Nucleum Review: Unveiling the Hidden Secrets of Strategic Mastery

Nucleum, designed by Dávid Turczi and Simone Luciani, is a captivating Euro-style board game set in an alternate history where the discovery of Uranium and the invention of the Nucleum reactor spurred an industrial revolution in 19th-century Saxony. This game combines strategic depth with rich thematic elements, offering players a complex and rewarding experience. After multiple playthroughs with different groups, We’ve gathered comprehensive insights into what makes Nucleum a standout game.

Overview of Nucleum

The game was created by renowned designers Dávid Turczi and Simone Luciani. Dávid Turczi is known for his intricate game systems and titles such as Anachrony and Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun, while Simone Luciani has designed innovative games like Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar and Lorenzo il Magnifico. Together, they bring their expertise in complex interlocking systems and thematic depth to Nucleum.

Nucleum is published by Board&Dice, a well-respected company in the board gaming community. Board&Dice is known for producing high-quality, strategically rich games that offer immersive experiences. Their commitment to excellent component quality and detailed game design shines through in Nucleum, making it a standout addition to any board game collection.

Theme

Nucleum is set in an alternate 19th-century Saxony, where the discovery of Uranium and the invention of the Nucleum reactor have sparked an industrial revolution. Players take on the roles of industrialists striving to build networks, develop infrastructure, and harness nuclear power to drive progress. The game’s mechanics are deeply intertwined with its thematic elements, making actions like transporting resources via railways and energizing buildings feel strategic and connected to this unique historical narrative. The rich theme immerses players in a world of scientific innovation and rapid technological advancement, providing a captivating backdrop for their strategic endeavors.

Components and Setup

Nucleum is a game that impresses me right from the moment I open the box. The sheer number of components included is staggering, each designed with careful attention to detail and functionality. Here’s a comprehensive look at what you’ll find inside the box and how to set it up.

Components Overview

Main Board and Side Board: The main board is double-sided (as shown on the images below), accommodating different player counts (one side for two players and the other for 3-4 players). This ensures a balanced and engaging experience regardless of the number of participants. The side board supplements the main board with spaces for action tiles, contract tiles, milestone markers, and more.

Player Boards: Each player receives a dual-layered player board. These boards are crucial for organizing your various pieces and preventing accidental disruptions during gameplay. The boards feature slots for urban buildings, turbines, mines, income tracks, and contract spaces.

Urban Building Tiles: Ten neutral urban building tiles and 12 urban building tiles per player. These tiles represent different buildings you can construct on the main board, such as residences, factories, and laboratories. The Level IV buildings are special government buildings that offer unique scoring opportunities.

Action Tiles: The game includes 50 action tiles (20 base action tiles with dots and 30 additional action tiles) that drive the core mechanics. Players use these tiles to perform urbanizing, industrializing, developing new technologies, fulfilling contracts, and energizing buildings. There also are two special action tiles (Experiment B).

Contract Tiles: There are 50 contract tiles divided into initial (4), silver (13), gold (18), and purple (15) categories. These contracts offer specific goals and rewards for players to gain victory points (VP) and other benefits.

Milestone Tiles and Markers: There are eight milestone tiles four of which are used to provide goals for players to achieve throughout the game. They are selected at random during game setup. There are six milestone markers (stars) per player to track progress on these milestones.

Resource Tokens: Nucleum features various resource tokens, including 24 uranium cubes, 65 Thaler tokens (in denominations of 1 and 5), and 46 achievement tokens (also in denominations of 1 and 5). These resources are essential for building structures, fulfilling contracts, and performing other actions.

Power Plant Standees & Nucleum Tokens: The game includes four power plant standees representing nuclear power plants and one coal power plant standee. These standees are placed on the main board in specific cities during setup.

Worker Meeples: Each player has 18 worker meeples, which mark ownership of railways on the board.

Nucleum includes various types of cards that play a crucial role in shaping the game’s strategy and progression. The primary cards are the contract tiles, which come in initial, silver, gold, and purple categories. These cards set specific goals for players to achieve, such as building certain structures or creating networks in different cities. Completing these contracts grants immediate rewards like victory points, resources, or technologies, providing players with strategic advantages.

Additionally, setup cards determine initial placements on the board, ensuring each game starts with a unique configuration. Using these cards introduces variability and replayability, challenging players to adapt their strategies based on the evolving game state.

Miscellaneous Components: Additional components include rubble tiles (urban, mining, turbine), technology tiles, experiment boards, VP tokens (100/200), VP flag token, endgame condition markers, coal import wagon tiles, experiment player aids, nucleum tokens, first player marker, turbine effect tile, factory tokens, residence tokens, laboratory tokens, mine tokens, special action tiles for Experiment B, income markers (Thaler, workers, VP), action tile draw piles, contract market spaces on the side board. Some of these components can be spotted in the images above.

