Nucleum Review

In passing, most people may say that Nucleum is Brass and Barrage's lovechild. Is that a fair assessment? Kind of, but no. I'll get the key comparisons out of the way. Route building feels very similar to Brass because you're putting down rails to connect cities in order to route your power. The Barrage comparison will come from using your networks to move the energy around. This is pretty much where the comparisons will end. In the game, you'll be playing a double sided action tile for it's actions or as a rail for your network. For the latter, if you place a matching color down you'll get to do the matching action of the tile and this can chain into other actions potentially. When you play a tile for it's actions you'll do what they say on the tile and place it in the slot above your player board. Actions range from building buildings, mines, or turbines, purchasing new tiles or contracts, generating electricity, or moving along one of your tracks. Buildings come in different levels with different requirements of power needed. When they do receive power, they'll be flipped over and you'll receive bonuses. Mines and turbines provide uranium and extra power capacity when generating. There are a set number of contracts placed each game and when you fulfill them you'll receive benefits.

Generating electricity is by far the most complex action in the game. You must meet the requirement of the building tile by connecting it to coal or nucleum plants. There is only one at the start of the game but as players pass, more will become available assuming a certain threshold of achievements prior to passing. But wait, there's more, the uranium from mines also need to be traced back to the plant and then to the building in question. Uranium counts for 2 power and you can use others by paying them for it. However, you'll need turbines if you want to use more than 1 uranium. These will allow you to use more and can be used by other players as well. Placing turbines will provide bonuses as well. Then flip the building and gain benefits.

One of the more unique features of Nucleum is the experiments. Each one has 3 levels and will unlock as the game moves along. The final level will always be an endgame scoring goal. As you unlock the rows, you'll slot in the piece to show that it has been unlocked. Aesthetically, it's very pleasing. This will also determine your starting tiles for the game as they are all different. Once a set amount of endgame objectives is completed, the game will end and players will tally their scores. This is partially determined by the achievements you've completed as when they're in a specific column, you'll get multipliers for them. Whoever has the most points is the winner.

The Good: The overall action selection system is wonderful. Having it tied to an end game condition while making them randomized and expendable means your engine will probably never run the same way. Having achievement tokens and how well you perform before you pass be tied to your final scoring is a unique concept. Because the game does a good job of balancing itself it doesn't feel like one player can completely run away with their achievements and dominate. If someone doesn't do as well but was able to get enough buildings and income they could still walk away with a victory. With a weight of 4.07 on Board Game Geek you may be deterred from the game but it does not nearly feel that complex. Most actions are very streamlined and anyone with experience with route building should be able to grasp this without much effort.

The Okay: Generating electricity at times felt too convoluted. Having to trace fuel sources from multiple routes into one spot and ensuring that there's enough uranium and turbines and coal and starting power just became cumbersome for some buildings. For the most part, it was manageable but for higher powered buildings it required additional math and thought process. Not having a way to produce coal and being forced to rely on the market feels like a missed opportunity.

The Not So Good: An overused phrase, but accurate, Nucleum felt prone to AP. Especially in the early phases with an empty board. Once you've built out somewhat of an engine it gets easier to figure out but you'll have little sense of direction early on. I personally didn't care for the overall aesthetic of the board itself. The map itself just did nothing for me especially when you take into consideration how interesting the rest of the art is.

Final Thoughts: Ultimately, Nucleum managed to take inspiration from some of the most well regarded games of all time and make it something of it's own. It does not always feel as elegant as Brass but it doesn't need to be. It's action selection alone is enough to pull me in and the gameplay holds it's own weight. This is a welcome addition to the collection and with the expansion already in the works, I cannot wait to see where this series goes next. It's Australia, but mechanically I'm excited about the upcoming changes.