Gameplay

Setup, worker selection, turn order and shared board systems.

Board and company tracks

The five actions are Invest, Import, Negotiate, Expand and Serve Tea to the Crown. Each action is divided by company color. Worker color selects which company’s space you use; the chosen action selects what you do with that company.

Colored deposits hold available workers. Workers move as actions are taken, cycling through active deposits and reserves. At the end of a turn, refill a newly emptied space as directed by the board and rules.

Turn sequence

On your turn:

1. Move your pawn to an action different from the one you used last turn. Pay £1 per pawn already at the destination.
2. Choose a worker in one of the two active deposits neighboring that action. To choose from another active deposit, pay £1 if it is one deposit away or £2 if it is two away.
3. Resolve the selected action with the worker’s company color.
4. You may fulfill contracts, following their printed requirements and rewards.
5. Complete maintenance: refresh the relevant worker deposit and resolve any effects due at this point.

In games with fewer than four players, move the neutral pawn clockwise to the next empty action space as directed by the rules.

Money, concessions and loans

Money and concessions come from the general supply. Players never pay one another; payments go to the supply. Your tea store holds at most seven boxes. If you cannot pay a required cost, take a loan: gain £5 now and lose £8 at final scoring.

Dividends

When a dividend is due, each player receives money for shares they own in the paying company, according to its current quote and the rules’ dividend procedure. The dividend marker advances during play and reaching its final space is one endgame trigger.

Office upgrades

Some action spaces grant an office upgrade when you fill them. Take the available tile indicated by the board and receive any immediate reward it shows. Its cash value also contributes to final scoring.