Moderne Zeiten

About this board game

Moderne Zeiten is a 2002 board game for 3–5 players that takes about 45 minutes, set in the USA during the Roaring Twenties. Players become successful businesspeople navigating an era of industrialism, booming commerce, and ambitious financial speculation.

Industrial magnates are engaged in a worldwide arms race, while the stock market creates opportunities for bold deals. In this atmosphere of rapid expansion, players must decide where to invest as different branches of industry grow.

The central objective is to gain worldwide majorities of stocks across five industries:

• Shipping
• Aviation
• Construction
• Automobile manufacturing
• Telecommunication

Each investment can help establish influence in an expanding branch, but the pursuit of profit comes with serious risks. Caution is essential, because irresponsible speculation may produce devastating results when the stock market collapses.

Moderne Zeiten presents the excitement and uncertainty of an economy driven by industrial growth and speculative deals. Success depends on pursuing worldwide stock majorities while recognizing that unchecked ambition can have severe consequences.

With its Roaring Twenties setting and focus on industrial investment, the game places players in a period where opportunity and danger are closely connected. It was later reimplemented by Batavia.