Adobe, Stone, and Steel (2007)

Adobe, Stone, and Steel: Where Immigrants Forged Communities
Adobe, Stone, and Steel is a multiplayer card driven city building strategy game set in a 1900's Western Colorado Front Range city. This euro-card driven strategy hybrid has aspects of Big City, Capitol, Caylus, and Twilight Struggle/Wilderness War yet it is not a war-game. Adobe, Stone and Steel is a development game of city building, immigration, riots, mafia, industrial development. Players negotiate the biggest movements in the early 1900s America. From the New Deal, Women's Suffrage, City Beautiful and Spanish Flu, to sidewalks, and paved streets all the aspects of a 1900's western American city are incorporated. The City can develop historically or take a different trajectory: the choice is up to you.

In Adobe, Stone, and Steel players take on the role of a prominent family in a burgeoning Colorado County in 1900 as the turbulent social and technological changes are about to reshape the way all Americans live. Each family seeks to control one of four sectors (mining, industry, city, or commercial) while also striving to be Mayor and control the appointment of other players to offices.

All players have small special abilities which work with their cards and help form long term strategies or short term gains.

Adobe, Stone, and Steel takes place over 3 Eras (turns/decades), with multiple phases, where players are dealt 8 cards (all with historic black and white photos from Colorado) and must discard one, and bank two for their final turn- so planning is key. Cards are used to either play Municipal Muscle points to build, buy, or seize structures, or used for the 'event' listed on every card. Cards can also be used to set yearly "Headlines" or "Themes" which evoke a movement in American society or technology and change VP awards or other variables in the game. Structures are scored by multiplying the degree that sectors tracks has advanced times the number of buildings owned. Different racks progress differently.

Finally, players can build parks, civic buildings, hospitals, and police stations. These buildings in turn effect further play and cause neighborhoods to have more political votes at turns end, increase vps for proximity, or protect against certain negative cards.

Adobe, Stone, and Steel is an organic building game in that all builds change the landscape and players may only build adjacent to where others have built "the grid/network". At turns end the game decides how many immigrants come seeking jobs based on how many factories and mines that were built that turn. Too many? No problem, unrest grows and there could be a riot, undermining all your recent efforts. Of course the National Guard will step in to help you, but they are usually outnumbered, and there is often fighting in the streets. So beware not to contribute to the "Unrest Track".

Can your family negotiate the turbulent changes of the early 1900s and become the local political and economic powerhouse? From Adobe, to Stone, and finally to Steel players will learn about the rise of the developments that changed cities, labor, industry, and society forever and appreciate advances that we now take for granted.

Want to make a copy? Geekmail me and I'll work something out with you.