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SILOS, short for Secret InterLopers from Outer Space, is a modern reworking of Reiner Knizia’s Municipium. It keeps the structure of that older design but dresses it in a 1980s alien-invasion theme that feels unusual, yet inviting.
The story goes that in the year Glork-too-vlEEp, or 1983 in Earth terms, a group of aliens discovers our planet and decides to run a few experiments. At first they are interested in cows (understandably), but they soon turn their attention to humans, who seem a bit more useful for manipulation. In one small town, rival alien factions compete to influence places, abduct locals, and quietly take over. Each player leads one of these factions, trying to control the town through timing, placement, and clever use of powers.
👥 2-4 players, ages 14+
⌛ Playing time: 45-60 minutes
📝 Designers: Reiner Knizia
🎨 Artwork: Kwanchai Moriya
🏢 Publisher: Bitewing Games (review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
In Silos, each player controls seven aliens scattered across a town with seven locations: the town hall, sheriff’s office, university, shopping mall, news station, church, and bus station. Each location has its own ability, and most of the game revolves around moving between them at the right moment.
At the start, everyone places their aliens one by one on the board. Influence in a location depends on how many figures you have there. Leaders count as one and a half, distinguished aliens (the ones with graduation caps) count as two. The ranking in the town hall decides the tie-break order for the whole game, so it is worth paying attention to.
On your turn you can move up to two aliens between connected locations, then you activate a card. That can be from the shared deck or one of your own faction cards. Cards trigger different events such as abductions, mind control, or power activations.
A UFO abduction happens when the UFO moves clockwise to the next location. The player with the most influence there gets the cow, and the second-most gets the human. Cows work as wild tokens and can replace any human type, which feels entirely appropriate somehow. A mind control event occurs when a location’s focus group fills with three humans. The player with the most influence chooses two of them, and the second-most takes the last one. A power event lets you use the abilities of one or more locations. These can allow you to reposition figures, trade humans, or change influence around the town.
The goal is to collect one of each human type: politician, government operator, public influencer, and professional. Completing a set earns a Societal Power Emblem. Cows can fill in as wilds. The game ends at the end of the turn when someone reaches five emblems.
The box includes alternate location tiles for variety. The Crop Circles Expansion, which must be purchased separately, adds two small modules. One introduces crop circle tokens that give influence bonuses, and the other adds permanent skill tiles that grant ongoing abilities.
Artwork, Components, and Visual Design
Production quality is very good. The components feel sturdy, especially the wooden pieces and that big UFO that glides across the board.
The artwork by Kwanchai Moriya is colourful and a bit eccentric, mixing retro sci-fi with small-town Americana. The board looks like a glowing suburban map seen through night-vision goggles. The colours, mostly blues, greens and purples, make the whole thing feel slightly surreal, as if the town is under constant surveillance.
The alien meeples are bright and cheerful, with printed details and little hats you can actually put on them. Distinguished aliens get graduation caps as you go, which is silly in the best way. Humans are simple wooden meeples in different colours, and the cows, well, they are small but hard to ignore. The UFO, a big wooden token that moves from place to place, becomes a constant presence in the game.
The cards show short scenes of alien interference such as abductions, propaganda, or strange experiments. The design is consistent and easy to read. It all looks playful without becoming cluttered.
Our Experience
When Silos hits the table, people always ask what on Earth it is. Bright aliens, a big UFO, and the occasional cow abduction make it look bizarre but inviting. Our first plays were exploratory as we tested how much the powers matter and how easily control can swing back and forth. The town feels busy quickly, and timing your moves around the UFO’s next stop becomes a small puzzle on its own.
Underneath all the silliness, this is pure Knizia. It is tightly structured, fully deterministic, and rewards players who think a few turns ahead. There is hardly any luck once you understand how the deck works. The public display of cards, showing which events have already happened, fixes a major flaw from Municipium. Instead of hoping for the right draw, you can plan around what is left.
Turns move quickly. You shift a couple of aliens, flip a card, and suddenly everything on the board changes. Sometimes one move sets off a chain of events that turns the game on its head, cows changing hands, humans being abducted, and powers activating in sequence. Those moments are what make the game memorable.
With three or four players, Silos feels balanced and tense. You are always reading the board and second-guessing what others will do. With two players, the system uses a dummy faction that always wins ties and blocks certain actions. It works, but it does not feel quite as satisfying, more of a workaround than a real head-to-head match.
The learning curve is mild, but it takes a few rounds before you really see how it works. Once it does, it becomes about timing and prediction. That is when the design really opens up.
Our Thoughts
Silos is both playful and exact, in that very Knizia way. The theme is completely over the top, but the gameplay is sharp and serious. It is not a narrative game or an engine builder. It is a tactical contest about movement, timing, and influence. Think El Grande wearing a UFO hat.
That contrast might divide players. If you expect a big alien adventure full of surprises, this can feel surprisingly dry. But if you enjoy games that reward reading the table more than pushing your luck, it is quite satisfying. It is analytical but funny, minimal but tense.
For our group, the appeal lies in its clarity. There is almost no downtime, no unnecessary rules, and it plays comfortably in under an hour. It often ends just when it starts to get exciting, which somehow works.
In the end, Silos is exactly what you would expect from Knizia in a playful mood: clever, efficient, and a bit mischievous. It is not for everyone, but if you enjoy a bit of brainwork wrapped in humour and hats, you’ll find plenty to appreciate here.
📝 We received a copy of the game from Bitewing Games for review.
