Disclaimer: The author of the following review has been using a misprinted Machi Koro card as a bookmark for the last three years. He felt obliged to inform his readers of this and ensures them that this fact is a mere triviality and has in no way affected his opinion of the game because why the heck would it?
Ah, Machi Koro. The game of great first impressions and eventual disdain. I say that of course because every single person I’ve introduced the game to (myself included) have all experienced this, shall we say, phenomenon in nearly exactly the same manner and at exactly the same pace. In fact, this opinion seems widespread enough amongst us crazy board game enthusiasts in general that I believe an official term should be minted for it, so let’s do just that. We can call it the “Machi Koro Appreciation Depreciation Effect”, or the MKADE for short. So what specifically is the MKADE? Based on my own analytical observations of several different players of all different backgrounds, I have chosen to define it as a three-stage process in the gradual transformation of one’s opinion on the game of Machi Koro. The stages are as follows:
- “I really enjoy this game and would like to play it again very soon.”
- “This is not as fun as I remember it being.”
- “I never want to play this game again.”
For the sake of immediate relatability I have decided to name each stage after common utterances I’ve heard in post-game discussions of Machi Koro. It is also important to note that each stage lasts almost exactly one game (stage 2 can sometimes last a couple, but almost never a third). A fun secondary benefit of this definition is that it also acts as a wonderful framing mechanism for this review, so permit me to utilize it for that very purpose.
Stage 1: “I really enjoy this game and would like to play it again very soon.”
Machi Koro looks like a hug on the table. The colors are bright, the typeface is bouncy, the illustrations look like Cartoon Network in the late 90s. The rules make it sound like a pleasant combination of Catan and a tableau builder. They are also extremely easy to teach and understand: 1) roll a die, 2) any cards with that number activate and generate money, 3) if you wish, buy a new card with said generated money. Some cards generate money on your turn only, other cards on anyone’s turn. Some cards force the roller to give you some of their money, other cards force everyone to give you money. You also have four “Landmark” cards that start the game face down in front of you that can be purchased instead of a new card during step 3. These Landmarks give you special abilities, and the first player to purchase all four wins the game. There is something to be said for how flipping easy this game is to explain, and I think that alone gets us a good way toward elucidating stage 1 of the MKADE.
At first, Machi Koro gives you the impression there’s a decent amount to it, that there are interesting decisions to be made that will affect the game in interesting ways. It’s fun to buy cards and try to calculate the odds of how often the number will be rolled. Maybe you try to get something for every number so no matter what the roll is you’ll get some money. Maybe you focus on one or two numbers and triple down on those for big pay outs every so often. You can think about which Landmark card to purchase first based off which special ability will help you the most. There seem to be plenty of factors to consider. Your brain feels contentedly busy, but not overloaded. Eventually, someone purchases their fourth landmark and wins. You are reasonably satisfied; it seems like a pretty solid game.
Stage 2: “This is not as fun as I remember it being.”
Midway through your second game of Machi Koro, issues with its design begin bubbling to the surface. There doesn’t really seem to be very much strategy to the game. You remember that a few of the buildings you purchased during the first game didn’t activate a single time, and that memory haunts every purchasing decision you make. You realize that none of the special abilities granted by Landmarks are very exciting or useful. One of them lets you roll two dice if you want, but it seems just as good (or maybe even better) to keep rolling just one and only buy buildings that activate from low rolls. One of them grants a bonus turn on doubles, but additional rolls can end up helping everyone else just as much as they help you so it’s not all that great. One of them is a simple +1 income to certain buildings. Yawn. The last one lets you re-roll if you don’t like your initial roll, but that doesn’t gives you any more agency over the outcome of your turn — only another chance at getting lucky. Also, everyone has the same Landmarks as you, so that makes the special abilities even less interesting. Also also, why do the Landmarks double as the victory condition? Seems weird. Perhaps an attempt to make the order the player chooses to purchase them in matter? Why not just add some cards to the market that grant players different abilities so there’s some real variety between player powers each game? Why does it feel like which cards I purchase doesn’t matter? What am I missing? Welcome to stage 2 of the MKADE.
An entire round passes where not a single roll benefits you. A few rounds later it happens again. Eventually, someone purchases their fourth landmark and wins. You are not satisfied; you chalk it up to bad luck. No problem, I suppose that’s bound to happen from time to time in dice games like these, right?
Stage 3: “I never want to play this game again.”
Your third game of Machi Koro just started. You are immediately annoyed. The game is way too random. Catan came out 17 years before this, why is this so much worse? Catan at least balances the randomness of the dice rolling with a plethora of other mechanics (how successfully it does this depends on who you ask, but I digress…), why is there nothing else going on in Machi Koro? How can this be the whole game? You notice that the only real form of player interaction in Machi Koro is forcing other players to give you money when they roll certain numbers. You notice that sucks. You keep forgetting the activation order of the buildings when a certain roll activates multiple types at once. It’s not because it’s hard to remember; it’s because you don’t care. Buying any card feels as good a strategy as buying any other. It starts to dawn on you just how little agency you have in this game. This is a game where the only decisions you make are on what cards you buy, but how much money you have to buy them is barely manipulable RNG. The decision space you are operating in from turn to turn is dictated almost entirely by chance. None of the interactions in the game feel meaningful. That’s why you’re not having any fun. Ugh, why did you ever like this?
Eventually, you purchase your fourth landmark and win. You’re not sure how or why, but you won. You are not satisfied. You’ve reached stage 3. The MKADE is complete.
Machi Koro gets a rating of TWO out of FIVE, indicating it is NOT RECOMMENDED.