Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
In Area 1851, you are one of the area's top five Tinkerers and you're looking to prove your grit to the citizens of this Wild West town.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Open Drafting
Select cards or items from a shared face-up display.
Area Movement
Move pieces between connected regions rather than along individual spaces.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Set Collection
Gather related items that become more valuable when scored together.
Read the full game description
In Area 1851, you are one of the area's top five Tinkerers and you're looking to prove your grit to the citizens of this Wild West town. Each turn, players have to deal with and negotiate random events in the area, then continue the turn under those circumstances, by drawing Tinker cards to fill their hand up to five cards, then rolling dice to determine their resources for that turn. Players then spend those resources to build new Gadgets or augment their existing Gadgets with Modifications. These Gadgets and Modifications can then be Delivered to the townsfolk for Reputation. In addition players can choose to scrap cards from their hand, and pull them out of circulation. To assist them in their endeavor to build the best contraptions in the land, players utilize three Assistants that are granted one at a time as play progresses; activate the Assistants provides bonuses to the player from various locations around town. Players also have the opportunity to show their worthiness by picking up new Feat cards during their turn. Completing these Feats provide a nice boost in Reputation during, or even at the end of the game. Since it's hard to keep all your thoughts in one place as a tinker, players end the turn by passing their hands around the table to a neighbor. The player that has earned the most Reputation from Delivering Gadgets and accomplishing Feats wins!