placed in a bounded track section, place a Nucleum token on an inactive power plant to receive its bonus, or activate a Level III technology if placed in the top section. Afterward, the player discards all achievement tokens. The first player to place their third marker claims the next end-game condition token and scores 3 points.
- Tiles. Finally, the player reclaims all played action tiles.

Afterward, turn passes to the player on the left.

If a player reaches 70 points or completes their experiment by activating all 8 technologies, they claim the next end-game condition marker and score 3 points.

The actions shown on the tiles are:

Acquire Action Tiles. The player chooses an action tile from the market, pays its cost, and adds it to their hand. A second tile can be purchased in the same turn by paying an additional 2 coins on top of its cost. Remaining tiles shift right, and the display is refilled. If the draw deck runs out, the active player claims an end-game condition marker and scores 3 points.
Urbanize. The player selects an open city space within their network (a city containing one of their buildings/structures or connected by their railway line) and selects a building from their personal supply matching the accepted building type. The player pays the building cost plus any extra space cost back to the supply and places the building tile.
Industrialize. The player selects an open space in a city within their network and selects a turbine or mine from their personal supply matching the structure type allowed by the space. The player pays the required worker cost plus any additional coin cost on the space, then places the structure. If building a mine, the player gains uranium cubes equal to their total constructed mines (including the new one) and places them on open mine spaces. Excess cubes must be converted into workers and/or coins. If a player empties a row of structures on their player board, they immediately score the printed VPs. If a turbine was built, its listed printed effect applies immediately.
Contract. The player chooses an available contract from the supply and adds it to an open contract slot on their player board, collecting the slot bonus. The display is then refilled. If a contract stack runs out, it refills from the other contract type. If the second supply runs out, the active player claims an end-game condition marker and scores 3 points.
Energize. The player selects an unenergized building (personal or public) connected to a power plant on the map. They must generate the required energy for that building by transporting fuel to the selected power plant from coal depots (via established routes, regardless of track ownership) and/or from their own uranium mines (connected via routes). Each unit of coal costs its printed amount and flips (if cost 1) or is removed (if cost 2). Each nuclear plant transports 1 uranium by default; additional uranium requires activating 1 turbine (paying 1 coin if owned by an opponent) and returning the uranium to the supply. Coal produces 1 energy, while uranium produces 2 energy. Total energy includes bonuses from built turbines or action tile bonuses. If enough energy is generated, the building tile flips face-up, awarding achievement tokens equal to its energy value and triggering the building’s reward.
Subsidy. The player advances on income tracks (sometimes in exchange for resources) or gains listed resources directly.

Game End

The end of the game is triggered when the second end-game condition is met (or third condition in 2-player games). The current round finishes, followed by one final full round. Players then proceed to final scoring, earning points for:

For each Goal, players evaluate their fulfillment level and multiply it by the values of their placed stars on that goal’s section.
Activated Level III end-game scoring technologies.
1 Point per every 2 uranium, 2 workers, or 5 coins remaining in their supply.
Points for energized personal buildings (points from buildings in Prague are doubled).
10/6/3 Points for each income marker that reached the last/second-to-last/third-to-last column.

The player with the most victory points wins. In case of a tie, victory is shared.

Variants

Solo Mode. The player faces a bot driven by a die and a deck of cards that dictates the AI’s turns. The bot displays its basic action tiles in a line, using a pawn to track action progression. On its turn, if not forced to produce, the bot rolls the die to determine which tile activates, using the card deck to resolve placement priorities.

Personal Opinion

You already know I don’t hold publisher Board&Dice in particularly high regard. Not because they don’t pitch interesting projects or because their production values fall short (quite the opposite on both counts), but because in most of their releases I detect a noticeable lack of development, leaving games feeling somewhat half-baked in several aspects and requiring at least one expansion to patch up various issues.

Fortunately, for a little while now, they seem to have set a good course, delivering several solid releases in a row. Now comes Nucleum, the major title presented by the publisher at Essen Spiel 2023 that generated high expectations. Let’s see if it lived up to the hype—not without first thanking Maldito Games for kindly providing the review copy that made this review possible.

