Game: Mogul

Thread: Re: So, how do I get this game?

thepackrat — 2008-08-14T22:18:33+00:00

Just picked up a copy from my FLGS, although to be honest, it's one of those with unreadable german websites

B>

Thread: Re: So, how do I get this game?

Henry Rhombus — 2008-07-12T18:13:52+00:00

Mogul is on Rio Grande's list of "forthcoming games with new editions," but it's been floating on that list for more than year with the release date always over the horizon. If you're patient (or bug Jay about it), the game might someday appear.

Eric
Editor, http://www.BoardgameNews.com

Thread: Re: So, how do I get this game?

GaryP — 2008-07-12T18:00:42+00:00

Yeah, after my previous post, that was the conclusion I came to. If anyone wants to GeekMail me the distribution, I'd be very grateful. Otherwise, I can probably fake it and come close enough. I gleaned the number of each type of stock from the pictured of the cards. It's just the assortment of borders (for each center color) that eludes me.

Thread: Re: So, how do I get this game?

ipgyst — 2008-07-12T06:08:23+00:00

You could make your own copy. It's only 32 cards, some chips to bid with, and pencil+paper to keep score. Maybe you can convince somebody to tell you the card distribution.

Thread: Re: So, how do I get this game?

GaryP — 2008-07-06T21:42:01+00:00

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I was so excited a few months ago when I saw Funagain had it, and then I choked. I want it, but not remotely at that price. Shame, that.

Thread: Re: So, how do I get this game?

thesedarkdice — 2008-07-05T22:46:58+00:00

Ooooh, ouch.
Yeah, I don't think I'm that interested in it. Thanks for looking around though.

Thread: Re: So, how do I get this game?

ekted — 2008-07-05T22:36:52+00:00

The only one I can find (way over-priced):

http://www.funagain.com/control/product/~product_id=013770/~...

Thread: So, how do I get this game?

thesedarkdice — 2008-07-05T22:24:38+00:00

Is it out of print, or only stocked in unreadable german game websites?
The rules have caught my interest, so my question is this,
where can I get this game, or is it possible to homebrew (which I hate to ask, but if its out of print or unavailable, I'm willing to do)

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cuazzel — 2008-04-22T17:32:45+00:00

Back of the cards

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cuazzel — 2008-04-22T17:21:27+00:00

Game board

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cuazzel — 2008-04-22T17:12:49+00:00

Box back (better quality)

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Ceryon — 2008-01-26T22:52:21+00:00

Box front - better cropped

Thread: Re: Not a 90 minute game

ezradenney — 2007-02-07T16:46:07+00:00

The only the game could approach 90 minutes is with 5 players that really took their time. I think the key to the game is playing it like a filler, and not spending 10 minutes considering what to do.

One of my favorite smaller games, by the way. I always enjoy it, despite the constant confusion over the color/border distinctions every time we play.

Thread: Re: Not a 90 minute game

Larry Levy — 2007-02-02T22:07:06+00:00

Also, should the player on your right decide to bale and collect chips every turn, you are pretty much doomed for the rest of the game.
That's true, but then he has no chance of winning either. And you could always threaten to tie him to the railroad tracks!

Thread: Re: Not a 90 minute game

taraba — 2007-02-02T21:59:11+00:00

Favre4MVP wrote:
Just thought I'd point this out so people aren't put off by the 90 minutes.

I don't think I've looked at those estimated times since 2004. They're pretty inaccurate.

Thread: Re: Not a 90 minute game

gashlycrumb — 2007-02-02T21:40:28+00:00

True, true. Maybe it would take 90 minutes if you decided ahead of time to speak backwards and only in riddles. I played with 5, and even then it didn't take long at all. I can see how the game would be better with less. Also, should the player on your right decide to bale and collect chips every turn, you are pretty much doomed for the rest of the game.

Thread: Re: Not a 90 minute game

Larry Levy — 2007-02-02T21:36:33+00:00

I completely agree, Kane. I have no idea where the 90 minute duration comes from. In fact, the box says 45 minutes and that may be pushing it. We probably average about half an hour.

I also think this game really shines with fewer players. With five or six, there isn't much control, but with three or four, you've got a quick game full of angst and tough decisions. Highly recommended.

