Singapore Showdown Board Game Review for Easy Play

WBG Score: 7.5

Player Count: 2-5

You will like this if you enjoy picking cards and gathering sets.

Published by Genie Games Co

This is a review copy. See our review policy here.

We just looked at Peranakan on WBG. It is a fun game where you lay tiles and score in nice ways. The same designer created this game of picking cards and collecting sets. Both games come out for real at the UKGE in 2026. Like Peranakan, this one honors Singapore culture. But Peranakan is about food, while Singapore Showdown is about places and animals. Let us set it up and see how it goes.

How To Set Up Singapore Showdown

Put the main board in the middle of the table first. Pick one group of four scoring tiles: A, B, C, or D. Take one tile of each color from that group. Put them face up in the right spots on the main board. Give each player a 50-point marker and a player piece in their color. Have them put their piece on the zero spot of the points track. Then hand out cards: 10 cards each for 2 or 3 players, 8 for 4 players, and 7 for 5 players. Now you can start.

How To Play Singapore Showdown

Players pick one card from their hand to draft. Take it and put it face down in front of you. When all pick, turn your card face up. Pass the rest of your cards to the player on your right. Take cards from the player on your left. Do this again with your new hand of 9 cards. Pick one, pass the rest to the right. Keep going until you pick from 2 cards. Then toss the last card away.

Now score using the seven scoring tiles on the main board from setup. Scoring might mean having the most icons on cards than others. Or it could be the one with most cards from a certain place. There are other usual ways to collect sets and score. Some tiles score right away if you are first to meet their rules during the round.

Players pick one of their nine cards in secret to save for the next round. Get new cards dealt. Do the picking and scoring again, but now with one more card. After two rounds, the player with most points wins.

Is It Fun? Singapore Showdown Board Game Review

Singapore Showdown is the type of game you can learn in five minutes. Then you play for half an hour and see how much fun it packs for something so easy. It uses picking cards and set collecting with a nice beat of pick one and pass the rest. There is just enough push to make each choice matter.

You do not drown in rules. You just make quick choices again and again. What do I want? What do I block for others? What might return? What am I trying to make? It is easy to get into. Light family players can start quick because the main loop feels good and known. Scoring is the main part but does not make play hard. You pick, show, pass, repeat, then score on the tiles. Two rounds with a clear end. Enough watching others without meanness.

What makes Singapore Showdown last is the choices in setup. Four sets of scoring tiles let the game change feel each time. That keeps a light picking game fresh. With 72 cards, you get lots of different cards, scoring chances, and plans each game. Some first-to scoring adds rush to the calm picking. You go from just gathering to racing. That shifts what you take, when, and how much you block others.

Pros

Picking cards plus set collecting is fast, sharp, and always fun.
Very simple to learn, teach, and play. Feels good for families.

Cons

If you want big building or long plans, it might feel too easy.
The scoring tiles you pick matter a lot. Groups who hate comparing scores might not like it.
Two rounds can stop just when some players get going.

All in all, Singapore Showdown is a happy, easy picking game. It has enough changes and smart choices to be more than a quick filler. The culture part gives it heart. Scoring tiles add bend. Picking makes each card count. For family players, new folks, or those who like clear choices and neat scoring, it fits well. Simple, quick, with picks that help you and hurt others just right.