Canal Mania

About this board game

Canal Mania is a canal-building board game for 2–5 players, with games lasting around 90 minutes. Set during the great canal-building era of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it challenges players to create waterways linking emerging manufacturing centers.

Players work to complete some of the most famous British canals while engaging brilliant engineers such as James Brindley and Thomas Telford. These canals help supply the goods generated by the Industrial Revolution, but every decision contributes to the race for victory points.

You score by building canals and moving goods through them. Canal construction awards 0–3 victory points for each hex, while completing a contract provides 2–8 victory points. When moving a good, you earn 1 point for each town visited, including the first town.

Each turn is divided into three phases, with one action chosen in each phase:

• First phase: take a contract from Parliament, exchange engineers, or discard the five face-up building cards.
• Second phase: pick up three face-up build cards or build tiles.
• Third phase: move one good token.

During any phase, a player may instead draw one card from the top of the build deck. This flexible alternative adds another option as players plan their canal construction and goods movement.

With its focus on contracts, engineers, building tiles, and deliveries, Canal Mania captures the feel of Britain’s canal-building era while giving players plenty of decisions. Build an effective network, complete valuable contracts, and finish with more victory points than your opponents.