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- BGG rating
- 7.7
Tigris & Euphrates
- 2–4 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 3.5/5
- 1997
- BGG rank
- BGG #10,182
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Forbidden City
2018
Rules assistance for Forbidden City
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 30 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.8/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Forbidden City
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Forbidden City is a board game released in 2018 for 2–4 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Reiner Knizia and its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence and Tile Placement.
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About the game
The new Chinese Emperor Wei Zu Yang is still too young to rule. His advisors hope to strengthen their influence throughout the imperial palace – better known as the Forbidden City. In turn in Forbidden City, the advisors place down room tiles in an attempt to close off the rooms when their influence is the biggest. To increase their power, they also need as many imperial dragons as possible on their side. The advisor with the most influence in the Forbidden City wins this exciting game of power! During your turn, you play the tile from your face-down pile and place it face up on the table. You may place your tile only against a tile of the same color, unless they are divided by a wall. When you close off a room — that is, when it's completely surrounded by walls with or without archways — you calculate its total value. Each tile forming part of the room generates 1 point, each dragon in the room generates 3 bonus points, and any other rooms directly accessible from the closed off room through an archway are also added to the score. The player with the most advisors in a closed-off room receives the total value in Chinese coins. The player who has the second-most advisors in the closed off room receives half the total score. In the event of an uneven total score, the amount is rounded down. If there are two or more players with the most advisors in the closed off room, each of these players is awarded half the total value. The player who has the highest amount in coins at the end of the game is the most powerful advisor of the Forbidden City and therefore wins the game! —description from the publisher
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Questions and answers
Forbidden City 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 Forbidden City is 30 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 Forbidden City for ages 8 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.
Forbidden City has a complexity rating of 1.8 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light 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.
Forbidden City belongs to these categories: Territory Building. Its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence and Tile Placement. 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 Forbidden City are: Reiner Knizia. 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 Forbidden City 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.