Living in an apartment, are you ever truly alone? As much as you’re told about either modern or older construction being better at dampening the noise, there’s always something that breaks through: the cheers as friends gather on Saturday to watch the big game on the largest screen in the building; the smell of a pasta sauce recipe that’s been in the family for generations (or the shriek of the smoke alarm when someone burns their toast); the way water trickles down in front of your balcony when the neighbor above waters her flowers.
In the real world, we don’t get to pick our neighbors or their interests. But what if you could? Could you design the perfect “balcony neighborhood” if you were the landlord of an apartment building? That’s the challenge set for us in the two-player game Balconia.
The game gives you a free-standing five-by-five grid in which you’ll place apartments represented by clever little cubes that have a different resident on each of four faces. One player picks which of the two opposite faces will be used, while the other player decides which of those two faces shows up on their side of the grid, and which appears on the other player’s side.
Most faces have a way to score that face depending on what’s around it. An astronomer with a telescope on his balcony might score more points if there are no awnings over his balcony, while those who love cats will want more cats nearby, but those with birds might not want any cats in neighboring apartments. Lovers want another lover next door, but can only score in pairs.
The first cube placed goes in the middle column spot in the bottom row. This gives bonus scoring options, like an extra point for every apartment with flowers or for every apartment where music is made.
The combinations of cubes create puzzles; where do you fit the grumpy napper you’re forced to place when you’ve been optimizing for a high score with lots of musical apartments? How do you maximize your high-scoring apartment combos while keeping your opponent from doing the same? Juggling what you get with what will score highest will keep you on your toes until you place the final cube.
Balconia is a clever light-strategy game for two that takes less than a half-hour to play. It’s a great game for couples or siblings who prefer a slower, more cerebral but still lighthearted challenge. Talk to the ever-polite folks at your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® today about starting your own paradisal apartments with Balconia.
All Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® locations are independently owned and operated by local folks. Not all stores will carry all games but will be willing to attempt to special order any that they do not carry. (And they’ll carry most.)
