Wildcatters

About this board game

Wildcatters is a tactical and strategic board game for 2–4 players, with a play time of about 120 minutes, set during the booming oil industry of the 19th century.

Take the role of an oil baron developing fields, bidding for oil rights, and building the infrastructure needed to move oil around the world. Your aim is to deliver more oil barrels to the continents than your opponents while also collecting more shares and money.

The board features a world map divided into eight oil-producing areas. Players choose an open area card and receive money to construct their network, then buy oil actions. Working together in an oilfield can help players find oil at a lower cost, but every decision contributes to the race for greater deliveries.

• Develop oil fields and bid for oil rights.
• Build rigs, oil tankers, trains, and refineries.
• Transport oil together to refineries using infrastructure owned by other players.
• Compete for oil barrels, shares, and money.

In a four-player game, the game lasts seven rounds, and each player begins with the same setup: three rigs, two trains, one tanker, and one refinery placed on the board. Players must coordinate transport while pursuing their own goals, creating a balance between cooperation and competition.

With its world map, shared oilfield development, and interconnected transport systems, Wildcatters presents the oil business as a contest of construction, delivery, and calculated rivalry.