Union Stockyards Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Overview
• Game Objective
• Components
• Setup
  • Board Setup
  • Player Setup
  • Final Setup
• Key Concepts
  • Terminology
  • Profit Margin from Slaughtering
  • Supply and Demand
  • Worker Placement
  • Savings vs. Cash
  • End-Game Savings
  • Brand Reputation
  • Minimums and Maximums
• Anatomy of a Card
• Winning the Game
• Playing the Game
  • Phase I – Start of Year
  • Phase II – Work
  • Phase III – End of Year
• Action Spaces
  • Slaughter Cattle/Hogs/Sheep
  • Buy Land
  • Build
  • Advertise
  • Establish Branch House
  • Wage Increase
  • Establish 2 Branches (only available when the Republican Party is in office)
  • 8-Hour Day (only available when the Democratic Party is in office)
  • Campaign
  • Build Viaduct
  • Contract Work
  • Year Card
• Game-End and Final Scoring
• Hints
• Appendix
  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4
  • Year 5
  • Year 6
• Women in the Meat Industry
• Legacy of the Union Stockyards
• Literature References

Introduction

Opening in 1865, the Union Stockyards became Chicago's largest industry, and one of the city's top tourist attractions with half a million visitors annually in the early 1900s. From the Civil War through the 1920s, more meat was processed here than anywhere in the world. During its height, 40,000 mostly immigrant workers labored in "the busiest square mile on earth," where over one million livestock passed monthly, supplying 80% of all U.S. meat. There were over 2,300 livestock pens and 130 miles of railroad within the "Yards."

Overview

In Union Stockyards you play one of the "Big Five" meat packers, developing technologies to use every part of the animal while battling labor unions and manipulating the market to your advantage. The game is played over 6 Years (rounds), each beginning with a historical event affecting game conditions or adding an additional action players can take. Actions are selected through worker placement; however, if you don't pay your workers enough, some of them may go on strike! By Slaughtering Livestock (Cattle, Hogs, and Sheep), players earn Cash based on their unique Profit Margins – which can be improved by constructing Buildings, establishing Branch Houses in eastern Markets, and improving your Brand Reputation. But be careful! Demand created by the players for each type of animal will change Livestock costs, affecting everyone's Profit Margins. Will you manage to build the wealthiest meat packing empire in order to win the game? Welcome to the Yards!

Game Objective

After 6 Years (rounds), the winner is the player who has accumulated the most Wealth – a combination of your Cash, Savings, and bonuses. See the Game-End and Final Scoring section for final scoring details.

Components

• 1 Double-sided Game Board
• 20 Buildings (depict colors/quantities)
• 6 Viaducts
• 1 Union Spirit Marker
• 24 Year Cards (4 each of Year 1 through Year 6)
• 20 Building Cards (10 of each labeled A and B)
• 5 Specialist Cards
• 1 First Player Token + 2 plastic bases
• 1 Election Token
• 7 Railroad Connection Tokens
• 30 Low Morale Tokens
• 58 Money Tokens (24 $1, 20 $3, 14 $10)
• 18 Livestock (6 Cattle, 6 Hogs, 6 Sheep)
• 3 Livestock Price Trackers (1 Cattle, 1 Hog, and 1 Sheep)
• 15 Meat Value Trackers (3 per player: 1 Beef, 1 Pork, 1 Lamb)
• 5 Player Mats (1 per player)
• 5 Slaughter Plants (1 per player)
• 20 Workers (4 per player)
• 30 Branch Houses (6 per player)
• 5 Brand Reputation Trackers (1 per player)
• 5 Savings Trackers (1 per player)
• 25 Land Ownership Cards (5 per player)
• 1 Rulebook

Setup

Board Setup

1. Place the Board in the center of the table on the appropriate side for your player count. One side is for a 2-player game while the opposite side is for 3-5 players.

2. Separate the Building Cards into three face-down groups consisting of A cards, B cards, and C cards (indicated by A, B, or C on the back of each card).

   • 3-5 player game: You will use all 20 Building Cards.
   • 2-player game: You will only use 12 Building Cards instead of 20. Keep the 10 cards that show "2P" and also keep 2 additional randomly-chosen C cards. Return the 8 unused cards to the box. (NOTE: There will be 4 A cards, 6 B cards, and 2 C cards.)

   Shuffle each group separately. Place the face-down group B cards on top of the face-down group A cards, then place the face-down group C cards on top of the face-down group B cards, then flip the entire deck face-up and place it beside the board (group A should now be on top, face-up). Place the top 4 cards face-up on the 4 Building Card offering spaces. In this way, the group A cards will enter the game first, followed by group B, and then group C.

