Review: My City

Introduction & Overview

After a long journey, you have finally reached a new land. Right away, you begin to build and develop a new city. My City is a legacy game, which means that the game evolves over the course of multiple plays. You and your fellow players will have player boards that are modified after each episode. Across 24 fascinating episodes, you will experience the growth and history of your city from its early beginnings to the industrial era.

This is the premise of My City, designed by Reiner Knizia (Tigris & Euphrates, Ra, Samurai, The Quest for El Dorado). The game was published in 2020 by KOSMOS in a German edition. The artwork is illustrated by Michael Menzel (Stone Age, Rokoko, Agra).

The game will be published in our country in a Spanish edition by Devir Iberia (the game itself is language-independent, although the rulebook naturally is not, and that includes the episode envelopes). It accommodates 2 to 4 players, with a recommended minimum age of 10 and an approximate playtime of around 30 minutes. The MSRP is €37. A review copy of the German edition by KOSMOS was used for this review.

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 (a standard square box like Ticket to Ride), we find the following components:

4 Game Boards (cardboard)
8 Legacy Campaign Envelopes
96 Building Tiles (24 per player) (cardboard)
4 Score Markers (wood)
24 Construction Cards (56×87 mm)
Rulebook

How to Play

My City is a polyomino puzzle game structured into an 8-chapter legacy campaign with 3 episodes each. Each player receives a grid board divided by a winding river, showing spaces with trees and rocks (on which buildings can be placed) as well as mountain and forest spaces (which cannot be built on). Each turn, a card is revealed from a deck to determine which tile players must place. The piece must be positioned adjacent to an already placed tile on the board, with players trying to cover all rocks while leaving trees visible. Alternatively, a player may pass instead of placing the tile, losing one point. Whenever a player feels they can no longer score any more points given the remaining pieces in the deck, they may drop out of the game without penalty. The game ends when all players have dropped out or the deck runs out, at which point the episode-specific scoring criteria are evaluated. The game also includes an eternal, non-legacy mode.

Key Concepts

Let’s begin with the Player Board. It depicts a territory divided into an 11×11 grid. Across these spaces, we find three terrain types: forest, mountain, and meadow. The first two cannot be built upon from the outset. On meadow spaces, we also find rocks and trees. Rocks subtract points (so you will want to cover them), whereas trees provide points (so you will want to keep them uncovered). Across the top edge, there is a score track numbered from 0 to 50 (each player has a marker to track their current score, since points can be lost during the game). We also see several wood-toned boxes that will come into play during the campaign. The reverse side of the board lacks these extra spaces and is reserved for the non-legacy mode.

As mentioned, My City is a legacy game structured across 8 chapters of 3 episodes each (24 games in total). Each chapter comes with an Envelope containing, at minimum, a rules sheet introducing new mechanics, a scoring summary sheet for the end of each game, and additional components tied to that specific chapter.

The core element of the game are the Building Tiles. These are polyominoes (shapes covering between 2 and 5 interconnected spaces). Initially, each player has 24 pieces divided equally across three colors: blue, yellow, and red. When placing these tiles on the board, specific placement rules detailed in each episode must be respected.

Finally, the Construction Cards dictate the order in which players must place the pieces on their personal boards. This deck also governs the maximum length of each game.

That is enough to get started.

Preparación de la Partida

Each player takes a board (writing their name in the upper left corner during the first game) and a set of building tiles sharing the same symbol on their reverse side.
Each player takes a victory point marker and places it on the silver-colored numbered space.
Shuffle the construction deck and place it face down to one side.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of My City plays out over a maximum number of turns determined by the construction card deck.

Each turn, the top card of the deck is revealed, giving players three choices:

Place the building tile shown on the card onto their personal board, adhering to standard placement rules (unless an episode specifies otherwise):
- The first tile must be placed on a space bordering the river.
- Once at least one tile is on the board, any subsequent tile must share at least one edge with an existing tile on a space.
- Mountain and forest spaces cannot be covered.
- Spaces containing rocks or trees may be covered.
- Tiles cannot bridge or span across the river, though they may be placed on the opposite bank (tiles occupying spaces separated only by the river are considered connected).
Pass, losing one victory point (a player with zero victory points cannot choose this option).
Drop out, declining to place the piece without losing points. The player concludes their participation for that game and waits for the others to finish.

Once all players have made their decision, the next turn begins.

Game End

The game ends once all players have dropped out or the final card of the deck has been revealed, at which point the scoring criteria for the current episode are resolved. Based on player ranking, participants receive campaign progress points (marked off on their boards), along with various elements (both bonuses and handicaps) that are added to their boards or tiles.

Many criteria reward or penalize the player with the highest score, the runner-up, and remaining participants. In two-player games, there is no second-place tier.

Variants

Eternal Mode: this standalone mode requires only the components introduced during the first three episodes. Each player uses a standard set of 24 building tiles, alongside the full 24-card deck. The flow of play matches the legacy format, with end-game scoring evaluated as follows:

2 Points for each space with 2 trees.
-2 Points for each space with 2 rocks.
For each building color, 1 point per building in the single largest contiguous group of that color.
3 Points for each church adjacent to at least one building of each color.
4 Points for each well completely surrounded by different buildings on all 4 orthogonally adjacent spaces.
-1 Point for each uncovered meadow space.

Personal Opinion

It is well known that, in my eyes, Dr. Reiner Knizia sits on a pedestal. Granted, his prolific output means his portfolio includes games of varying quality, but the sheer number of timeless classics he has produced remains astounding. After a somewhat leaner stretch, the German designer seems to be enjoying a second wind, earning award nominations and broader recognition year after year. In 2020, the title before us made serious waves, propelled by its Spiel des Jahres nomination. Let us see what makes it so captivating.