In Nucleum, we become industrialists seeking to capitalize on the technological revolution driven by harnessing uranium for power generation. The goal is to build prestige by developing cities around the Saxony region, constructing public buildings, and building infrastructure to supply the electricity required to power them.

The game uses a domino-like tile action-selection mechanism, where each tile features two action spaces. On most action turns, the active player simply selects one of these tiles to play and resolves both actions, locking the tile until they take a production/recharge turn.

One possible action is acquiring new tiles to expand your hand, offering wider tactical flexibility. Thus, hand-building is one of Nucleum‘s primary mechanisms—similar to what we’ve seen in titles like Concordia (read the tocho-review here), Lewis & Clark (read the tocho-review here), or more recently Phraya (read the tocho-review here).

I particularly enjoy this core loop because it takes deck-building principles while stripping away draw luck, placing heavy weight on hand management. This allows players to plan several turns ahead, making effective execution feel immensely satisfying. Furthermore, it’s a mechanism that hasn’t been overexploited, remaining relatively fresh.

The twist in Nucleum lies in the alternative way to use these tiles—as literal railway tracks. Route-building across a map is another core pillar of the design. These routes require placing one to three track segments, using the action tiles themselves, which feature a railway line on their back.

The dilemma, as you might guess (or already know if you’ve looked into the game), is that laying an action tile as a track on the board means losing it as a standard action tile. This creates delicious tension, forcing careful choices so as not to cripple your options. I say “relatively” because players retain a default action tile that allows resolving any action at reduced efficiency (performing only one action instead of two).

Surrounding these core mechanics is a design that strongly echoes two titles explicitly cited by the designers during promotion: Brass (read the Lancashire tocho-review here) and Barrage (read the tocho-review here). Both games feature a map with designated building spaces and route networks to transfer elements between locations.

In Brass, these network transfers are required to build industries, while in Barrage, transported water generates energy. Nucleum blends both concepts: resources must be transported to generate electricity (coal and uranium), and network expansion is required to build in cities.

Here lies a subtle distinction that might short-circuit players coming from Brass, as it applies similar building restrictions in reverse. In Brass, building via industry cards requires connecting that city to your network through existing structures or rail links. Crucially, rail lines can only be extended from cities where you already have a presence.

In Nucleum, it works backward: a player can place a railway line anywhere open on the board. The connected cities instantly join the player’s network, allowing subsequent construction in any open spot in those cities.

As a result, Nucleum feels much less restrictive than Brass in terms of expansion. Some might find this approach too forgiving, but it fosters sharp competition for board real estate. That said, once spaces are claimed, direct player interaction stays fairly low; coal in the early game is really the only shared element players directly fight over, as uranium is strictly reserved for the mine owner.

Because of this, Nucleum leans heavily into a race dynamic, lacking fixed round limits unlike Brass or Barrage. The goal is to accumulate maximum victory points in as few turns as possible. Once players master the design, pressure to maximize output right from turn one is intense.

Indeed, Nucleum is a game where opening turns are critical—especially initial placement. Even though board expansion is flexible, variable setup cards shift the active power plants and map parameters every game, dramatically changing the landscape and strategic priorities.

This becomes obvious when you are “forced” to take your first recharge turn to replenish resources, since lacking coins or workers makes taking core actions—building structures, placing infrastructure, or laying tracks—nearly impossible. Besides generating income along the three tracks based on played action tiles, players must place a goal marker on the milestone track corresponding to their earned achievement points. And the primary driver for those points is energizing buildings.

While completing certain contracts can yield achievement points, building up a pool to climb the milestone track is ideal. It is not uncommon for a player to reach their first recharge with zero achievement points if they haven’t energised buildings or fulfilled starting contracts, forcing them to place a marker in the penalty space (which dock points at game end, though granting emergency resources).

This constant pressure to optimize production cycles is what makes Nucleum so addictive. But there is more. Another standout feature is setup variability. Nucleum borrows from Barrage the concept of modular board tweaks—blocking certain spaces, placing neutral buildings, or varying starting energy setups.