Thread: Not a 90 minute game

Favre4MVP — 2007-02-02T19:45:08+00:00

I just played this for the first time today and I must say that the 90 minutes listed here on BGG is crazy. I read the rules, taught the game to 2 other people, and then played 2 games in 60 minutes. Our 2nd game, once we all knew how to play, lasted 15 minutes.

Just thought I'd point this out so people aren't put off by the 90 minutes. At 90 minutes this game would be a terrible drag. At 15-30 minutes it's a fun little filler. Think 'No Thanks' with a bit of meat on it. Perhaps even extra cheese.

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bazik123 — 2006-10-07T10:29:56+00:00

game board

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bazik123 — 2006-10-07T09:11:22+00:00

example card artwork

Thread: Re: A filler game worth taking a look at

Kaelistus — 2006-02-23T14:49:55+00:00

90 minutes is extreme. My first game (5 players) went barely over half an hour.

Thread: Re: A filler game worth taking a look at

steveoliverc — 2005-12-04T00:43:00+00:00

I've played with 5 players and it didn't take even half that amount of time, so don't let 90 minutes keep you away. Mogul is a good game.

Thread: Re: A filler game worth taking a look at

smithhemb — 2005-12-03T19:51:52+00:00

Maybe one reason it's overlooked is that the listing here says the game takes 90 minutes! That certainly deterred me.

Thread: A filler game worth taking a look at

fizzix — 2005-06-15T16:02:48+00:00

Mogul is a filler-length auction / set-collection game from the prolific Michael Schacht, designer of many well known games like Coloretto, Hansa, and China (Web of Power). I’m not sure why, but this title has gone un-noticed by many gamers and it’s a shame because it’s easy to learn and has and engaging bidding system. The theme deals with railroad stock in the 1920's but really, it could be about anything. In fact it would be updated for dotCom stocks easily or it could not be about stocks at all.

Inside the Box

The small box contains a small board with a scoring track, 45 plastic bid chips, 31 share cards, scoring markers, and a crash card. The board is functional but on a large table, it could be hard to reach. Fortunately the board’s only real purpose is to keep score. Surprisingly for a German game, the cards aren’t linen-finished. They are pretty sturdy and players don’t hold the cards in their hands so they shouldn’t get too banged up.

The share cards themselves come in five (background) colors: brown, pink, yellow, green, and blue. Each color represents a railroad company for thematic purposes. Every share card also has a colored border that is different from the background. So you could have a blue share (the Santa Fe Railroad) with a yellow border. The border has a significance which will be mentioned later. There is also a number on every share and this number indicates how many of that particular stock are in the deck.

Playing the Game

The object of Mogul is to end the game with the most “points”. You get points in two ways:

a)If you have at least share of a particular company and the card turned over for auction is also that company you get one point for each share you own.

b)If you sell your shares.

Before starting the game, every player receives a brown share and starting chips. The Crash card is shuffled into the bottom five cards of the stock deck which is placed face down in the center of the table. When that Crash card is turned over, the game ends immediately.

The first card for auction is now turned over. If its background color (i.e. company) matches ones owed by players, those players get one point per stock of that color. For example if a player owns two pink stocks and a pink stock is turned over for auction, that player gets 2 points.

The starting player (choose who you want for the first round) then begins the auction. Before I explain the auction mechanism let me first explain the outcome.

The player who wins the auction can choose ONE of two options. The winner can either A) take the stock card and add it to his/her collection OR B) sell already-owned stock from the company indicated on the border of the card being auctioned. So if a pink card with a blue border is auctioned, the auction winner can either take the blue stock, placing it face up in front of him/her OR sell any pink stocks he/she owns. If the player chooses to sell, the value of each stock sold is equal to the number of that stock currently owned by all players. Using this example, say that the winner of the auction owns two pink stocks and that there are five pinks currently owned by all players. The auction winner chooses to sell his pinks, since each of his pinks cards are worth five points he will get 10 points by selling them both together. Of course, after the sale there are only three pink stocks in play so they will be worth three for any sales in later auctions. It is important to note that the runner-up in the auction will get to exercise whatever choice was not made by the winner (so if the winner takes the share, the runner-up gets to sell and vice versa). So with this example if the winner chose to sell pink stock, the runner-up gets the blue stock card.

