Suburbia: A Guide to Rules, Strategy & Winning Tips

Introduction

Suburbia scratches that itch for me as a tile-based city-building game where you act as a city planner, laying down residential, commercial, industrial, and civic buildings to make your borough thrive. Planning the perfect little commute gives me some measure of comfort when I compare it to my usual city driving route. The game was designed by Ted Alspach and published by Bezier Games. It’s been around since 2012 and has won awards for its engaging gameplay. The goal is to have the most thriving city by the end of the game, which means you need to balance your income, reputation, and population growth.

The game is set up with a central board that tracks players’ income, reputation, and population. Each player starts with a borough board, a few basic tiles, and some money. As the game progresses, you buy tiles from a market and place them in your borough. Each tile affects your borough in different ways, and the game has a clever mechanic where the tiles interact with each other, so where you place them is just as important as what you place.

Suburbia has a few expansions out there, like Suburbia Inc and Suburbia 5★, which add new tiles, borders, and even more strategic depth to the game. It’s a game that’s easy to learn but has enough complexity to keep you coming back.

Rules for playing Suburbia

Suburbia’s rules are pretty straightforward once you get the hang of them. The game is played over several rounds, and each round consists of three phases: the income phase, the buy phase, and the cleanup phase. During the income phase, you get money based on your income level. In the buy phase, you purchase one of the available tiles from the real estate market and place it in your borough. The cleanup phase is where you adjust the real estate market and prepare for the next round.

There are a few key rules to remember:

1. Each tile you place can affect your income, reputation, or population.
2. Some tiles have immediate effects, while others have ongoing or end-of-game effects.
3. You can also place tiles as lakes for a quick cash boost, or invest in tiles to make them more powerful.
4. There are red lines on the population track that, when crossed, decrease your income and reputation as your city deals with the strain of growth.
5. The game ends after all the ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ stacks of tiles are depleted, and then you play one final round.
6. At the end of the game, you add up your population with any bonuses from public and private goals to find out who has the most successful city.

Understanding these rules is key to playing the game well, but there’s a lot more strategy involved in making the right choices for your city.

Equipment and Setup for Suburbia

To play Suburbia, you need the game box which includes a bunch of hexagonal tiles, player boards, coins, and wooden markers for tracking income, reputation, and population. The tiles are divided into different types: residential, commercial, industrial, civic, and special. Each type of tile has a different role in your city.

Setting up the game goes like this:

1. Each player gets a borough board and the basic starting tiles: a Suburbs, a Community Park, and a Heavy Factory.
2. Sort the remaining tiles into ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ stacks based on the back of the tiles, shuffle each stack, and place them face down.
3. Reveal the top seven tiles from the ‘A’ stack to create the real estate market and place the ‘One More Round’ tile at the bottom of the ‘C’ stack.
4. Each player starts with three investment markers and some money.
5. Place the population board in the center of the table with markers on the starting spaces for income and reputation.

Once you’ve got everything set up, you’re ready to start building your city.

How to Play Suburbia and Game Mechanics

Playing Suburbia is all about making smart choices and watching how tiles interact with each other. Here’s a breakdown of the game mechanics:

1. Key Game Mechanics: Tile placement is crucial. You want to place tiles that complement each other and boost your income, reputation, and population.
2. Setup: Follow the setup instructions I mentioned earlier to get your game ready to play.
3. Gameplay: On your turn, you buy a tile from the market and place it in your borough. You can also place a tile as a lake or invest in a tile to make it more powerful.
4. End of the Game: The game ends after the ‘One More Round’ tile is drawn and everyone has had a final turn. Then you tally up your population with any bonuses to see who wins.

Here’s a list of gameplay phases:

1. Start Player Marker: Randomly designate a player as the start player by giving them the Start Player Marker.
2. Four Actions on Turn:
   • Take and Place 1 Tile or Place 1 Investment Marker: Players must choose either to take a tile and add it to their borough, or place an Investment Marker on a tile in their borough to “invest” in it.
   • Collect or Pay Money (Based on Income): If the Income Cylinder is on a positive number, the player collects that amount from the supply; if negative, they owe and must pay immediately or adjust their Population Square.
   • Adjust Population (Based on Reputation): Players modify their Population on the Population Board based on the location of their Reputation Cube, considering penalties and adjustments.
   • Add a New Tile to Real Estate Market: After taking or placing a tile, the player removes a face-up tile from below the Real Estate Market, replacing it and adjusting the market.
3. Taking Tiles from Real Estate Market:
   • Basic Tile Acquisition: Players can acquire basic tiles—Suburb, Community Park, or Heavy Factory—from the Real Estate Market, paying the tile cost.
   • Using Tiles as Lake: Taking a tile to use as a lake involves specific rules and rewards for adjacent tile placement.
4. Placing Investment Marker: Players can double the effects of a tile by placing an Investment Marker on it, paying the tile cost again.
5. Market Adjustment: After placing a tile or Investment Marker, a tile is discarded from below the Real Estate Market, and the remaining tiles slide to fill the gap while a new tile is flipped from the stack.
6. Game End: The game triggers its final round when the “1 More Round” tile is revealed, ensuring all players have an equal number of turns.
7. Final Scoring: After the last player’s turn, final scoring occurs, involving goals and converting money to Population.