Setup Process

Setting up Nucleum is a detailed process that ensures a smooth gameplay experience. Here’s a simplified step-by-step guide:

Main Board Preparation:

First, place the main board in the center of the table with the side matching the number of players facing up. Position the side board next to it. Then, place coal import wagon tiles with “-1 Thaler” facing up on indicated spots in coal production areas. For three players, leave one spot empty in each area. Arrange Thaler tokens, uranium cubes, and achievement tokens in a general supply next to the main board and place the VP flag token under the “70” spot on the VP track. Then, you need to separate base action tiles from others. Shuffle remaining action tiles (excluding starting or special action tiles) and add them to base action tiles based on player count. Shuffle this pile well. Divide the shuffled action tiles into three piles; place one pile face-down on the designated space at the top of the side board. Then, five action tiles from the draw pile will be drawn and placed on indicated market spaces on the side board.

Contract Tiles:

First, separate contract tiles by type (initial, silver, gold, purple), then randomly distribute initial contracts to each player. Shuffle the remaining contracts by type to create five stacks. For a 2/3/4 player game, place 6/9/12 silver contracts face-down on the designated space on the side board; return remaining silver contracts to the box. Place 10/12/16 gold contracts face-down on the designated space on the side board; return remaining gold contracts to the box.

Place one random contract of each purple type face-up on matching spaces in the contract market on the side board, then return remaining initial and purple contracts to the box and draw two silver and two gold contracts; place them face-up on contract market spaces.

Milestone Tiles:

1. Shuffle milestone tiles; assign one face-up to each milestone track space.
2. Return remaining milestone tiles to the box.
3. Place three nucleum tokens near the milestone track.

Map Setup:

Place a coal power plant standee in Riesa and other cities with appropriate icons. Shuffle the setup cards and reveal one card from the deck. Then, randomly select a neutral urban building tile and place it on an urban site of the city indicated in the first row of the card (preferably red spaces); if no suitable space exists, select another neutral urban building tile. Skip placement if the card indicates no urban building tile or city name has an icon next to it in a 1- or 2-player game. Place the fourth nucleum token on the power plant indicated in the second row of the card. If there are three players, place three turbine rubble tiles on turbine spaces marked with icons.

Place urban rubble tiles on one urban site in the cities indicated in the third row of the card; if possible, place them in red spaces. If multiple options remain, select the topmost or leftmost in the city.

Place mining rubble tiles on one mining space in cities indicated in the fourth row of the card; place mining rubble tile on mining space with smallest modifier including no modifier breaking ties in favor of red spaces then randomly if still tied; skip placement if city name followed by an icon in a 1- or 2-player game, then return unused rubble tiles to the box.

Place five endgame condition markers in designated spaces on the side board’s endgame condition area.

Player Setup:

Each player takes a player board placed centrally within their player area, a player aid, a VP token (100/200), and four Thaler from the supply. The image below shows how the player setup should look.

Components matching their color:

• Three income markers placed on first space of each income track
• Twelve urban building tiles placed face-up according to level/type
• Four turbine tokens placed in indicated spaces
• Four mine tiles placed according to size order
• Eighteen workers placing two into personal supply and rest into reserve
• Six milestone markers placing three near bottom of side board and rest into reserve
• One victory point marker placed at zero spot of scoring track around edge
• Initial contract received earlier during setup placed at bottommost contract space without receiving benefit

Experiment Selection:

Starting with last player proceeding counterclockwise, each selects one experiment, taking corresponding experiment board technology/turbine effect/starting action/player aid belonging to that experiment marked with letter:

• Five starting action tiles placed face-up next to player board creating tile pool
• Turbine effect tile placed below second turbine token
• Technology tiles placed ascending order not fully slid into experiment board spaces
• If any player chooses Experiment B, give them two special action tiles stacked face-down below experiment board; otherwise, return them to box

With everything set up correctly, Nucleum is ready for an immersive gameplay session. Strategic planning and meticulous resource management will be key components in achieving victory! The image above shows how the whole game board setup should look.

Gameplay Mechanics

Nucleum’s gameplay mechanics offer a rich blend of interconnected systems, providing players with numerous strategic avenues. The game uses playing of action tiles as it’s core mechanic which makes Nucleum a very different type of game. The continuous turn structure allows players to take turns without distinct rounds or phases, choosing between three main actions: playing an action tile, placing a railway tile, or performing a recharge.

