Board Game Arena

Hi all

most of theses more new and recent build-up startegy games has very complex and complicated rules

Are there any more non complex/complicated games here on BGA ?

I am looking for not too complicated build-up startegy games , bit similare to the old computer game 1601

Any suggestions for nice games in that direction, please (?)

The one game that comes to mind is Happy City which is a very simple city builder. ,

Also Dice Forge and The Builders: Middle Ages / The Builders: Antiquity might be up your alley, all these are among the simpler engine builders. If you are looking more for spatial recognition / area expansion, then I recommend Kingdomino.

I'm not familiar with 1601, but given your game history has several luckless abstracts like Chess, Gomoku, Connect 4, Pente etc. I think games like Boop, Hive, and Kalah would fit in there. They have similar activity struggles that many such abstracts have, but I suspect you're used to that with the other games you've played.

I'll mention Splendor and Azul because they're popular BGA staples. While they're not luckless 2 player abstracts, they're closer than many of the other BGA popular games. They have a decent skill ceiling despite having some luck, and aren't too hard to learn, which likely helped make them popular to begin with. So while they may not be quite as close as the previously mentioned games to what you're likely used to, them being popular might make getting opponents a lot easier some days.

yrrepnadohr wrote: ↑12 July 2026, 06:15 I am looking for not too complicated build-up startegy games , bit similare to the old computer game 1601

You should probably say more about what sort of game this is. I cannot find any trace of it, though I do see a similarly named game called Anno 1602, but I genuinely do not know if this is the game you mean or not.

What are you looking for in a game? “Not too complicated build-up strategy games” covers a lot of potential ground…

BarnardsStar wrote: ↑12 July 2026, 06:57 You should probably say more about what sort of game this is. I cannot find any trace of it, though I do see a similarly named game called Anno 1602, but I genuinely do not know if this is the game you mean or not.

What are you looking for in a game? “Not too complicated build-up strategy games” covers a lot of potential ground…

Exactly!

I also found out that you have asked for recommodations before:
construction game which is easy to learn and less complex: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24132
other games very similar to Stone Age ? https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24962
Spiel: Domino (or in English : Dominoes) https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27314

Apparently, the result wasn't very successful. Although Domino has entered BGA since your last inquiry, you only played it twice. You haven't tried a lot of the former suggestions. Otherwise you could probably explain better what you are looking for. I suggest you review those games, try them or tell us why you don't like to try them. Afterwards we can help you find the best games for you.

BarnardsStar wrote: ↑12 July 2026, 06:57

yrrepnadohr wrote: ↑12 July 2026, 06:15 I am looking for not too complicated build-up startegy games , bit similare to the old computer game 1601

You should probably say more about what sort of game this is. I cannot find any trace of it, though I do see a similarly named game called Anno 1602, but I genuinely do not know if this is the game you mean or not.

What are you looking for in a game? “Not too complicated build-up strategy games” covers a lot of potential ground…

Anno 1602

my fault SORRY

yrrepnadohr wrote: ↑12 July 2026, 09:31 Anno 1602

Well, the most obvious one would be Catan I guess? Or is that already in the "too complicated" bucket for you? Splendor was certainly a good mention.

Given you have a taste for abstract games, I can imagine Harmonies could be one you would enjoy a lot. Also Castle Combo is a pretty quick and not too complicated engine builder. Both Harmonies and Castle Combo are very popular with great communities, and probably better games than the ones I mentioned in my first post.

So, to summarize, I think these should be games you should definitely check out:
Catan, Harmonies, Splendor, Castle Combo, Happy City

yrrepnadohr wrote: ↑12 July 2026, 09:31 Anno 1602

my fault SORRY

Well, thanks for clearing that up. and ignoring the rest of my .post, I guess?

I mean, drawing a comparison to a 28-year-old game that most people here have probably not played is not gonna be very helpful. But to take a stab, it looks like an engine-building sort of game? By which I mean, at the start there's very limited things you can do, but you gradually are able to buy things that give you more money or abilities or storage or ... etc, and you kind of get a snowball effect going as you build on top of what you accomplished it prior turns.

Good news is, there are lots of engine-building games here. And I do mean lots. The real problem is going to be your "not too complicated" criteria, for which you provided zero help, so I have no basis of comparison for what is "too complicated" for you.

But here's a short list of some engine-building games here... and like i said, there are a lot, so this list is so very far from exhaustive. So let's limit it to games where, like Anno 1602, you have to claim some sort of territory along the way:

Terraforming Mars, Gaia Project, Castles of Burgundy, Clans of Caledonia ...

But there are also a lot of engine building games where you're not necessarily competing on a shared map, or aren't trying to claim territoriy, like Viticulture, Agricola, Stone Age, Race for the Galaxy, Roll for the Galaxy, etc.

And if these aren't helpful, it's your own fault for not actually giving us anything to work with.

BarnardsStar wrote: ↑13 July 2026, 04:45 I mean, drawing a comparison to a 28-year-old game that most people here have probably not played is not gonna be very helpful. But to take a stab, it looks like an engine-building sort of game? By which I mean, at the start there's very limited things you can do, but you gradually are able to buy things that give you more money or abilities or storage or ... etc, and you kind of get a snowball effect going as you build on top of what you accomplished it prior turns.

Based on what I can gather is the theme of Anno 1602 from the screenshot of it I saw when I Googled it and combining that with engine building mechanics, "Tapestry" seems like it would scratch that itch, and I don't think it's that complicated. But complexity is relative.

I would definitely put "Wingspan" in the category of Engine builders that the OP might like.

Perhaps "Earth".