Let's Make a Bus Route is a game from Saashi and Saashi that has been released in a time where Roll and Write games seem to be one of the hot board game mechanisms. But here, it is flipping a card instead of rolling, and you are all writing on a shared board.
Sharing a board isn't the only cool trick that this game pulls off. However, it is probably the most interesting. In this game, you are working to, over the course of 12 cards, build a route for your bus to take. You are aiming to pick up people, drop them off to their destinations, and earn points for this.
There are two things that the shared board gives. The first is traffic. You are aiming to avoid where other bus routes are going to avoid negative points for traffic. The second is related to global objective cards, in that it is effectively a race to earn 5 elder commuters first.
Apart from this, the scoring is as good as, say, Ganz Schon Clever. Each commuter scores differently, with some providing bonuses to others. However, you also have to watch your route to make sure you can deliver them to their destinations otherwise you earn no points for all that effort. Add to that your private objective and public objectives pulling you towards different directions and you have a very fascinating game.
My only criticism is that everything is double sides, with English/Japanese language sides. However, I feel that they missed an opportunity to make these sides alternative boards/routes (say an English and Japanese city and bus company) that makes things play out differently. I am a bit concerned if this game has much legs. However, this issue hasn't come up yet.
4.5 out of 5 commuting waffles.
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