Coal Country Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Materials
• Setup
• The Economy of Coal Country
• Playing the Game
  • Foremen Placement
  • Foremen Reveal & Utilization
• End of the Round Actions
• End of the Game
• Game Variants
• Appendix A - Village Tiles
• Appendix B - Mineshaft Tiles

Game Materials

• 4 Mine Entrance Tiles (1 per player)
• 1 Boss's Desk Board
• 36 Mineshaft Tiles
• 4 Mining Village Boards (1 per player)
• 36 Foremen Tokens (9 in each player color)
• 4 Marker Discs (Orange)
• 24 Building Tiles
• 4 Player Screens (1 per player)
• 8 Earning Markers (2 in each player color)
• 1 Drawbag for the Market Indicators
• 108 Money Bills (8x100, 12x50, 16x20, 20x10, 24x5 and 28x1)
• 141 Utility Cubes (47 each of water/blue, electricity/yellow and wood/tan)
• 50 Refuse Cubes (grey)
• 100 Coal Pieces (Black)
• 17 Market Indicator Cubes (6 green, 6 red and 5 white)

Setup

1. Place the boss's desk board in the center of the playing area. Place the coal pieces, utility cubes, and refuse cubes nearby as a general supply. Place one marker disc on space "1" of the round calendar. Place one marker disc on space "0" of the coal stockpile track. Place one marker disc each on the "0" space on the top portion of the price indicator widget and the "10" space on the bottom track of the price indication widget. Divide the mineshaft tiles according to their numbers, shuffle each stack, and place them face down on their corresponding spaces on the permit application area of the board. Count out one of each school, tailor, coal shed, and mess hall per player, returning the extras back to the box. Shuffle these tiles with the remaining building tiles face-down and draw an amount equal to the number of players. Place these tiles face-up on the corresponding spaces in the top row of the construction company. Place the remaining building tiles near the board in a face-down stack to serve as a draw pile for later rounds.

2. Each player chooses a color and takes the matching screen, nine foremen tokens, and two earning markers. Place the tokens behind the screen. Each player takes a mining village board and a mine entrance tile, placing it face-up lining up at the entrance shown on the mining village board. Place one cube each of wood, water, and electricity on this entrance tile.

3. Each player places one earnings marker in the draw bag. Draw the markers randomly and place them in the drawn order above the Player Earnings Track to determine the player order for the first round. After players sell coal, these markers will be used to track the players' earnings. Place the second earnings marker just below the 100's spaces of the player earning track. Later in the game, players will use the second earnings marker to mark the "hundreds" portion of the earnings board.

4. Place all the market indicator cubes in the bag and draw one cube for each of the four spaces in the first round portion of the calendar section. Place these cubes in the order drawn, one-by-one, in the corresponding spaces on the round calendar portion of the board.

Market Indicators: The market indicators alter the pricing and availability of items in the game from round to round. Drawn green markers have a value of +1, red markers -1, and white markers 0. The final cube drawn during the current round will be rolled over to be the first cube on the next round. Players should use this information to plan future business.

Price Indication Widget: The price indication widget provides a quick, visual reference to changes in the game's pricing. The widget keeps track of the market for the current round (-1, 0, +1) and the current price of coal (1 to 11). Move the top gauge marker to reflect whether the current round's market indicators are a net negative, neutral, or a net positive. The bottom gauge moves to indicate the current coal price. Adjust the coal price indicator, starting at 10 and adjust based on the results from the top gauge on the widget and the coal price reduction on the coal stockpile portion of the board.

5. Finally, add the utilities cubes to the utility market portion of the board. The number of each type of cube to be added is the number of players plus one, plus the number shown on the the price indication widget.

The Economy of Coal Country

In Coal Country, purchasable or sellable items hold no set prices. Public perception of a company's wealth drives pricing, not necessarily the company's cash-in-hand. If the businesses in Coal Country believe a company can afford to pay more for an item, they will charge that company more for an item. As such, "fees" represent the price of an item and are based upon a company's reported earnings. The earnings track specifies the fee amounts.

