CO₂
- Players
- 1-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 4 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 120 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 12+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 3.9 / 5
- Year
- 2012
About the game
CO₂ casts one to five players as CEOs of energy companies racing to replace polluting power plants with clean, sustainable alternatives before it's too late. Through worker placement, drafting, and area majority, players build green power plants, trade Carbon Emissions Permits, and share expertise at energy summits. Money, plants built, and completed goals all translate into victory points, while everyone shares the burden of curbing global pollution. It's a semi-cooperative heavy euro from acclaimed designer Vital Lacerda.
Hobbli's Notes
Hobbli's editors admire how tightly this game's environmental theme is woven into its mechanics, rather than being pasted on for flavor. The semi-cooperative pollution track adds a rare shared-stakes tension to a competitive euro. As with most Lacerda designs, the iconography and rules overhead take real effort to learn. Worth the investment for groups who love dense, thoughtful worker placement.
What we like
- Thought-provoking environmental theme tightly tied to mechanics.
- Deep worker-placement and resource strategy.
- Semi-cooperative pollution track adds shared stakes to competition.
- Strong solo mode included for one player.
Keep in mind
- High complexity and long playtime around two hours.
- Steep rules overhead typical of dense Lacerda designs.
- Requires significant table space and iconography study.
Who it's for
Best for experienced heavy euro gamers who enjoy worker placement and dense strategic systems, including solo players via its built-in mode.
