Sim City: the Card Game(TM) Official Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Revised 7/10/95 The answers in this FAQ are official answers compiled by the SC, tCG development team from questions submitted through email, telephone, US mail, conventions and demos. This FAQ should be your first reference for any rules questions not clear in the rules booklet. If you have any questions or comments on anything contained herein, or not covered here, send email to SimAnswer@aol.com, fprice@interaccess.com, or mayfair@genie.geis.com, or write Mayfair Games, Inc. , P.O. Box 48539, Niles, IL 60714, or call 1-800-432-4376. NOTE: Any rule or clarification may be overridden by powers indicated on a particular card. (C) Mayfair Games, Inc. 1995. All Rights reserved. Sim City and Maxis are registered trademarks of Maxis, Inc. Used under license. This FAQ may be freely distributed, but only in its entirety, unaltered and with all copyright and trademark notices attached. FAQ Topics: Borders General Politics Phase Changes Counting Distance Coverage Services Sims Upgrading/Rezoning Zone and Complex Bonuses Disasters Specific Cards Deck-Building Tips Borders: Q. (Our most popular question) Do the green and purple/dark blue borders have any significance? A. The colored borders have no significance to game play, card rarity, game editions, or anything else. They do make the game look pretty. General: Q. Is there a discard procedure or limit to hand size? A. No. In the multi-player game, there is no discarding, nor is there a limit to the number of cards you may have in you hand. Q. When the standard draw deck has run out of cards, and I can still make a legal play, do I have to? A. No. A player may choose to pass instead of playing a legal card at any time during the game. A player without a legal play may choose to end the game immediately by stating that he has no legal play and exposing his hand to evidence that fact. If that player is in error, and has a legal play, the game continues, but that player is treated as having passed that turn. A block which may only be placed with an affirmative rezone vote is not counted as a legal play for this purpose. Q. When a card has another card's name in its Specials Box, how literal is that? If a card requires COASTLINE, can it be ROUGH COASTLINE, BEACH COASTLINE, or just COASTLINE? Also for BROADWAY - it requires THEATERS. Do MOVIE THEATERS count? A. COASTLINE in the title is enough. Likewise for THEATERS (e.g., RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL is not a THEATER for this purpose, but MOVIE THEATER is). Q. Are cards that allow players to draw and/or play more than one card cumulative? A. Only if they say they are; e.g., the MAYFAIR GAMES card says "draw two cards per turn," so each player draws 2 cards each turn. If there are two MAYFAIR GAMES cards in play, each card still says "draw two," so you only draw two cards, not four. Politics: Q. Why would I want to be MAYOR? A. In a political action, the MAYOR gets two votes on the city council and breaks all ties. In order to stimulate player interaction, use more COUNCIL MEMBERS (and remove some of the higher value disasters) in your deck. This spreads the voting around and stimulates "wheeling and dealing" amongst the council as players bargain for votes. If you'd rather give the MAYOR more control, use fewer COUNCIL MEMBERS and fewer disasters in your deck. A MAYOR in control is the most powerful position in the game. Q. Can you elect a GOVERNOR and a CITY COUNCIL CHAIRMAN using the election card if you do not have the GOVERNOR or CITY COUNCIL CHAIRMAN cards? A. Yes, you can. These cards are merely place holders, reminders that certain players hold these offices. Like the MAYOR, these cards are not shuffled into the deck. The specific powers of the GOVERNOR and CITY COUNCIL CHAIRMAN are noted in the rule book. As long as you know these powers, you do not really need to use the actual cards. Q. Can a CORRUPT COUNCIL MEMBER vote on any rezoning not affecting his/her bias? (i.e., Can the CORRUPT COUNCIL MEMBER-GOVERNMENTAL vote either way in a rezone of Commercial to Industrial?) A. No; as noted on page 6 in the rules, CORRUPT COUNCIL MEMBERS receive only one vote, which may only be cast according to the card and on no other questions. We are currently considering a revision to this rule, allowing a CORRUPT COUNCIL MEMBER to vote any way he or she wishes on other matters. You may want to try this as a house rule. Phase Changes: Q. All the POWER PLANTS are designated as Phase III and above, yet to move from Phase II to Phase III, a POWER PLANT must be played. If all POWER PLANTS are Phase III or higher, how can one be played to move from Phase II to Phase III? A. The Phase III POWER PLANTS should be considered as the first card played in Phase III, not the last card played in Phase II. You should also keep in mind that a POWER PLANT may not be played until the other pre-condition for Phase III has already been met. Q. If a POWER PLANT is placed to advance the game to Phase III, and it is later rezoned, upgraded or destroyed, does the game revert to Phase II? A. No. Once a Phase is reached, the game never reverts to an earlier phase. Q. How do I determine the total bonus of a Residential zone for purposes of the shift from Phase III to Phase IV? A. Count the cards that make up the largest Residential zone, including all City Services cards within the zone. Subtract this number from 40 (or 10 times the number of players, if greater), and the result is the number of sims your city must provide to advance to Phase IV. Counting Distance: Q. When counting blocks to determine card limitations, special bonuses, etc., can you count diagonally? A. No. Distance may be counted only at right angles, not diagonally. Likewise, if a card is required to be placed adjacent to another card, it must be placed above, below, left or right of that card, and not diagonally. Q. The rules state that long cards count as a single block. Does that mean that my distance count can differ depending on which path I count? A. Yes. When long cards are in play, be sure to count the shortest route possible, using long cards as single blocks. Long cards definitely shorten the horizontal distance. Q. If there is a spot inside the city without any cards on it, do I have to count around the "hole"? A. No. You count through the "hole" allowing for the number of standard cards that would normally fit in the space. Coverage: Q. What is coverage anyway? A. Coverage depends on the nature of the card providing the coverage. A block is covered by POLICE or FIRE STATIONS based on the number of blocks distant from the POLICE or FIRE STATION. A block is covered by a POWER PLANT or the TELEPHONE COMPANY if it is connected by a continuous path of power lines. Q. How do I calculate POLICE STATION coverage? A. POLICE STATION coverage is determined for each card individually, one card at a time. The coverage of a card is the range of the POLICE STATION (frequently 8) or GUARDHOUSE minus the crime factor of the card whose coverage you are trying to determine. e.g., If the card you are playing has a crime factor of 3, it is covered if it is within 5 blocks (8 - 3) of the POLICE STATION. If the Crime Factor is beside a blue gun, you add the number to the POLICE STATION's range. e.g., If the card in the above example had a blue crime factor of 3, it would be covered if it were within 11 blocks (8 + 3) of the POLICE STATION. NOTE: In determining POLICE or FIRE coverage, blocks do not have to be connected to the STATION by road or rail. Q. If I lay the first POWER PLANT, I get paid $15 as a New Coverage Bonus for the 15 cards now covered by this POWER PLANT. Later in the game, seven more adjacent blocks are added to the city, all with Power Lines, and all connected to the existing POWER PLANT through continuous Power Lines. If I place another POWER PLANT adjacent to any of these seven blocks, do I get the New Coverage Bonus for these seven blocks since they have not yet been included in a New Coverage Bonus payoff? A. No. As each of these seven blocks was placed, it was automatically covered by the POWER PLANT by virtue of its connection to the POWER PLANT by a continuous path of Power Lines. Coverage is continuous and automatic. Therefore, the placement of the second POWER PLANT connected to the first one did not result in any new coverage. A block is newly covered if it is connected, by a continuous path of Power Lines, to the just-placed POWER PLANT and if the block was not covered (connected by a continuous path of Power Lines) by any POWER PLANT immediately before the just placed POWER PLANT. This is true whether or not a bonus had or had not been paid for coverage previously. There is no need to keep track of which blocks received "paid-for" coverage with tokens or pebbles, since new coverage is not dependent upon previous coverage pay-outs. Q. If I upgrade or rezone the only POWER PLANT in the city with another POWER PLANT, do I get the New Coverage Bonus, since the previous POWER PLANT no longer exists? A. No. As noted in the previous answer, to determine new coverage, you first review what blocks were covered by a POWER PLANT immediately prior to the placement of the just-placed POWER PLANT. In this example, all of the blocks covered by the just-placed POWER PLANT were also covered by the "old" POWER PLANT immediately prior to the upgrade/rezone. Consequently, no new coverage has occurred. This rule is identical for the TELEPHONE COMPANY. Q. How do these New Coverage rules apply for FIRE STATION, POLICE STATION, and GUARDHOUSE? A. This brings up a different issue, since these blocks define coverage by counting distance. Generally speaking, you may have new coverage if the just-placed STATION indicates a greater range than the STATION being upgraded/rezoned. E.g., MOUNT PROSPECT POLICE & FIRE STATION provides fire coverage for all cards within 6 blocks. If this card is placed as an upgrade to another FIRE STATION whose coverage range is only 5 blocks, you may have new coverage for that sixth block out. If any of the blocks newly covered by the upgrade are also covered by a different FIRE STATION, there is no new coverage for those "double-covered" blocks. Q. If the POWER PLANT is first destroyed by a disaster, rezone, or upgrade to a non-POWER PLANT block, can I place another POWER PLANT in its place and get the New Coverage Bonus? A. Yes, provided the blocks covered by the new POWER PLANT are not covered by another POWER PLANT in the city. Q. All the other POWER PLANTS specifically provide a bonus for "new coverage only." Does this also apply to the NUCLEAR POWER PLANT? A. Yes; the rules specifically state on Page 21 that even though the Specials Box does not explicitly limit the bonus to new coverage, the NUCLEAR POWER PLANT pays a bonus only for new POWER PLANT coverage. Services: Q. When placing a block, do I have to match up all the services (road, rail, power lines) on the block being placed with the pre-existing services in the city? A. No. Connection to a service (Road or Rail) is only relevant to meet the sims requirement of the block being placed. E.g., If the block being placed requires three sims, either the road or the rail (not both) must connect in a continuous path from the block being placed to enough sim-providing blocks to total the three required. Connection to power lines is only relevant to coverage by the POWER PLANTS and the TELEPHONE COMPANY. Q. If I place a block with power lines, must it connect to a POWER PLANT? A. No. It does not have to connect to a POWER PLANT. Q. Can sims traveling by roads pass through cards with no roads? A. No. Sims traveling by roads can only travel on continuous, uninterrupted road. The same rule applies for rails. Q. What about cards like PRIMITIVE HUT, which provide sims, but have no road or rail on them? Can these sims "walk" to work? A. No. These sims are hermits and don't get out much. Sims on blocks with no road or rail cannot walk to work, so they cannot be used to meet the sims requirement of another block. The sims on these cards do count for the phase changes from I to II, and III to IV. Q. Cards like GRAVEL SUPPLIER must be connected to a MOUNTAIN by rail. Is a MOUNTAIN with no rail on it connected if it is adjacent to a card with rail? A. No. A service must be on a card in order to be connected by that service. Q. Cards like CRACKER TOWER require sims, but have no road or rail. How can the sim requirement be met? A. As noted in the rule book, page 15, if a card playable in a complex requires sims but has neither road nor rail to connect sims to the block, then the block can only be placed adjacent to a card in the complex to which the number of sims is connected. e.g., The CRACKER TOWER can be placed within the Oil Refinery Complex, adjacent to another Oil Refinery Complex block to which ALL of the required four sims are connected by road (or ALL four by rail). Q. If a card with road is adjacent to a card without road, like RHINE CASTLE, is the RHINE CASTLE connected by road? A. No. In order to be connected by a service, the service must actually appear on the card face. Q. But long cards do not have any services. How do they connect? A. As noted in the rules, long cards use the services of the cards beneath them. Long cards are connected to the same blocks to which the blocks beneath them are connected, using the same services. Sims: Q. If a block provides sims, and those sims are used by a player in order to place a block requiring sims, are those sims still available for use on future turns, or are they allocated to that card, and unavailable to future card placement? A. Sims are reusable. A sim can be used to meet the requirements of more than one block. Theoretically, the four sims you use to break out of Phase I can be used to satisfy every sim need in the rest of the game, but you'd probably never get to Phase IV. It is important to note that the LABOR SHORTAGE and WORK SHORTAGE event cards can have devastating effects on cities that are "out-of-balance" with respect to sims provided vs. sims required. Q. Do I have to get all of my sims from the same block? A. No. Sims may travel from multiple destinations, as long as they all come via the identical service (see below). Q. The rules state that all sims must travel by a "continuous and homogeneous (all rail or all road) route from each sim to the new card." Q. Does this mean that if two sims are required, one can use all road, and another can use all rail? A. No. This means that all the sims required must use the identical service. ALL sims must use ALL rail, or ALL sims must use ALL road for that particular card placement. Upgrading/Rezoning: Q. If a card states "no vote needed to rezone," can it be rezoned any earlier than Phase III? A. Yes. Such cards may be rezoned at any time after placement. However, these cards may not be used to rezone other blocks. Q. If a card states that it "may be used to rezone with no vote," can it be used to rezone prior to Phase III? A. Yes. Such a card may be placed as a rezone at any time, subject to the phase indicated in its Stat Box. Q. When determining the value of a block for purposes of upgrading, should any special or other bonus be applied? A. No. You compare only the face value of each card without regard to other bonuses on either of them. The face value of a long card must exceed the total combined value of the two cards being covered in order to qualify as an upgrade. Q. How can SEAPORT be placed as an upgrade of COASTLINE when SEAPORT is an Industrial, and COASTLINE is Undeveloped Land? A. Any rule in a card's Specials Box takes precedence over other rules. In this and similar cases, SEAPORT is specifically permitted to be placed as an upgrade of any upgradeable COASTLINE. Likewise, AIR FORCE ACADEMY is specifically required by its Specials Box to be placed as a rezone of MOUNTAIN, even though the MOUNTAIN cards state that they may not be rezoned. (Please note, however, that this rezone still requires a vote, since the AIR FORCE ACADEMY Specials Box does not waive the vote requirement.) Q. Can I place a PIPELINE on top of another card rather than underneath it? A. Cards can never be placed under other cards. A PIPELINE may be placed on top of another card subject to the same rules that apply to any other card upgrade or rezone. The block covered by the PIPELINE is out of play and contributes nothing further to the game. Once the PIPELINE is placed, blocks may be played on top of it without a rezone vote, and both the PIPELINE and the block on top of it are still in the game. Q. Long cards do not have any services on them, how can I use a long card as an upgrade (provided, of course that all relevant cards are from the same zone)? A. Since long cards use the services of the cards they are placed over, the face value of the long card must simply exceed the total combined face value of the two blocks being upgraded. Card zone and face value are the only limitations on using a long card to upgrade standard cards. No card may upgrade a long card. Only long cards may rezone long cards. Q. GRAND CANYON (a long card) must be placed as an upgrade of MOUNTAINS and/or PLAINS. Does this mean that both cards underneath must be MOUNTAINS or PLAINS? A. Yes. In order for the placement of the GRAND CANYON to be an upgrade, both cards underneath must be MOUNTAINS and/or PLAINS. Some cards only require that one of the two cards underneath be an upgrade. When placing such long cards, the second card underneath may be a rezone requiring a vote. (e.g., OIL FIELD must be placed as upgrade of an OIL WELL.) Q. Can I upgrade Undeveloped Land? A. Yes. In the current rules, any Undeveloped Land block may be upgraded by any other Undeveloped Land block meeting the normal upgrade requirements. In anticipation of the upcoming revisions of the rules, Undeveloped Land may only be upgraded by other blocks as follows: i) blocks having the same name as the card being upgraded (e.g., FOREST to FOREST, BARRENS to BARRENS, etc., but not BARRENS to FOREST or vice versa); or ii) all are Water cards (LAKE, RIVER, MARSH, SWAMP, BRIDGE, POND, SURF, and all kinds of COASTLINE). NOTE: A card is not a "Water card" merely because water is illustrated on the card. iii) other cards as indicated in their Specials Box (e.g., GRAND CANYON). Zone and Complex Bonuses: Q. Could you give a comprehensive example of how the various bonuses work together to compute the score for a block placement? A. OK, here goes. Blocks have already been placed in the City as follows (ignore card phases for this example): City Services Cards: --(PS) POLICE STATION provides a special bonus of $1 (adds $1) to all Residentials and Commercials within (8 minus crime) blocks --(FS) FIRE STATION adds $1 to all Residentials and Commercials within 5 blocks --(U4) various UNIVERSITY SCHOOL buildings, with a Complex value of 4 each. Residential Zone Cards: --(CH) CHURCH: adds $2 to all Residentials within 5 blocks --(SF) SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE: nothing special --(DO) DORMITORY being added to group, base value $6. also, bears University 3 for Complex bonus, and a Crime factor of 2. Undeveloped Land: --(SW)Swamp: deducts 1 from Residentials within 2 blocks The City: (PS)(SF)(CH)(U4)(U4) (SF)(SF)(SF)(FS)(U4) (SF)(SF)(SF)(SW)(DO) In the placement above, DO gets scored as follows: --Zoning: $13 (8 Residential cards, including CH, plus 1 for each adjacent City Services: PS, FS, and each U4) --Specials: $3 ($1 for within 8-2=3D6 blocks of PS, $1 for within 5 blocks of FS, $2 for within 5 blocks of CH, less $1 for within 2 blocks of SW) --Complex: $12 ($4 for each U4 building) --Face: $6 Total score: $34 for placing the DORMITORY in that spot. Not bad, huh?. Of course, if you or I were placing the DORMITORY, we'd put it at the end of the top row, next to the U4, so as not to get penalized for the swamp. And yes, the PS, FS and U4's get counted twice each. Once for the special and/or Complex, and once for the Zoning, since all City Services count as blocks in the Residential Zone. (or Commercial Zone, or Industrial Zone) Also note that the U3 designation on the DORMITORY does not score when placing the DORMITORY. It only adds points to later placements in the University Complex. Q. The rules state that City Service Zone cards count as part of any zone for the zone bonus. Does this include the Undeveloped Land Zones? A. Yes; e.g., three adjacent FORESTS with a FIRE STATION in between them constitutes a FOREST zone of four blocks. Q. Are City Services cards counted as a member of a complex for the complex bonus? A. No. A block is a member of a complex only if the Specials Box on the block indicates the complex name and a bonus amount. Q. Cards like POLICE STATION add one to the score of certain cards placed within the range of coverage. City Services cards are considered part of a zoning bonus. Does this mean that the POLICE STATION can count twice in scoring a block placement? A. Yes. All or any number of the various bonuses (zone, complex, special, scorched earth) listed may apply to the placement of a block. Some combinations of bonuses can cause a card to count more than once. Q. Is the SEAPORT part of the Seaport Complex? A. No. The SEAPORT card is an Industrial zone card that is not part of the Seaport Complex, since "Seaport #" does not appear as the first item in its Specials Box. However, if all players agree prior to the start of the game, SEAPORT can be included in the Seaport Complex, with a Complex bonus of one. Disasters: Q. When counting the damage done by disasters like TORNADO STRIKES!, do I count any of the special bonuses (Like POLICE STATION) in tallying the damage? A. No. When counting damage done by a disaster, you count only the face value of the card(s) being destroyed. No bonuses count for this purpose. Q. Disasters like FIRE require each successive player to move the disaster to consume another block on his turn. When during a turn do you move the disaster? A. The player may move the disaster at any time during his turn; it is moved before or after any card is played during that turn. Q. The MAYOR must pay for disasters to stay in office, or he may resign and pay only one-half the disaster cost. The FIRE and other disasters can cause damage for many turns. Does the MAYOR have to stay in office until the FIRE burns out or is extinguished by a FIRE STATION, or can he resign while the FIRE is still in force? A. The MAYOR may resign at each player's turn that the FIRE is in force, upon payment of one-half of that turn's damage cost. The Mayor's office then passes as explained in the rules. The next MAYOR pays the next turn's damage cost from the FIRE (or one-half to resign), etc. This phenomenon is known as the MAYOR-Go-Round. Specific Cards: Q. Why would I want to play a Residential card? A. Other than the obvious requirements for phase changes from I to II, and III to IV, there are more cards in the deck giving bonuses to Residential cards than any other zone type in the game. Q. The BED & BREAKFAST card states that it may be used as a rezone of Residential. Can it be placed other than as a rezone? A. Yes. When BED & BREAKFAST is placed normally (not as a rezone), it has a face value of $1. Q. HOTEL requires that it be placed adjacent to a PARKING LOT. If, after the HOTEL is placed, the PARKING LOT is upgraded, rezoned or destroyed, can the HOTEL remain in play? A. The preconditions of a card must be met only at the time the card is placed. If any of the preconditions (in this case the PARKING LOT) are later removed, the play stands. Q. COOK COUNTY POLICE STATION states that it may only be played if two POLICE STATIONS are in city. Can the COOK COUNTY POLICE STATION be placed to upgrade one of those two POLICE STATIONS? A. No. The block being placed may not remove any of its prerequisites from play. In this case, the COOK COUNTY POLICE STATION must be placed so that at least two POLICE STATIONS exist after its placement. Q. The FIELD card states: Farm 1, if Complex provides 1 Sim. Does this mean that the FIELD provides one sim if it is part of a Complex? A. No. If the Farm Complex provides 1 sim, then the FIELD provides a Farm Complex bonus of $1. (e.g., Four adjacent FIELD and/or PASTURE blocks alone are not a Farm Complex. When a FARM is placed adjacent to this group, the group becomes