3. Place the 5 Specialist Cards above the board so each one is visible.

4. Place the Election Token on the Vote space on the board with a randomly chosen side face-up.

5. Packingtown is the large grid of squares where players may build Buildings and Viaducts during the game. Mix the 7 Railroad Connection Tokens with the train side face-up. Randomly place 1 Token on each of the 7 matching train spaces to the left of Packingtown, then flip the tokens over to reveal the Market icons on the other side.

6. Sort the 24 Year Cards into 6 face-down piles according to the Year number on the back of each card (there will be 4 cards in each pile). Randomly choose 1 card from each pile, keeping them face-down. Form a deck of these 6 Year Cards in ascending order, with Year 1 on the top and Year 6 on the bottom. Place this 6-card deck to the left of the board. Return the remaining Year Cards to the box without revealing them.

7. Place the Union Spirit Marker on the starting space on the Union Spirit track.

8. Place the 3 Livestock Price Trackers (Cattle, Hog, and Sheep) in the bottom-left space of their respective price tracks. These 3 Price Trackers will indicate the current Livestock Prices.

9. Place the appropriate number of starting Livestock in the Yards according to player count, one animal per Action Space:

   Livestock	2-3 Players	4-5 Players
   Cattle	2	3
   Hogs	2	3
   Sheep	2	3

10. Beside the board, form a supply of the Money Tokens, known as the "Bank."

11. Beside the board, form supplies of the Buildings, Viaducts, Low Morale Tokens, and the remaining Cattle, Hogs, and Sheep. Collectively, this will be known as the "general supply."

Player Setup

12. Each player chooses one of the "Big Five" historical meat packers and takes the following components in the matching player color:

    1. 1 Player Mat
    2. 1 Slaughter Plant
    3. 5 Land Ownership Cards
    4. 5 Trackers: Beef, Pork, Lamb, Brand Reputation, and Savings
    5. Branch Houses (according to player count, see table below)
    6. Workers (according to player count, see table below)

    	2-3 Players	4 Players	5 Players
    Branch Houses	6	5	4
    Workers	4	4	3

13. Each player takes the following from the supply:

    1. 1 First Player Token (if applicable)
    2. 1 Low Morale Token

14. Place your Branch Houses, Workers, and Low Morale Token in the appropriate spaces on your Player Mat. Keep your Cash (Money Tokens) next to your Player Mat in full view of all players, as this is public information. Return any unused Branch Houses and Workers to the box.

Final Setup

15. The player who most recently ate meat becomes the first player and receives the First Player Token. Turn order will proceed clockwise (to the left) around the table.
16. In turn order, each player places their Savings Tracker on the Savings track. The first player's Tracker will begin on the 1 space, the second player's Tracker will begin on the 2 space, and so on, as indicated on the game board.
17. In turn order, each player places their Brand Reputation Tracker on the starting space on the Brand Reputation track. The first player's Tracker will be at the bottom of the stack, and the last player's Tracker will be on top.
18. Each player places their Meat Value Trackers on the matching Meat Value tracks as indicated on the board: the $16 space on the Beef Value track, the $6 space on the Pork Value track, and the $6 space on the Lamb Value track.
19. In reverse turn order, each player now places their Slaughter Plant in the starting location of their choice. The available locations depend on player count (2, 3, 4, or 5 players), as shown by the diagrams on the game board.

Key Concepts

Terminology

• Livestock – farm animals; cattle, hogs, and sheep in this game.
• "The Yards" – the area of the Union Stockyards where the livestock were located.
• "Packingtown" – the area beside the Yards where the meat packing plants were located.
• Beef – meat derived from cattle.
• Pork – meat derived from hogs (pigs).
• Lamb – meat derived from sheep (lambs).

Profit Margin from Slaughtering

Your Meat Value (Beef, Pork, or Lamb) minus Livestock Price (Cattle, Hogs, or Sheep) equals your Profit Margin.

The difference between the value you receive for meat (Beef, Pork, Lamb) and the price you pay for that type of Livestock (Cattle, Hogs, Sheep) is your Profit Margin. Livestock prices will be the same for all players, whereas your meat values (indicated by the Meat Value Trackers in your player color) may differ among players. Whenever you Slaughter Livestock, you take the amount of Cash equal to your Profit Margin from the Bank. (Or, in the rare event that you choose to Slaughter Livestock when your Margin is negative, you pay that amount to the Bank.)

Example: At the start of the game, your Beef Value is $16 and the Cattle Price is $14, which means when you Slaughter Cattle your Profit Margin is +$2. If you Slaughter Cattle as your first action in the game, you will receive $2 from the Bank.

Important: In order to Slaughter Livestock, you do not need to have Cash to first purchase the Livestock ($14 in this example); you simply receive your Profit Margin from the Bank. In those days, packers often did not pay the farmers until days or weeks after slaughter when they had the cash from selling the meat; therefore, you do not need any Cash on hand in order to Slaughter Livestock.

Supply and Demand

The meat industry is a very supply-driven market, meaning that the quantity of Livestock available largely determines the Livestock prices. This greatly affects your profitability as a packer. At the end of each Year, Livestock prices will adjust. If there are fewer animals of a given type remaining in the Yards, prices for that animal type will increase. If there are more animals of a given type remaining in the yards, prices for that animal type will decrease. Subsequently, these Livestock prices will affect the quantity of animals the farmers will bring to the yards the following year. If the Livestock price is high for a given animal, more animals of that type will arrive at the yards; if the price is low, fewer animals will arrive. Historical events that may occur during the game could also affect Livestock prices.

Worker Placement

During the game, players take turns selecting and carrying out 1 action at a time by placing 1 of their Workers onto an Action Space on the game board. Each Worker may take 1 action per Year (round). Players take turns in clockwise order, placing 1 Worker per turn until all players have placed all of their Workers. At the end of the Year, you will retrieve all of your Workers back to your Player Mat so you can use them again in the following Year.

Savings vs. Cash

Savings is tracked on the Savings track along the edge of the game board. Cash is tracked using the Money Tokens received from the Bank. Both your Savings and Cash count towards your Wealth (final score); however, there is an important distinction: You may never spend your Savings. This means your Savings Tracker can only advance (increase) throughout the game. Instead, you must spend Cash to perform actions that require money. If you don't have enough Cash to pay for an action, you may not choose that action.

End-Game Savings

The End-Game flag icon indicates a bonus amount of Savings that will be added to your total Wealth (final score) at the end of the game. When you see this icon, its effects are never immediate. See the Game-End and Final Scoring section for more details about the end of the game and final scoring.

Brand Reputation

Whenever you gain Brand Reputation (usually from the Advertising action, Building Card effects, or placing Branch Houses in Philadelphia), move your Tracker forward the appropriate number of spaces on the Brand Reputation track. As your Brand Reputation increases, you will pass certain thresholds on the track that will immediately cause one or more of your Meat Values to increase (especially your Beef Value). Several players' Trackers may occupy the same space. If your Brand Reputation Tracker lands on the same space as another player's Tracker, place your Tracker on the top of the stack. At the end of the game, bonuses are awarded to the players with the highest Brand Reputation, with ties broken according to position in the stack (higher position wins the tie). During the game, if you are ever to gain Brand Reputation and your Tracker is already at the maximum value, leave your Tracker at the maximum value but move it to the top of the stack (if applicable).

Minimums and Maximums

Tracks for Livestock Prices, Meat Values, Brand Reputation, and Union Spirit are bound by minimum and maximum values. If an adjustment from a Year Card, Building Card, or other game effect would cause one of these values to go below its minimum or above its maximum, simply stop at the minimum or maximum value respectively. Likewise, the Yards may only hold a maximum number of Livestock, as limited by the number of spaces for each type of animal.

Anatomy of a Card

The rulebook includes labeled diagrams identifying the parts of each card type: Year Cards, Building Cards, and Specialist Cards (cost, icons, immediate effects, and End-Game values are each called out on the card face).

Winning the Game

The player with the most wealth after 6 Years (rounds) wins the game. Your end-of-game wealth (final score) is the sum of your:

• Savings
• Cash
• Final Profit Margins (gain or lose Savings for your Profit Margin on each livestock type)
• Brand Reputation End-Game bonus
• Branch House values (determined by Railroad Connection Tokens)
• End-Game values on Building Cards and Specialist Cards
• minus Low Morale Penalty

If there is a tie, the player with the highest Brand Reputation is the winner. If still tied, the tied player with the topmost Tracker has the higher Brand Reputation. See the Game-End and Final Scoring section for additional details on final scoring.

Playing the Game

Union Stockyards is played over 6 Years (rounds) with each Year consisting of 3 Phases, I, II, and III, as shown on your Player Mat. Some individual steps within Phases I and III are also referenced on the Game Board by the letters A, B, C, D, and E. Phase II, the worker placement phase, is the main decision-making phase of each Year. Within each Year, all players progress through the 3 phases together. IMPORTANT: It is critical that the steps outlined on your Player Mat are carried out in the correct order and that no step is omitted. Therefore, it is recommended that one player takes the role of making sure the game is progressing through the phases correctly, to keep the game moving and to avoid errors.

