How to Play

Carnegie

1-4 players 90-120 min 8.0 Board Game Geek Rating

Players build prestigious companies in Carnegie's industrial America through employee recruitment, business expansion, real estate investment, and transport chain creation. Each round, the active player selects one of four actions that others may follow. Over twenty rounds, competitors manage operations and pursue philanthropic endeavors to accumulate the most victory points and achieve ultimate prestige.

Published 2022

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Place the game board

Put the board in the center of the table showing the USA map divided into four regions: West, Midwest, South, and East

Prepare the Timeline

Shuffle the 8 Timeline tiles, draw 4, and place them in order. Frame them with the Start and End tiles. Return unused tiles to the box

Position Action markers

Place the 4 Action markers on their corresponding positions on the left side of the Timeline, on the Start tile

Remove Department tiles

For 4/3/2 player games, randomly remove 4/8/16 department tiles to the box. Place remaining tiles face-up near the board

Create supply piles

Stack goods cubes and banknotes near the game board

Distribute starting resources

Give each player 4 goods cubes and 12 dollars

Give each player a Company board

Each player takes 1 Company board with 4 different Project sheets, sliding them into the matching colored slots

Distribute worker figures

Give each player 10 workers; place 1 standing worker in each of the 5 starting departments, and 5 lying down in the Lobby. Set aside the remaining 5 workers

Place player discs on score track

Each player places 1 disc on position 0 of the scoring track

Place discs on Shipping tracks

Each player places 1 disc on the first position of each of the 4 regional Shipping tracks

Place discs on Project sheets

Each player places 1 disc on the circled empty space of Housing, Commerce, and Industry project sheets (not Infrastructure)

Keep remaining discs

Each player keeps 22 discs in their personal supply

Determine starting player

The boldest player becomes the starting player and receives the Starting Player marker and Timeline marker

Distribute Action Selection tiles (3-4 players)

In 4-player games, each player receives one; in 3-player games, only the third player receives one; in 2-player games, no one receives these tiles

2-player setup with neutral discs

Take 18 discs of an unused color, shuffle solo cards, and draw cards to place discs on Donation spaces and cities as indicated

Draft initial placements (reverse order)

Starting from the player to the right of the starting player, going counterclockwise, each player places their Housing project disc in a medium or large city, then selects one department tile for their supply

Execute initial worker movements

Starting with the starting player going clockwise, each player may perform 6 worker movements on their Company board (orthogonal only, no diagonal). Workers are laid down after moving

Activate initial workers

After completing movements, each player may activate their workers by paying activation costs

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Phase 1: Action Selection

The starting player chooses a Timeline (Human Resources, Management, Construction, or R&D) and places the Timeline marker directly to the right of that Action marker

Phase 2: Events

The placed Timeline marker activates an event affecting all players (Income and/or Donation)

Phase 3: Use Departments

Each player uses departments corresponding to the selected action, starting with the starting player clockwise

Phase 4: Activate Workers & End Round

Players may activate workers, then the Action marker moves right on the Timeline

Income event (region symbol)

When the Timeline marker is placed on a region space, that Mission area becomes active

Donation event

When the Timeline marker is placed on a Donation symbol, each player may donate in clockwise order

Human Resources departments

Calculate total movement points from active workers (3 per active worker on starting HR department), then move any workers within your Company board orthogonally

Management - Commerce & Finance

Each active worker provides one of: 3 dollars, 1 goods cube, send worker on Mission and get 6 dollars, or send worker on Mission and get 2 goods cubes

Management - Strategic Planning

Each active worker allows: pay 1 goods cube to place a new department on a space with at least one worker, OR pay 2 goods cubes to place on an empty space without workers

Construction departments

Send an active worker to a Mission area matching the region where you want to build

R&D departments

Receive Development Points based on active workers on R&D departments

Mission requirement

Move an active worker from a department's Workplace to one of the four Mission areas (West, Midwest, South, East)

Worker usage rule

You must send the worker you used for the action

Mission area workers

Workers on Mission areas do not count as active

Cannot send without meeting requirements

Players cannot send workers on Missions if they cannot fulfill the action requirements (e.g., not enough goods cubes)

Pay activation costs

To activate a worker, pay the cost shown below the empty Workplace, then place the worker standing on that Workplace

Free activation

If no cost is shown, activation is free

Active workers stay active

During the game, active workers remain active if used in place; they become inactive if moved or sent on Mission

Action Selection tiles (3-4 players only)

Allow players to perform a different action than the one selected by the starting player; each tile is single-use and worth 3 VP if unused at game end

Selling goods

Players may sell goods cubes at any time for $1 each

Timeline reaches end

If an Action marker reaches the last position, the starting player places the Timeline marker to its right (off the board) and flips the Action marker in the row directly below (or Human Resources if R&D was selected)

Winning

How to claim victory.

Play 20 rounds

The game lasts exactly 20 rounds, during which all 4 Action markers will reach the end of their Timeline

Unused Action Selection tile

Score 3 VP for each unused Action Selection tile

Active workers

Score 1 VP for each active (standing) worker; workers on Mission areas and the permanent worker on starting HR do not count

Built departments

Score 2-3 VP for each department built depending on location; top row of Company board scores 3 VP, all other positions score 2 VP

Project sheets

Score VP from revealed VP symbols on project sheets (Housing max 6, Commerce max 9, Industry max 12, Infrastructure max 15)

Connected major cities

Score up to 36 VP for connecting major cities (New York, Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco) through networks of your building discs

Built project discs

Score VP equal to the value shown below each city name where you have discs (some small towns give no points)

Donations

Score VP based on achievements matching each donation type (maximum 12 VP per donation, increased by 3 VP for each B-side project sheet reaching final position)

Education donations

Score 3 VP per department matching the type shown, including starting departments; OR 1 VP per department on Company board

Human Rights donations

Score 4 VP per built Infrastructure project; 3 VP per built Industry project; 2 VP per built Housing and/or Commerce project; 3 VP per region where you reached "Railroad" level on Shipping; 2 VP per donation made (including this one)

Welfare donations

Score 7 VP flat; OR pay 1 goods cube for 2 VP (up to 6 times); OR pay $5 for 2 VP (up to 6 times); OR pay $5 and 1 goods cube for 2 VP (up to 3 times); OR 1 VP per active worker on Company board

Healthcare donations

Score 2 VP per building disc in the matching region; OR 2 VP per building disc in any small town

Highest VP wins

The player with the most Victory Points wins the game

No tiebreaker

In case of a tie, tied players share the victory