American Mogul

The industrial revolution marked a turning point in American history. The transition from handmade items to large-scale factories with industrial machinery made it possible to produce products at an epic scale. It also turned a handful of already industrious men into even more; it turned them into American moguls. Will you be one of them?

In American Mogul, players are captains of industry throughout the length of the industrial revolution in the United States, with each attempting to corner markets in the emerging states. Done through a brutally tight action-selection mechanism in which no action can be chosen twice in a round, the game is palpably tense as players struggle to get the right contracts, the best companies, and the edge in every market.

American Mogul is a follow up to 2013's Global Mogul, using the same core systems and adding more to it. Players now have captain cards that give each player a unique starting position and a special ability. Event cards make every play unique and interesting, but rather than random events, each player chooses an event during initial set-up. Players also choose a unique endgame scoring condition for each game, adding even more to the variability. Finally, a new action allows players to donate money to their own private foundations, then watch that money grow as the public matches donations and the interest accrues from round to round. The more players grow their foundations, the more special abilities they unlock. In a game that's brutally tight on money, how much will you give away? Will you be a philanthropist or a robber baron?