Game Spotlights

Published: August 25, 2021

Devin

The Loop & Machi Koro 2 Coming Soon

Preorders

The Loop Expected Release Date: September 2021

Machi Koro 2 Expected Release Date: October 6, 2021

Pandasaurus Games has been a consistent producer of fun games since they had us fighting for political power in New York City in Tammany Hall way back when! It’s going to be an exciting Autumn this year, for Pandasaurus and for us, because they’re dropping two titles back to back: The Loop & Machi Koro 2!


1  The Loop

the loop pandasaurus board game
Click to enlarge!
  • Players: 1-4
  • Play Time: 45-75 minutes
  • Ages 12+
  • Complexity 5/10

The Gist of The Loop

In The Loop, you work together to thwart the heinous plan of Dr. Faux, an evil scientist disrupting time and space. You are Temporal Agents and your assignment is to collect powerful artifacts, subvert the evil doctor’s clones, and sabotage his maniacal machine.

There are four different game modes and plenty of varied challenges to keep the replay value high. The Loop is also 1-player friendly, including a separate rulebook with instructions and examples for playing solo!

the loop game setup pandasaurus board game
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Win/Loss Conditions

Win

  • Complete 2-4 missions (based on player count) and defeat Dr. Faux

Loss

  • Dr. Faux’s deck reaches the end of its track and all cards have been used
  • Two vortexes occur in the same era
  • Four vortexes total occur on the board
the loop character meeple pandasaurus board games
Click to enlarge!

You can preorder your copy of The Loop today!


2  Machi Koro 2

As you might expect, Machi Koro 2 follows the same story as the smash-hit original from Japan: You’re the mayor and it’s your responsibility to build businesses, theme parks, cheese factories, radio towers and more to keep your citizens happy, fulfilled, and entertained. Collect income from your developments, build public works, and steal from your neighbor’s coffers!

It was hard to keep the first Machi Koro in stock when it released, and it still sells well to this day. Pandasaurus Games has set the bar pretty high on this IP and we’re really excited to get our hands on the sequel!

machi koro 2 board game pandasaurus
Click to enlarge!
  • Players: 2-5
  • Play Time: 45 minutes
  • Ages 10+
  • Complexity: 5/10

What’s New in Machi Koro 2?

While Pandasaurus have been pretty tight-lipped about specific changes in the sequel, this is what they have said about it:

“Under the new zoning laws, players receive a limited budget to choose their own starting establishments. The available cards are pulled from three decks and arranged for all to see. It’s a race to grab the coolest new establishments and landmarks in the land!

The cards in this set have exciting, never-before-seen effects.”

machi koro 2 cards pandasaurus
Click to enlarge!

In contrast to the original, Machi Koro 2 will have players will take turns spending coins to draft starter-businesses in three rounds at the beginning of the game. Other than this change, it appears that the sequel will maintain most of the mechanics of the first game. It does sound like some of the new cards will affect the game in new ways to create extra variation in play!

You can preorder Machi Koro 2 here!


Check out the rest of Pandsaurus’ games!

Or see more New & Upcoming Releases!