Lost Cities Review

Intro

Lost Cities has been quietly winning hearts since 1999, and for good reason. This two-player card game captures the thrill of mounting archaeological expeditions without any of the dust or funding headaches. You and your opponent compete to explore ancient sites across five (or six, in newer editions) different colored expeditions, each represented by numbered cards that you'll play in ascending order.

The game takes about 30 minutes to play through its three rounds, making it perfect for a quick evening session. With a BoardGameGeek rating of 7.25 out of 10 and numerous awards under its belt, including the 2000 International Gamers Award, it's clearly struck a chord with players. The rules are straightforward enough for a 10-year-old to grasp, but the decisions will keep seasoned gamers engaged.

How It Plays

Each turn follows a simple rhythm: play a card, then draw a card. That's it. But within that simplicity lies a world of tough choices.

When you play a card, you have two options. You can either start or continue an expedition by placing it in front of you, or you can discard it to one of the five colored discard piles in the center of the table. Here's the catch: once you've started an expedition, you're committed to it, and every expedition starts at negative 20 points. You need to play at least 20 points worth of cards just to break even.

Cards must be played in ascending order within each expedition, though they don't need to be consecutive. Play a red 4, and you can follow it with a 6, 8, or 10, but never a 2 or 3. This creates constant tension about timing and what to hold back.

The handshake cards add another layer of strategy. These investment cards must be played before any numbered cards in an expedition, and they multiply your final score for that color. One handshake doubles it, two triple it, three quadruple it. Sounds great, right? Well, they also multiply your losses if an expedition goes south.

When drawing, you can either take from the face-down deck or grab the top card from any discard pile. This creates delicious moments where you're torn between giving your opponent access to a card they might want versus taking something useful for yourself.

Highlights

The risk-reward balance in Lost Cities feels perfectly calibrated. Every expedition you start puts you 20 points in the hole, so there's real tension in deciding whether to commit to a color. Do you play it safe with high-value cards, or do you go for broke with handshake multipliers? The math is simple enough to calculate in your head, but the psychological pressure makes even basic arithmetic feel intense.

Hand management creates constant headaches in the best way. You're always holding cards you can't quite use yet, watching your hand clog up while perfect opportunities slip away. The ascending order requirement means every card you play closes off options, and every card you discard might help your opponent. It's like a puzzle where the pieces keep changing shape.

The game's three-round structure adds strategic depth without overstaying its welcome. Early rounds let you take bigger risks since you have chances to recover, while the final round becomes nail-bitingly conservative. Scores accumulate across all three rounds, so a spectacular failure in round one can haunt you, but a brilliant comeback is always possible.

What really makes Lost Cities special is how it turns simple arithmetic into genuine drama. When you're sitting at -15 points in an expedition with handshake multipliers, every card draw feels like opening a present. Will you find salvation or watch your losses compound? The theme might be archaeology, but the real excavation is digging yourself out of mathematical holes.

Criticisms

The luck factor can be frustrating when it goes against you. Sometimes you'll get dealt a hand that seems promising, only to watch the cards you need appear in your opponent's discards or never show up at all. While skilled players can mitigate bad luck through careful play, there are definitely games where the card order decides things more than your decisions. This randomness keeps games unpredictable, but it can leave you feeling helpless when probability isn't your friend.

Analysis paralysis can slow things down despite the simple rules. Players prone to overthinking will find plenty to agonize over, especially in later rounds when every point matters. The math isn't complicated, but calculating potential outcomes across multiple expeditions while considering what your opponent might do can bog down what should be a breezy experience. Some players also find the constant mental arithmetic tiring rather than engaging.

The game can feel somewhat repetitive after many plays. While the card combinations vary, you're essentially solving the same types of puzzles repeatedly. The strategy space, while interesting, isn't infinite. Long-term couples who play regularly might find themselves going through the motions, especially since optimal play tends to follow similar patterns once you've internalized the scoring math.

Conclusion

Lost Cities works best for players who enjoy tight, tactical card games with just enough luck to keep things interesting. If you love games where every decision matters but you don't want to spend an hour analyzing each move, this hits the sweet spot perfectly. It's particularly great for couples looking for a go-to game that's engaging without being exhausting.

Skip it if you hate luck-based games or prefer more complex strategic depth. The simple mechanics might feel too light for heavy gamers, while the mathematical pressure could intimidate casual players. But for everyone in between, Lost Cities offers that rare combination of accessibility and engagement that keeps it relevant after 25 years. Sometimes the best expeditions are the ones you can complete in half an hour.