Winning in Suburbia is determined by the following criteria:

1. Population: The player with the highest Population on the Population Board wins. If there’s a tie:
2. Reputation: Among tied players, the one with the highest Reputation wins. If still tied:
3. Income: Among those still tied, the player with the highest Income wins. If further tied:
4. Remaining Money: The player with the most money left wins. If still tied:
5. Extra Game: In case of an unlikely multiple-tie situation, the tied players play another game of Suburbia to determine the winner of the initial game.

This hierarchy ensures that the player with the highest Population primarily wins, with other factors coming into play in case of a tie. If ties persist, the game continues with an additional match to break the deadlock.

How to Win at Suburbia

Winning at Suburbia is about planning and adapting. You need to balance your short-term needs with your long-term goals. Here are some tips:

1. Pay attention to the public goals. They can give you a lot of points at the end of the game.
2. Keep an eye on your opponents’ cities. You can often predict what tiles they might want and either take them first or adjust the market to make them more expensive.
3. Don’t grow your population too fast. Crossing those red lines on the population track can hurt your income and reputation.
4. Invest in tiles when it makes sense. An invested tile can give you a big advantage, especially if it’s one that gives you ongoing benefits.
5. Remember that money is tight. Don’t overspend on tiles unless they’re going to give you a good return on investment.

As you play more, you’ll start to see deeper strategies and learn how to adapt to what the game throws at you.

Best Strategies for playing Suburbia game

There are a lot of strategies in Suburbia, but here are some of the best that often work in my games:

1. Goal Awareness: Keep both the public and your private goals in mind throughout the game as they hold significant value at the game’s conclusion.
2. Know Tile Availability: Familiarize yourself with the Tile List to anticipate which tiles might appear in each stack, aiding in decision-making.
3. Early Income Boost: Prioritize raising your income early on; a single income boost in the first turn can substantially increase in value by the game’s end, ranging from $15 to $18.
4. Manage Population Growth: Avoid rapid population growth to prevent hitting Red Lines quickly, which can hinder progress before establishing a strong infrastructure of Income and Reputation tiles.
5. Monitor Population and Red Lines: Be mindful of your Population Square’s position concerning Red Lines; even a single point increase can have long-term consequences.
6. Value Changes in Income and Reputation: Keep in mind that Income and Reputation increases or decreases vary in value throughout the game. Increases made early hold more weight than those made later; roughly gauge the game’s turns remaining to assess their worth.
7. Strategic Discarding: When discarding tiles, consider what your opponents, especially the player to your left, might need. It could be worthwhile to spend extra money to remove a tile beneficial to them.

And don’t forget about those sneaky tactics like bluffing. Sometimes you can block an opponent from completing a goal or force them to take a tile they don’t want. It’s all fair in city planning!

Scenarios

Here are some common scenarios you might find yourself in:

1. If you’re low on money, consider placing a tile as a lake to get an immediate cash boost.
2. If your income and reputation are suffering, look for tiles that can give you a quick boost to these areas.
3. If you’re close to completing a public goal, consider whether it’s worth it to go all-in to secure those points.
4. If you’re in a strong position, think about how you can maintain your lead without overextending yourself.

In each scenario, think about your long-term strategy and how your current decision will affect your future turns.

Frequently Asked Questions about playing Suburbia game

Here are some common questions and answers:

Q: Can I move tiles once they’re placed?
A: No, once a tile is placed, it stays there for the rest of the game.

Q: What happens if I can’t afford any tiles in the market?
A: You can always place a tile as a lake or pass your turn to get some money.

Q: Can I hide my private goal?
A: Yes, private goals are kept secret until the end of the game.

Q: How do I know when the game ends?
A: The game ends after the ‘One More Round’ tile is drawn and everyone has had a final turn.

Q: What if there’s a tie?
A: In case of a tie, the player with the most money wins.

External Links

For more information on Suburbia, check out these links:

• Official Suburbia Page
• Suburbia Review [Video]