Objective
Build a dominant oil empire by leasing land in oil-rich countries, managing drilling operations, and distributing oil to consumer nations. Compete or collude with your rival, Standard Oil Corporation.
Game Setup
- You start with $10,000 and basic equipment
- 6 countries offer land for lease with different oil reserves and costs
- Each territory has different oil reserves and production rates
- Consumer countries need oil deliveries
Turn Structure
- Purchase Phase: Lease land in oil-rich countries
- Drilling Phase: Set up drilling operations and upgrades
- Trade Phase: Export oil to consumer countries
- Negotiation Phase: Compete or collude with rival company
Actions
- Buy Land: Lease territories with oil reserves (one per turn)
- Drill Oil: Install drilling equipment ($1,000 cost, produces oil automatically)
- Upgrade Drill: Improve production by 25% per level (max 3 levels)
- Export: Sell oil to consumer countries for profit
- Collude: Cooperate with Standard Oil (no cost)
- Compete: Launch aggressive market competition (no cost)
- Note: You can only use either Collude OR Compete once per turn
Negotiation Mechanics
- Both Collude: Oil prices increase by 20% for both companies
- Both Compete: Oil prices decrease by 20% for both companies
- Mixed Strategy: Competitor gets 40% higher prices, colluder gets 30% lower prices
- Price Effects: Applied immediately and last for the entire next turn
- AI Strategy: Standard Oil colludes by default; it will compete next turn if you competed in the previous turn.
Important Notes
- Oil Depletion: Territories become exhausted when reserves reach zero
- Phase Control: You must manually end each phase, even when no actions are available
- Dynamic Pricing: All costs, reserves, and prices are randomized each game
- Historical Setting: Game starts in 1955, each turn represents one year
Winning
Game ends after 10 turns (1955-1964). Win by having the most money and oil reserves combined.