Capstone Games Pipeline Board Game

Product Information

The pipeline building is its own kind of spatial puzzle, as you’ll likely start by focusing on a certain color of pipe but need to have options if the market for that type of oil becomes flooded. Not to mention, having the ability to upgrade different types of oil gives you a lot of flexibility in actions as you can buy and sell different types of oil at different markets. The first wave of what a modern toy aisle shopper might recognize as a board game arrived in 1897. A bumper crop of Klondike Gold Rush games appeared on store shelves across the country with a speed that matched the rush for the goldfields. While roughly 100,000 individuals set out for the Klondike from 1896 to 1999, many times that number eagerly consumed any news or product connected to the gold fever sensation. In other words, the Klondike Gold Rush was a fad, and like any modern fad, there were fortunes to be made with tie-ins. The player's task is to rearrange and rotate the pipe segments to create a path from a starting point to an endpoint. The path must be a continuous connection, allowing the liquid or gas to flow through without any leaks. As the game progresses, the difficulty increases, with more complex pipe configurations and limited time or moves to complete the puzzle. Pipeline is an economic euro for 2-4 players and plays in about 30 minutes per player. It plays well at all counts. Gameplay Overview:

You will need more than strong economic skills – carefully crafting an interweaving network of pipelines just might ensure your victory! Solo Variant Seeking to capitalize on this new opportunity, in Pipeline you start a company in the oil business. In 1973, Armond Kirschbaum released Alaska Pipeline: The Energy Crisis game amid that year’s oil crisis. An oil embargo enacted by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sparked severe gas shortages and price spikes across America. The game’s objective is to refute pipeline criticisms and circle a map of Alaska while using the least amount of gas ration coupons. The game was re-released in 1993 in the wake of the First Gulf War.Generally, Ludvig will follow all multiplayer rules. However, below are instances when he does not follow the typical multiplayer rules: Pipeline is an incredibly confident debut game from designer Ryan Courtney. Taking on the role of private oil companies, players will attempt to buy and refine oil in the most efficient manner. This, of course, means buying crude oil cheap and refining it through a maze of your own pipelines. How does this work? Well, there are 3 varieties of oil in the game (Teal, Orange, Silver) that correspond to the 3 colours of pipe, and 4 grades of oil (Crude, Low, Medium, High). During setup, you will randomly assign the length of pipe needed to refine oil from one level to the next. This is where you come in. Seeking to capitalize on this new opportunity, in Pipeline you start a company in the oil business. You will focus on building a much more efficient pipeline network in your refinery, hiring experts that provide valuable benefits over your competitors, and managing the logistics of purchasing and selling your refined oil in the various markets. You will need more than strong economic skills – carefully crafting an interweaving network of pipelines just might ensure your victory! Oil is not the only thing you’ll need. Pipelines are important too. They come in three colours; each refining oil barrels of the same colour. Amazingly each of the 130+ tiles are unique, which presents you with an interesting spacial puzzle. Each oil colour will require different lengths of pipe to be refined from each stage to the next (crude - low grade - mid grade - high grade). Do you build big in one colour so you can refine a barrel all the way from crude to high grade, or multiple pipelines that can refine multiple barrels at once?

As with nearly every other aspect of life in Alaska, the discovery and exploitation of oil changed the nature of Alaska board games. In particular, the debate over the environmental impact of what would become the Trans Alaska Pipeline, which intensified in the early 1970s, influenced a new wave of Alaska-themed board games. Tanks - These are used to store the oil you buy and refine. Each player has a player board on which to arrange their refinery and these can sometimes be worth money at the end of the game. Pipeline is definitely one of my favorite games of this year and will have a spot on my mid-weight euro shelf for years to come. It’s a lovely puzzle of making the most of your actions with just the right amount of player interaction (which the exception of that whole upgrade thing.) Board games have been a part of Alaska culture for well over a century. These games have ranged from simple card games to complex simulacrums of reality. Some were designed by Alaskans. Many more were designed by residents of the smaller states and therefore more often describe Lower 48 perceptions of Alaska of what outsiders deemed important. Still, the history of Alaska-themed board games broadly reflects the history of Alaska itself, from Alaska Native interactions with whalers through the modern fish industry.The higher the grade, the more the oil is worth but also the more pipe you’ll need. You’ll often have to decide between selling some low-grade oil to make improvements, or holding out a little longer and selling some high-grade oil for more money. Of course, everyone else is doing the same thing and if you wait too long, the thing you wanted to buy may no longer be there!