Phase I – Start of Year

Livestock arrive; quantity depends on Price (A)

1. For each type of Livestock (Cattle, Hogs, and Sheep), check the corresponding Livestock Price Tracker on the Game Board. The number of incoming animals is shown along the left edge of each Price track.

   Example: On the 3P/4P/5P side of the board, you will add

   • +1 Cattle to the Yards if the Cattle Price is $14 or $15, or
   • +2 Cattle to the Yards if the Cattle Price is $16 to $19, or
   • +3 Cattle to the Yards if the Cattle Price is $20 or greater.

2. From the supply, place the appropriate number of incoming Cattle, Hogs, and Sheep into the Yards, one animal per space. These incoming animals will add to any animals already present (from game setup or from the previous year).

   • For example, a 3-player game will begin with 3 of each Livestock for Year 1 (2 from game setup, plus 1 from this step).

Flip Year Card (B), adjust Union Spirit, and other possible effects

1. Flip the top Year Card from the deck and place it face-up on the designated space on the Board. The first player should read aloud the year, event, and historical details for all players.

2. Adjust the Union Spirit Marker on the Union Spirit track as indicated in the upper-right corner of the Year Card.

   NOTE: Some Year Cards have an Action Space on the card. This provides an additional action that is only available during this Year. Other Year Cards have an Event icon with an immediate effect that must be applied. Detailed explanations of all these Actions and Event effects can be found in the Appendix.

If Strike: gain 1 Low Morale Token, lose 1 Worker to Picket Line (C)

1. If the Union Spirit is 3 or less, skip ahead to Phase II.
2. If the Union Spirit is 4 or 5, the union has called for a Strike and the following steps occur:
   1. All players gain 1 Low Morale Token from the supply, and…
   2. All players lose 1 Worker to the Picket Line for this Year.

Phase II – Work

Place Workers, one at a time, in turn order

On your turn (beginning with the First Player and continuing clockwise around the table) you will place 1 Worker from your Player Mat on an available Action Space, pay any applicable cost, and then immediately carry out the corresponding action. You will continue taking turns, placing one Worker per turn, until all players have no remaining Workers to place. Remember:

• A player may use each Worker only once per Year.
• A player must place exactly 1 Worker per turn.
• You may not place a Worker at an Action Space without performing its complete action.

There are various Action Spaces where you can place Workers:

Most Action Spaces are small ovals. Each of these may hold at most 1 Worker. In other words, if the space is already occupied – whether by another player's Worker or by one of your own – then it is blocked and you may not place a Worker there. This means the number of available Action Spaces will diminish throughout the Year.

Two Action Spaces are large ovals: Build Viaduct and Contract Work. There are no restrictions on how many players or how many Workers may occupy these spaces. In other words, they can never be blocked.

The Action Spaces in the Yards (the Slaughter action) have special rules:

• IMPORTANT: Each player may only Slaughter each Livestock type (Cattle, Hogs, Sheep) once per Year. For example, if you already have a Worker in the Cattle Yards because you have already slaughtered Cattle this Year, you may not Slaughter Cattle again this Year – but you may still Slaughter Hogs or Sheep if you have not already done so this Year.
• You may only place a Worker where there is an animal present. For example, if there are no Cattle in the Yards, then the Slaughter Cattle action is not available.

1. If an Action Space has a cost printed in red within the oval, you must pay this cost from your Cash supply to the Bank when you place your Worker there. If you do not have enough Cash to pay for the cost of an Action Space, you cannot place a Worker there and you must choose a different action.
2. Immediately perform the associated action. Explanations of all actions are fully detailed in the Action Spaces section.
3. Only after all players have placed all available Workers, proceed to Phase III.

Phase III – End of Year

Resolve Election (D): receive First Player Token, choose Party in office

1. If there is no Worker on the Campaign Action Space, the current political Party remains in office and you will skip ahead to "Retrieve Workers."

2. The player who placed a Worker on the Campaign Action Space will:

   • Receive the First Player Token and become the first player for the next Year.
   • Decide which political Party wins the election and place that side of the Election Token face-up for the upcoming year. This Party is "in office."

   NOTE: When the Democratic Party is in office, an Action Space for the 8-Hour Day action will be available. When the Republican Party is in office, an Action Space for the Establish 2 Branches action will be available.

Retrieve Workers

All players retrieve all their Workers from the Game Board back to their Player Mat, including any Strikers from the Picket Line.

Adjust Livestock prices according to inventory

1. Adjust Livestock prices based on the relative number (quantity) of animals remaining in the Yards. The Livestock type(s) with the fewest animals remaining have their Price Tracker(s) raised by 3 spaces, and the Livestock type(s) with the most animals remaining have their Price Tracker(s) lowered by 2 spaces.

