If you enjoyed slotting tiles together in Cities, there is a bigger box to sink into. Cities USA is a standalone follow-up from Devir and designers Steve Finn and Phil Walker-Harding, the pair behind the original, and it was a steady draw at Dice Tower East in Orlando (1 to 5 July 2026). Walker-Harding is the name behind family favourites like Sushi Go! and Bärenpark, while Finn designed the card-game staple Biblios, so this is a puzzle with a good pedigree behind it.
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Start organising for freeThe first Cities was a compact tile-laying puzzle where you slotted square tiles into a small grid and scored for how neatly your districts lined up. Cities USA keeps most of those rules but hands you a bigger canvas, with city boards themed around famous US destinations. The headline additions are roads that now feed into scoring and bridges that have to link roads across neighbouring tiles to make your streets driveable, plus fresh ways to score with paired park and water tiles and skyscraper caps for your tallest builds. It stays a light, brain-tickling puzzle for 2 to 4 players that wraps up in about an hour.
Cities quietly became one of those games that lives on the table between heavier sessions, and Cities USA looks like more of the good stuff with a fresh set of scoring knots to untangle. It arrived in 2026, easy to teach and quick to reset for another round. If your group likes a short puzzle before the main event, round up a game night and put it through its paces.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeSources: Meeple Mountain | Board Game Gumbo | Devir
