- Designer: Naotaka Shimamoto, Yoshiaka Tomioka
- Publisher: Itten 2023
- Players: 2-4
- Playing Time 30-50 minutes
When Tokyo Highway debuted in 2016 it was an instant must have. It was one of the coolest looking games I had ever seen.
The little cars and the road construction were fantastic. Of course it was quite a challenge to play without causing a total disaster as it was super easy to knock everything down. In addition, there wasn’t that much game to be honest.
On a turn you build columns from your limited pillars and place roads. If your road crosses another player’s road either above or below you place a car. The first player to place all their cars won.
Forward to 2023 and Itten has released a new and improved version! Released domestically in Japan in 2023 and now on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter for wider international release in 2024, Tokyo Highway Rainbow City has several improvements whilst keeping the same stylish components. To start, the cars are now made of rubber. The old cars were wood, which I tend to prefer, but they could slide easily off roads, especially steep inclines. The new rubber cars grip the roads a bit better which brings us to the second improvement. The roads now have little rubber ends on one side which let them stay better on the wood columns. The new version also comes with the all new tower, rainbow and municipal buildings as well as development plots for the previous buildings.
In addition and more importantly, there have been improvements to the game play. The advanced games provide Mission Rules. Mission Rules add just enough direction to your building to make the game more interesting. For example if you encircle a building with your highway, have the tallest column or build under the rainbow you earn extra points.
Overall I find the new version of Tokyo Highway much more to my liking. It still has a tremendous tabletop presence. The addition of the rubber feet for the roads and the rubber cars mean you also spend less time rebuilding the city or at least for those of with less dexterous abilities. I love the addition of the Mission Rules. It adds an increased level of competition for prime spots within the city and also a little more strategic planning. Trying to go get an off ramp at the airport of go through the rainbow is so much fun! Definitely worth the upgrade for a game already owned.
Thoughts From Other Opinionated Gamers:
Mark Jackson (1 play): It’s really satisfying to see and make a move that threads through the various roads whilst scoring you points. Additionally, Lorna is correct that the rubber feet & cars make the game much easier to play.
Love it: Lorna
Like it: Mark Jackson, John P
Neutral
Not for Me
Dale Yu: Mystery Dice Bags from Mystery Dice Goblins
So, every now and then we get offered some accessories to check out. And while we’re mostly boardgamers around here, nearly all of us have dabbled in RPGs/D+D in the past. So, when I was contacted by the nice folks at Mystery Dice Goblins to look at their dice – we were happy to accept a set or three and give ’em a roll.
Admittedly, polyhedral dice are mostly used here for score keeping or other proxy uses in our boardgames; but it’s still nice to have multiple sets at the ready so that we can meet any need that arises.
In their promo text “In the realm of imagination and adventure, where dragons soar and heroes rise, Mystery Dice Goblin is here to support you with all your adventuring equipment.” For 9 pieces of green paper, you can have a sealed envelope arrive at your door – guaranteed to have a full set of dice within.
Full set Mystery DnD Dice Bag
Contains a full set of 7 RPG Dice; D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, Percentile Dice
Continue reading →
Share this:
Like this: