Let's Make a Bus Route
- Players
- 2-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 4 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 30 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 10+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 1.9 / 5
- Year
- 2018
About the game
Let's Make a Bus Route is a paper-and-pencil route-building game where players design competing bus lines across a shared map of Kyoto. On each turn, a colored route card is revealed and applied differently depending on each player's individual board, so the same card might mean a straight line for one player and a turn for another. As you draw your routes, you mark off passengers and landmarks you pass, racing to check off high-value destinations before your rivals. Sharing roads with opponents causes traffic penalties, adding a layer of spatial competition to the drawing. Public demand cards offer bonus scoring opportunities for players who plan their routes carefully.
Hobbli's Notes
Let's Make a Bus Route stands out among paper-and-pencil games for its clever route-drawing twist, where the same card produces different moves depending on your personal board setup. The traffic-penalty mechanic for overlapping routes injects real interaction into what could otherwise be a solitaire-feeling drawing game. Its transportation theme and Kyoto setting give it a distinctive flavor in a crowded genre. A solid choice for fans of paper-and-pencil games who want more direct player interaction than most entries in the genre offer.
What we like
- Personalized boards mean the same card creates different route options for each player.
- Traffic penalties for shared roads add meaningful player interaction.
- Distinctive Kyoto transportation theme stands out in the genre.
- Quick playtime suits a fast game night slot.
Keep in mind
- Elevated downtime grade suggests some waiting between turns.
- Paper-and-pencil format means no permanent components to reuse creatively.
- May feel fiddly at first while learning each personal board's rules.
Who it's for
Fans of paper-and-pencil and route-building games ages 10+, good for groups of 2-5 who enjoy light spatial competition.
