Lost Cities – The Card Game

Lost Cities: The Card Game is from the Kosmos two player line. The game is very similar to Lost Cities: The Board Game, but is specifically designed for two players.

In Lost Cities: The Card Game, players are trying to lead successful archaeological expeditions in a variety of territories, whilst their opponent is doing the same thing. Players run their expeditions using cards in their hand. There are cards numbered two to ten for each of the expedition tracks, as well as three handshake cards for each colour. The handshakes act as multipliers for each track. The first handshake doubles the score on the track, the second triples and the third quadruples the score. However, the handshakes act as multipliers for negative as well as positive scores, so players need to be wary.

On their turn, a player can either play a card from their hand to their expedition, or they can discard a card to draw a new one. Players must play cards to their side of the expedition board in ascending order, with handshake cards placed first. However, if they discard a card, this goes in the middle of the expedition board and can be taken and used by the other player.

At the end of the game, players calculate their points. If they have not started on an expedition track they receive no points for that track. However, on each track which has been started, players start at a points value of minus 20. Players therefore need to have played cards worth at least 20 points to make a profit on the expedition.

There is an element of luck as to when cards are drawn. There is also the strategy of working out whether it is worth starting on a particular track and which card to discard when.

Player Count: 2
Time: 30 minutes
Age: 10+