Welcome to..Your Perfect Home

Welcome to Your Perfect Home is the perfect game for those who like nostalgia and idyllic neighborhoods, and those dreaming of a simpler time say in the 1950's when life was filled with soda fountains and ice cream shoppes. Part of the appeal of the game is the design and the warm feeling you get playing with friends, and for that alone, the game far exceeds it's value of $38 on Amazon.

While happily filling out my city as Construction Cards were flipped and considering what my perfect streets would look like, I made choices as to whether I should build a park, create fences, select a home with a pool, or grow the value of my real estate, gaining points for each while filling in the numbers of my homes correctly lest I be penalized.

In terms of game mechanics, I did not find the game difficult. It was not particularly challenging to place the numbers in the correct homes as play proceeded, though I only played once (and won!) with a score of 90 points. I found the Temp Agency card to be an easy out were a player to flub where they put the numbers of their houses as this card option allowed players to add or subtract 1 or 2 to the numbered card in play, and also allows you to check off an orange diamond, which can ultimately result in only positive points. For the full set of comprehensive and vintage rules - see this pdf.

I was also not a huge fan of the Bis option, which allows you to duplicate a house number on a street, which is why I didn't use it, though at least using this card dings you after the first use of it. All in all, it was a very enjoyable game, though not particularly challenging. I can see families playing this over and over as a past-time, though for those on the more competitive side, I'm not sure this version of the game would do the trick.

However, I am sure the designer Benoit Turpin and his publishers Blue Cocker anticipated that as the Kickstarter for NEW NEIGHBORHOOD EXPANSIONS has already tenfold exceeded the original goal of 10k and is hovering around $112,000 with 13 days to go. The expansion is set to include 4 Thematic Neighborhood Sheets - 2 of which have been made public - Welcome to... Halloween and Welcome to... Outbreak (Zombies), in addition to other game mechanics and additions with these new themes, though it does not look like they will alter the game significantly.

Additionally, the expansion campaign is promoting dry erase player sheets, as opposed to the pen and paper versions that are currently out, a solo version, upgraded player aids, a wooded card tray and a nice playmat for the cards (very exciting!). I look forward to the expansion and to what Benoit Turpin designs next.

Can anyone say franchise?