Raising Chicago
2025Matt Wolfe
- Videos
- 9
- Creators
- 8
Mostly playthroughs and reviews. Raising Chicago is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 3 reviews, 1 how-to-play guides, 4 recorded sessions, and 1 unboxings.
2 - 4 players
75 - 120 min
Heavy weight: Expect a long teach
From BoardGameGeek
During the 19th century, the elevation of the Chicago area was just a few feet higher than the shoreline of Lake Michigan. For many years, there was little or no naturally occurring drainage from the city surface, and this lack of drainage caused unpleasant living conditions. Standing water harbored pathogens that caused numerous epidemics including typhoid fever and dysentery, culminating in the 1854 outbreak of cholera that killed six percent of the city's population. The crisis forced the city to take the drainage problem seriously. In 1856, engineer Ellis S. Chesbrough drafted a plan for the installation of a citywide sewerage system and submitted it to the city council, which adopted the plan. However, due to the minimal elevation above the lake, the sewer could not be built underground and had to be built at street level. The city council then decided to implement a radical idea: Prevented from digging down, they instead decreed the buildings of the city would be raised to allow the new sewer system to be hidden under the new street level. Representing one of the four companies that were created to tackle the problem of raising the buildings of Chicago, it's up to you to gather resources, take on the most attractive projects, and help solve the sanitation crisis of the city. On your turn in Raising Chicago, you place a tile on a resource slot associated with one of five building projects, then claim the resource you covered. After all players have placed tiles, each project is evaluated. The winning player pays resources to complete the project, claims the project reward, then places all of their tiles associated with that project as levels underneath the building onto a space on the board. Players earn points for placing buildings cleverly, doing the most work in a ward, and meeting the demands of council people. Only the most successful player will win, so play strategically to prove you can raise buildings the best in Raising Chicago! -description from the publisher
Watch first
Which Raising Chicago video should I watch?
Raising Chicago has 9 videos from 8 creators: 3 reviews, 1 how-to-play guide, 4 playthroughs and 1 unboxing. They date from 2025 to April 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Raising Chicago Full Playthrough | The Game Haus" by The Brothers Murph, which runs 1 h 32 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "A bidding game that might be best with 2 players? - Raising Chicago Board Game Review" by Board Gaming Ramblings. 3 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "Raising Chicago - Live 3 Player" by Capstone Games, one of 4 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Queensland, Mutton Bustin and Squaring Circleville, also by Matt Wolfe, or The Last Spike, which shares several of its mechanics.
All videos
Creators who cover this
Capstone Games
2 videos of this game
Board Gaming Ramblings
1 video of this game
Heavy Cardboard
1 video of this game
Legends of Nerdvana
1 video of this game
Playing for Second | No Hype, Just Board Games
1 video of this game
The Brosey Game Company
1 video of this game
The Brothers Murph
1 video of this game
The Dice Tower
1 video of this game
Games like this
2021Matt Wolfe
- Videos
- 2
- Creators
- 2
Reviews and playthroughs
1 - 4 players90 - 120 minHeavy weight
About Raising Chicago
From BoardGameGeek:
During the 19th century, the elevation of the Chicago area was just a few feet higher than the shoreline of Lake Michigan. For many years, there was little or no naturally occurring drainage from the city surface, and this lack of drainage caused unpleasant living conditions. Standing water harbored pathogens that caused numerous epidemics including typhoid fever and dysentery, culminating in the 1854 outbreak of cholera that killed six percent of the city's population. The crisis forced the city to take the drainage problem seriously. In 1856, engineer Ellis S. Chesbrough drafted a plan for the installation of a citywide sewerage system and submitted it to the city council, which adopted the plan. However, due to the minimal elevation above the lake, the sewer could not be built underground and had to be built at street level. The city council then decided to implement a radical idea: Prevented from digging down, they instead decreed the buildings of the city would be raised to allow the new sewer system to be hidden under the new street level. Representing one of the four companies that were created to tackle the problem of raising the buildings of Chicago, it's up to you to gather resources, take on the most attractive projects, and help solve the sanitation crisis of the city. On your turn in Raising Chicago, you place a tile on a resource slot associated with one of five building projects, then claim the resource you covered. After all players have placed tiles, each project is evaluated. The winning player pays resources to complete the project, claims the project reward, then places all of their tiles associated with that project as levels underneath the building onto a space on the board. Players earn points for placing buildings cleverly, doing the most work in a ward, and meeting the demands of council people. Only the most successful player will win, so play strategically to prove you can raise buildings the best in Raising Chicago! -description from the publisher
Designer
Matt Wolfe
Artist
Harald Lieske
Publisher
Spielworxx
Categories
Mechanics
Stocks & InvestmentTile Placement