a Farm Complex, since the FARM provided the sim required by the FIELD and PASTURE. Q. Some cards, like COUNTRY SCHOOLHOUSE can be removed if certain other cards exist in the city. Does the remaining empty space count as Scorched Earth for the bonus? A. No. Scorched Earth is only caused by disaster cards Q. CAESAR'S PALACE HOTEL & CASINO (and others): Does the "add" bonus apply only to other HOTEL & CASINO cards only, or does it apply to HOTEL cards and CASINO cards as well? A. This "Add" bonus applies only to cards with HOTEL & CASINO in the title. Q. Does JUNIOR COLLEGE count as a COLLEGE for purposes of the school bonus shown on the PRESCHOOL, KINDERGARTEN, GRADE SCHOOL, & HIGH SCHOOL cards? A. Yes. The JUNIOR COLLEGE is a COLLEGE. Q. BUS STATION, INTERCITY HIGHWAY, INTERCITY STATION: Where do you play these cards? Must you play them adjacent to your opponent's city, or at least on his side of your city? A. These cards may be placed anywhere in your own city. The "connection" to your opponent's city is via the operation of the Specials Box on these cards. Q. RENTAL CAR COMPANY: What qualifies as an "Airport, Bus, or Train Terminal"? A. As currently printed, only BUS TERMINAL, and TRAIN STATION qualify. The AIRPORT TERMINAL card is planned for a future expansion set, but is not yet in print. If desired, you may use a house rule that an Airport Complex qualifies as a TERMINAL for this purpose. NOTE: In anticipation of future expansions, the Specials Box of some cards may refer to cards not included in this first card set. We plan to include such "missing" cards in future expansion sets. Q. FAST FOOD RESTAURANT: Does a RADIO STATION equal a RADIO BROADCAST CENTER for this Specials bonus? A. No. Q. SUPERMARKET: Does CORNER GROCERY STORE equal a Phase II GROCERY STORE? A. Yes. Q. Does FOREST PRESERVE count toward the Forest Zone Bonus? A. Yes. Q. Does BRIDGE count toward the Water Zone Bonus? A. Yes. Q. Certain cards, like RHINE CASTLE and HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT must be placed adjacent to a RIVER or a LAKE. When BRIDGE is placed as an upgrade according to its Specials Box (e.g., as an upgrade to RIVER or LAKE), can the RHINE CASTLE or the HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT still be placed adjacent to the BRIDGE? A. Yes. Since a BRIDGE is generally built across a RIVER or LAKE, and does not remove the water it spans, the location of the BRIDGE is still whatever kind of water is is built across. Deck Building Tips: For those of you that have been having difficulties drawing enough Phase I cards to actually play in Phase I, instead of passing, here are a few tips on deck building, which should help alleviate the problem, as well as many others, making for a more enjoyable game. Remember, these are only tips, and your actual experience may vary. A good deck starts with the following: 1. About 1/3 Phase I cards. These can be played throughout the game, and having this many makes Phase I and II more enjoyable. Not as many "pass, I have nothing I can play" comments. 2. Make sure you have enough of each card needed for phase changes: --Phase II requires 1 block providing Sims for each player (min. 4). Therefore, make sure you have at least three times that many sim-providing Phase I cards. --Phase III requires 2 cards requiring sims (non-zero) for each player, (min. 8). Therefore, make sure you have at least two to three times that many Phase I and II cards requiring sims. Phase III also needs a POWER PLANT. Try to have a few (three or four works well most of the time.) It is also advisable to have at least 25% Phase II cards in your deck. --Phase IV requires a large number of sims provided (sims, not blocks providing sims), as well as a large Residential zone. Consequently, it's good to include about 1/3 Phase I-III Residentials (orange) in your deck. Since the gray City services cards can add to any zone for zoning bonuses, these can certainly add to your Residential zone bonus, and be used for this 1/3. 3. Make sure that if you want to include a card that requires placement near certain other cards or some other pre-condition, that the condition can be met by the deck. For example, many cards must be placed near a parking lot. If you're using one of these, make sure you have a few parking lots. 4. There are several kinds of Undeveloped Land (Green): Water, Forest, Mountain, and others. To better accommodate Undeveloped Land Zones, you may want to stick to just two types in your deck, and include a bunch of each of the two. 5. Fill in the rest with cards you like, and/or would like to try. This is where you can have fun with theme decks (agricultural, university, etc). A good deck size is 25-30 standard cards per player, minimum 50, and not much more than 5-10 long cards per player, if you'd like to play that option. And most importantly, Have fun! Sim City: the Card Game