Learn Indonesia

Welcome to Indonesia

The Indonesian archipelago is opening up. Each of you is a tycoon: you start plantations of rice and spice — later rubber and oil — and shipping lines that carry their goods to growing cities. Then you buy, sell and merge companies into empires that span the islands.

The richest player wins. There are no points: money is the score.

• Production companies earn the price of every good they sell.
• Shipping companies earn 5 for every good each ship carries.
• Mergers let you sell your companies, or buy someone else’s.

2–5 players, three to four hours. Ready to set up? Open the setup checklist — it adapts to your player count.

Eras and years

The game has three eras — A, B and C. Each era lasts as many years as it takes for its companies to be taken, and each year has seven phases:

1. New era (only when the old era runs out) — build cities, lay out new companies.
2. Bid for turn order — your bid is locked in your Bank.
3. Mergers — auction two companies as one.
4. Acquisitions — take free companies, if you have slots.
5. Research — one step on an R&D track.
6. Operations — each company acts once.
7. City growth — well-supplied cities grow.

More detail: Gameplay.

Taking companies

Every company on the map has a deed and a start marker. Taking one is free, but you need a free slot — you start with one.

• A production company puts its first good on an empty land area of its province, not touching another company of the same good.
• A shipping company puts its first ship in a sea area next to its province.

In Acquisitions you take one company per round, or pass for the rest of the phase.

More detail: Acquisitions.

Selling and shipping

In Operations each company acts once. A plantation sells its goods to cities along a chain of ships of one shipping line, collects the good’s price, and pays 5 per ship per good to the line’s owner. It must sell all it can — even at a loss.

• A size 1 city buys one of each good on the board each year.
• Each ship carries one good per company — more with Hull research.
• Sold everything? The company must expand for free. Otherwise it may pay to expand.

Shipping lines just add ships. More detail: Operations.

Mergers and the end

Once you research Mergers, you can announce a merger of two companies of the same kind — yours or anyone’s. Everyone who could own the result bids; the winner pays the old owners. In eras B and C, rice and spice may merge into siap saji, the best-paid food.

The game ends when era C runs out. The last year’s operating earnings count double; add your cash and your Bank. Most money wins.

More detail: Mergers · Teach the Game.