
- BGG rank
- BGG #7,050
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Bug Council of Backyardia
- 1–5 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2022

Rules assistance for Town & Gear
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Town & Gear is an expansion for Thru the Appalachian released in 2022 for 1–99 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Patrick Engro and its main mechanics are Paper-and-Pencil.
Before embarking on your thru-hike, pack your bag with essential gear to help you handle the most extreme weather, maximize your energy, and your enjoyment points! Don’t forget to stop off and tour the towns, repack your bag, and much more! There are 16 different polyomino-shaped gear, each with a unique shape, size, and ability! With a bagful of goodies, you'll be able to mitigate dice rolls, avoid negative effects of weather, and break some rules entirely! Towns along the trail offer new and powerful actions that you can use! You can Tour the Town, send a postcard to a friend, and rest and recover like never before! You can also repack your bag with your favorite gear and take advantage of new and interesting scoring opportunities! —description from the designer
Town & Gear supports 1–99 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 Town & Gear 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 Town & Gear 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.
Town & Gear belongs to these categories: Dice, Travel, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Paper-and-Pencil. 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 Town & Gear are: Patrick Engro. 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 Town & Gear as an expansion for Thru the Appalachian. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Thru the Appalachian to use it. Check that your edition of Thru the Appalachian is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.