Lost Cities

Infobox_Game
subject_name=Lost Cities
image_link=
image_caption= "Lost Cities"
designer=Reiner Knizia
publisher=Kosmos
Rio Grande Games
players=2
ages= 10 and up
setup_time= 2 minutes
playing_time= 30 minutes
complexity=Low
strategy=Medium
random_chance=Medium
skills=Strategic thought
footnotes=
bggid=50

"Lost Cities" is a 60-card card game, designed in 1999 by game designer Reiner Knizia and published by several publishers. The objective of the game is to mount profitable expeditions to one or more of the five lost cities (the Himalayas, the Brazilian Rain Forest, the Desert Sands, the Ancient Volcanos and Neptune's Realm). The game was originally intended as a 2-player game, but rule variants have been contributed by fans to allow 1 or 2 further players, causing Reiner Knizia himself to later provide semi-official 4-player rules. [cite web | url=http://freespace.virgin.net/chris.lawson/rk/lostcity/lostfour.htm | title=Lost Cities, 4 Player | last=Lawson | first=Chris | date=1999-12-12]

Summary

"Lost Cities" is a rather fast-moving game, with players playing or discarding, and then replacing, a single card each turn. Cards represent progress on one of the five color-coded expeditions. Players must decide, during the course of the game, how many of these expeditions to actually embark upon. Card play rules are quite straightforward, but because players can only move forward on an expedition (by playing cards which are higher-numbered than those already played), making the right choice in a given game situation can be quite difficult. An expedition which has been started will earn points according to how much progress has been made when the game ends, and after three rounds, the player with the highest total score wins the game. Each expedition which is started but not thoroughly charted incurs a negative point penalty (investment costs).

Interaction between players is indirect, in that one cannot directly impact another player's expeditions. However, since players can draw from the common discard piles, they are free to make use of opposing discards. Additionally, since the available cards for a given expedition are finite, progress made by an opponent in a given color can lead to difficulty making progress in that same color.

The game's board, while well designed to supplement the theme, is essentially optional and consists only of simple marked areas where players place discards. If "Lost Cities" had four expeditions instead of five, it could be played with a standard deck of playing cards. When doing so, the face cards would represent investment cards, with numbered cards two through ten serving as the expedition progress cards.

Awards

* Won the 1999 Meeples' Choice Award.
* Won the 2000 International Gamers Award.
* Won the Juego del año en España 2006.

Xbox Live Arcade

"Lost Cities" was published by Sierra Online for the Xbox Live Arcade platform on April 23 2008 for 800 Microsoft Points. The title supports both online play against other humans and solo play against computer-controlled opponents.

References

External links

*bgg|50|"Lost Cities"