Automobile

About this board game

Automobile is a 3–5 player strategy game about managing the U.S. auto industry in the early 20th century, with play lasting approximately 120–150 minutes. Players develop factories, manufacture vehicles, and compete for sales as the market evolves from the 1893 Duryea onward.

Each round, players know only a portion of the market demand. They must use that information to decide which factories to purchase, how many vehicles to produce, and how aggressively to pursue sales. Cars range from low- to medium- and high-valued vehicles, creating important choices as newer models enter the market.

Players can fund distributors across the country, but an investment can be lost if those distributors are not supplied with vehicles to sell. Other ways to improve performance include lowering car prices to shift market share or spending research to temporarily improve sales rates.

• Factory management: Build vehicles to generate money, while avoiding production beyond demand.
• Changing technology: Newer models sell at the expense of older ones, and aging factories accumulate inefficiency cubes.
• Special actions: Use one-turn abilities associated with figures such as Ford, Durant, and Kettering.

Overproduction brings a double cost: unsold cars lose the money spent to manufacture them and add inefficiency cubes that hinder a factory for the rest of the game. Meanwhile, keeping pace with technological change is essential as the industry moves forward.

In Automobile, success depends on balancing investment, production, pricing, research, and demand. The player who manages their car factories most effectively through the changing market wins.