My City is a tile-placement game featuring Tetris-like pieces—in other words, polyominoes (shapes formed by edge-connected square units). Players develop a city using identical sets of tiles, laying them onto their personal boards while trying to optimize varying scoring conditions.

The primary mechanism is simultaneous action selection driven by a deck of cards that dictates which tile must be placed each turn—a setup seen in titles like Take it Easy! (here is its tocho-review), Karuba (here is its tocho-review), or NMBR 9 (here is its tocho-review), often referred to on BGG as bingo-style play (since one player calls out the piece for everyone). Naturally, players must observe a few placement restrictions on the grid, though none are overly intricate.

Where does the appeal lie, then? Well, surprise, surprise: My City is also a legacy game. Indeed, a polyomino-placement legacy experience. Because of this, the first game is the only time players can genuinely mimic one another, across a full campaign spanning eight chapters of three episodes each.

Each chapter is packed into a large envelope that tweaks the rules, introducing new mechanical twists, scoring criteria, and an assortment of stickers applied to specific spaces depending on the previous game’s outcome. Consequently, each player’s board evolves from game to game, keeping curiosity high thanks to the little surprise waiting inside each envelope.

On that front, I must admit that My City fulfills its brief admirably as a light-to-medium-weight title. It offers breezy, engaging 30-minute sessions spent optimizing placement and trying to outscore rivals to mark progress on the campaign track, chasing ultimate victory at the close of episode twenty-four.

Every session brings a subtle twist that provides a breath of fresh air, keeping the experience from feeling repetitive, with games rarely exceeding half an hour (unless someone at the table falls into severe analysis paralysis over where to place a tile).

Moreover, having boards diverge organically is a key asset. The main drawback in games where everyone places pieces in an identical sequence is the complete absence of player interaction and the constant risk of identical play.

While that risk remains in the earliest plays, the gradual ramp-up in scoring goals paired with individual board modifications works smoothly. Since games are resolved so quickly, the desire to bring it back to the table stays strong throughout the entire campaign.

This is where the downside comes in. Once completed, the appeal drops significantly, even with an eternal mode included. We all know legacy titles lose much of their pull once finished, whether you replay the altered end state or use an alternative mode that strips away what made it distinct in the first place. That said, considering its price point, squeezing twenty-four plays out of a light-medium game is terrific value. Completing the campaign makes it well worth the investment.

It is also worth noting that this is a family game using its campaign structure to steadily escalate difficulty (without ever becoming overly brain-burning). If you strip away the campaign incentive, the pure polyomino puzzle alone might feel a bit thin. Even so, the combined package remains very satisfying.

To give you an idea of the emerging scoring criteria, some episodes ask you to build large color clusters, others challenge you to encircle landmarks with diverse buildings, and others focus on linking different colors. Evaluated on their own, these conditions are simple, but when stacked together, focus scatters and optimal placement becomes far from obvious.

Another aspect worth pointing out is that the thematic integration across the campaign is practically non-existent. Furthermore, the game makes no effort to mask this behind superficial narrative fluff. While developing a city across historical eras serves as the guiding premise, it acts as little more than a convenient excuse to roll out new mechanics with each chapter.

In that sense, My City sits closer to campaigns like Charterstone (here is its tocho-review) or Scythe: The Rise of Fenris (here is its tocho-review), where story is subordinate to mechanical variety—though here taken to the extreme, often consisting of just a sentence or two at the start of an episode. On the bright side, nobody will accuse you of spoiling the story when each reveal is strictly mechanical.

I find it easy to recommend to puzzle fans who enjoy the aforementioned titles and want an accessible entry point into legacy gaming. As a standalone polyomino game without the campaign, however, stronger options exist on the market.

Scalability is seamless, since player interaction mostly boils down to comparing end-game scores, meaning it functions just as well at two, three, or four players. A few small interactive elements appear as the campaign unfolds, but they barely alter this dynamic.

Regarding replayability, the campaign provides an extended shelf life that similar games often lack, hitting the table consistently until finished, after which it will likely gather dust. Even so, what is done is done, and very few games in our collections ever reach twenty-four plays.

Moving on to production quality, the components are adequate: cardboard tiles have acceptable thickness (though die-cutting could be cleaner), cards feature decent stock with average snap and a smooth finish (sleeving is unnecessary as the deck is only shuffled once per game), and the wooden pieces are standard fare. The rulebook is clearly organized and leaves little room for ambiguity. Including small summary sheets to clarify each episode’s scoring conditions is a welcome touch.

Aesthetically, the impressions are mixed. The personal board looks inviting, showcasing Menzel’s trademark landscapes. By contrast, the building tiles feature flat gray backgrounds that look rather uninspired. A few paths or decorative details around the buildings—which look nice enough on their own—would have been welcome. The standout element is undoubtedly the cover illustration, which captures the spirit of the game nicely.

And let’s wrap this up. My City is an accessible blend of bingo-style polyomino placement and an evolving campaign framework. Simultaneous tile reveals demand smart spatial optimization under shifting scoring conditions, keeping the pacing fast. Its greatest strength is how permanent alterations curb the mirror-move issue typical of the genre, fueling curiosity with each new envelope. On the flip side, player interaction is minimal and thematic immersion is practically non-existent. Outside its guided journey, the core system lacks the standalone depth to hold the table on its own. Nonetheless, as an addictive, lightweight diversion, it delivers a genuinely rewarding experience while the campaign lasts—precisely what one hopes for from a legacy game. For all these reasons, I give it a…