Board Game Arena

Compete for Gatsby's Gaze in a Battle of Influence!
The champagne is flowing, the jazz is swinging, and the lights of West Egg are burning bright, Gatsby, the elegant new two-player strategy game from designers Bruno Cathala and Ludovic Maublanc, is now available to play on Board Game Arena!
Step into the glittering world of the Roaring Twenties and take on the role of either Dorothy Williams or James Miller in a cunning contest for power and prestige. Your goal? Spread your influence across the city’s hotspots and capture the attention of the mysterious and magnetic Jay Gatsby himself.
 
The Game at a Glance
Gatsby is a tense, fast-paced game of area control and tactical decision-making, designed exclusively for two players. Each turn, players alternate choosing from four unique actions — but with a twist: you cannot repeat the action your opponent just took, forcing you to adapt your strategy on the fly.
 
The game board features three iconic locations:

• The Cabaret: Lay influence tokens in lines or patterns to claim dazzling socialites and entertainers.
• The Finance Center: Ascend the economic ladder as you climb a track with each influence placed.
• The Racetrack: Place bets and dominate the race lines, aiming to control completed tracks.

 
Each location offers its own rules and rewards for claiming character tiles, vital assets in your quest for Gatsby's favor. Some board spaces come with powerful bonuses, such as forcing your opponent’s next move, swapping token positions, or earning valuable special action tiles.
 
Winning Gatsby’s Favor
To win the game, you will need more than charm — it is all about strategic dominance. Victory comes in one of three ways:

• Control three characters of the same color
• Collect one character of each of the five colors
• Or, if one location is emptied of all characters before either of the above happens, the player with the most stars on their characters is declared the winner.

Whether you are a fan of Bruno Cathala’s sharp tactical designs (Kingdomino) or Ludovic Maublanc’s dynamic gameplay (Mr. Jack), Gatsby is a refined yet accessible addition to your Board Game Arena rotation.
 
You can, of course, learn the game by going through the nice tutorial, or simply gather more information and find an opponent by directly diving on the dedicated game page:
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=gatsby
 
Lastly, let's thank Catch Up Games for this release on BGA, and of course, both of the game designers.
The work done by Moof to develop this one is awesome: the game looks as good as it plays, and there is no doubt you may find a new favorite title with this one, thanks to the care to details.
 
That's your Wednesday release!
So now, put on your finest suit, sharpen your wit, and prepare to charm your way into Gatsby’s inner circle.
Until next week, take care and play fair!

Nah, to heck with that status nonsense. When do we get to jump him on his floaties?

I couldn't even finish the tutorial it was so confusing

I'm baffled by the theme. The Great Gatsby has no characters named Miller, Williams, or Dorothy (though there are several Jameses), no cabaret, no finance building, no racetrack, and no schemes to impress Gatsby by first impressing various families instead of just showing up to his parties. Is this based on an adaptation?

Uh, did anyone read Gatsby before designing/branding this game? I'm pretty sure "Gatsby" is just being used as a stand in for "rich people in the past." I think we'll see more of this with The Great Gatsby now in the public domain.

Tutorial is broken

kvshkoda wrote: ↑13 July 2025, 17:59 Tutorial is broken

When you say things like this, you have to be specific or it's worthless. "Broken" how? At what step? What were you trying to do and what happened?

Also, for what it's worth, I played through the entire tutorial without incident.

Guild Less wrote: ↑09 July 2025, 19:34 I couldn't even finish the tutorial it was so confusing

Would you like to start a friendly game so you can get live feedback and ask questions?

Meeplelowda wrote: ↑13 July 2025, 20:47

Guild Less wrote: ↑09 July 2025, 19:34 I couldn't even finish the tutorial it was so confusing

Would you like to start a friendly game so you can get live feedback and ask questions?

That was very kind of you to offer that.

A big rat wrote: ↑09 July 2025, 23:54 I'm baffled by the theme. The Great Gatsby has no characters named Miller, Williams, or Dorothy (though there are several Jameses), no cabaret, no finance building, no racetrack, and no schemes to impress Gatsby by first impressing various families instead of just showing up to his parties. Is this based on an adaptation?

Very glad this comment and the one below are here because I thought I was just losing my marbles. I've both read the book and seen the two movie adaptations and I couldn't remember any characters with those names either. Too bad, because this game could have been recommended to English teachers the world over to help get kids interested in the novel if it had truly been a faithful adaptation of the book. It wouldn't have been difficult to take elements from the book instead of what they have here. My guess is they had a game concept and just tacked Gatsby on it as a theme to get people's attention.