Welcome to our "In Focus" series!
Today, we are excited to introduce you to Bella Vista, a great looking city-building game designed by the acclaimed Bruno Cathala and Andrea Mainini, and published by Studio H. We released the game at AireCon and are really happy with the reception the game has received since.
If you are looking for a fast-paced, highly interactive game that boasts a great table presences, this new 2 to 4-player game might just be one for you!
Unmatched Table Presence (No Assembly Required!)
The buildings are bursting with character, featuring incredibly detailed unique artwork, including tiny murals and graffiti. Even better, Studio H has included a great pull-out storage drawer. The drawer comes with printed instruction showing exactly how the buildings slot back into the box, making cleanup an absolute breeze.
How to Play: Bid, Build, and Earn
In Bella Vista, players take on the role of town architects trying to become the wealthiest builder over exactly 8 rounds. The game is played on a modular board that you can customise yourself or set up to mimic famous real-world cities like London, Paris, Berlin, or New York.
Each player starts the game with eight buildings of varying heights (numbered 1 through 8) and a matching hand of construction cards. Each round consists of two phases:
- The Bidding Phase: You must choose one of your construction cards and secretly place it on the Offer Board by paying coins to secure your turn order
- The Construction Phase: Starting with the player who paid the most, players reveal their card and place their corresponding building onto the city map
However, you can't just build wherever you want! Every round features a Zoning Card that restricts construction. You might be forced to build entirely within the "Flower Neighbourhood", directly adjacent to a park, or strictly away from the river.
Coins are Points: The Strategic Balancing Act
In Bella Vista your coins are your victory points. When you place a building, you earn coins based on the real estate around you. You gain 1 coin for every adjacent building that is shorter than yours, plus a massive 3-coin bonus if your newly placed building is strictly taller than everything adjacent to it.
This creates a strategic tension. Bidding high guarantees you get the perfect spot to complete a lucrative Contract Card or score major placement points. However, spending 7 coins to go first is essentially throwing away 7 victory points! Alternatively, playing a low-height building might not score you many placement coins, but it usually allows you to bid for free and guarantees you the first choice of turn order in the following round.
At the end of the game, players also score major points based on two randomized End-Game Objective Cards One will reward you based on the height of your buildings next to specific features (like parks or rivers), while the other rewards you for grouping your buildings together into clusters.
Player Count & Who is this for?
While the box says the game takes about 35 minutes, there is a surprising amount of depth packed into that short playtime.
At 4 players, the game shines brightest. The board gets tight quickly, turning the bidding phase into a highly competitive race for space and contracts.
At 2 players, the game features a clever variant where each player controls two different colors of buildings, managing two hands of cards seamlessly without losing the strategic tension.
The Review
Want to see the game in action? Check out this excellent review from Allies & Enemies. They give a great overview of the components and gameplay, helping you decide if Bella Vista is the perfect fit for your next game night: