Raising Chicago Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Components
Setup
Game Concepts
Sequence of Play
End of the Game and Final Scoring
- Final Scoring
- Determine the Winner
Optional City Council Module
Notes on the Theme
Glossary

Game Components

Your copy of Raising Chicago contains the following components:

1 main game board
1 bidding board
4 company boards
6 company expansion tiles
36 project tiles
10 final project tiles
4 personal project tiles
10 prestige building tiles
18 neighborhood tiles
12 empty plot tiles
4 ward control tokens
9 expertise banners
90 resource tokens (30x lumber, masonry, jackscrew)
36 permanent resource tokens (3 sets in player colors with 3 lumber, masonry, and jackscrew tiles each)
20 wild resource tokens
20 favor tokens
36 symbol tokens
12 expertise track markers (3 each in 4 player colors)
54 two-sided resource cards (red side for 2-3 players; yellow side for 4 players)
100 bidding markers (25 each in 4 player colors)
8 prestige building stands
8 discs (2 each in 4 player colors)
1 city council board (optional module)
12 city council member tiles (optional module)
2 rule booklets (English & German)
4 play aids (English & German)

Main Game Board

The central part of the main game board shows the four wards of Chicago numbered 1 to 4. In each ward are ten plots to raise projects and prestige buildings, spaces for neighborhood tiles, and two spaces for expertise banners and one for a ward control tile at their top. To the right of the wards is the poverty track; around all wards runs the reputation track. At the top left of the main game board is the outskirts area with eight spaces for empty plot tiles and move projects. At the top right you will find the prestige buildings area with spaces for the draw stack, three available prestige building tiles, and an expertise banner. At the bottom of the main game board is the project area. On its left side are spaces for the stacks of project tiles, and on the right are slots and spaces numbered I to V for the available project tiles and resource cards during each game round.

Project Tiles and Final Project Tiles

All project tiles represent buildings that the owners want you to raise or move. They are numbered from 1 to 36 on the top left. They show the necessary resources you need to complete them at the bottom, and a symbol that the project winner gains as a symbol token for completing them. The yellow raise projects offer different bonuses, while the blue move projects only show the "move" symbol. The final project tiles depict a "F" at the top center instead of numbers. These are all yellow raise projects with higher costs to complete them. Besides offering reputation bonuses they show two symbols that are used during final scoring at the end of the game.

Bidding Board

The bidding board contains four rows for the bidding markers of all players. The preprinted reputation values are used during final scoring at the end of the game.

Neighborhood Tiles

The neighborhood tiles offer bonuses and reputation when they are surrounded by buildings of completed raise projects and prestige buildings.

Empty Plot Tiles

The empty plot tiles offer one-time bonuses. You gain these tiles when completing move projects and placing these buildings on plots in the outskirts area of Chicago.

Personal Project Tiles

The personal project tiles represent structures that the players try to build during final scoring at the end of the game to earn additional reputation. They show the necessary resources to complete sections of the structure, and an overall bonus when you are able to completely finish them.

Prestige Building Tiles and Stands

When completing move projects, as a bonus you raise prestige buildings on central plots of the four wards. The prestige buildings are numbered from 1 to 12. The tiles have different reputation values and a varying number of arrows pointing to adjacent plots. They reward the players who raised buildings on these plots during final scoring. They are placed on their own stands to prominently rise above the other buildings.

Ward Control Tokens

The ward control tokens offer different amounts of reputation. They are placed in the four wards and are scored during final scoring at the end of the game.

Expertise Banners

The expertise banners let you gain experience to handle the different basic resources: lumber, masonry, and jackscrews. They are placed in the four wards and in the prestige buildings area.

Resource Cards

The resource cards are two-sided. Use the red side with 2-3 players and the yellow side with 4 players. Each resource card has several square spaces showing different resources. You place your bidding markers during project bidding here. At the bottom right are round bonus spots that offer resources and one-time bonuses when you run the company. The spot at the bottom center depicts the letters A to D which are used when including the optional city council module.

Favor Tokens

Use favor tokens to replace one type of resources needed to complete a project. You gain favor tokens via certain bonuses.

Company Boards and Company Expansion Tiles

The company boards include four resource spaces at the top. You store your basic resource and wild resource tokens here. The three expertise tracks in the center show your progress handling the basic resources. Depending on the number of players, use different spaces for the expertise markers and permanent resource tokens. You earn permanent resources and collect bonuses depending on your progress on these tracks. At the bottom are four slots for resource cards that you use when running your company. You may add company expansion tiles to your company via different bonuses. They offer additional slots for resource cards.

Resource Tokens, Permanent Resource Tokens, and Wild Resource Tokens

The resources are lumber, masonry, and jackscrews. You may gain permanent resource tokens for each of these resources when advancing on the expertise tracks. Wild resources are available via bonuses. You may use them for any one of the resources.

Resource tokens are considered unlimited. In the rare instance that the supply is empty use an appropriate substitute please.

Symbol Tokens

You gain symbol tokens for completed projects as shown on the project tiles. Your score these collected symbol tokens during final scoring.

Expertise Track Markers, Bidding Markers, and Discs

Each player receives a set of wooden markers in their chosen color. Use the expertise markers on the three expertise tracks of your company board. Use the bidding markers to bid for projects and when winning a project. They then serve as levels of your buildings and are placed in stacks below the project tiles. Use the discs to track your reputation and poverty on the two tracks of the main game board.

City Council Board and City Council Member Tiles (optional module)

When playing with this module, the city council board offers spaces for four city council members. Each space is marked by a letter, matching the letters on the resource cards. At the bottom of the board you find an overview of the requirements to be eligible to earn the reputation for the city council members. The city council member tiles include different scoring options during final scoring.

Setup

A. Lay out the main game board. Place the bidding board next to it.

B. Take project tiles 1-5, shuffle them, and place them in a face up stack on the indicated space in the project area. Repeat this for each set of 5 project tiles (6-10, 11-15 etc.). Place tile 36 on the indicated space.

C. Shuffle the 10 final project tiles. Randomly choose 4 and place them face up on the indicated spaces in the project area. Return unused tiles to the box.

D. Shuffle the resource cards and place the deck next to the main game board with the side up according to player count (red with 2 or 3 players; yellow with 4 players).

E. Mix up the 12 empty plot tiles and place 1 on each of the 8 plots in the outskirts area. Return unused tiles to the box.

F. Mix up the 10 prestige building tiles and place them in a face down stack on the draw stack space of the prestige buildings area. Reveal the top 3 and place them on the 3 spaces below the draw stack. Orient them that the number is in the upper-left corner, closest to the expertise banner space. Place the prestige building stands nearby.

G. Mix up the 4 ward control tokens and place them face up on the indicated spaces in each ward.

H. Mix up the 9 expertise banners and place 1 face up on the indicated spaces on the board (2 in each ward and 1 in the prestige buildings area).

I. Mix up the 18 neighborhood tiles and place 1 face up on each neighborhood space of the four wards.

J. Place all lumber, jackscrews, masonry, favor, wild resources, symbol, and company expansion tiles in separate piles next to the main game board to form the supply.

K. Each player takes 1 personal project tile. Place that tile face up in your player area. Return unused tiles to the box.

L. Each player chooses a color and takes all components in that color: 1 company board, 25 bidding markers, 3 expertise track markers, 9 permanent resource tokens, and 2 discs.

Place your bidding markers in a pile next to your company board.
Depending on the number of players, place the 3 expertise markers on the matching starting spaces of your company board.
Depending on the number of players, place the permanent resource tokens on the matching spaces of your company board.
- 2-3 players: place all 9 permanent resource tokens.
- 4 players: only place 6 permanent resource tokens. Return unused tokens to the box.
Each player places 1 disc on the top space of the poverty track on the game board. The order of the discs does not matter.
Randomly form a stack of discs of all players on the "0" space of the reputation track. This stack determines the player order for the first game round. The owner of the top disc is the starting player, followed by the other players in stack order.

M. 2 players only: Keep the tiles of a non-player color near the bidding board.

N. Take your starting basic resources from the supply and place them on the storage spaces of your company boards:

2-3 players: 2 each of lumber, jackscrew, and masonry.
4 players: 1 each of lumber, jackscrew, and masonry.

You are now ready to start Raising Chicago!

Game Concepts

To make understanding Raising Chicago as smooth as possible, we present the most important concepts in detail, before we explain the sequence of play.

