Vital Warming
Vital Lacerda’s games are on a league of their own, with their sets of interlocking mechanics, super-high production values and consequentially, super-high prices. CO2 is probably his most affordable production so far, but you are still getting a boxful of high quality meeples and boards.
Co2 is about replacing old, unsustainable power plants with new ones that use renewable resources by first proposing a project, then creating the necessary infrastructure and finally building the plant itself. You will have Researchers that will need to inspect plants and attend Summits, which sounds complicated but it boils down to moving their meeples around, which in turn will give you knowledge points in the 5 main types of power plants (more like renewable sources plants): Recycling, Hydro, Wind, Solar and Forestation.
One more chance
CO2 Second Chance is a new version of the original game (which I’ve never played but looked at online), and it improves its components on every level. The graphics from the celebrated Ian O’Toole are fresh and mostly clear and follow the Lacerda standard of not using text on anything but cards and the manual, which by the way is excellent as usual. There aren’t many illustrations but they give the game a clear, original identity, something that doesn’t happen too often in the BGs world. Then again there aren’t too many boardgames that deal with the theme of pollution and global warming.
Sustainable gaming
There are many things to keep in mind while playing, but while not exactly entry-level, it’s most likely the simplest of Lacerda’s opus. There is a solo mode which works pretty well, you just flip the board and compete against the game (no bots, which can be hit or miss), it can get repetitive after you learn the right patterns but it’s great fun while it lasts. It’s great in multi and it will probably peak the interest of any gamer, even if just to try something completely new, easy on the eyes and extremely thematic.