The Great American Mail Race is a truly well made, mail delivery themed board game that supports two to four players. The whole game can be played in about 45 minutes, providing a really quick and fun board game to spend the evening playing. Dann and I have actually played this board game several times, as it makes for a good two-player board game, and has so many fun components that I really enjoy playing with!
The Great American Mail Race has a board which showcases North America, divided into different colored zones. Each of these zones has its own base, where a package is placed. You will then need to make your way to this base to pick up a package or letter, and bring it to its destination. At the top of the board, you can see where the package will be going, so that you can plan your route accordingly.
Movement across the board is done in a number of ways; you get two actions on your turn and can either move or collect cards from a bank. Moving can be done through your default, move one space card that you do not need to spend, or through spending cards. Different cards have different modes of transport; a boat, donkey, hot air balloon, airplane, etc. These different vehicles follow different tracks, so that you can make your way through the map in different ways.
When you deliver a package or letter, you are then able to mark off different things on your scorecard, using the most adorable little stamp I have ever seen in a game. You can get points for delivering cards in each area of the map, having same-day delivery, for the number of letters or packages you have delivered, if they are marked as fragile images, and more. There are also different postcards that you can collect on the map, which always have jokes based on the town you picked them up from and give bonus points as well.
In The Great American Mail Race, you are able to steal packages from other players by bumping into them, so avoiding routes other postal workers are taking while working your way around the map is the best idea if you have friends that might want your packages! This is especially important if you are right near the delivery point and could be compromised.
The Great American Mail Race is really well thought out when it comes to the pieces. The little package squares sit well in your postal van meeple, the cards are all adorable, and the little mailboxes to sit at the destination of the letter are so smart when it comes to visually understanding where you are going — it’s just a really lovely, well thought out game!
Whether you are a fan of postal services or just want to enjoy a well made game, The Great American Mail Race can easily become a family favorite.
You can purchase The Great American Mail Race on Amazon.
