60 Second City Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Game Setup
• How to Play
  • 1. Set Up the Round
  • 2. Play the Round
  • Rules for Placing City Tiles
  • 3. Score the Round
  • The 5th & Final Round
  • Communication Strategy
• End of the Game
• Advanced Play — Game Variant
• Game Reference
  • City Tiles
  • Goal Card Reference
• Credits

Game Contents

• 54 Goal cards
• 40 City tiles
• 1 wood game board
• 15 Pollution tiles
• 2 dice (1 red and 1 blue)
• 12 Event cards

60 Second City also requires a 1-minute timer for play. Use any smartphone, kitchen timer, or watch!

Game Setup

1. Place the game board between both players along with the 2 dice.

2. Place all the City tiles face-down on one side of the game board. The sides with colored blocks should not be visible. This will be the draw pile.

3. Place the Pollution tiles face-up on the opposite side of the game board in a row of 5 stacks (3 tiles in each stack).

4. Get a timer for the game. It can be a smartphone, kitchen timer, etc. Set it for 60 seconds and place it near the game board so it is visible to both players.

5. Remove the 12 Event cards from the deck of Goal cards and set them aside. They are only used in an advanced game.

6. Choose the level of difficulty to play in the game. The difficulty is determined by the number of Goal cards players must complete to win. If it is your first game, we recommend playing the Starter level.

   • Starter — 12 Goal cards
   • Standard — 16 Goal cards
   • Difficult — 20 Goal cards
   • Expert — 24 Goal cards

7. Shuffle all of the Goal cards. Then deal the number of cards you need for your difficulty level and place them face-down near the game board. The remaining Goal cards will not be used and can be put back in the game box.

How to Play

All rounds are 60-seconds and are played in the following order:

1. Set up the round.
2. Play the round.
3. Score the round.

1. Set Up the Round

Deal Goal Cards. Each Goal card shows an objective that players work together to complete while building their city. Goal cards are always visible to both players.

• Deal Goal cards face-up and in a row so there is a total of 5. (Place them opposite of the City tile draw pile so they are easy to see for both players.)
• Any Goal cards not completed in previous rounds will remain in place as Goal cards to be completed. Any new Goal cards will be added to these until there is a total of 5 Goal cards for the round.
• If 5 or more Goal cards remain from a previous round, then do not add any new Goal cards, and play the Goal cards still not completed.

Place 3 Pollution Tiles on the Game Board. Each round, 3 new Pollution tiles are added to the game board. Pollution tiles block players from building on spaces on the game board.

Pollution tiles may be removed during play if they match the specifications shown on some Goal cards (see Goal Card Reference below).

Placing Pollution tiles:

• Take a stack of 3 Pollution tiles. (There is a stack for each of the 5 rounds.)
• To place each Pollution tile, roll the red and blue dice for each tile. On each roll, place a tile on the corresponding space on the board matching the numbers on the dice. For example, if players roll a Blue 5 and a Red 4, they place a tile on the space corresponding to that roll.
• If a space already has a Pollution tile on it, discard the extra Pollution tile and return it to the box. It will not be used in the game.

2. Play the Round

Now it is time to build the city and complete as many Goal cards as you can.

1. When everyone is ready, start the 60-second timer to begin building!
2. Each player draws 1 City tile from the draw pile, flips it over to see what type of city blocks are on it, and then places it on the game board. Each player must play their tile before selecting another.
3. Once a City tile is placed on the game board, you may draw another.
4. Players continue drawing City tiles and placing them on the game board until time runs out. Both players will do this simultaneously and at their own pace.
5. Once the timer runs out, the round is over. It is time to score the round.
6. If you have a City tile in hand when the timer runs out, you may finish placing it before scoring.

Rules for Placing City Tiles

• Tiles cannot be placed freely on the game board. Tiles must be placed adjacent to other tiles on the board so one edge is aligned with the edge of another tile. Tiles cannot be placed diagonally.
• When starting a round, City tiles must be built out from the City Hall square. So, the first City tile must be placed adjacent to the City Hall square.
• Any other City tile must then be adjacent to another City tile already placed on the game board, or adjacent to City Hall, to be a legal move.
• City tiles may not be played on top of a Pollution tile.
• Once a City tile is placed on the game board it cannot be moved.
• Players cannot draw more than 1 City tile at a time.

3. Score the Round

Players score by the number of Goal cards they complete.