Now, how does one win the auction? That’s the cool part of the game. The start player, if interested in the auction, places one chip in the middle of the table. The next player, if also interested in winning the auction, again places one chip in the middle of the table. This continues around the table until one person is either out of chips or (more likely) unwilling to continue putting chips in. This player then takes all of the chips in the center of the table and is “out” for the remainder of the auction. The next player then starts again placing one chip into the center. Players, in turn, place one chip in the center until another player drops and takes the pot. This continues until everyone has dropped out of the auction except one person who is now the winner. The winner chooses one of the two winning options and the runner-up may exercise the un-chosen option.

Whichever player took the stock card becomes the start player for the next auction. A new card is turned over from the deck and the process repeats until the Crash card is flipped over.

At the end of the game, every five bidding chips you have are worth on point. Stocks you still own at the end of the game are worthless (after all, the market just crashed).

That’s the basics of the game. There is a provision for people who run out of chips. They can lose two points and get two chips but it usually isn’t a good option.

Impressions

Mogul has a delightfully nasty auction mechanism. Bidding chips are supposed to be hidden so you have to assess who will stay in and who drops by “staring them down”. Perhaps the player you are bidding against has only five chips or perhaps they have none. Memory will help you to remember who has a lot of chips, but remembering the exact number isn’t easy. You may want to win the bid just to keep another player from selling their stock for a big score. As the bidding goes around you may have no interest at all in winning but are simply trying to make the pot large so when you drop out you will take a hefty sum of chips with you in preparation for future auctions. You may catch someone else trying to do this and drop out yourself which may leave that person with a single (or NONE) bidding chip, effectively removing them from the next auction.

It is really important that you never place yourself in the position of putting your last chip into the pot unless you are absolutely sure that no one will drop. I have seen a lot of bad things happen to players who get in this position. They will have no chance for the next two auctions.

Ne players to this game overvalue the points earned when a matching stock card is turned over. Yes, they are somewhat useful, but stock sales are the key to the game. Personally I like to focus on just one or two stocks, trying to have a majority but not necessarily all of them. I try to keep a fair number of auction chips until I see a card that lets me sell my majority for a bunch of points and the other players with just one or two of those stocks are left with something of much lesser value. In other words, try to let the other players increase the value of your stocks for you.

All in all this is a nice filler game that fits in a 30-45 minute window and is one of few that accommodate 6 players. The auctions do take a bit longer with 6 and so the games last a bit longer.

Thread: First time playing Mogul. I loved it!

ValJor — 2005-05-09T15:36:37+00:00

Date: May 7th, 2005

Game: Mogul

Players: Carole, Jean-François, Pierre-Luc, Rami and Valdir (myself)

After Medici the guys wanted to play a little bit of Tichu. I bowed out to read the rules of Mogul and see if I could figure it out. Jean-François had brought the rules in German and I volunteered to try and understand them to teach the others. My German is not that great, so I needed time for that. They played one round of Tichu and then I announced myself ready to try it out.

The Carc game ended almost at the same time as we were getting ready to start our session of Mogul, so there was some shuffling of players. Alexander and Joe went to the other table to play T&E with Johnny and François while Carole came to our table to try her luck at Mogul.

I explained the rules to them and off we went. Jean-François, who had already played the game, confirmed that I had understood everything right, so I believe we played the right game…

I’m a fan of Michael Schacht, he can really bring tension to the table with just a few rules. This game is no exception. The rule book is one of the smallest ones that I have ever seen (4 pages that are smaller than A5), and even with just that we had a very intense game. The idea of having to pay to stay in the game but having the option of taking the money and run is just great! Very tough decisions: do you stay and run the risk of running out of money or do you run and forfeit the goodies at the end of the round? Tough, tough, tough.

At least five times in the game it happened that a player would take the money and the next one didn’t have any chips, so this other player would have to forfeit and not get anything in return. Pierre-Luc was the one most hit by this, he got the short end of the stick three times in a row!

In one of the rounds I had to sacrifice myself for the group: I won the bidding but I had to choose the bad action (selling nothing) because otherwise Jean-François would be able to sell two cards for a total of eight points, which would have increased his lead by a lot. However that was not enough to stop him from winning, he even got around the scoring track. I believe Rami finished second, I was third, then came Pierre-Luc and Carole was last.

It was already 5h30 pm and I had to go. The other table was still playing T&E and the other guys would start a three-player game of China. I’d love to play yet another Schacht’s title, but I really had to go, so I said my good-byes and came home.

