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Seismic
2006
Rules assistance for Seismic
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 45 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.6/5
Rules assistant for Seismic
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Seismic is a board game released in 2006 for 2–4 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Ted Alspach and its main mechanics are Tile Placement.
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About the game
From the Atlas Games website: "The industrious yet short-sighted Seismic Asphalt & Paving Company -- located in the sleepy town of San Andreas, California -- has put you in charge of one of its many road crews. Your job is to build a network of roadways around San Andreas proper. But San Andreas is rather prone to earthquakes, which have a tendency to destroy the beautiful stretches of pavement you've been laying. After all the asphalt is put down, which road crew will end up connecting the most highway in between quakes?" In Seismic, players place hexagonal highway tiles to build long, complete sections of highways, scoring points for each tile as well as bonus points for the ending "intersection" tiles in their routes. Scores aren't tallied until the end of the game, because at any time, earthquakes can occur, destroying tiles along the most-built direction leading out from the central "San Andreas" tile. Players constantly need to be claiming as many long roadways as possible while ensuring that their highways aren't the ones that are going to be destroyed if and when an earthquake occurs.
Questions and answers
Seismic 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 Seismic is 45 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 Seismic for ages 10 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.
Seismic has a complexity rating of 1.6 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.
Seismic belongs to these categories: Territory Building and Travel. Its main mechanics are 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 Seismic are: Ted Alspach. 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 Seismic 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.