These deposits are classified into four different resource levels, which each have different yield rates:Īlso, some tiles contain a Geothermal Source, which is required for the Geothermal Plant.Įach player founds one HQ to start the game, which stretches across multiple tiles, all of which need to be usable and of the same height. Tiles also have a wind level (Very Weak, Weak, Moderate, Strong, Very Strong), and the height and wind levels determine how Solar Panels and Wind Turbines perform, respectively.Įach tile can contain deposits of the primary resources (Water, Carbon, Silicon, Aluminum, and Iron). These plateaus are useful for connecting buildings together into rail-based networks that allows the transportation of resources without using Blimps. Also, each usable tile has one of five height levels (Very Low, Low, Medium, High, and Very High) which means that the map is a collection of plateaus. Some tiles, such as mountains, slopes, and canyons, are marked as unusable and will never contain any resources.
This map has been divided into hex-shaped tiles, each of which can be claimed by players.
The map represent a section of Martian terrain that has been opened for commercial development. The end goal is to buy out all the other corporations via the stock market, in which each company’s price goes up and down based on the value of their current assets. Players can harass each other with industrial sabotage, mercenary pirates, and market manipulation. Each company will found a HQ on the map, claim territory, construct buildings, produce resources, and then make money by selling them on the open market. Offworld Trading Company is a game about the colonization and exploitation of Mars by corporations who have taken to space for a profit. Offworld is heavily inspired by board games (besides obvious influences like Settlers of Catan, Power Grid, and Agricola, there is an old GDW game called Belter that is almost a starting point for Offworld ), so I’m writing the rules in the style of a traditional board game rulebook.