Uptown

It was a hot August night in '23 -- the "Roarin' 20's"! Enzo and Alex were headed Uptown for a night of blues, blackjack, bubbly and fun again at Fred's. They donned top hats and canes, grabbed their limo, and picked up YuYu, looking flapper fine, dressed to the nines, and flashing that 4k diamond ring. Suddenly, out of nowhere, this box appeared. They opened it and heard: "Your mission is to create a unified group tonight. It is as easy as 1-2-3, minding your ABC's, and melding into familiar territory. Achieve this without capturing your companions and your name will live in Uptown fame forever!" They were told that if they failed, this mission would pass on to others in distant cities and countries. Given that you now hold this box in your hands, it looks like that Uptown mission is now yours!

Uptown is a tile-laying game that can be played by 3-5 players (special rules for 2). The rules are very short, and a typical game lasts 30-40 minutes. But allow more time because you will want to play again and again! Each player gets an identical set of 28 tiles; then plays one per turn, trying to get their tiles in one unified group, while disrupting the tile groups of opposing players -- capturing them only if unavoidable.