Reputation

Reputation is represented by a top hat in the game. Reputation measures your success in Raising Chicago. When a tiebreaker is needed, the tied player with a higher reputation breaks the tie. If players have the same amount of reputation, the tied player higher in the stack is considered to have a higher reputation.

But reputation also means to take over responsibility. When determining project winners, and nobody made a bid for a certain project, the player with highest reputation must advance on the poverty track due to the failure of the project.

During phase 1 of each round you also arrange the player order on the bidding board according to your respective reputation.

Example: Marion's blue disc is on space 6 of the reputation track, so she currently has the highest reputation. Angelika's purple and Nicole's green discs are both on space 3 but Angelika's disc is on top of the stack. This means she has a higher reputation than Nicole.

Building Levels

When raising or moving a building, every bidding marker you place underneath that building is called a level. Levels are compared when determining who earns a neighborhood reward and who wins the end game ward control bonuses.

Example: Marion completed the raise project and placed the building tile on top of the stack with her bidding markers. This building now has 3 levels.

Expertise Tracks

Your company board has 3 tracks measuring your expertise in using the 3 resources in the game: lumber, jackscrews, and masonry. As you gain experience you learn new techniques to reduce the amount of these resources you need to spend to complete projects.

When you advance a marker on a track to a space with a permanent resource token, take that token and place it in the appropriate resource space on your company board. Use that permanent resource for all future projects, thus reducing the number of resource tokens you need to return to the supply. If you advance your marker all the way to the end of the track, you never have to pay any resources of that type for a project again!

Every time you advance a track marker, if all 3 track markers are in the same column or further right, earn the reward printed between the columns (1 wild resource token or 2 reputation). This reward is earned immediately. It is possible to earn more than one column reward in a single turn if you are able to move a track marker more than 1 space.

Example: Marion advances her track marker 1 space on the jackscrew track and gains a permanent jackscrew. If she advances another space on the masonry track, she will take 1 wild resource.

Sequence of Play

Raising Chicago is played over 8 game rounds. Each round consists of five phases that each consist of several steps. Perform the phases one after the other. Phases 1 and 5 are performed simultaneously, phases 2 to 4 in turn order. Phase 3 and 4 are in project order.

The five phases of a game round are:

Phase 1 - Project Announcement: New projects and resources are available. Increase your bidding markers for the next project bidding.

Phase 2 - Project Bidding: Bid for the new projects and collect resources in five simultaneous auctions.

Phase 3 - Bidding Resolution: Determine the project winners and take additional resources.

Phase 4 - Project Resolution: Complete the projects and raise or move the matching buildings.

Phase 5 - Run Your Company: Take resources produced by your company.

Phase 1: Project Announcement

New projects and resources are available. Increase your bidding markers for the next project bidding.

During the project announcement perform the following 3 steps together in the given order.

Step 1 - New Projects

Fill the project spaces of the project area with the available stack of tiles with the lowest numbers. In round 1 take projects 1-5, in round 2 take projects 6-10 etc. Place the top project of the stack on the leftmost space I and continue with the following projects till space V. In round 8 fill the project spaces with project 36 and the 4 final project tiles.

Example: In the second round Angelika, Marion, and Nicole fill project spaces I to V with the shuffled tiles for projects 6-10.

Step 2 - New Resource Cards

Fill all resource card slots in the project area with resource cards from top of the deck. Start with the leftmost slot below slot I and continue to the slot below space V.

Example: Next, they fill the resource card slots with cards from the deck. They play with 3 players and use the red side of the cards.

Step 3 - New Bidding Markers

In round 1 place 3 bidding markers from your supply on the leftmost spaces of a row on the bidding board. The starting player takes the top row, followed by the second player etc.

In all following rounds you may have 1 or more bidding markers on the bidding board because of lost auctions in the former round. First, add up to 3 bidding markers from your supply to these markers - for a maximum total number of 5 markers. Then adjust the player order according to your earned reputation. The player with the highest reputation takes the top row etc.

In rounds 2 to 8 everyone has 3-5 tiles of the bidding board.

Example: Finally, they each place 3 bidding markers from their supplies on the bidding board. During the first round Angelika returned 1 bidding marker and Nicole 2 bidding markers, so they now have 4 and 5 markers on the board.

Marion has the highest reputation, followed by Angelika. Therefore she uses the top row on the board, Angelika the center, and Nicole the bottom row.

2 players only: Place 2 bidding markers of one non-player color under your two leftmost markers on the bidding board. You will place these along with your final 2 markers during phase 2.

Example: In the first round of their 2-player game, Angelika and Marion place white non-player bidding markers below their own markers on the two leftmost spaces of the bidding board.

Phase 2: Project Bidding

Bid for new projects and collect resources in five simultaneous auctions.

During project bidding it is your turn when you are the active player. You are the active player if you have the most bidding markers on the bidding board. When there is a tie for most markers, the tied player with the highest reputation is the active player (the player with markers in the higher row). It is likely a player will take multiple turns before another player is active.

When it is your turn, take your rightmost bidding marker from the bidding board and place it on any empty square space of a resource card in the project area. Take the resource you covered, if any, from the supply and place it on the appropriate section of your company board.

Continue until the bidding board has no more bidding markers.

If you place your bidding marker on the upper left square, you must pay resources equal to all the uncovered resources on the square spaces of the card. This means you must pay from zero to 3 resources, depending on how many bids are already placed on the card. If you cannot pay the resources, you cannot place your bidding marker on that square. You must pay the resource cost even if you have permanent resources.

2 players only: You must pay the cost if you place a bidding marker of the non-player color.

Example: During the second round, Nicole has the largest number of bidding markers. She takes the first turn and places her rightmost bidding marker on the fourth resource card. She takes 1 jackscrew token from the supply and places it on her company board. Now, Nicole and Angelika have the same number of markers, so Angelika places the next bidding marker because she has a higher reputation than Nicole.

2 players only: Along with your last two bidding markers, also place two markers of the non-player color on any empty square spaces of resource cards. You may place these two markers on the same or different resource cards. Take the resources you cover with your own and the non-player bidding markers, if any.

Example: In their 2-player game Marion takes a turn and places both her own and the non-player bidding markers on two different resource cards. She takes 1 lumber and 1 jackscrew token and places them on her company board. She could place both markers on the same card.

Phase 3: Bidding Resolution

Determine the project winners and take additional resources.

Starting with the project on space I and continuing in numerical order to the project on space V, perform the following 2 steps in order:

Step 1 - Determine the Project Winners

You win a project if you have the most bidding markers on the resource card corresponding to the project. If 2 or more players have the same number of markers on a card, the highest and leftmost marker on the card is considered the winning bidding marker.

Example: Angelika wins the project in slot 1 and takes 1 masonry token. Marion wins the projects in slots 2 and 3 and takes 1 lumber and 1 masonry token. Nicole wins the projects in slots 4 and 5 and takes 1 lumber and 1 jackscrew token. Both Angelika and Nicole return 2 bidding markers to the bidding board.

If no one placed a marker on the corresponding resource card, remove both the project and the resource card from the game. The player who currently has the current highest reputation advances 1 space on the poverty track due to the failure of the project!

2 players only: It is possible for the non-player color to be the project winner.

Step 2 - Take Resources

The player winning a project takes resources from the supply for each uncovered square space on the resource card, if any, and places it on the appropriate section of their company board. Return the bidding markers belonging to other players to the bidding board. The order does not matter as you will reorder bidding markers in phase 1 of the next round.

Phase 4: Project Resolution

Complete the projects and raise or move the matching buildings.

Starting with the project on space I and continuing in numerical order till the project on space V, perform the following 3 steps for each project in the given order.

Step 1 - Return Resources

You need the resources as listed on the project tiles to complete the different projects.

As project winner, return the required resources from your company board to the supply to complete the project. You can use each wild resource token as 1 resource of any of the three basic resource types.

You can also use the following sources to cover the costs besides basic and wild resources tiles:

At any time you may trade any 3 resources for 1 resource.
You can spend a favor token to cover all of the resources needed for one type.
If you have permanent resources on your supply space, each of them counts as 1 towards the total needed of its type. You never spend these tokens and can use them once for each of your projects.

If you do not have enough resources to cover the costs, advance 1 step on the poverty track for each type of resource you do not have enough of. In this case, do not return any of that resource type to the supply.

Regardless if you return all resources or suffer from poverty, the project is always considered to be completed, and you continue with step 2.

Example: During the fourth round, Angelika's raise project requires 3 lumber, 3 jackscrews, and 4 masonry. She returns 4 lumber and 2 masonry, but is short 2 jackscrews as she only has 1 permanent jackscrew and 1 jackscrew token. Therefore Angelika advances 1 step on the poverty track, but keeps the single jackscrew token. Angelika continues with step 2 and places the project on the board.

Step 2 - Place Project on the Board

The city council used this opportunity to remake downtown Chicago. They moved older wooden buildings out of the city center and replaced them with new stone prestige buildings. Other buildings were raised up to the new street level at their location.

As project winner, place the project tile in the ward sections or the outskirts of Chicago. Depending on a raise or move project, you need to take care of different actions.

Place a raise project

When placing a raise project, follow these steps in the given order:

A. Take a symbol token that matches the symbol on the project. Earn the reward of the project tile immediately. See the glossary for details on projects.

NOTE: For each final project you complete during the eighth round, you do not receive additional symbol tokens. Instead, you earn additional reputation for during the final scoring.

B. Flip over the project tile to show the building side and place it on a stack of all the bidding markers you placed on the resource card. Afterwards, place the stack on any empty plot of your choice in any of the four wards.

C. If the plot has a reward, earn that reward immediately:

Reputation: The central four plots on wards 2 and 3 offer 2 reputation.
Wild resource: The four corner plots of wards 1 and 4 offer a wild resource token. Take 1 tile from the supply and place it on the appropriate section of your company board.

D. Advance your marker 1 space on the expertise track that matches the banner at the top of the column.

E. Earn 1 reputation for each level of the building.

F. Check if you enclosed a neighborhood tile on the board. See chapter "Enclosing a neighborhood tile".

Example: After returning the resources for her raise project, Angelika places the building on the board. She takes a city seal symbol tile, then earns the project reward by advancing 1 step on her jackscrew expertise track. She flips the project tile to the building side and places it on the stack of her 2 bidding markers on the chosen corner plot in ward 1. Angelika earns the plot reward and takes a wild resource token, then advances 1 more step on her jackscrew expertise track. She earns 2 reputation for the 2 levels of her new building. The adjacent neighborhood tile is not completely enclosed, so Angelika finishes this step.

Place a move project

When placing a move project, follow these steps in the given order:

A. Take a symbol token that matches the symbol on the project. Move projects do not have a printed reward.

B. Flip over the project tile to show the building side and place it on a stack of all the bidding markers you placed on the resource card. Afterwards choose any plot in the outskirts with an empty plot tile. Take the empty plot tile, place it near your company board, and then put the building on that location. You can use the empty plot tile any time you are the active player. See the glossary for details of the empty plot tiles.

C. Earn 1 reputation for each level of the building.

D. Select one of the prestige buildings from the prestige buildings area and take a prestige building stand. Place the prestige building and stand as a stack on an empty purple-colored interior plot in any of the four wards, if available, or on any other empty plot if all purple-colored interior plots are occupied. You may rotate the prestige building in 90 degree increments how you like, so that the arrows point in your preferred directions. If the plot has a reward, you earn that reward immediately:

Reputation: The central four plots on wards 2 and 3 offer 2 reputation.
Wild resource: The four corner plots of wards 1 and 4 offer a wild resource token. Take 1 tile from the supply and place it on the appropriate section of your company board.

E. Advance your markers 1 space on the expertise track that match both the banner in the prestige buildings display and the banner at the top of the column where you placed the prestige building.

F. Refill the prestige buildings area by revealing the top prestige building tile from the stack, placing it on the empty space. Orient it so that the number is in the upper-left corner, closest to the expertise banner space.

G. Check if you enclosed a neighborhood tile on the board. See chapter "Enclosing a neighborhood tile".

Example: Marion completed her move project and takes a "Y" symbol tile. She flips the project tile to the building side, takes the empty plot tile of the chosen plot in the outskirts, and then places the building on the stack of her 3 bidding markers on that plot. She earns 3 reputation for the 3 levels of her new building. Marion chooses the third prestige building, and, after turning it 180°, places it on a stand on the chosen center plot of ward 2. Marion advances 1 step each on her masonry and lumber expertise tracks. She refills the empty space of the prestige buildings area before taking care of the enclosed neighborhood tile. For the latter, check chapter "Enclosing a neighborhood tile."