   NOTE:

   • If all 3 Livestock types have an equal number of animals, all 3 Livestock Price Trackers are raised 1 space each.
   • If 2 Livestock types are tied for the fewest or most animals, then both animal types receive the appropriate price adjustment.
   • If there are no ties (i.e., there is a most, a least, and an intermediate quantity), then the intermediate does not receive a price adjustment.

2. Gameplay returns to Phase I for the start of the next Year.

Action Spaces

Slaughter Cattle/Hogs/Sheep

IMPORTANT: Each player may only Slaughter each Livestock type (Cattle, Hogs, Sheep) once per year. In other words, each player may Slaughter up to three animals per year, but they must be different types.

Place your Worker on an Action Space in the Yards with an animal in it. Remove that animal and return it to the general supply, then receive Cash from the Bank equal to your Profit Margin (Meat Value minus Livestock Price). For example, if your Pork Value Tracker is at $12 and the Hog Price Tracker is at $7, then when you place a Worker on an Action Space containing a Hog, you will return that Hog to the general supply and receive $5 ($12 minus $7) from the Bank.

NOTE: Typically, you will not want to Slaughter Livestock if you have a negative Profit Margin (when your Meat Value is less than the Livestock Price). If you do Slaughter Livestock with a negative Margin, you must pay the negative Margin to the Bank.

Buy Land

Pay the designated cost to the Bank (at the start of the game, all the land in Packingtown is owned by the Bank). Then place one of your Land Ownership Cards in any viable area within Packingtown so it aligns with the grid printed on the board. Viable areas for land purchases are:

• Completely within the borders of the Packingtown grid, and
• Completely empty land, with no squares occupied by any Building or Viaduct, nor covered by another Land Ownership Card.

NOTE: You can buy any viable area of land. Unlike Buildings, your Land Ownership Cards do not have to form a connection with your Slaughter Plant.

IMPORTANT: Your Land Ownership Card does not block your opponents from Building in that location! Other players will still be able to place Buildings on top of your land; however, when doing so they must purchase that land by paying you $1 for each square of your land occupied by the new Building.

You may not perform the Buy Land action if:

• You cannot afford to pay the cost
• There are no viable land areas available to accommodate a Land Ownership Card
• You have no Land Ownership Cards remaining

Build

The Build action is the most complex action in the game, and is therefore summarized on your Player Mat for reference. When taking the Build action, choose one of the available Building Cards from the four Building Card offering spaces (NOTE: the top card of the Building Card Deck is not yet available, but is a preview of the next Building Card that will become available) and complete the following steps in order:

NOTE: "Adjacent" always means orthogonally adjacent (diagonal does not count as adjacent). Buildings touching diagonally at the corners are not adjacent.

1. Place the Building Card in your player area next to your Player Mat. From the general supply, take the wooden Building of the shape and color depicted in the upper-right corner of the card.

2. Place the wooden Building in a viable area within Packingtown so it aligns with the grid printed on the board. Viable areas for a Building are:

   • Completely within the borders of the Packingtown grid, and
   • Connected to your Slaughter Plant – either directly, or indirectly through any number of other Buildings (regardless of who placed those Buildings). Connections must be through adjacent Building sections or Viaducts. Meat is transported by large wheelbarrows or carts from your Slaughter Plant through these Buildings and/or Viaducts to your new Building.

3. Check to see who owns each square of land occupied by your new Building:

   • For each square that is not part of a Land Ownership Card, pay $1 to the Bank.
   • For each square that is part of another player's Land Ownership Card, pay $1 to that player. (You may need to pay several different players during a single Build action.)
   • For any square that is part of your own Land Ownership Card, there is no cost (you already own this land).
   • NOTE: It is possible to perform the Build action for free if your Building only occupies spaces on your own Land Ownership Card(s).

   Example: You (Swift, orange) are playing against Victoria (Morris, purple). You decide to build the Oleo Factory, a "5-square" Building. The spot where you plan to place it will cause the Building to occupy 2 squares of land owned by Victoria (on her purple Land Ownership Card), 1 square not owned by any player (not on a Land Ownership Card and therefore owned by the Bank), and 2 squares owned by you (on your orange Land Ownership Card). Therefore, it will cost you $3 to build the Oleo Factory in this location: you must pay $2 to Victoria and $1 to the Bank. You owe nothing for the 2 squares you already own.

4. For each existing building that is immediately adjacent to your new building and the same color as your new building, receive an "Efficiency Bonus" of +1 Savings. This represents operational efficiency; for example, placing all pork buildings adjacent to one another would reduce product movement costs.

