Learn Union Stockyards
Learn the game in 5 short steps. Everything links to the full rules.
Welcome to the Stockyards
Build a Chicago meatpacking company over six years. Slaughter livestock for cash, construct connected factories, open branch houses, and manage labor unrest. The highest Savings score wins. Teach the Game · Setup
Read the Board
The Yards hold livestock and slaughter actions. Packingtown is the shared construction grid; your buildings must connect to your slaughterhouse. Railroad links lead to city markets where branches can earn points. Your player board tracks cash, Savings, reputation, meat values, and Low Morale.
A Year of Business
Each year begins with livestock and a Year card, continues with worker placement, and ends with elections, worker retrieval, and livestock-price changes. Use Gameplay for the sequence and Actions for each choice.
Build Your Business
Choose whether to collect current slaughter margins, pay to build a connected factory, raise Brand Reputation, or place branches in rail-connected markets. Cash pays for actions; Savings are your final score and are not spent during play.
Score the Empire
After the final year, add or subtract each livestock type’s final profit margin, convert cash to Savings, then score Brand Reputation, branches, buildings, Specialists, and Low Morale. See Game End and Scoring.