Chartered: The Golden Age

About this board game

Chartered: The Golden Age is a historic economic building game for 2–6 players, played in about 90 minutes. Set in Amsterdam during the 1600s, it challenges merchants to profit from the city’s growing trade and developing chartered enterprises.

European nations are competing for the lucrative trade in spices and other goods. As valuable cargo reaches Amsterdam at great peril and cost, merchant wealth increases—and so does the opportunity to invest. Players establish warehouses, found enterprises, and purchase stock in the businesses they expect to grow.

The game’s easy system centers on connecting construction with investment. Players buy building cards to create chartered enterprises, then expand those enterprises to increase their stock value. Adding floors to warehouses provides another way to build value as Amsterdam grows toward becoming the wealthiest city in the western world.

• Build enterprises: Use building cards to establish and expand chartered businesses.
• Invest in growth: Purchase stock in enterprises and seek profitable opportunities.
• Manage competition: Enterprises can merge, accelerating their growth and changing the value of investments.
• Choose your support carefully: You may try to block enterprises in which you do not own stock, but circumstances can force you to help them grow.

Every decision links the development of Amsterdam’s warehouses with the fortunes of its merchants. The right combination of stocks and buildings can increase your wealth, while supporting an opponent’s enterprise may strengthen their position.

With its blend of economic strategy, building, stock ownership, and mergers, Chartered: The Golden Age asks players to judge which enterprises deserve investment and which should be held back. Build the right warehouses, choose the right stocks, and pursue the greatest profit and wealth.