What if there was a roll and write game that combined the dice drafting of Sagrada, interlocking shapes of blocks like Tetris, and an edgy, counter-culture theme about painting graffiti through the city. Welcome to Tag City.
Like most games I’m attracted to, the theme is what draws me in. The first time I heard about Tag City I needed to know more. I may have participated in some tagging and spraying some graffiti in my youth. Alright, let’s not beat around the bush. I did it. I did it, and I loved it. It was a perfect blend of getting a rebellious rush and artistic output. So, I looked in to Tag City, and it looked fun. I reached out to the publisher, RUNES Edition, to see if I could get a copy to review. They are based in Europe, and currently aren’t planning on releasing it here in the North America, so it didn’t make sense to send a copy to a U.S. based review site to appeal to an audience that won’t be able to purchase the game. That makes sense. But I would not be stopped. I entered a contest through their Facebook page where the winner would receive a free copy of Tag City!
All you had to do was send in some pictures of your own graffiti and they would choose their favorite as the winner. Granted, I don’t know how many people entered the contest, but I won! The small caveat was that the winner had to pick the game up at Essen Spiel. In Germany. But I would not be stopped. I reached out to all of my board game friends, to see if anyone knew anyone going to Essen that could pick it up for me. After covering shipping costs and waiting a few days… behold: my contest prize copy of Tag City, signed by designer Robin David! Thanks Robin!
Tag City
Designer: Robin David
Artist: Grelin
Publisher: RUNES Edition
Gameplay:
So, the lead player will roll all dice at the start of the round (dice = number of players +1). Those dice will be placed on the HQ board, in their corresponding locations. Players will take turns selecting a die from HQ. When they select a die, they must draw the shape of the graffiti token on either side of the die. After all players select a die and fill in a shape on their board, there is one die remaining. All players will simultaneously use that die as well, selecting on of the token shapes on either side of it to fill in on their board.
You can also use a die to choose to not fill in spaces on your board corresponding to the available graffiti tokens. In that case you can “check social media” which gives you negative points, but is used in tie breakers and is the only way to avoid filling in any spaces at all. Filling in all 5 social media spaces across all player boards will trigger the end of the game.
Another option you have is to “use your drone”. This also gives negative points, but can be used to draw ANY of the graffiti token shapes in HQ. This includes the much smaller tokens in the center of HQ to fill in any small gaps you may have created on your board. This is the only way to use those small graffiti tokens, but be careful: each time you use this action, it takes away more points. Using all 5 of your drone actions will also trigger the end of the game.
Why do points matter? Well, that’s how you determine the winner! Each district, row, and column is worth some amount of points if you are the first person to fill it in completely. If you fill it in, but after another player, it is worth a lesser amount of points. Once every district, row, and column is claimed by a player, the tag battle ends.
So, there are three ways to trigger the end of the game. Once one of those triggers occurs, finish the round as usual. Each player adds up all of the points, subtracting any negative points they’ve amassed as well. The player with the highest point total is the winner. In case of ties, the player that checked more social media wins.
One of the biggest things to take note of is that there is the standard game that uses rectangular district shapes, and has set graffiti tokens for you to use. However, there’s also a “freestyle” mode on the reverse side of the player boards and HQ, where you can put any graffiti tokens you’d like in the 6 spots in HQ. The game comes with 12 different tokens, so you can definitely mix it up, using more obscure shapes. This somewhat increases the difficulty, but more so will just increase the competition between players. With non-uniform district shapes in freestyle mode, it becomes easier to see what shape your opponent needs, and intentionally leave them with a poor selection of graffiti token shapes. While this game doesn’t have any true “take that” mechanic, I think being able to force your opponent to take the best of a selection of poor choices works very well. And with each player being able to progress toward any of the three end game scenarios, you can put other players in a time crunch if you have the advantage.
The rules say 2-4 players, however early editions of the game come with a 5th player board. I don’t see any reason why this can’t be played with 5 players, as long as you add another die and dry erase marker, as the game only has enough for 4 players.