Example: "Incentivizing" the permit office costs two fees. If a player's indicated fee is $5 because his earnings marker is in the first two columns, it would cost $10 to incentivize the permit office.

During the course of the game, players move their earnings markers as they sell coal, while also gaining the same amount of money. No two players will ever report having the same amount of earnings. If a player's earnings marker would land on the same spot as another marker, the player may choose whether they want to place it on a space above or a space below the other marker.

Players do not adjust their earnings markers when purchasing items, they only pay money. The operational costs of mining – new mineshafts, utilities, and village construction – will only become public information during the quarterly earnings reports. During the quarterly reports, players count their money-in-hand and move their earnings markers to the matching spaces. In this way, public perception of earnings and actual cash-in-hand are not always aligned, even if the fee amount remains the same between reports. Players should account for this disparity when planning their business.

Players submit quarterly reports at the end of rounds 2, 4, 6, and 8 (when playing a longer game).

Playing the Game

Coal Country is played over a series of six rounds. For a longer game, play eight rounds. Each game round consists of the following phases:

1. Foremen placement.
2. Foremen revealed and used.
3. End-of-round actions.

Foremen Placement

Players start each round by simultaneously placing all of their foremen tokens number side down. The number on each token represents the influence that foreman has. Players may choose not to place one or more of their foremen, but must reveal the influence of any not placed and pay a number of fees equal to the total unplaced influence.

Foremen placed to sell coal must sell at least one coal and foremen placed to buy utilities must buy at least one utility or the player must pay a number of fees equal to the influence of the non-complying foremen. If a player has two non-tandem foremen, both must buy at least one utility. If a player does not have enough money to pay the full fee, he pays all he has.

Foremen may be placed on the following spaces in either the player's own mining village or on the boss's desk board:

• Village tiles: A foreman may be placed on certain building tiles in order to use its effect. Other buildings do not require foreman placement in order to use their effect. Foremen may not be placed on such tiles. Only one foreman may be placed on a tile.

• Mineshaft tiles: Foremen may be placed on any mineshaft tile that connects back to the mine's entrance. These foremen will mine coal. Foremen cannot be placed on tiles that do not connect back to the entrance. Only one foreman may be placed per tile. The influence of the placed foreman determines the amount of coal mined from that tile. The two rows of numbers on the tile define this relationship, with the top number of a column representing foreman influence and the bottom number of a column indicating the amount of coal mined by that foreman.

  • A tile must be supplied with one cube of each of the three utilities (wood, water, and electricity) in order to be mined for the full amount indicated. If a tile does not have all three utilities placed on it, the foreman only gathers an amount of coal equal to half the amount listed, rounded down.
  • Auto-production: A tile that is properly supplied with utilities does not require a foreman to "encourage" workers to mine at that site. Therefore, a tile that is supplied with all three utilities will auto-produce an amount of coal that would be produced with a "1" foreman on the tile. This auto-produced coal will be generated in addition to any generated by a foreman placed on the tile.
  • A player's "entrance" tile will auto-produce from the beginning of the game, as it is already supplied with all three utilities.

• Coal brokers: One foreman per company may be placed at the coal brokers on the desk board. This foreman will sell coal. The influence of the placed foreman indicates the order in which players sell coal. Lowest-numbered foreman sell first, and so on. Foreman influence also provides a price adjustment to the listed coal price.

  As a show of good faith to a company's shareholders, each player must sell coal during the first round of the game, and must place a foremen at the Coal brokers.

Foremen Reveal & Utilization

After all players have placed all of their foremen, players turn over their foremen and use their functions, one area at a time. The revelation of foremen begins in a player's own village before proceeding into the mine, then clockwise on the boss's desk board, before finishing back in a player's village. Place used foremen back in the player's supply.

