- BGG rating
- 7.6
City of Iron: Second Edition – Contracts
- 2–4 players
- 120 min
- 2016
- BGG rank
- BGG #2,636
- BGG rating
- 7.2
City of Iron: Second Edition
2016
Rules assistance for City of Iron: Second Edition
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 120 min
- 13+
- Complexity 3.2/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for City of Iron: Second Edition
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
City of Iron: Second Edition is a board game released in 2016 for 2–4 players, 120 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Ryan Laukat and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Take That.
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About the game
In City of Iron, 2-4 players compete to build up a small nation in a world of machines, magic, and money. Become the leader of one of four rival nations: the industrious humans, the toad engineers, the scholarly Cresarians, or the clever hogmen. Produce goods like machine parts and bottled demons to gain wealth, or research steam-age technology and recruit mercenaries to control the continent. If you want to establish new cities, you’ll build schooners or airships to reach faraway lands and flying islands. Your cities have limited capacity, so you’ll have to decide what to keep and what to demolish when building advanced structures. The future of a nation is in your hands. Build unbreakable foundations for an empire or disappear into the dusty pages of history. Differences from the first edition: The expert cards have some new iconography and have been rebalanced The expansion town card deck is gone The auction for player order has been simplified The pay track for going later in the turn is gone A bonus coin replaced the pirates The timing of scoring rounds has been changed Players now have different end-game scoring goals depending on their contract cards and regions, rather than everyone competing for the same set of end-game bonuses
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Red Raven Games
Questions and answers
City of Iron: Second Edition supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for City of Iron: Second Edition is 120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists City of Iron: Second Edition for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
City of Iron: Second Edition has a complexity rating of 3.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
City of Iron: Second Edition belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Economic. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Take That. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of City of Iron: Second Edition are: Ryan Laukat. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists City of Iron: Second Edition as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.