The Unique Flavor of NEOM and a Puzzle of City Planning
Explore what NEOM has to offer with variable city-building strategies and a multitude of unique tiles.
Back to the wonderful world of buildings! I never seem to have enough time for solo board games these days, but NEOM is one that often takes around 20 minutes from setup to cleanup. Starting off with an open expanse and transforming it into a bustling city is both challenging and rewarding. I set to work planning my next big (or small) city!
Game Overview
Game Name: NEOM
Publication Year: 2018
Designer: Paul Sottosanti
Artists: Klemens Franz and Christian Opperer
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Before play even begins, cornerstone tiles must be chosen. These are often excellent sources of points or income… But the choices are anything but easy!
This process is typically randomized, yet it’s also easy to pick and choose to create excellent scoring opportunities.
First Play
February 1, 2020
Complexity
2
Latest Play
September 23, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
26
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
129
Game Area
16" x 16"
Low Score
81
Commercially Viable
As expected, time absolutely flew! I noticed a few early synergies between commercial tiles, seen here as the blue tiles with billboard icons in their upper-right areas.
My final board looked pretty impressive! Although there were very few raw goods, I made up for it with businesses.
That’s one of the nice things: There is never a single path towards victory. It all depends on the tiles and the constant choices that must be made. Very challenging!
Admittedly, I didn’t do as well as I thought I did. Final scoring can be a little disheartening, but only a little.
The Precision of Every Chosen Tile
With a lot of board games, the difference between options might only equate to a point differential that’s negligible. I play to win most of the time, but I also steer clear of calculating every single point. That’s just me, though! Perhaps you enjoy optimizing every turn and achieving the best score possible. More power to you! I’m a little different.
In this case, I’m learning that I need to be more careful with my decisions. It’s not all about getting amazing scores… Sometimes, I just like to look at my finished city and make up fun districts! But getting to 130 points? That takes effort.
Although I think a 20-minute play time is accurate for the most part, that can easily be inflated with careful planning. Evaluating every building tile is important, and I may need to rethink my goals for each play. Painstakingly examining every scoring opportunity probably won’t happen that often, but I expect those scores to be better. I hope. Ha ha!
Realistically Expensive
Every city needs residents. Negative points are awarded for having 0-1 residential tiles. That’s no good!
Neighborhoods represent connected tiles. The bigger the area, the more points are awarded. At the same time, there are many other ways to earn victory points.
I created a small but fairly accurate neighborhood. Need a highrise apartment with stunning views near a metro station? Have I got a deal for you in the southwest corner!
It’s a shame the artwork kind of gets lost in the shuffle. Every building is uniquely futuristic with many details.
A Busy City Center
Don’t think I’m done admiring my first attempt just yet! My city center, more aptly titled my city off-center, featured plenty of excellent buildings.
From the forum to the stock exchange and all of the public services, it looked pretty amazing! And profitable.
Coins are an important resource not to be ignored. Many building tiles have a cost or other requirement to be added. And let’s not forget about the cost of disasters!
As I’ve mentioned before, the symbols also aren’t bad. Coins are either ongoing income or immediate rewards.
Diverging Strategies
After I was finally done looking over my completed city, I destroyed it all like an orderly Godzilla attack! Time to play again. This time, I went in the opposite direction.
My starting cornerstone tiles pointed to a manufacturing center. Everywhere I turned, there was a factory.
This gave me the chance to produce a lot of goods, including some very lucrative cars and electronics. What’s more, a car dealership even set up shop in the city. Nice!
I had completely different goals and made different decisions. So, then, how did that affect my score?
Session Overview
Play Number: 14 and 15
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Played with the 1+, 4+, and 5 Player Tiles
Required Play Space: 16″ x 16″
Setup Time: 5 Minutes
Play Time: 20 Minutes per Play
Outcome: 97 and 97 (2 Losses)
Completely different strategies, exact same score. Ha! I clearly need to improve if I’m going to get anywhere near my goal. It’s like I parked in the wrong area, like this car that seems to be lurking in the bushes. Why not?!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
8
Victory Conditions
Score 120+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 67%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 100 points.
Score at least 120 points.
Score at least 130 points.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of NEOM? How do you earn the majority of your victory points? I’ll likely take a little break as I try to get some more lonely board games to my table. This is an excellent sort of puzzle, though, with so many different options. My city layouts are always unique, and it’s just such a joy to create a bustling metropolis of the future!
I need to move this one from my Want List to my Own list. Thanks for sharing your solo play experiences!
Thanks for the kind words, Travis! This one really does play in a unique way: Play time flies by, yet in a way that provides plenty of variety and challenges. As with almost every game I own, I need to play this one again very soon!