Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 90 min
Age requirements: 13+
Set-up time: 5 minutes

In City Hall you are competing with the other players to win a mayoral election. You must exert your influence in the city offices to win the constituents’ vote.

City Hall Rules Description:

City Hall ends once one player reaches the maximum Approval Rating or once a certain number of buildings (based on the number of players) have been built. You determine your vote by multiplying your Approval Rating by the Population you have brought into the city. The player with the most votes wins.

The board is made up of a grid of different plots where you can build buildings. There are four types of buildings, housing, towers, factories and parks. The types of buildings you have can help when certain offices are used. You start the game with three Influence, $10 and one housing, one tower and one factory card.

On your turn you choose one of the seven offices that is not occupied. Then there is a once around auction to gain the action associated with that office that starts to the left of the current player. You bid in Influence and the current player can meet the final bid to take the action themselves. If you (as the current player) accept the bid of another player you take their influence. If you match the highest bid you pay the bank. This continues until all players have placed a meeple. Then the unselected offices get an influence added to them, you check the game end conditions and if not met start another round. When you place a meeple on an office you immediately gain any influence there.

The offices include the Tax Assesor, Campaign Manager, Surveyor, Lobbyist, Zoning Board, Deputy Mayor and Health Commissioner. The Tax Assesors gets you money based on your Population score and the number of towers and factories you have. When you win the auction for the Campaign Manager you can advance your Approval Rating. A one rank increase is free but you can pay $10 to increase two ranks or $30 to increase it three ranks. Taking the Surveyor allows you to buy a new plot to build on for $20. The Lobbyist lets you buy or sell Influence. Winning the Zoning Board allows you to gain more buildings and/or place buildings in your hand onto your empty plots. The Deputy Mayor determines first player. And the Health Commissioner increases your Population score based on the buildings you have built and their surroundings.

Once the game end condition is met you finish the current round. Then you play one last round that lasts until all seven offices are occupied. Lastly you take one additional Health Commissioner action and calculate your votes.

There are nine Endorsements that get you 10 votes. They are given out for having the most money, land, influence, of each of the four building types, being the current Deputy Mayor or having the lowest approval rating. If two players are tied for an Endorsement no one gets the bonus.

After gaining Endorsements, players total their votes. The player with the most votes wins the game.

Quick Review of City Hall:

City Hall combines worker placement with an auction. You must manage your Influence to ensure you can win the auction for the office you want. This can mean choosing an office that is in high demand that you don’t want but can get you a lot of influence from its auction.

The components for this game are well done. The cards and chits are well made and the art looks good too. The rules are straight forward, easy to read and follow.

I like the auction and the strategy behind picking offices you need versus ones that will get you more Influence. The auctions can be a decent source of income which makes your decisions meaningful.

Endorsements add an interesting way to score and can swing the game in your favor.

The way building placement works and how the buildings affect each other is interesting too. This can be even more strategic since you can choose the plot you buy from the deck for one Influence.

I will say my group and a few other friends really enjoy City Hall. I like it but think it feels like there is more going on then there is. It is a bit hard to see how all the different options relate and which one push you toward victory. But after a handful of plays it seems getting a bunch of cash and then buying your Approval Rating while getting as much Population as you can is the best strategy. Maybe it is how my group plays.

City Hall certainly brings some fun mechanics together and creates a unique experience. But for me it is just missing something. Maybe it is all the hype my friends gave it. I like it fine and I would not turn a game down. But I think you should try it before you buy it. Maybe you’ll feel like me or maybe you’ll feel like my friends.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6