• Players check all Goal cards to see how many they have completed in the round.
• Any Goal cards that were successfully completed are placed in a score pile.
• If a Goal card was correctly completed to remove a Pollution tile (as indicated on the card), remove that Pollution tile from the game and return it to the box.
• Any Goal cards that were not completed remain in place until they are completed in a future round.
• Any Pollution tiles that were not removed from the game board remain on the game board until they are successfully removed during a round of play or the game ends.
• Remove all City tiles from the game board and shuffle them back into a face-down draw pile next to the board.
• Reset the timer and set up for the next round. Continue playing in this order until the start of the 5th and final round of play...

Removing Pollution Tiles. During the game, players will see Goal Cards that allow you to remove Pollution tiles from the game board.

If the objective on the Goal cards are completed according to the tile placement on game board, then that Goal card is complete and you may remove those Pollution from the board.

For example, look at this Goal card: 4 Parks — Neighboring Any Pollution. If the players place 4 Parks next to Pollution tiles, the Goal card will be completed and the neighboring Pollution tiles may be removed. In this example, each of 3 Pollution tiles have a Park neighboring it. Since there are 4 Parks neighboring Pollution tiles, the card is completed and these 3 Pollution tiles may be removed.

The 5th & Final Round

The 5th round is the last round of the game. It is played like the other rounds except for one special rule:

Deal ALL remaining Goal cards face-up, regardless of how many remain in the deck.

Communication Strategy

Strong communication between players is a key element to playing as a team. Players may talk as much as they like during, before, or after rounds.

Before each round, players should talk about which goals they want to focus on, where they might want to complete various goals on the board, and what Pollution tiles they may try to remove.

End of the Game

After the 5th and final round of play, the game is over. Count how many Goal cards have not been completed to see how you did:

• 0 (before the 5th round) — All Goal cards are completed before the 5th round — True Urban Visionaries! This game amuses you.
• 0 (at game end) — All Goal cards are completed — You have each risen to the ranks of City Architects!
• 1-4 — 1-2 Goal cards are incomplete — Great job, Master Builders.
• 5-8 — 3-4 Goal cards are incomplete — You're adequate Urban Planning Undergrads (but stick to the books).
• 9+ — 5 or more Goal cards are incomplete — You are still cutting your teeth as Apprentices.

Advanced Play — Game Variant

Players seeking to add additional flavor to their game should try playing with Event cards.

Shuffle the 12 Event cards into a deck and place it face-down next to the Goal cards. When you set up each round, deal one Event card face-up and play the round with the rule shown on that card.

After the round, the Event card is discarded, and a new Event card is dealt for the next round. Continue dealing 1 new Event card for each round in the game.

Game Reference

City Tiles

There are 6 different types of blocks found on City tiles. Each tile has 2 types of blocks on it that may contain:

• Residential (Purple)
• Commercial (Light Blue)
• Power Plant (Orange)
• Park (Green)
• Industrial (Red)
• Farm (Yellow)

Goal Card Reference

There are 5 types of Goal cards.

Match the Pattern. Any "Match the Pattern" Goal cards are considered completed if you have made that exact pattern and spacing of block types (in any orientation) on the game board. For example, the card is completed since the yellow Farm pattern on the board matches the Farm pattern on the card, and since the card is completed, the Pollution may also be removed in this case.

Pollution tiles do not need to be a part of the final pattern for the Goal card to be complete. However, if you do include any Pollution tile(s) in any indicated spaces, and complete the goal card, then you may remove those Pollution tile(s) from the game.

Neighbor Goals. To complete this card type, you need to have the number of blocks shown on the card adjacent to the other type of block shown.

If you complete any Neighbor Goal card that includes Pollution as one of the neighbors, you may remove those Pollution tiles from the game.

Border Cards. To complete this card type, you need to have the number of blocks shown on the card touching any part of the border around your city.

4, 5, and 6 Block Zones. To complete this card type, you need to have 6 blocks connected in any contiguous group.

Blocks need to be placed adjacent to one another so one side of the block rests on the side of the other block. Tiles placed diagonally to each other are not considered contiguous and do not count.

10 Block Zone. To compete this card type, you need to have 10 blocks connected in any contiguous group. A completed 10 Block Zone can be any combination of the 2 types of blocks shown on the card, as long as there is at least 1 of each type included in the group.

Blocks need to be placed adjacent to one another, and not placed diagonally.

Any Pollution tiles that are completely surrounded by the 10 Block Zone can be removed from play. The borders of your city game board do not count towards surrounding Pollution tiles.

Credits

Game design by Ken Gruhl & Quentin Weir.

Game art by Rich Stromwall.

Published by Buffalo Games, LLC.