Reveal and use foremen in the order of the areas listed below, one area at a time:

1. Village tiles: An explanation of the specific effects of each type of building tile can be found later in this manual. Players may perform these village actions simultaneously.

2. Mineshaft tiles: When coal is produced, players record its production on the coal stockpile board and take the appropriate number of coal pieces. This board always reflects the total amount of coal owned by all players. Coal is an unlimited resource. If more coal is needed than pieces remain, players should use a suitable alternative.

   Generating refuse: Each foreman that mines coal generates a refuse cube, which is placed directly in a player's refuse pile. Auto-produced coal does not generate refuse. Refuse is an unlimited resource. If more refuse is needed than cubes remain, players should use a suitable alternative. Players may perform these mining actions simultaneously.

3. Coal brokers: Players sell coal in reverse order of foremen influence, with lowest going first. Player earnings break ties in foremen influence with highest selling first. Players freely choose how much coal they want to sell. Note, however, that players will lose all unsold coal at the end of the round (exception: they can keep up to 5 with a Coal Shed). Players take the money they earned when making sales and move their markers on the earnings track by adding the earned amount to their already reported earnings. After each player finishes selling coal, return the pieces to the general supply, adjust the coal stockpile track to reflect the reduced amount in the stocks, and reset the new coal price based on these changes. In this way, the price of coal may change after each player sells coal. If a selling foreman does not sell at least one piece of coal, the player must pay a number of fees equal to that foreman's influence.

   Determining coal price for each player:

   • The default price of coal is 10.
   • First, lower this price according to the amount indicated on the coal stockpile board (1 per every 10 pieces).
   • Second, adjust this price to account for the current round's market indicators (-1, 0, +1). This new price constitutes the "market" price of coal and cannot drop below "1".

End of the Round Actions

At the end of the current round, players perform a few maintenance steps before the next round begins.

• At the end of rounds 2, 4, 6, and 8 (when playing a longer game), in player earnings order, players count their money and move their earnings markers to match their money.
• No player may have any coal remaining in storage before the next round begins. Exception: if a player owns a Coal Shed, the player may store up to 5 pieces of coal between rounds. Return any additional coal to the general supply and adjust the coal stockpile chart accordingly.
• Draw the market indicators for the next round, remembering to transfer the last cube from the past round to the first space for the next round. Adjust the price indicator widget accordingly.
• Add resources to the utilities market based on the number of players and the market indicators drawn for the next round. These are in addition to any remaining cubes from the previous round.
• Restock the available building tiles at the construction company by removing the bottom row tiles from the game, moving any remaining tiles in the top row to the bottom row, and drawing enough new tiles so the total number of new tiles equals the number of players.
• Move the round marker to the next space on the round calendar and begin the next round with the placement of foremen.

End of the Game

At the conclusion of the sixth round (eighth if playing the longer game), the players submit one final quarterly report. Afterwards, each company undergoes an end-of-year inspection. Players pay a fine if the inspection results in a positive number of fees. Players earn a bonus if the inspection results in a negative number of fees. Fines and bonus amounts equal the number of fees, positive or negative, the inspection yields.

The inspection fees are:

• +1 fee for each utility missing in the mine. Each mine tile requires one cube each of wood, water, and electricity.
• +1 fee for each remaining piece of refuse in the refuse pile.
• +2 fees for each unfinished tunnel. Tunnels must connect to the entrance, run into the side of another mineshaft tile, or be "capped" by a "1" tile in order to be considered finished. There may be more than one unfinished tunnel per tile.
• -1 fee for each remaining utility cube stored.
• -2 fees for each building constructed in their village, not including building tiles that were built over - thus four is the maximum.

Afterwards, the player with the most money wins. If players tie, the player with the highest number of placed mineshaft tiles wins.

