Review
Propolis
Propolis is a fresh, light city builder with pleasing resource management and the good sense to finish in under an hour. It offers enough shape to feel satisfying without asking for an entire evening.
- Published
- 2025
- Designer
- Molly Johnson, Robert Melvin, Shawn Stankewich
- Publisher
- Flatout Games, Alderac Entertainment Group, alea
- Players
- 1–4
- Playing time
- 30 min
AEG and Molly Johnson will generally get my attention, although I had begun to notice a little self-repetition across some of her designs. Propolis thankfully sits outside that pattern: it feels comparatively fresh, and a touch more involved than the other games of hers I had in mind.
At heart, it is resource management with the tidy, gentle shape of a city builder. You build up a small system of your own, trying to make what is available to you work a little more efficiently on the next turn.
Propolis thankfully sits outside that pattern: it feels comparatively fresh, and a touch more involved than the other games of hers I had in mind.
WhiteColarGamer
A game moves briskly, in roughly 40 to 50 minutes, and does not burden the experience with more than it needs. Interaction is not presented as a noisy confrontation; the emphasis is on getting each player’s own construction into place before the time at the table runs out.
This is the sort of game I want to put in front of me after a Tuesday at work: substantial enough to leave me feeling that I have made something, but light enough not to become a second shift. I came to it late, and I would happily bring it to a proper table again; quietly excellent.
I came to it late, and I would happily bring it to a proper table again; quietly excellent.
WhiteColarGamer
Source: BoardGameGeek
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