Giants (Game 1999)
| Giants | |
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 Game components from giants |
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| Game data | |
| author | Wilko Manz |
| graphic | Franz Vohwinkel |
| publishing company | Cosmos games |
| Publishing year | 1999 |
| Art | Board game , economy game |
| Teammates | 3 to 4 |
| Duration | approx. 75 to 90 minutes |
| Age | from 10 years on
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Giganten is a board and business game by the game designer Wilko Manz , which was published by Kosmos Spiele in 1999 . In the same year the game was nominated for the game of the year and was able to reach the 6th place in the German game award . In terms of content, the game deals with the search for oil wells and the oil industry in Texas in the 1920s, in which the players try to earn as much money as possible by developing oil wells and selling the extracted oil .
Background and game material
In the game of Giants , the aim of the players is to earn as much money as possible by extracting oil. The game is thematically embedded in the oil rush of the 1920s in Texas and the players have to identify the most abundant oil wells on the game board and equip them with oil rigs . The extracted oil is then transported by rail to the three oil exchanges Hudson Oil Industries , Jet Oil Inc. and US Standard Oil Trust , stored and sold there according to current market prices.
In addition to the instructions, the game material consists of:
- a playing field with the area of the oil fields, the three oil exchanges and the railway lines,
- 20 oil rigs (5 of each player color),
- four trucks in player colors,
- four locomotives in player colors,
- a black (neutral) locomotive,
- 36 promotion cards with one, two and three derrick,
- 60 oil stones,
- 42 action cards, 30 with a beige and 12 with a red back,
- 78 sales licenses,
- three oil barrels as share price markers,
- a course cube,
- Play money in $ currency and in units of $ 500, $ 1,000, $ 2,000, $ 10,000 and $ 50,000, and
- four information boards with an overview of the game.
Style of play
Game preparation
At the beginning of the game, the game board is set up in the middle of the table. The promotion cards are distributed to the corresponding positions on the terrain map and the black locomotive is placed on the designated starting space. The three oil barrels are placed as share price markers on the middle position of the three price boards. Then each player chooses a player color and receives the corresponding oil rigs, trucks and railways as well as an information board for each, the railways are placed on the corresponding starting positions. The cards are shuffled separately according to their backs and placed face down as a draw pile on the corresponding fields. The money and the oil stones are placed next to the game board.
Game flow
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Actions during a game round
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At the beginning of the game, a starting player is determined who receives the course die and is thus marked as the starting player. The game is played in turn in game rounds, in which several actions take place in a fixed order. First the starting player rolls the changes in market prices for the three oil exchanges Hudson Oil Industries , Jet Oil Inc. and US Standard Oil Trust . The result of the die is implemented according to the color and number of the die result and the position of the share price marker. If the share price marker is in the middle white area, it is increased by the corresponding number of price fields with a blue result and decreased with a red result. If it is in the upper area, it is generally reduced and if it is in the lower area, it is generally increased.
Next, the starting player takes the top action card with a red back from the draw pile and turns it over. He moves the black locomotive forward according to the information on the card and, depending on the number of players, draws three or four additional action cards from the pile with the beige back. Then he chooses a card as his action card and then the other players in turn order also choose a card.
Actions and special offers are shown on the cards. After each player has taken a card, each player receives the number of sales license cards (with the values 1 or 2) as stated on the action card. Starting with the active player, the players can now divide the number of steps indicated on the action card between their truck and the locomotive and move both. The trucks are allowed to move one field vertically or horizontally on the grid field per step, the locomotive requires the movement points indicated on the railway line for each step. Whenever a truck passes a black derrick tile, the owner can look at it and stop next to it if he later wants to erect a tower on the spot. The number of oil stones that can be extracted at this point is indicated on the plates. As the next step, the special actions of the card are carried out, during which the players can partially set back opposing locomotives or change the courses on the oil exchanges. When all players have drawn their trucks and locomotives and all special actions have been taken, they can decide to build a derrick on a tile adjacent to the truck if they pay the cost ($ 4,000, $ 6,000 or $ 8,000). If he decides to build, he places the specified number of oil stones on the field and one of his derricks on it.
After the towers have been built, the oil is extracted. Each player promotes one oil stone per own derrick, which is removed from under the respective derrick. If his locomotive is at least at the height of the tower, he can transport the oil directly to one of the oil exchanges' stores and deposit it there. If the locomotive has not yet reached the height of the tower, he can use a locomotive further ahead - either the neutral black or the furthest forward opposing locomotive. In this case, he must pay the owner of the locomotive or the bank an amount of $ 3,000. Alternatively, the player can forego the transport and remove the petroleum stone from the game. After the oil stones have been delivered to the oil exchanges, they are now sold with the help of the sales licenses. The players who have stored their oil stones in the respective warehouses then place a bid for Hudson Oil Industries , Jet Oil Inc. and US Standard Oil Trust . The player who offers the most licenses in each case wins the bid and is allowed to sell his oil on the stock exchange for the current price. The other players' oil stones remain in the camps. If a player has more than two oil stones in a warehouse, the excess oil stones are removed and $ 1,000 each is compensated. Finally, the course die is passed on to the next player who starts the next round.
End of game and scoring
The game ends with the turn in which the black locomotive reaches the oil port and thus the last space on its route. Afterwards the billing takes place. Depending on the position of their locomotives on the line, the first player receives $ 5,000 per derrick on the field, the following players receive $ 4,000, $ 3,000 or $ 2,000 per tower depending on the position of their locomotives. In addition, each player receives $ 1,000 for every oil stone left on the field or in the camps. All players now count all their money, the player with the highest amount wins the game.
Expenses and reception
The game Giants was developed by Wilko Manz and published by Kosmos Spiele in 1999, when Franz Vohwinkel became an illustrator . Giganten It was nominated for Game of the Year in 1999 and in the same year was able to achieve 6th place in the German Game Award . In 2001 it was one of four games that were played at the German Board Game Championship .
Building on giants , Wilko Manz and Steven Kimball developed the game Black Gold , which was released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2011 .
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Rules of the game for giants at Ravensburger, version from 1999
- ↑ Versions of giants in the BoardGameGeek database; accessed on June 25, 2018.
- ↑ Black Gold in the BoardGameGeek game database ; accessed on June 25, 2018.
Web links
- Giants in the game database BoardGameGeek (English)
- Giants in the Luding games database