(Photo credit to Bezier Games)
Written by Ed Carter, Staff Writer
The time of the subway has come to an end; new cleaner more efficient modes of public transportation have come about, in particular the Magnetic Levitation Monorail system. Is your system the most efficient and will win you the contract for the city? It is your time to shine and prove your ideas will be the best, beat the competition as you design the new Maglev Metro!
Maglev Metro is a 1-4 player pick and up deliver and engine building game where players are building the most efficient rail system and attempting to pick up and deliver the passengers in the best-streamlined way possible to generate the most points to win the game. There are two unique phases in this game, the first part of the game where you are building your engine up, assigning robot workers to help you lay track and build stations then once the engine is built, its time to put it to the test as there is a city full of passengers waiting to get places.
To start, each player takes a player board and train in their chosen color and the accompanying track. The game is set up based on the map, either Manhattan with the hub or the Berlin Metro. Each map has a specific number of robots, passengers, and stations so follow the setup for your chosen map. Since Manhattan is recommended for first-timers, this review will cover the Manhattan map. Each player is given one Steel, Gold, and Copper robot to assign to their player board. Each player count has a certain number of passengers and robots removed from the game, so check the rulebook and adjust accordingly. Deal each player one bonus card from each deck, These are the bonus opportunities you can select from for additional points at the end of the game, there are ways to unlock the ability to play more cards but that will be covered later, Place your train on the hub give the first player token and you are ready to go.
Each player performs two actions on their turn and their options are indicated on their player board and the number of units you can take in that action is based on the number of robots you assign to the action. Each player starts with one unit to build track, move, pick up, drop off, capacity, and adjust. Additional robots can be assigned to allow more units per action on a turn. Players will pick up and deliver robots to the hub or to a matching destination of their color then add the robot to their player board. Only certain color robots can perform certain actions but all colors of robots can be used on the first slot of the basic actions.
Building track lets the player put down one hex of track per unit. It costs two units to build over water so keep that in mind when assigning robots to actions. Track is laid from the end of your line or start a new line from the hub. Players can travel to the same stations but they can only travel on their line. There can only be two lines from a single station per player, with the exception of the hub.
Move allows you to move your train from station to station based on your units per move. When you move you must continue until you reach the end of your line and then you can reverse your train for free. You can assign a robot to the reverse train action which would allow you to reverse your train at any station along your line.
Capacity is the number of passengers you can carry on your train. Pick up is the number of passengers you can pick up from a station and drop off is the number of passengers you can drop off at a station. You can only pick up passenger colors you have unlocked by assigning a combination of robots to. The refill station action allows you to draw passengers from the bag based on the units assigned to the action; one passenger per unit.
The adjust action lets you move one robot from an action to another one. If you decrease your capacity, you must immediately reduce the number of passengers on your train. If you adjust your passenger types, you must also remove any passengers you no longer have unlocked. You can only adjust your robots, once you slot a passenger on your board, it is permanent. When you pick up a passenger and deliver them to the matching color station, or the hub for robots you immediately take that passenger and assign it to a space on your player board. You can immediately use the benefit of that action when you choose to perform it.
Build stations action allows you to build any station that is available for any passenger color you have open, Stations are built when you have a line of track that connects to the station and you have a robot assigned to the build station action. When you build a station, you get to immediately assign the passenger on the station as a bonus and you place all the other passengers of that color into the bag,
The game continues until the bag is empty of all passengers. Once it is empty each player takes their remaining turn and then completes one more round and it’s time to score. Follow the instructions in the rules for how to score and the player with the most VPs wins.
➡️Let’s talk components. I love the trains, they hold passengers and robots. The track is colored plastic hexes and they look really nice when laid out. The cards are good quality the only issue I have is it is very hard to tell the Gold from the copper robots. I took a Sharpie and marked G for Gold and C for copper.
The gameplay is fast, you take two actions and go. I like the ‘adjust’ mechanic as once all the stations are built, you need to focus on just moving and transporting passengers. So all the robots you assigned to build track can now be moved to what your focus is strategy.
I think for gamers who enjoy the pickup and deliver mechanic, this is a solid game. I feel this game is in two phases; building your engine up, then pick up and deliver. I think that it scales well for two players up to its full 4 players. Overall, I give this one a 7/10. It won’t replace other train games like Ticket to Ride, but it’s a great addition as a solid pick up and deliver.
G. Vladd Graphics
Lynn Makes
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