John Company: Second Edition

Run by Howard Moon

Content warnings

This game may include the following:

• discrimination against ancestry
• discrimination against culture
• financial instability
• imperialism or colonialism
• shipwrecks
• storms

About this game

Played on: Tabletop Sim

Tabletop Sim mod: John Company

Play Time: 90–240 Min

Players: 1-6

Preamble From the rulebook In John Company, players assume the roles of ambitious families attempting to use the British East India Company for personal gain. The game begins in the early eighteenth century, when the Company has a weak foothold on the subcontinent. Throughout the game, the Company might grow into the most powerful and insidious corporation in the world or collapse under the weight of its ambition.

John Company tells the story of a state-sponsored trade monopoly. Unlike many economic games, players often do not control their firms. Instead, they will collectively guide the Company by securing positions of power and attempt to steer the Company's fate in ways that benefit their interests. However, the Company is an unwieldy thing. It is difficult to do anything alone, and players will often need to negotiate with one another. In John Company, most everything is up for negotiation.

Ultimately, this game isn't about wealth; it's about reputation. Each turn, some of your family members may retire from their Company positions, allowing them to establish estates and compete in the London Season for favourable marriages and powerful political and commercial opportunities. Critically, players do not have full control over when these retirements happen. Players will often need to borrow money to best capitalise on their good fortune.

John Company engages very seriously with its theme. It is meant as a frank portrait of an institution that was as dysfunctional as it was influential. Accordingly, the game wrestles with many of the key themes of imperialism and globalisation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and how those developments were felt domestically. As such, this game might not be suitable for all players. Please make sure everyone in your group consents to this exploration before playing.

Complexity rating 4.46/5 This may seem very high but do not let it worry/scare you off from playing. The game is designed to be learn as you play and each round is broken down into indevidual steps. At each of the steps one player gets to choose from a small list of action and then we move onto the next step.

An example of a step:

It is the Manager of Shippings turn they can;

1. Fit Ships on Shipyards. Pay £3 to the bank to take a ship from a shipyard and place it in any of the three sea zones.
2. Buy Company Ships. If there are no ships on shipyards , pay £5 to the bank and place a Company ship from the general supply in a sea zone.
3. Lease Extra Ships. Pay £2 to the bank to place an extra ship from the general supply in a sea zone.

The player can pick a number of actions as long as they have the money and once done, we move onto the next step.

Useful links: boardgame geek - reveiws/more info about the game

Wehrlegig (The game Devs) - incules rulebook PDF and a "how to play" video

Game times