Teach the Game
A short teaching script for Capstone Games’ second edition of Wildcatters.
How you win
Build a company that finds oil, moves it through a shared network of trains and tankers, and delivers it to refineries. The game lasts seven rounds with four players or eight rounds with two or three. You win by earning the most Victory Points from oil, cards, refineries, Wildcatter disks, workers, and regional majorities.
In a turn, choose an Area card, take its bonus, build or develop there, then decide whether to drill, bid for a Wildcatter, or move oil. Oil delivery makes money for refinery owners and eventually becomes regional points.
The boards
- Areas — the colored oilfields where you build rigs, discover oil, and transport it (build and drill, transport).
- White areas — Europe, Africa, and Australia’s white spaces allow one train and one refinery to be built when a matching Area card is played.
- Harbors and routes — trains connect areas to harbors; tankers carry oil between harbors.
- Continents — delivered oil is counted here at game end for regional majorities.
- Round compass — tracks the round and turn sequence.
- Area-card display — cards supply actions, resources, and end-game oil-drop points.
A round
- From round two, each player gets 10 workers; in round four of a two- or three-player game, take 20 instead. Refresh the Area-card display and take one share of your color for every Consolidation chip you own. In a three-player game, resolve Corporation rigs; in a two-player game, each Corporation adds one rig. (round sequence)
- On your turn, resolve A through F in order: choose a card, collect its bonus, build, take one oil action, move unused tankers, and optionally empty one refinery. (turn order)
- Transport is shared. In turn order, players may move their oil, paying shares to use a rival’s train or tanker. A refinery owner pays the oil owner two shares of their own color for each delivered barrel. (transport rules)
- When your turn ends, a full refinery empties to its continent. Its owner takes four shares for each barrel belonging to another company; own oil can score later or be cashed in for four shares. Then the active player may buy one Consolidation chip for the continent on their chosen card. (refineries, Consolidation chips)
How the game ends
After round seven with four players or round eight with two or three, finish the final turns and score. Resolve cards and Consolidation chips, Wildcatter disks in hand, refineries, loans, shares and workers, then oil majorities on each continent. Most points wins; a tie goes to the player with more workers, then the lower-numbered sequence chip. (final scoring)
Ways to score
| Source | Points |
|---|---|
| Oil drops on your Area cards | Printed value at game end |
| Consolidation chips | Printed value, 2 / 4 / 7 / 10 |
| Wildcatter disks in your supply | 1–6 disks score 2 / 6 / 12 / 20 / 30 / 42 |
| Built refineries | 1–2 score 0; 3 / 4 / 5 score 6 / 14 / 24 |
| Oil delivered to each continent | 1st / 2nd / 3rd place score 16 / 8 / 4 |
| Workers | Most / second / third score 8 / 4 / 2; tied places are averaged and rounded down |
| Loans and unpaid shares | Return 25 own-color shares per loan; lose 1 point per share you cannot return |
What each resource is for
| Resource | Why it matters | How you get or spend it |
|---|---|---|
| Workers | Build, drill, develop, and transport | Area cards and round income; hire for three shares |
| Shares | Pay for rival transport, bids, and loans | Starting hand, card bonuses, refinery income, and Consolidation chips |
| Drilling rigs | Establish an oilfield and meet drilling thresholds | Build for four workers (the fourth costs six) |
| Pumpjacks and barrels | Produce and move oil | Convert rigs through drilling or development |
| Trains and tankers | Connect oilfields to refineries | Build for two workers each; pay shares to use another company’s vehicle |
| Refineries | Receive oil, pay its owner, and score or cash it in | Build for 12 workers; capacity is five barrels |
| Area cards | Choose where to build and act; add bonuses and oil-drop points | Choose one from the display each turn |
| Wildcatter disks | Auction prizes and end-game points | Win an auction with a pumpjack in that area |
Teaching tips
- Keep the shared network in view: a rival can benefit from your rigs, and you can earn shares by owning a refinery.
- Drill only after four rigs are present in an area; drilling commits a rig and creates three barrels.
- Plan train and tanker routes before moving oil. Vehicle capacity and refinery space can stop a delivery.
- Explain that the Corporation colors are automated companies only in two- and three-player games; there is no solo mode.