Action tiles are placed on the player board, each offering two possible actions, such as urbanizing, industrializing, developing, contracting, or energizing.

Railway tile placement involves selecting a space adjacent to a city or existing railway, placing the tile, and marking ownership with a worker meeple.

Recharging allows players to gain income, place milestone markers, discard achievement tokens, and retrieve all action tiles from their personal board. Core actions like urbanizing, industrializing, developing, contracting, and energizing each come with their own strategies, from building structures and acquiring new action tiles to powering up buildings and fulfilling contracts.

Resource management is key in Nucleum, requiring players to balance Thaler (money), workers, uranium cubes, coal, and achievement tokens. Efficient network building through rail lines is crucial for expanding influence and unlocking opportunities. Technologies provide powerful abilities that enhance gameplay, with immediate, ongoing, and ultimate goal effects tailored to different playstyles. The endgame is triggered when two of five conditions are met, such as empty action tile draw piles, reaching 70 VP, a player researching all of his/hers technologies or placing 3 of their achievement markers.

Technologies

Technologies are another layer of strategy in Nucleum. Each player starts with a unique set of technologies tied to their chosen experiment board. These technologies can be unlocked by fulfilling certain conditions or completing contracts. They offer powerful abilities that can significantly influence gameplay, such as gaining additional resources or enhancing action efficiency.

Final scoring involves calculating total VP from milestone markers, ultimate goal technologies, leftover resources, energized buildings, and income track bonuses. The player with the highest VP wins, with ties resulting in a shared victory. In conclusion, Nucleum offers deep, engaging gameplay that combines resource management, network building, and strategic decision-making, making every playthrough a rewarding experience.

Playthrough Experience

In one memorable playthrough with four players, we saw diverse strategies unfold. I focused on building a robust network early on, connecting key cities with railways to facilitate resource transport. Another player prioritized completing high-value contracts quickly, leveraging their technological advantages for rapid gains. A third player adopted a balanced approach, steadily building infrastructure while opportunistically fulfilling contracts. The fourth player took a more aggressive stance on industrializing key locations to control resource production.
Midway through the game, tensions rose as multiple players competed to control critical railway links. The completion of major rail lines triggered significant VP gains through inauguration rewards, shifting the balance of power several times. The race intensified as we approached endgame conditions.
Ultimately, my network expansion strategy paid off, as I connected several high-value cities just before triggering my third recharge. This allowed me to place milestone markers in lucrative positions on the milestone track, securing additional VP multipliers for final scoring.

Group Dynamics

Playing Nucleum with different groups revealed Its replayability and how varied strategies can emerge based on player preferences and interactions:

• Group 1: This group favored aggressive competition over railways and urban sites. Frequent clashes over key locations and strategic blocking marked games.
• Group 2: A more cooperative approach was seen here, with players often collaborating on rail lines to maximize shared benefits while focusing individually on different aspects like contracts or technologies.
• Group 3: This group emphasized efficient resource management and optimization. Players meticulously planned their moves to minimize waste and maximize returns on every action.

Each group highlighted different facets of Nucleum’s strategic possibilities, highlighting its versatility as a game that can accommodate various playstyles.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Strategic Depth: Nucleum offers rich strategic gameplay with multiple paths to victory.
• Component Quality: High-quality components enhance the tactile experience.
• Replayability: Variable setup ensures no two games are alike.
• Thematic Integration: The alternate history theme is well-integrated into gameplay mechanics.
• Player Interaction: Both cooperative and competitive elements keep players engaged throughout.

Cons

• Setup Time: Initial setup can be lengthy due to numerous components.
• Component Fragility: Some components, like experiment boards, are prone to wear.
• Complexity: The game’s complexity may be daunting for casual gamers or those new to heavy euro games.
• Downtime: Player turns can be long as they plan their moves meticulously.

Conclusion

Nucleum is a masterfully designed game that offers deep strategic gameplay set in an intriguing alternate history world. Its combination of resource management, network building, contract fulfillment, and technological advancement gives players a rich tapestry of decisions to navigate. While it may have a steep learning curve and some minor component issues, these are outweighed by its strengths in replayability, thematic integration, and strategic depth. The board game is quite big, so the surface where the board game is placed needs to be bigger.
For fans of heavy euro games who enjoy intricate planning and high player interaction, Nucleum is a highly recommended addition to any board game collection. It is an excellent gateway board game if you want to dive into heavier euroes. Whether competing fiercely over railway links or collaborating on shared goals while pursuing your unique path to victory, Nucleum promises an engaging and rewarding gaming experience every time you play.