Game Variants

Once players have familiarized themselves with the standard rules, they are encouraged to try either or both of these variant sets of rules:

A Reformed Industry:

• The government now regulates the coal markets. Do not use the market indicators in the game. Remove the market indicator adjustments from all aspects of the game.
• Workers no longer work the mines without the presence of a foreman. As such, mineshaft tiles no longer auto-produce coal if supplied with all three utilities. Fully-supplied tiles still allow foremen to mine the full amount listed.
• The government now monitors the high usage of natural resources. Remove remaining utility cubes between rounds instead of carrying them over into the new round. Refill the market with the usual number of cubes.
• Inspectors have finally cracked down on mine safety. When assessing game-end inspection fees, count each fee as a +2/-2 instead of its usual varying amounts. Additionally, instead of considering a mineshaft that runs into the side of an adjacent mineshaft tile finished, consider this shaft to now be unfinished. This shaft will be assessed a fee during the year-end inspection.

An Industry Amok:

• The mining companies watch each other very closely. Instead of placing foremen simultaneously, players may instead take turns placing each of their foremen according to the current player order (highest earnings first, and so on).
• The permitting office is in the back pocket of the coal industry. Instead of drawing from face-down stacks of mine tiles in the permit office, turn over the top tile in each stack. When a tile is gained, turn over the next tile in the stack, and so on. In this way, players can make more-informed choices when acquiring tiles. Additionally, mining permits acquired to be placed next to mineshaft tiles without all three utilities now follow the same fee structure as the permits acquired to be placed next to tiles with all three utilities.
• The building industry faces undue influence. During setup, do not remove any building tiles. Additionally, instead of closing the construction company when the draw pile of building tiles runs out, shuffle the previously discarded tiles and form a new draw pile. The company stays open.

Players are encouraged to visit the publisher's website for additional rules variants.

Appendix A - Village Tiles

• School (base cost 1)(x4): Permanent. The school offers workers the technical skills needed to be productive employees. Foremen played on utility storage may place 1 more stored cube than their influence indicates (max. 4).
• Tailor (1)(x4): Permanent. The tailor improves the owning player's foremen's clothing, making them more desirable when on the job. The "0" foreman is now a "1" foreman for the remainder of the game, or until the player replaces the tailor.
• Coal shed (2)(x4): Permanent. The coal shed grants space to store coal. The player may store up to 5 pieces of coal on this tile.
• Mess hall (2)(x4): Permanent. Properly feeding the company's employees keeps them healthy and strong. Foremen played on the refuse pile may remove 1 additional piece of refuse (max. 4).
• Village store (3)(x2): Playable. Not everything sold at the store is on the shelves. The player may exchange a number of their stored utility cubes up to the placed foreman's influence with an equal number of cubes from the general supply. Cubes already in the utilities market cannot be exchanged.
• Doctor's office (3)(x2): Playable. A trip to the doctor's office equals a day off from work. The foreman on this tile may be "passed" upon without having to pay the fee for doing so.
• Tavern (4)(x2): Playable. Many deals have been forged over a stiff drink. Foremen placed as buyers and sellers have an increased influence of +1. This affects both purchase order and possible purchase amounts. Players must play a foreman with an influence of "4" on this tile to enable its benefits.
• Church (4)(x2): Playable. Church is the place to pray for the good fortunes of fellow men. 1 foreman miner may collect, from his current tile, both his designated amount of coal and the amount of coal designated for a "1" foreman. Players must play a foreman with an influence of "3", or higher, to enable this benefit. The mining foreman still only generates one piece of refuse.

Appendix B - Mineshaft Tiles

The mineshaft tile counts are printed beneath each tile illustration. The tile shapes and their numbered coal-yield rows are shown in the rulebook's illustrations and are not reproduced in text here; see the printed rulebook page 12.

• Tile illustrations (counts, in print order): x4, x4, x4, x3, x4, x3 (top row); x2, x4, x2, x1, x4, x1 (bottom row).