- BGG rating
- 9.8
Rules assistance for City of the Great Machine: The Story Unfolds
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–5 players
- 60–120 min
- 14+
Rules assistant for City of the Great Machine: The Story Unfolds
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
City of the Great Machine: The Story Unfolds is an expansion for City of the Great Machine released in 2027 for 1–5 players, 60–120 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 Story Unfolds is a turning-point expansion that marks a new stage in the game evolution. It is also called City of the Great Machine 1.5. The expansion updates the base game and introduces exciting plot-driven scenarios. Now, the confrontation between the Great Machine and Revolutionaries unfolds in many new ways in alternate versions of the City. Key Guidelines • The Four Heroes mode. New game format for 1-5 players. Fourth Hero joins the Revolutionaries, while the Great Machine unleashes the mind-controlling colossal robot: the Enforcer. • The Everett Triad campaign. An epic three-scenario campaign with the story that unfolds as you uncover the secrets of a strange cult that has recently appeared in the City. • 4 separate Scenarios: Class Warfare, Rise of the Enforcer, Under Spybot Supervision, Murders in the City. Each Scenario has its own story and introduces significant gameplay twists. • 2 Modules. Travel by sky cableways stretched over the City. Face the unique Servants with powerful abilities and personal Raids. The base game Servants are joined by merciless Punisher and, if you have the Escalation expansion, the revised Chronoleon. • Upgrade. Dice are replaced with the manageable Risk tokens. Universal Access cards and Identity tokens are added. Some base game components are updated. • Fresh Gears. New City Events and Directives. New Hero: Anneke Hoffman, the Aviator. Deviation cards: variable starting conditions. • Along with this: MANY new and undated game rules. Secret Envelope (unseal after the campaign). Updates for the Escalation expansion. And compatibility rules. • Everything may be played in competitive, solo and cooperative modes. Also, the base game S&C rules are completely rewritten to improve quality. • IN TOTAL: 8 plastic miniatures, over 260 cards, approx. 85 tokens and tiles, 4 booklets, wooden Universal marker, and big bad box to store all this. Not a standalone! The base game of City of the Great Machine is required. -description from publisher
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- CrowD Games
Questions and answers
City of the Great Machine: The Story Unfolds supports 1–5 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 Story Unfolds is 60–120 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 the Great Machine: The Story Unfolds 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 Story Unfolds belongs to these categories: 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 Story Unfolds 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 Story Unfolds 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.