2 players only: It is possible that the non-player color wins a project. In that case no resources need to be paid and no project or plot rewards are earned. The project is still placed on the board and a neighborhood tile may be enclosed:

If the project is a raise project, place the project with the non-player bidding markers onto the lowest-numbered available space on the board.
If the project is a move project, place the project with the non-player bidding markers on the plot with the lowest-numbered empty plot tile and return that tile to the box. Place the prestige building with the lowest number on the lowest-numbered purple-colored interior plot, if available, or lowest-numbered plot if all purple-colored interior plots are occupied. Do not rotate the prestige building. Refill the prestige building display by revealing the top prestige building tile from the stack and placing it on the empty space.

Enclosing a neighborhood tile

You enclose a neighborhood tile when all 4 plots surrounding it have buildings (any combination of buildings from raise projects and prestige buildings). The player with the most levels among those 4 buildings earns the bonus and also takes the token itself. See the glossary for details about the neighborhood tiles.

If there is a tie for the number of levels, the tied player with higher reputation wins the tile. All players with buildings around the neighborhood tile who did not win the tile simultaneously earn 1 reputation.

If you complete multiple neighborhoods at the same time, choose the order to resolve them.

NOTE: Only when playing with the optional city council module, you may earn additional reputation for the collected neighborhood tiles.

2 players only: The non-player color may win a neighborhood reward or it may be part of a tie. If this happens, all players with buildings around the neighborhood tile simultaneously earn 1 reputation. Return the neighborhood tile to the box.

Example: Marion and Angelika both have 2 levels in the neighborhood, Nicole has 1 level. Marion has a higher reputation than Angelika, so Marion takes the neighborhood tile and immediately takes the reward; in this case 1 favor token. Angelika and Nicole simultaneously earn 1 reputation.

Step 3: Add Resource Card to Your Company

With every successfully finished project, your company takes another step forward.

As project winner, take the resource card associated to her project from the project area and place it in the leftmost slot of your company board, sliding any other cards 1 slot to the right. Collect any cards that are no longer in a slot to the box, in a facedown pile next to your company board.

NOTE: Only when playing with the optional city council module, you may earn additional reputation for the collected resource cards.

Each company expansion tile you own offers an additional space for the resource cards, so you can keep them longer when running your company in the next phase.

Example: Marion takes the resource card associated to her project from the project area and places it on the leftmost slot below her company board by pushing the other cards to the right. She already has a company expansion tile, so she can keep all 5 resource cards for the time being.

Phase 5: Run Your Company

Take resources produced by your company.

As you all run your own company, perform this phase simultaneously.

Take the resources indicated on the round bonus spots of all resource cards in your company. Some cards have one-time bonuses you only take once after adding the card to your company. Other cards grant a bonus every round.

If there are still stacks with project tiles in the project area waiting for their completion, start the next round. If you completed the four final projects in round 8, Raising Chicago ends and you proceed to final scoring.

Example: Angelika takes 1 lumber, 1 jackscrew, and 2 masonry as rewards. She gains a one-time bonus for the newly added resource card, advances 1 step on her jackscrew expertise track. Marion takes 1 wild resource for advancing all three of her expertise markers to that column.

End of the Game and Final Scoring

Raising Chicago ends after 8 rounds.

It is time for the final scoring and to determine the winner!

Final Scoring

Simultaneously score each category in full in this order.

Ward Control

In each of the four wards, when you have the most levels, earn first place reputation as indicated on the ward control token and also take the token itself. When you have the second most levels earn second place reputation.

NOTE: Only when playing with the optional city council module, you may earn additional reputation for the collected ward control tokens.

If several players are tied for first place, add reputation for both first and second place and divide between the tied players as evenly as possible, rounded up, and return the ward control token to the box. If players are tied for second, divide the reputation between the tied players as evenly as possible, rounded up.

Bidding Board

If you have the most bidding markers on the bidding board, earn first place reputation as indicated by the preprinted reputation values on that board. When you have the second most markers earn second place reputation.