5. If your new Building is adjacent to any Railroad Connection Tokens, you must move all adjacent Tokens to their appropriate Market(s). The star-shaped Railroad Connections are "wild" and may be placed in any available wild Market space – in other words, each Market can have at most 1 wild Token. When moving a Railroad Connection Token into a Market, flip the Token over so its train side is face-up.

6. Resolve the immediate effects of the Building Card by adjusting your Tracker(s) on the appropriate track or tracks (Meat Values and/or Brand Reputation). Remember, End-Game values (shown in the lower-right) are never gained immediately.

7. Check all of your Building Cards (lower-left) to see if you now have the number and type of icons necessary to obtain a Specialist Card, and if so, take the Specialist Card and resolve its immediate effects by adjusting your Tracker(s) on the appropriate track(s). Remember, End-Game values (shown in the lower-right) are never gained immediately.

8. Refill the empty Building Card offering space with the top face-up card from the Building Card deck. This will also reveal a new Building Card on the top of the deck as a preview of what's coming next.

You cannot construct a Building if you cannot afford the land cost or if there is no viable area to accommodate the size and shape of the Building.

Advertise

There are 2 different Advertise actions:

• National Advertising: Pay $2 to the Bank, then move your Brand Reputation Tracker ahead 2 spaces on the Brand Reputation track.
• Chicago Advertising: Move your Brand Reputation Tracker ahead 1 space on the Brand Reputation track.

If you pass a designated threshold on the Brand Reputation track corresponding to any Meat Value increases, adjust your Meat Value Trackers accordingly.

Establish Branch House

Pay $1 to the Bank. Take a Branch House from your Player Mat and place it on any available Branch House space in one of the 5 Markets along the right edge of the board: Boston, Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Philadelphia. Immediately gain the benefit shown below the name of that Market. Note that higher-population Markets have more spaces available for Branch Houses.

You are permitted to have multiple Branch Houses in a given Market. The same player may even occupy all spaces in a given Market.

Wage Increase

Pay $2 to the Bank, discard 1 Low Morale Token from your Player Mat to the general supply, and lower the Union Spirit Marker by 2 spaces.

Establish 2 Branches (only available when the Republican Party is in office)

Pay $3 to the Bank. Establish 2 Branch Houses according to the normal rules above for Establish Branch House. The 2 Branch Houses may be placed in the same or different Markets.

8-Hour Day (only available when the Democratic Party is in office)

Discard 1 Low Morale Token from your Player Mat to the general supply and lower the Union Spirit Marker by 2 spaces.

Campaign

When you place a Worker on the Campaign Action Space, gain 2 Savings immediately. The remaining benefits are received when the Election is resolved during Phase III. See the Phase III – End of Year section for details on resolving the Election.

Build Viaduct

1. Take a wooden Viaduct from the supply and place it on a viable square within Packingtown. See step 2 of the Build action for details on what constitutes "viable" land.
2. Carry out steps 3 and 5 of the Build action (pay the land owner and check for adjacent Railroad Connections). Note that step 4 is skipped – there is no like-colored bonus for building adjacent Viaducts.

NOTE: The primary reasons to build a Viaduct are to either provide an "adjacency route" (path of connected buildings) to an area in order to build a different building in the future, or to reach a Railroad Connection Token.

Contract Work

Receive $1 from the Bank.

NOTE: You are hiring out your Worker to another Chicago business. You probably only want to do this as a last resort, if you have no better options or if you really need Cash and your Slaughter Margins are less than $2.

Year Card

Some Year Cards feature an Action Space that will only be available during that Year. All of these Actions are explained in the Appendix.

Game-End and Final Scoring

The game ends following the conclusion of Year 6. It is recommended that each player's Wealth is tallied using their Savings Tracker on the Savings track, adding the totals from each scoring category below, one at a time. The sum of the following constitutes each player's final Wealth:

• Savings
• Cash – Tally all your Money Tokens, then discard them and add their value to your Savings.
• Final Margins – Each player gains (or loses) Savings for each of their 3 Profit Margins (Beef, Pork, and Lamb) as if you were Slaughtering one more animal of each type. This step is always performed by all players for all animal types – even if there are no animals available in the Yards, and even if the Slaughter action was already performed during Year 6.
• Brand Reputation Bonus
  • 3-5 player game: The player with the highest Brand Reputation receives 9 Savings, second receives 6 Savings, and third receives 3 Savings.
  • 2-player game: The player with the highest Brand Reputation receives 5 Savings.
  • If tied, the higher Tracker in the stack is considered to have the higher Brand Reputation.
• Branch House Values – The value of each Branch House depends on how many Railroad Connection Tokens are present in that Market:
  • 2 Railroad Connections: +4 Savings for each Branch House in that Market
  • 1 Railroad Connection: +2 Savings for each Branch House in that Market
  • 0 Railroad Connections: +0 Savings for any Branch House in that Market
• End-Game Card Values – Gain the Savings value shown after the End-Game icon in the lower-right of each of your Building Cards and Specialist Cards.
• Low Morale Penalty – Consult the Low Morale Penalty table on your Player Mat and subtract the appropriate Savings penalty corresponding to the number of your remaining Low Morale Tokens.

