- BGG rating
- 8.2
Rules assistance for City of the Great Machine: The Escalation
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 60–90 min
- 14+
- Complexity 3.5/5
Rules assistant for City of the Great Machine: The Escalation
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
City of the Great Machine: The Escalation is an expansion for City of the Great Machine released in 2023 for 1–4 players, 60–90 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by German Tikhomirov and its main mechanics are Area Movement, Modular Board, and Cooperative Game.
About the game
The struggle between the Resistance and the Great Machine enters a whole new level. New Heroes with unique abilities join the side of Revolution, while the Great Machine enhances its Servants with powerful implants and sends its new secretly trained Servant into the field. The governmental Surveillance Zeppelin now cruises over the City, opening up new opportunities for both sides of the conflict. The Escalation expansion consists of 4 separate Modules suitable both for One-vs-Many and Solo & Cooperative play. You may add any of them to your games in various combinations. Each Module combines perfectly with each other and the core game. Also, the expansion offers a challenging Aeterna scenario designed for Solo & Cooperative play.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- CrowD Games
- Czacha Games
- Moroz Dev Studio
Questions and answers
City of the Great Machine: The Escalation supports 1–4 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 the Great Machine: The Escalation is 60–90 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 the Great Machine: The Escalation for ages 14 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 the Great Machine: The Escalation has a complexity rating of 3.5 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 the Great Machine: The Escalation belongs to these categories: Miniatures, Science Fiction, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Area Movement, Modular Board, and Cooperative Game. 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 the Great Machine: The Escalation are: German Tikhomirov. 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 the Great Machine: The Escalation as an expansion for City of the Great Machine. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need City of the Great Machine to use it. Check that your edition of City of the Great Machine is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.