The game has very straightforward, uncomplicated rules. To be honest, this has one of the smoothest, least cumbersome rulebooks I’ve ever seen.
Theme:
The theme of a game is always important to me. While I will play any game that my friends recommend and bring to game night, I will likely only seek out games on my own that have a theme or art that I’m attracted to. Five Tribes is a wonderful game. I never would have played it on my own because the theme does not interest me.
As I described above, I have a very personal connection with graffiti art, so I was immediately interested. On top of that, the artwork in this game is beautiful! The art on the graffiti tokens looks very believable as shapes and symbols you would see in street art. The colors, lines, drips… there is so much detail to these tokens they are really fascinating in their own right.
The character art is great too. They give off an “anime” vibe, with crazy hair colors, impractical clothing, and unorthodox tagging equipment. One of the characters even has a cat sidekick. I would love to see a webcomic about the crazy antics this crew gets in to while competing to be the best tagger in the city. The idea of there being an organized sport around an illegal activity is pretty interesting. I’m not saying there needs to be some deep storyline to go along with this game. But the artwork is detailed enough to let you know there’s a world here if you want to lean in to it. There has been some serious attention paid to the visual definition of this game, and it is wonderful. Major props to the artist, Grelin.
For Parents:
The box says ages 8 and up. I played it with my 6 year old and he LOVED it. This is the first roll and write game that he’s played. He typically likes theme-heavy card games or anything silly. (He’s the reason we got the Transformers TCG I wrote about before.) He’s always loved math, and really enjoys puzzles. So I think being able to have a game like this, where he’s trying to earn points by making things fit together was a real breath of fresh air for him, as far as games go. It was very cool as a parent to see that light bulb going off in his head, expanding his definition of what a card or board game is.
Set up time for this is super quick, especially if you play the standard game with the graffiti tokens already selected for you. From opening the box, to taking the first turn is 5 minutes. Tops. The game says playtime is 20 minutes. That feels about right. I could see more competitive games taking a bit longer, with players really thinking out their moves in later rounds. Even then, I don’t think it would be more than 40 minutes.
There are some small graffiti tokens here, especially the 3 that go in the center of HQ. Those ones actually border on the line of “choking hazard” size. Like a lot of games, if you play it on a high enough table, and keep little pieces away from the edge, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
Final Thoughts:
I really like this game. I guess my only complaint is that I want more. Like, this feels like 80% of a REALLY great game. I would love to see a deluxe version. Make it playable for up to 6 players, upgrade the graffiti tokens from cardstock to acrylic, make the city bigger with more districts, and maybe introduce some mechanic where you’re having to avoid the police if you tag the same district multiple times in a row. And while I’m making a wish list, give me a Tag City comic strip.
As far as playing this with non-gamers, it is SO good. I think this is actually an excellent gateway game. It’s very easy to teach. There’s player interaction, not only having to select dice from the same pool, but having tiered point values for being the first to complete an area. But it’s not cutthroat since there’s no way to negatively impact your opponent, just limit their good options. I really see this as a game that I will play with my wife and son I mentioned earlier for years to come. The other children will probably be less interested in this one right now, but who knows, this might become a staple of family game night alongside King of Tokyo.
As for my own graffiti career, I think it’s probably over. But who knows, maybe Tag City will inspire another generation of artists to take to the streets.
Gaming with Sidekicks does not support the vandalism of property through graffiti or any other form of street art. No matter how exhilarating of a rush you get from it.
P.S. I almost forgot! If you live in North America and want to get Tag City for yourself, let RUNES Editions know that it is worth giving this game a North American release. I’ve seen a few people online say they were looking forward to this game, but with a European only release, it will be hard to track down. If you are attending PAX Unplugged 2018 in just a few short weeks, I will be bringing my copy to play with friends. If you’re wanting to play, I’d love for you to join us. Shoot me an e-mail at Randy@gamingwithsidekicks.com and let me know what your schedule looks like, and hopefully we can make it work.