====== Alien City ======

Alien City is an opaque game for the Piecepack and some Looney Pyramids, though either can be substituted for relatively easily.  Players vie to claim three of the most productive towers along a "growing" street network that is actually becoming more restrictive as the game proceeds.  

Note that you may not claim your third tower on your last turn.

  * Designer: Michael Schoessow
  * Coder: Aaron Dalton (Perlkönig)

Links:

  * Alien City [[https://play.abstractplay.com/games/acity|at Abstract Play]], listing games, players, and challenges
  * Alien City [[https://www.ludism.org/ppwiki/AlienCity|at the Piecepack wiki]]
  * Alien City [[https://looneypyramids.wiki/wiki/Alien_City|at the Looney Pyramids wiki]]
  * Alien City [[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20623/alien-city|at BoardGameGeek]] 

Rules:

  * Alien City [[https://www.ludism.org/ppwiki/AlienCity22.pdf|rules version 2.2]] (PDF) at the Piecepack wiki
  * Alien City [[http://www.piecepack.org/rules/AlienCity.pdf|rules version 1.2]] (PDF) at the old Piecepack site
  * [[https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3433570/article/46052268#46052268|Changes between 1.2 and 2.2]]

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==== AI generated ====

====== Alien City ======

Alien City is a combination Piecepack/Icehouse game about building a city on a newly colonized world. Four guilds compete for customers, and the player has to predict which bets are going to pay off. Each turn, the player places either a tower or dome and may optionally claim a tower they think is going to score big when the game ends. Play continues until no more construction is possible. Scores are based on the relative positions of buildings to claimed towers.

Inventor: Michael Schoessow

===== Rules =====

See [[https://www.looneylabs.com/content/alien-city|Looney Labs: Alien City]].

==== Goal ====

When both players pass in a row, or both stashes are empty, score all remaining claims. Highest total wins; equal totals are a draw.

If the last real construction included a claim, that last claim is **cancelled** before scoring.

==== Scoring ====

For each claimed tower you still hold:

  * Count **customer** buildings of a **different guild** within real distance **2** of that tower (not counting the tower itself).
  * Find the nearest other building of the **same** piece as the claimed tower. Multiply customers by that distance.

Then add **green-tower bonuses** for each **unclaimed** green tower: if the unique closest red tower is one you claimed, add ''10 − 2 × distance'' (only if positive); likewise for the unique closest blue tower you claimed.

==== Setup ====

A randomised piecepack-style city of coloured tiles (red, blue, green, black) with suit markers. Each player has a stash of towers and domes in those colours. The road network of empty lots must stay connected as you build.

==== Gameplay ====

On your turn, place one structure from your stash onto a legal lot, then you **may** claim one unclaimed **tower** if you have claimed fewer than **three** towers so far.

  * **Towers** may go on tiles of their own colour, on **black** tiles, or on tiles that already contain two legally placed structures.
  * **Domes** may go only on tiles of the same colour, unless every such placement would break the road network.
  * You may not isolate a building from the roads.
  * You may not build on the lot that holds the suit icon until all other legal lots on that tile are occupied.

If you have no legal placement, you **pass**. You may not pass while a legal construction exists.

==== Variants ====

No engine variants.

===== Further details =====

==== Version history ====

  * Current engine version: ''20230531'' (2023-05-31). On Abstract Play since 2023-06-22.

==== Abstract Play ====

  * The starting tile layout is randomised each game.

==== Links ====

  * [[https://www.looneylabs.com/content/alien-city]]
  * [[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20623/alien-city]]