These stockpiles will contain a mixture of face-up and face-down cards placed by other players in the game. Second, players purchase their stocks by bidding on piles of cards called stockpiles. By privately learning if a stock is going to move up or down, each player has a chance to act ahead of the market by buying or selling at the right time. This information dictates how a stock's value will change at the end of the round. In the game, this philosophy manifests in two ways: insider information and the stockpile.įirst, players are given insider information each round. Stockpile centers around the idea that nobody knows everything about the stock market, but everyone does know something. In Stockpile, players act as stock market investors at the end of the 20th century hoping to strike it rich, and the investor with the most money at the end of the game is the winner.

If, on the other hand, your heart sank, then there are board games out there much better suited to the kind of play that you're looking for.Stockpile is an economic board game that combines the traditional stockholding strategy of buy low, sell high with several additional mechanisms to create a fast-paced, engaging and interactive experience. Some people's hearts skipped a beat in a good way when they read that sentence, and if you're one of them go and get Stockpile right this second. Instead this is a deep and complex game that you're always going to be learning. But if you're coming in expecting something like Monopoly you're going to be horribly surprised. Money walksĮssentially the whole game is a slightly abstracted worker placement game, with money replacing workers and a tighter hold on where you can actually put things. And even then it's going to be chucking curveballs at you from time to time.

There are charges to consider, split shares, and even more.Įven once the tutorial is finished it's going to take you a good few plays to get to grips with everything that the game has to offer. There are consumables that can change the outcome of a game, and tipsters you can employ to find out more about the market. You can bluff the other bankers into making mistakes, or try and make sure you keep them off the scent of the richest pickings.īut there's more going on here as well. Now you need to figure out what your opponents know that you don't. One of these tips is visible to everyone, the other is secret. Companies can move up the ladder and be worth more, or down and be worth less.Īll of the players are using the same board, and they get updates every round about what stocks are going up and what stocks are going down. The majority of the game takes place on an abstract stock ticker that represents the companies you're buying and selling. Which might sound simple, but is about as far from simple as you can get without hitting the back of simple and pushing it over. Your aim is to earn as much money as possible, and try and scupper the plans of your rival traders. The game starts with a tutorial, and boy does it need one. So what would happen if you took board games and the stock market, and pushed them together into some sort of hyper-capitalist wet dream of money grabbing and dice rolling? Then you'd get Stockpile. Lots of rules, lots of ways around things, and just when you think you've got a grip, they wriggle away and become something new. Board games are often thought of as complex things.

Stockpile board game