Machi Koro 2 seeks to take fans of the original back for a new adventure in the quirky town. Fans of the original Machi Koro might be excited for a trip back, but as with any journey, we caution going in unprepared.
We’re sharing our thoughts on all the changes in Machi Koro 2 and why we aren’t high on them in this review!
Main Changes in Machi Koro 2
Though appearing as a sequel, the gameplay in Machi Koro 2 (MK2) is essentially the same as in the original game. For an overview of those rules, check out our Machi Koro review.
There are THREE main changes to the gameplay.
Set Up Phase
Rather than each player starting with the same cards, in MK2 players begin with no cards and a small amount of money. Players then take turns spending money to purchase cards from the market to place in their tableau.
Random Market Draw
Unlike in the original game where all of the possible cards of a particular building are stacked together and available to the group, players will flip cards from a shuffled deck to place into the market after a card has been purchased. If the card flipped is already face up in the line, you’ll place the card on top of its match and flip another card.
Larger Variety of Landmarks
In the original game, all players had the same landmarks to build. When a landmark was built, players earned a special ability they could use going forward in the game. Once a player had built all of their landmarks, they won the game. In MK2, players must build three landmarks to win. However, the landmarks are available from a market like the building cards. Each landmark may be built as your first, second or third landmark. You just pay the coordinating cost. While some landmarks give a player a special ability only they can use, most landmarks give special abilities not just to the player who built them, but to all players in the game.
In addition to these three main changes, players can roll two dice from the beginning of the game. You are not required to build a landmark to earn this ability.
What Do We Think of Machi Koro 2?
I was looking forward to playing Machi Koro 2 as we had had a great time playing both the original and the legacy game. Though not perfect, the games provided a good amount of family fun so I was hopeful that Machi Koro 2 would fix some of the areas that were lacking, making it an even better game for the family to enjoy.
Sadly, I must say that those hopes were in vain. I dislike nearly everything changed in Machi Koro 2 and do not recommend this game.
Here’s why:
Set Up Phase Steals the Natural Progression of the Game
Players are given the ability to roll 2 dice right from the get go. On the surface we thought this would be nice, in practice we felt that this arbitrarily threw players into the middle of the game without the natural progression that allowed them to be successful there.
In the original, you know players are only going to be rolling one die at the beginning. This gives you time, with what little agency you have in a luck based game, to purchase cards that are more likely to hit during the early game to set yourself up for the second act.
Now, thanks to the luck of the deck and dice, you could find yourself shut out of the game before it even gets going.
Random Market Draw Brings in More Luck
Machi Koro is an inherently luck based game. Everything hinges on the roll of the dice with no way for players to mitigate the results. (The lack of mitigation and dependence on luck was my main critique of Machi Koro Legacy as well.)
The one and only way you could truly mitigate the amount of luck in the game was to make sure one player didn’t stockpile all the powerful cards in the market.
If you see that someone grabs one or two of those cards that’s a signal to make sure they don’t stockpile the rest. If a valuable card hits and one player is holding them all, they can pull away from the others quickly.
However, in Machi Koro 2, every single card that hits the market is completely random. In trying to add variability to the cards players had in the game they merely brought in more luck. I can’t stop someone from purchasing their 3rd Mine because I might have flipped it into the market when I purchased my card. This gives me no chance to deny them buying it because I never even had the chance.
You Don’t Want to Build Landmarks
To win the game, you have to build three Landmarks. It takes time to amass enough money to purchase a landmark card so when you do, you really want it to benefit you. Except now, these cards benefit the entire group. Sometimes so much so that it makes sense for players to not build them and wait for someone else to do it so they can get the benefit, such as future landmarks costing a few coins less.
Additionally, it is also difficult to keep track of which landmark abilities are activated on dice rolls. Players have enough to manage with their establishment cards. Needing to keep track of which landmarks other players have built so you could remember to take that benefit felt like a bit much.
I do like the idea of unique landmark cards — this was something we enjoyed in the legacy game. However we found how they were designed to be played MK2 frustrating and sometimes infuriating. We would have much rather seen players perhaps given the ability to draft their landmarks at the beginning of the game. If the landmark cards would then have player specific powers, this could give each player a starting strategy for which cards they want to go for.
No Iconography Was a Huge Miss
Why oh why is this game still language dependent?!
When making a second version of Machi Koro, I feel the decision to not convert the writing on the cards to iconography is disappointing. Iconography would have lowered the barrier for entry for the learning reader.
Even as a reader myself, I wish that the cards had iconography so they could be easily read from all seats at the table. That type is small!
Summary
The things Machi Koro 2 tries to do sound good in theory but in practice just does not come together. The game is now almost entirely luck dependent. Players have very little to no agency over their outcomes in the game. While all games have some element of luck involved, the trick is to make sure there isn’t too much so that a players decisions are still the most important factor in their outcome. Machi Koro 2 struggles to find that balance and as such is a game we feel is best left on the shelf.
For the best Machi Koro experience, we recommend the original Machi Koro or Machi Koro Legacy.
Find all our favorite game recommendations on our Amazon Storefront.
A special thank you to our friends at Pandasaurus Games for sending a copy of Machi Koro 2 for review. As always, our thoughts and opinions are our own.
Game Info:
Title: Machi Koro 2
2-5 Players Ages 10+
Designer: Masao Suganuma
Artist: Noboru Hotta, Masao Suganuma
Publisher: Pandasaurus Games
