Hamburg (City Collection 1)

Hamburg is a card game in which each card has five different uses, and players must cleverly choose the best use for each card while avoiding disasters and racing to different goals.

In the game, players act as mayors of the city of Hamburg in the late 19th century. The game is played over eight rounds. At the beginning of the round, six colored dice are rolled, with players receiving a threat die in the color of each die that rolls a 5 or 6. The black die is a "wild" threat, with players drawing a threat token with one of the other threat types hidden on the back. If a player ever has three of one threat type, they receive a penalty.

Next, players have the option of paying a number of coins (equal to the pips of all dice showing a 1 or 2) to advance.
showing a 1 or 2) to advance on the mayor's track. The black die also activates the clergy in St.
Michael's Church, which serves as a lap counter and gives points for certain building types at the end of the game.

When it is their turn, players play five cards from one of five stacks of cards, one for each of the five colors in the game. These cards are divided into thirteen categories, each representing a different location in Hamburg, with seventeen individual cards within each category. Each card in a player's hand can be used for a number of purposes, including building the city wall, activating boats (if a 3 or 4 is rolled), starting a building plot, and constructing a building (card) on the plot, with this building providing a new skill or endgame condition.

Players receive points for various achievements during the game. In addition, they can receive bonus points for being the only player to have achieved one of the five conditions for that round. Whoever has the most points after eight rounds wins.

Hamburg is a reimplementation of Bruges, including The City on the Swamp and Pets expansions and some new content, with some moderate rule improvements. Hamburg is part of the City Collection from Queen Games. This edition contains the base game and 6 minor expansions.