If several players are tied for first, add reputation for both first and second place and divide between the tied players as evenly as possible, rounded up. If players are tied for second, divide the reputation between the tied players as evenly as possible, rounded up.

Prestige Buildings

For each prestige building, determine who earns reputation. The owners of the buildings in the plots pointed to by the arrows of the prestige building earn the reputation stated on that tile.

Final Projects

When you completed final projects, take their tiles from the wards and place them with the project side face up next to your company board. Earn 2 reputation for each time, that a symbol token you collected matches a symbol stated on one of your final projects.

NOTE: Only when playing with the optional city council module, return the final project tile back on your stack of bidding markers in the wards. You may earn additional reputation for your final projects.

NOTE: Project #36 has an asterisk, which counts as any symbol. You only score it as a single symbol of your choice for your final projects.

Symbol Tokens

For each set of 5 different symbols you have, earn 3 reputation. If you have the asterisk tile, it counts as whatever symbol you chose when scoring final projects.

Personal Project

Turn in resources you have leftover at the end of the game to complete sections of your personal project. You earn 2 reputation for each resource type, if you have at least 5 resources of that type. You earn an extra 3 reputation if you complete all 3 sections.

You cannot use any permanent resource tokens for your personal project, but you may use favor tokens and wild resource tokens. If you unlocked unlimited resources for a track, you automatically score for that resource type.

Poverty Track

Lose reputation as indicated by your position on the poverty track.

Determine the Winner

If you have the highest reputation, you control the most successful company in Raising Chicago!

If several players are tied for highest reputation, the tied player who built more levels on the main game board is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied players enjoy their shared victory.

Optional City Council Module

The city council is here to score your efforts! Use this module to add more depth to your decisions when you place tiles on project cards to bid for projects.

Setup

Besides the general setup as explained on pages 6-7, do the following:

O. Place the city council board near the main game board.

P. Shuffle the 12 city council member tiles and place 1 tile face up on each space of the city council board. Return unused tiles to the box.

Changes to the Sequence of Play

Keep all resource cards, neighborhood tiles etc. that you take during the game and that are relevant for city council scoring based on the active city council members.

Final Scoring

Score the City Council after All Other Scoring Categories

Gather all resource cards you collected during the game. Each city council character is associated with a letter. If you have at least the minimum number of cards with the matching letter, you are eligible to earn the reputation for that city council member. If you have at least the number of cards showing the matching letter of the higher tier, you are eligible to earn double the reputation for that city council member. If you have a resource card showing all four letters, you choose which single letter it is at this time.

2 players: 6 cards of a letter to qualify; 9 cards of a letter to score double.
3 players: 4 cards of a letter to qualify; 6 cards of a letter to score double.
4 players: 3 cards of a letter to qualify; 5 cards of a letter to score double.

If you are eligible to earn reputation, the different city council members offer individual scoring options. See the glossary for details about the city council member tiles.

Example: Angelika collected 5 cards with letter B. That are enough matching resource cards to earn reputation from the city council member on space B. If she collected a 6th card with letter B, instead she would have earned double reputation.

Notes on the Theme

The story of raising the street grade in Chicago is absolutely fascinating to me. When I heard about this historical oddity, I immediately knew I wanted to capture this moment in game form.

Chicago was rapidly growing during the 19th Century, and, like most American cities, Chicago was desperate to be seen as a "proper" city. Major cities in Europe, full of stone buildings, were seen as the model for what a prestigious city should look like. That's why the city council decided to move old wooden buildings out of the downtown and into the outskirts, to be replaced with new masonry buildings.

There are numerous accounts from this time period of buildings being raised without the knowledge of the people inside the building! Contemporaneous reports even indicate that some people only knew when a building had been raised due to the temporary added height to the outside steps. The engineering to accomplish such work with no disturbance is impressive.

Even wood buildings that were moved from the city center often continued to conduct business while being moved on rollers. Residents in homes could even wake up in one part of the city and be in a different part by evening.

Part of this street level regrading project was to pave the new street level with wood blocks dipped in tar. Both are highly flammable materials, which probably contributed to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Yes, the city went to the effort to install a sewer system and raise buildings only to have a massive fire a decade later! Early drafts of the game included repaving roads, but I cut it to focus on the buildings.

