
2023 · City Building
Legacy of Yu
Play as the legendary engineer-hero of the Xia Dynasty, building canals to tame the Yellow River and protect a village from marauding barbarian tribes. This is a solo, campaign-style game that resets between sessions and evolves over time: each playthrough adds story elements and new mechanics while a self-balancing system adjusts difficulty based on performance. Players plan and place canal segments, manage resources and defenses, and respond to an oncoming flood and raids. The campaign continues game-to-game until seven wins or losses conclude the story.
- Players
- 1
- Playing time
- 60 min
- Age
- 12+
- Complexity
- 2.9 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Art
- Publisher
Expansions
See them in LudoyaWhere to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 262
- Plays logged
- 41
- Players
- 1h 24m
- Average play
- 71
- In collections
- 26
- On wishlists
- 2
- Pre-ordered
8.2/10
from 17 Ludoya reviews
jowsep8.0 88 - 2026
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Can I open or shuffle the Story Book/Deck before playing?
No — the rulebook explicitly warns not to open or shuffle the Story Book/Deck; follow the Story Book/Deck instructions as written and reveal pages/cards only when the game tells you to (pp. 2–3).
What can I do with a Townsfolk card — can I use it as food or do other things with it?
You have four legal uses for a Townsfolk card: play it, discard it, tuck it, or spend it as food; use whichever option suits your action choices on that turn (p. 8).
Do workers placed on Huts come back to my supply at the end of the round?
Yes — Hut workers are returned during the Harvest step when you resolve returns and draw Townsfolk, as explained in the Harvest rules and the section on placing workers on Huts (pp. 7, 13).
When I build a Canal, do I move the barge and do any flood steps happen immediately?
Building a Canal includes a step to move the barge and then resolve the canal’s card effects; flood advancement and the round timing for it are handled in the round phase rules, so follow the canal construction steps together with the round/flood rules (pp. 9, 6).
How do Barbarian attacks work — what steps do we follow and how are rewards/casualties applied?
Resolve Barbarian attacks by following the step‑by‑step procedure in the Barbarian section (assign defenders, resolve outcomes, apply rewards), then carry out the final attack resolution as described in the resolution rules (pp. 10, 13).
What will cause the campaign to end in a loss, and how do I record/keep progress between games?
The rulebook lists the campaign loss condition(s) and how to store progress between games; if you meet the defeat condition you follow the defeat instructions and use the victory/defeat card and storage rules to record outcomes for the campaign (pp. 15).
People who own it also own
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Legacy of Yu with Ludoya
- Keep it in your collectionTrack your copy and its expansions, lend it to friends, or put it on your wishlist and get told when the price drops.Add it to your collection
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- Settle rules questionsAsk anything about the rules and get an answer from the rulebook, with the page to check it on.Ask the rules assistant
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.

























