About Restoration, from BoardGameGeek:
Overview
Restoration / Phục Dựng is a competitive worker placement board game with light area majority elements inspired by the real-life restoration of Điện Kiến Trung, one of Vietnam's most iconic historical landmarks.
Players take the role of restoration teams contributing resources, artisans, and expertise to rebuild the palace across 3 rounds of play. By carefully placing workers, securing workshop influence, players compete to earn the most prestige and leave their mark on the reconstruction effort.
Gameplay
In Restoration / Phục Dựng, players take turns placing workers onto shared action spaces to gather materials, activate workshops, advance development tracks, gain prestige, and contribute to the palace restoration.
The game revolves around a worker placement system enhanced by area majority competition. Certain workshop areas reward players who commit the most influence, allowing them to recruit powerful neutral workers called Artisans for the following round. Because these extra workers are temporary and highly contested, players must constantly balance immediate efficiency with long-term positioning.
High interaction game: Players compete for valuable action spaces, race to secure workshop control, and carefully time their turns to maximize opportunities before opponents can react.
One of the game's signature systems is the Follow mechanic. After the active player performs an action, other players may partially follow that action, allowing everyone to stay involved even outside their own turn and significantly reducing downtime.
As the game progresses, players build stronger engines through development tracks and prestige management, creating increasingly efficient combinations and tactical turns. The modular board setup also changes the strategic landscape from game to game, adding replayability and variety to each session.
Key Mechanics
Worker Placement with Neutral Workers
Players place workers to activate locations and perform actions, but can also compete to gain temporary neutral workers (Artisans) for future rounds through area majority control.
Area Majority Competition
Several workshop zones reward players based on influence and positioning, creating tension and meaningful interaction without direct conflict-heavy mechanics.
Follow Action System
Whenever a player performs an action, other players may follow and gain partial benefits, keeping all players engaged throughout every turn and minimizing downtime.
Personal Worker Placement Board
Each player has access to a personal action space system, adding flexibility and reducing frustration from blocked public locations.
Development & Prestige Tracks
Players progress along development tracks to unlock stronger efficiencies and combinations, while prestige acts as both progression and an important strategic resource.
Combo-Oriented Euro Design
Actions can be chained together to create highly satisfying turns, rewarding careful planning, timing, and engine optimization.
Modular Board System
Variable setup and interchangeable map layouts provide high replayability.