If you walk around downtown Chicago today, occasionally you'll notice some buildings have their entrance below the current street grade. These are buildings whose owners decided to not raise their building, but instead built permanent steps from the new street grade down to the original street grade. For simplicity, I choose not to include these in the game.

The 5 symbols used on the project tiles are homages to various Chicago icons and institutions.

The train is a reference to George Pullman, who is most famous for his railcars and his company town, but first made his mark moving buildings in New York and then raising buildings in Chicago.
The lion is a reference to the famous lion statues outside the Art Institute of Chicago.
The book is a reference to the first permanent Chicago Public Library, which is now the Chicago Cultural Center.
The city seal is a reference to the Chicago Corporate Seal used at this time.
The "Y" symbol is the Chicago Municipal Device. You can find it on lots of public structures even today.

The names on the company boards are 4 of the 5 companies that did the majority of the work of raising and moving buildings.

Glossary

Project Tiles

The project tiles offer different rewards that you take immediately after completing the matching project.

Take the specified symbol token. The "asterisk" symbol is a wild symbol.
Take 1 wild resource token from the supply.
Advance your expertise marker 1 space to the right on the specified expertise track of your company board.
Take 1 company expansion tile and place it at the bottom right of your company board to gain an additional slot for your resource cards.
Take 1 favor token from the supply. You can spend a favor token to satisfy any number of resources of 1 type.
Earn the specified amount of reputation.
This is a move project. Check section "Place a move project" for further rewards.

Final Project Tiles

The final project tiles offer reputation and an additional scoring option for collected symbol tiles.

The final project tiles specify which collected symbol tiles you may score for additional reputation during final scoring.

Empty Plot Tiles

Empty plot tiles offer different rewards. You can take the reward of your collected tiles once during a round: Any time in phase 1, when you are the active player in phase 2, when you resolve a project you win in phase 4, or at any time in phase 5. Afterwards, return the used tile to the box.

Take 2 favor tokens from the supply.
Take 1 favor token and 1 wild resource token from the supply.
Earn 3 reputation.
Choose 1 resource card in the project area and take all visible resources from square spaces from the supply.
Take the resource in the round space on each card currently in the project area, including one-time bonuses.
Take the resource in the round space on each card under your company board, including one-time bonuses.
Take a bidding marker from your supply and add it as an additional level to any of your buildings in a ward of the main game board. Earn 1 reputation for that additional level of the building.
Advance your expertise marker 3 spaces on an expertise track of your choice on your company board.
Take any combination of 4 lumber, jackscrews, and masonry tokens from the supply.
Earn 2 reputation and exchange the location of any 2 expertise banners of your choice on the main game board.
Take 3 wild resource tokens from the supply.
Copy the rewards of 2 different unclaimed neighborhood tiles of your choice. You may not choose 2 different tiles offering the exact same reward.

Neighborhood Tiles

The neighborhood tiles offer different rewards that you take immediately after enclosing the tile and taking it from the main game board. The other players simultaneously earn 1 reputation.

Take 1 favor token from the supply.
Advance your expertise marker 1 space to the right on the specified expertise track of your company board.
Take 3 specified resource tokens from the supply.
Take 2 wild resource tokens from the supply.
Take 1 company expansion tile and place it at the bottom right of your company board to gain an additional slot for your resource cards.

1-4: Earn 3 reputation for each building you raised in the specified ward.

5: Earn 2 reputation for each building you moved to the outskirts.

6: Earn 5 reputation for each complete set of 5 different symbol tokens. You earn this reputation in addition to the normal reputation during final scoring.

7: Earn 1 reputation for every permanent resource token you unlocked on your expertise tracks and placed on the supply spaces at the top of your company board.

8: Earn 2 reputation for each bidding marker returned to the bidding board in the final round. You earn this reputation in addition to the normal reputation during final scoring.

9: Earn 1 reputation for each collected neighborhood tile.

10: Earn 2 reputation for every favor token you still have in your supply.

11: Earn 3 reputation for each company expansion you own.

12: Earn 3 reputation for every collected ward control token.

City Council Member Tiles

The different city council members offer individual scoring options during final scoring.