Skyline is a quick push-your-luck dice game
involving set collection. Unlike other dice games that provide no
relationship from turn to turn and no player interaction, this game
allows players to literally build upon their decisions each turn and
react to their opponents' actions.
Each turn, players choose to roll dice from either the Construction
Yard or the Abandoned District, with the goal of erecting urban
buildings. Buildings are made up of three types of dice: Ground Floor
dice, Mid-Floor dice and Penthouse dice. Some buildings are safer to
build but provide little reward, while other buildings have poor
probabilities but can have substantial impact on the success of a
player's skyline.
After rolling their selected dice, the player must use at least one
of these dice to take one of three possible actions: Abandon, Build, or
Cancel Construction. The Build action is the desired outcome, of course,
but can be carried out only if the die result matches what they need to
build. For instance, all Ground Floor dice can be built without
restriction, but a High-Rise Mid-Floor die result can be built only on
top of a High-Rise Ground Floor die. Likewise, a Mid-Rise Penthouse die
can be built only on a Mid-Rise Mid-Floor die. If the rolled results do
not allow them to Build, then the player must Cancel Construction on one
of their existing buildings. If a player does not want to Cancel
Construction, then they must Abandon by placing that die in the
Abandoned District, which gives their opponents the opportunity to
capitalize on this failure.
At the end of the game, points are rewarded for completed buildings
according to their height. A Level 3 building – that is, a building
comprised of three dice – is worth 9 points, while a Level 4 building is
worth 16, and so on.
