Carnegie

1 / 47 ~24 min
Welcome to Carnegie

Building an American Empire

Welcome to Carnegie -- a heavy strategy game inspired by the life of Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), one of the most influential industrialists in American history. Carnegie emigrated from Scotland as a child and built an empire spanning steel, railroads, and philanthropy, eventually becoming one of the wealthiest people in modern history.

In this game, you will follow in his footsteps: recruiting Employees, expanding your business, investing in real estate, producing Goods Cubes, developing transportation networks, and building projects across the United States. Over exactly 20 rounds, you will grow your Company Board from a small operation into a sprawling enterprise.

Tutorial Overview

Glossary

Action Choice Tile

In 3-4 player games, tiles that allow non-first players to choose a different action type than the one selected by the first player. Each tile can only be used once per game. Unused tiles are worth 3 VP each at end of game.

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Action Marker

One of 4 markers on the Timeline, each corresponding to an action type (HR, Management, Construction, R&D). When turned over, an action marker triggers an event and advances one space along the Timeline. When a marker reaches the End tile, the first player must also turn over a marker on the row below.

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Active Employee

An employee figurine standing upright in a Department Workstation. Active employees allow their Department to be used during the action phase. They remain active until moved to another Department or sent on a Mission. Each active employee allows the Department to be used once.

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Company Board

Your personal player board representing your company. It contains a Lobby, Departments with Workstations, and spaces for employees. You start with 5 Departments and can expand up to 16 different Department types throughout the game.

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Construction

One of the 4 action types. Construction Departments let you build projects across the USA map. You must send the employee on a Mission to the region where you want to build, then pay goods cubes to place a construction disk from your project tab onto a matching city space.

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Department

A tile on your Company board that provides a specific ability when staffed by an active employee. Departments come in 4 types corresponding to the 4 actions: Human Resources, Management, Construction, and R&D. Each Department has 1-3 Workstations. A Company may never have two identical Departments.

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Donation

A way to earn VP by placing a disk on the donation chart during Make a Donation events. The first donation costs $5, each subsequent one costs $5 more ($10, $15, etc.). Each donation can earn up to 12 VP at game end (limit can be increased by 3 VP per project tab advancement). There are 4 donation types: Education, Human Rights, Welfare, and Health.

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Employee

A figurine on your Company board that staffs Departments and can be sent on Missions. Employees can be active (standing) or inactive (lying down). Each player starts with up to 15 employee figurines.

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First Player

The player who selects the Timeline action each round and resolves their Departments first. The first player marker passes clockwise at the end of each round. Being first player gives you control over which action type everyone will use.

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Goods Cube

A resource used to build Departments (via Strategic Planning) and construct projects on the game board. Goods cubes can be acquired through Management actions, reaching Railroad on transport tracks, or purchased via the Supply Chain Department. They can be sold for $1 each at any time.

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Human Resources (HR)

One of the 4 action types. When HR is the chosen action, players use their HR Departments to move employees around their Company board. Each active HR employee provides 3 movement points. The permanent employee in the starting HR Department always counts.

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Inactive Employee

An employee figurine lying down. Inactive employees cannot staff Departments and must be activated by paying the cost shown on their Workstation at the end of a round. Employees enter the Company board inactive and become inactive when moved between Departments.

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Lobby

The entry area on your Company board where new recruits arrive and where employees return from Missions. Employees in the Lobby are inactive and must be moved to a Department before they can be activated.

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Management

One of the 4 action types. Management Departments include Commerce and Finance (gain money or goods, or send on Mission for more) and Strategic Planning (build new Departments by paying goods cubes). Management is key for acquiring resources and expanding your Company.

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Mission

When an employee is sent to one of 4 regions on the game board (West, Midwest, South, East). The employee used for the Department action must be the one sent. Employees on Missions are not active and return during Take Income events, generating transport and project income.

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Project Tab

One of 4 double-sided tabs on your Company board (Housing, Commerce, Industry, Public Infrastructure). Each tab shows construction projects that can be built on the game board. Advancing a tab via R&D reveals new projects and earns end-game VP. Tabs also increase the donation VP limit by 3 each.

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Research & Development (R&D)

One of the 4 action types. R&D Departments generate study points based on the Department's value and the number of active employees. Study points can be spent to advance project tabs (revealing new projects and earning end-game VP) or advance transport track disks.

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Study Points

Points generated by active employees in R&D Departments. Each R&D Department shows a study point value per active employee. Study points are spent to advance project tabs or transport track disks. The cost varies per space. Unused study points are lost at the end of the turn.

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Timeline

The track on the game board where the 4 action markers move across Timeline tiles over the course of 20 rounds. The Timeline determines which events occur and tracks game progress. The game ends when all 20 rounds are complete.

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Timeline Marker

A shared marker placed by the first player each round to indicate which action type all players will use. The Timeline marker is placed to the right of the chosen action's marker on the Timeline, then the marker on the next row below is turned over to trigger an event.

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Transport Track

One of 4 regional tracks (West, Midwest, South, East) that determine transport income when employees return from Missions. Tracks progress from Cart to Stagecoach to Railroad. Transport income equals the track position value multiplied by the number of employees returned from that region.

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Victory Points (VP)

The currency of success in Carnegie. The player with the most VP after 20 rounds wins. VP are earned from active employees, departments, project tabs, major city connections, construction disks, donations, and unused action choice tiles.

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Workstation

A slot within a Department that can hold one active employee. Each Department has 1-3 Workstations. The activation cost printed on the Workstation must be paid to activate an inactive employee placed there.

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