The player with the highest overall Wealth is the winner! If there is a tie, the player with the highest Brand Reputation is the winner. If tied in Brand Reputation, the higher Tracker in the stack is the winner.

Hints

• Remember that you are a meat packer. In a typical game, much of your Wealth will be made by slaughtering Livestock. You may choose to Slaughter Livestock:
  • Because you need Cash
  • To manipulate the market
  • Because your Profit Margin is good (after all, the goal is to make the most money!)
• There will probably be fewer Sheep available during the game compared to Cattle and Hogs. Having a high Profit Margin in Lamb is beneficial, but you may only profit from it a few times during the game.
• It does not benefit you to make a railroad connection if you do not have any Branch Houses in the corresponding Market. In fact, for this reason you may want to place Buildings in a manner that makes it more difficult for others to connect a railroad.

Appendix

Year Card Actions and Events – Some Year Cards feature an Action Space that will only be available during that Year. Other Year Cards feature an Event icon with immediate effects that will impact the game in various ways. All of these Actions and Event effects are explained below.

Year 1

• 1883 SUPPLIER CONTRACT – Raise your Pork Value Tracker by 1 space.
• 1886 SPREAD RUMORS – Each player, except the player who chose this action, gains 1 Low Morale Token to their Player Mat.
• 1887 – Remove 2 Cattle from the Yards and return them to the general supply.
• 1889 ASSIST HULL HOUSE – Discard 1 Low Morale Token from your Player Mat to the general supply.

Year 2

• 1892 REDUCE WAGES – Receive $5 from the Bank and gain 1 Low Morale Token to your Player Mat.
• 1893 FAIR EXHIBIT – Pay $1 to the Bank, then move your Brand Reputation Tracker ahead 2 spaces on the Brand Reputation Track.
• 1894 – Raise all Livestock Price Trackers by 1 space each.
• 1898 FUTURES TRADING – Pay $1 to the Bank, then receive Cash from the Bank equal to your Profit Margin (Meat Value minus Livestock Price) for the animal type of your choice. Do not remove an animal from the Yards. In fact, you may even do this if there are no animals in the Yards. You are not Slaughtering an animal; you are earning this money on the futures market. You may still Slaughter this animal type this Year as normal.

Year 3

• 1900 – Add 1 animal of each Livestock type to the Yards. If a Livestock type is already at maximum capacity, do not add an animal of that type.
• 1902 BEEF TRUST – Raise your Beef Value Tracker by 3 spaces. All other players raise their Beef Value Trackers by 1 space.
• 1904 HIRE STRIKEBREAKER – Pay $1 to the Bank and retrieve your striking Worker from the Picket Line to your Player Mat (you may use this retrieved Worker this Year to take an Action). At the end of Phase II (after all players have placed Workers), you may also retrieve the Worker from this Year Card to take an additional Action, subject to the normal placement rules. NOTE: You will be placing 2 Workers this Year after all other players have finished placing Workers: your "strikebreaker" retrieved from the Picket Line and the Worker retrieved from this Year Card. If a Strike did not occur this Year, this action is useless.
• 1906 – Move each player's Brand Reputation Tracker back 1 space. If any Trackers are stacked in the same position, retain their order within the stack. If your Tracker crosses backward over a line that previously provided benefits, lose those benefits by decreasing your Meat Value Tracker(s). You can gain these benefits again if you gain Brand Reputation in the future.

Year 4

• 1907 – Move each player's Brand Reputation Tracker ahead 1 space. If any Trackers are stacked in the same position, retain their order within the stack. If your Tracker crosses over a line that gains benefits, immediately gain those benefits by raising your Meat Value Tracker(s).
• 1908 HOT DOG SALES – Raise your Beef Value Tracker by 2 spaces. If you have the Sausage Kitchen (Building Card) at the time you take this action, raise your Beef Value Tracker by 3 spaces instead.
• 1910 – Raise all Livestock Price Trackers by 1 space each.
• 1912 – ESTABLISH 2 BRANCH HOUSES in Brooklyn and/or Bronx (gaining the Market benefit as usual) – Pay $2 to the Bank to Establish 2 Branch Houses. As long as there are spaces available, these Branch Houses may be placed both in Brooklyn, or both in Bronx, or 1 in Brooklyn and 1 in Bronx. Gain the immediate benefit for each Branch House.

