Engine building games start small, with just enough to get things going, and then grow into satisfying chains of actions and combos. Each turn your setup gets stronger and a bit more efficient. It’s clever, rewarding and a little nerve-racking when someone else’s engine starts firing faster than yours.
Some examples of engine building games are A Wild Venture, Daitoshi and SETI.
Wondrous Creatures: Winterfall – A Season of Change
The island of Starbeak was first discovered when explorers followed a strange bird with a glowing beak through the sea mist. On the other side, they found a mysterious island full of unusual creatures, hidden habitats, and enough weird wildlife…
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Moon Colony Bloodbath – Build an Engine, Then Watch It Break
Humanity has finally made it. We have permanent settlements on the Moon, rockets are arriving with supplies, colonists are ready for a fresh start, and robots are standing by to do the heavy work. It all sounds very promising, doesn’t…
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Entropy – Building Solar Systems and Evolving Life
What if humanity didn’t just understand entropy, but actually learned how to control it? That’s the idea behind Entropy. In the game, players take on the role of apprentice scientists taking part in a final examination inside a giant simulation…
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Emberleaf – A Forest Full of Small Decisions
In Emberleaf, you take on the role of an Emberling, one of the small creatures trying to rebuild their forest home. The idea is quite simple. You explore different clearings, recruit heroes, gather resources, build structures, and settle villagers to…
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Yotei – A Town Builder Where Potatoes Run the Economy
At the foot of Mt. Yotei in Hokkaido, life changes with the seasons. Spring brings wildlife, summer brings food and activity, and winter turns the area into a snowy destination. In Yotei, you’re building a town in that setting, trying…
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SETI: Space Agencies – Why Start Slow If You Don’t Have To?
(or why we kind of stopped setting up SETI without it) If you’ve been paying attention to board games over the last few years, you probably know SETI. And if you don’t… well, I guess you’ve been busy doing other…
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Ancient Empires – Decisions That Come Back Around
Big empires don’t just appear out of nowhere. They usually start small, make a few solid decisions, survive a couple of bad ones, and somehow keep going. Ancient Empires tries to capture how that actually plays out. You begin as…
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Cytress – Building Engines Beneath The Tower
Cytress is a cyberpunk engine-building and area-control game where you lead a rebel crew scraping by in the undercity of a dystopian city. Floating above it all is Stratos, a three-tiered citadel where the ruling elite live comfortably out of…
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Sanctuary – The Little Ark Nova We Didn’t Know We Needed?
Sanctuary: An Ark Nova Game is a standalone title that picks up the familiar way of choosing actions and the animal-focused engine-building from Ark Nova, but puts it into a quicker, more puzzle-like format. It feels a bit like Ark…
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The White Castle Duel – When Two Clans Won’t Share the Castle
If you’ve played the original The White Castle, you’ll recognise the setting right away. We’re back around Himeji Castle during Japan’s Nanban Period, when Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries suddenly showed up in the 1500s and brought all sorts of…
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