Combined with asymmetric technology sets, every game offers a fresh puzzle, forcing players to read the board, assess goal tiles, evaluate their tech setup, and craft a tight opening strategy. Firing on all cylinders from the outset is a deeply rewarding challenge that grows richer with every play.

Speaking of technologies, let’s address a few areas that felt less satisfying. Technologies consist of eight distinct effects unlocked throughout the game as rewards for completing contracts or energizing specific building types (income-, worker-, or tech-focused). While eight technologies per board sounds like high variability, they are fixed to specific starting action tile sets.

One might expect this to function as asymmetric player powers—much like the Tribes in Tzolk’in’s expansion (read the tocho-review here), executives in Barrage, characters in The Voyages of Marco Polo (read the tocho-review here), or leaders in Lorenzo il Magnifico (read the tocho-review here). In those designs, unique powers dictate your strategic direction, offering distinct pathways to victory.

In Nucleum, however, treating tech boards as characters reveals functional overlap: two boards focus heavily on coins (discounts/income) while the other two focus on achievement points. You end up playing quite similarly within those pairs, weakening the distinct feel true asymmetry usually provides.

Furthermore, achievement-oriented tech sets feel slightly more forgiving, easing early-game energizing pressure by offering alternative routes to milestone points.

The second issue is broader, stemming from the comparisons invited by the designers themselves. While thematic references fit, comparing Nucleum to Brass and Barrage isn’t entirely flattering in terms of rules overhead. Nucleum is noticeably more complex, requiring tracking numerous micro-bonuses, off-turn action triggers, and situational rules to deliver an experience that, while highly satisfying, doesn’t quite match the sheer elegance of Brass or Barrage with its expansion. Some players may feel the extra cognitive load isn’t fully justified.

This complexity is apparent right from setup, which feels as fiddly as a Vital Lacerda game, requiring extensive component sorting and placement. While setup overhead pays off in gameplay depth, remembering how effortlessly Brass hits the table makes it easy to see why some might stick with Martin Wallace’s masterpiece.

Where Nucleum genuinely shines over Brass and Barrage, however, is scalability. It performs brilliantly across all player counts and is particularly good at two players. The tighter 2-player map constraints maintain spatial tension, while pairing the two “similar” tech boards avoids asymmetric imbalance.

Because direct interaction is gentler than in Brass or Barrage, scaling down works seamlessly. Board interaction centers on map positioning and drafting tiles/contracts. While fighting over milestone track spots exists, it’s difficult to aggressively target opponents.

Players seeking cutthroat blocking or ruthless opportunism might find Nucleum‘s milder interaction less aggressive than its inspirations. Yet for those who prefer building their engine without constant table aggression, Nucleum hits a sweet spot.

Ending on a high note: having played most major Essen 2023 releases, Nucleum stands among my top highlights alongside Evacuation (read the tocho-review here) and Rats of Wistar. If forced to pick one, I’d choose Nucleum for its long-term replay value. While Evacuation and Rats of Wistar are fantastic, Nucleum feels built for repeated plays over time. I initially doubted it would top Barcelona (read the tocho-review here), Board&Dice’s other major 2023 title, but repeated plays proved Nucleum slightly superior. A strong year for Board&Dice.

Regarding production, it matches standard Board&Dice quality: thick cardboard components (though higher-density pressing would help tech board slots hold up better over time) and nice wooden pieces, featuring custom screen-printed turbines. The card count is small, featuring good stock and linen finish. The rulebook is well-structured with clear visual examples.

Visually, the game has a distinct style. The box cover is striking, despite a slight 3D-render feel (though nowhere near as extreme as the original Great Western Trail cover). The main board’s heavy green palette might initially look overwhelming, but it proves functional thanks to intuitive iconography once you learn the network symbols.

And let’s wrap this up. Nucleum is one of the standout designs from Essen Spiel 2023. Taking inspiration from Brass and Barrage for route-building and resource transport, Luciani and Turczi craft a distinct identity through hand-building, where action tiles must be sacrificed to build connections. While it lacks the fierce interaction of its inspirations, that feature enables excellent scalability (especially at 2 players). The trade-off is higher rules overhead and minor fiddliness during early plays. Overall, it remains an impressive design. For all these reasons, I give it a…