Year 5

• 1914 – Raise all Livestock Price Trackers by 1 space each.
• 1917 ARMY CONTRACT – Raise your Beef Value Tracker by 1 space and raise your Pork Value Tracker by 1 space. If you have the Canning Factory (Building Card) at the time you take this action, raise your Beef Value Tracker by an additional 1 space.
• 1918 – All players lose 1 Worker for this Year only. Lay this Worker down on the Year Card to indicate that it is not available to use. If there is also a Strike, you will have a total of 2 fewer Workers this Year. At the end of the Year, retrieve the laid-down Worker to your Player Mat.
• 1919 – All players lose 1 Worker for this year only. Lay this Worker down on the Year Card to indicate that it is not available to use. If there is also a Strike, you will have a total of 2 fewer Workers this Year. At the end of the Year, retrieve the laid-down Worker to your Player Mat.

Year 6

• 1921 – Raise all Livestock Price Trackers by 1 space each.
• 1922 PROMOTION – Pay $1 to the Bank, then move your Brand Reputation Tracker ahead 2 spaces on the Brand Reputation track.
• 1926 SUPPORT STUDENTS – Pay $1 to the Bank, then discard 1 Low Morale token from your Player Mat to the general supply.
• 1927 BEEF GRADING – Raise your Beef Value Tracker by 3 spaces.

Women in the Meat Industry

Our desire is that Union Stockyards be enjoyed by both women and men. The founders of the "Big Five" packers were all males, as shown on the Player Mats. This game is based on the history of the Union Stockyards around the turn of the twentieth century, and meat industry leadership was male-dominated during that time. Although still underrepresented today, the influence of women in the meat industry has grown immensely since the days of the Union Stockyards. Today, women leaders in the meat industry have their own association (meatbusinesswomen.org). In 2021, women made up 50% of the graduate student membership in the American Meat Science Association. A few examples of the many meat industry women leaders include:

• Rachel Cullen, president and CEO of Ruiz Foods
• Dr. Temple Grandin, designer of livestock handling systems and humane handling auditing systems used in the majority of U.S. meat packing plants today
• Collette Kaster, Vice President at Premium Standard Farms, Farmland Foods, and Smithfield Foods, and CEO of the American Meat Science Association
• Denise Morrison, president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company
• Rosemary Mucklow, 50 years of meat industry leadership, including Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Meat Association, Western States Meat Association, and National Meat Association.
• Shelly Stayer, chairwomen and owner of Johnsonville Sausage

Legacy of the Union Stockyards

This game is based on the history of the Union Stockyards. Some undesirable practices occurred here, including dangerous working conditions, pollution, and unsanitary food production, especially during the early years of Packingtown. However, the Stockyards played an integral part in many societal advancements, including the eight-hour workday, modernized food inspection, and technology advancements in food safety, food canning, antibacterial soap, and refrigeration. This game is intended to neither glamorize nor demonize this unique piece of history.

Literature References

In the pursuit of historical accuracy, several sources were consulted during game development, including:

• Fower, B.B. (1952). Men, Meat and Miracles. Messner, New York.
• Grand, W.J. (1901). Illustrated History of the Union Stockyards: Sketchbook of Familiar Faces and Places at the Yards. Thos. Knapp.
• Horowitz, R. (2005). Putting Meat on the American Table: Taste, Technology, Transformation. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
• Ogle, M. (2013). In Meat We Trust: An Unexpected History of Carnivore America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
• Pacyga, D.A. (2018). Slaughterhouse: Chicago's Union Stock Yard and the World it Made. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Reynolds, J.B., and C.P. Neill (1906). Conditions in Chicago Stock Yards: Message from the President of the United States. 59th Congress, U.S. House of Representatives, Document No. 873.
• Sinclair, U. (1906). The Jungle. Doubleday, New York City.
• Spivey, S. (2017). From Chicago to Louisville: The History of the National Intercollegiate Livestock Judging Contest. North American International Livestock Exposition, Louisville.
• Wade, L.C. (2002). Chicago's Pride: The Stockyards, Packingtown, and Environs in the Nineteenth Century. University of Illinois Press, Champaign.
• Wilding Darst, S., editor (2013). Saddle & Sirloin Portrait Collection Guidebook. Kentucky State Fair Board, Louisville.