Broadhorns: Early Trade on the Mississippi

About this board game

Broadhorns: Early Trade on the Mississippi is a 90-minute board game for 2–4 players about financing cargo expeditions down the Mississippi River in the early 19th century.

Players begin as merchants based in St. Louis, each with a small amount of gold. Over the course of a year, changing seasons bring different challenges as players finance a series of river trips. Every expedition requires a broadhorn, or flatboat, along with cargo to transport downstream.

Players start with enough money to afford only the smallest of three broadhorn sizes. As expeditions earn gold, they can choose between smaller, faster boats and larger boats offering more cargo space. This creates an ongoing balance between speed, capacity, and the potential return from each journey.

• Buy and load apples, flour, pork, fur, and whiskey.
• Deliver cargo at towns along the Mississippi.
• Earn greater returns by traveling farther downstream.
• Carry travelers between towns for additional gold.

Time matters because apples, flour, and pork are perishable. Players may stop at towns along the route to deliver goods and purchase more cargo, deciding when to sell and how far to continue. Perishable cargo must reach its destination before it spoils, adding urgency to each trip.

Travelers provide another way to increase expedition income. Picking them up at various towns and taking them to their destinations can earn additional gold alongside cargo deliveries.

With seasonal challenges, changing boat choices, perishable goods, and opportunities to transport passengers, Broadhorns focuses on planning profitable journeys down the Mississippi.