Thread: Concordia

dwarf — 2005-05-09T01:07:47+00:00

After one round after Tichu with Rami, Jeff and Alexander, Valdir finished reading the rules for Mogul. Alex left to the other table while Chantal joined ours. We were five players.

It was Jeff's game. It had been a long time since he last played. The rules were in german. Lucky for us, Valdir knew how to read german.

Valdir explained us the rules. It was a fun game overall. Took some time to understand the differences between what color gave us points, and which color we could sell. Each color is a different train company. For as a biddingauction games goes, Mogul is quite different from other games in it's genre. At least the ones I played.

I was quite surprised by it. At first I found it to be rather average game in general. The more I played as the game went on, the more I understood the game concept.

Overall once the game was over, Mogul was something I enjoyed.

The winner was Jeff. He had a big lead and was hard to catch up at the end.

Looking to playing this game soon. Possibly next month at Concordia again since I don't know anyone who has the game in question.

Concept is as follows. You buy shares in train companys. To do an action you need to finish in the first two in the bidding. The two actions are tsking the card we were bidding on and selling a card we own. Sometimes selling isn't possible. In which case, only taking the card is the action you can do for the turn.

Goal is to have the most points.

Those who like bidding/aucton games and havn't played this one, I suggust you check this game out.

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puppi — 2004-09-09T15:31:13+00:00

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puppi — 2004-09-09T15:31:13+00:00

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2003-05-17T15:46:41+00:00

I’ve played this newer Michael Schacht release quite a bit since first playing it back in January up at Craig Berg’s home in Ohio. Truth-be-told, Michael’s games seem to be “hit” or “miss” with me, but this one is a “hit”. This is even more surprising since the game’s central mechanism is bidding and the game has a steady stream of them. However, there are some clever twists in the bidding process that gives this one greater appeal. In this regards, it has a similar appeal as his earlier release, Don.

Keith, Jerry, Angelo, Spouey, Michael and I were the railroad tycoons, attempting to turn a profit. Keith won the auction for the right to sell the first brown share, yielding him 7 points. He struck out to an early lead and was able to hold onto this lead for most of the game. The gap closed, however, as the game neared its conclusion, with five of the six players having a shot at victory. Only Jerry, who pursued an unorthodox strategy of dropping out of the bidding early in nearly every instance, was out of the running.

Eventually, Michael managed to slip by Keith and claim a narrow victory.

Finals: Michael 28, Keith 24, Greg 24, Spouey 22, Angelo 20, Jerry 9

Ratings: Michael 7.5, Angelo 7.5, Greg 7.5, Keith 7

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2003-05-17T15:46:14+00:00

I’ve played this nifty little auction game from Michael Schacht several times, most recently at Gulf Games 11 in Birmingham, Alabama. However, this was the first time it has made it to the table during one of our Westbank Gamers sessions.

The game can be purchased individually, or packaged in a set of three games, which includes Crazy Race and Station Manager. I played the original version of Crazy Race, but have not yet played Station Manager. The general consensus seems to be that Mogul is the best of the three.

The components of the game are fairly basic: A dozen small wooden disks in six colors, a deck of 31 share cards, a collection of bidding chips and a small board used for keeping score. All come packaged in a tiny, card-game sized box.

The important component to examine and understand is the share cards. Each card depicts the name of a company and a number indicating the total number of shares of that company in the deck. Easy enough so far. Each company has its own unique color, which is depicted as the background color of the card. Still easy stuff. However, around this background color is a decorative border of a different color. This color matches the color of a different company’s shares and indicates that when this card goes up for auction, the winner of the auction (or the player dropping out last in the bidding process) gets to sell as many shares of that company as he desires. This is where things get confusing. Really, it is a fairly simple concept, but for some reason I … and most folks I’ve played with … seem to have difficulty absorbing this aspect of the game. Usually, though, one player will understand it and with each card revealed, makes an announcement as to which shares can be sold when the bidding is completed on that share.
Each player begins the game with one share in the Great Northern Railway (brown) and six bidding chips. A ‘stock market crash’ card is mixed with four share cards and these are placed on the bottom of the deck. The game then begins with the top card of the deck being revealed and placed up for auction.

Auctions have a very “poker-esque” feel to them. The start player (on subsequent turns, the player winning the previous bid), if he opts to participate in the bid, antes up one chip. Each subsequent player must then either match this by anteing up one chip, OR drop out and take all of the chips in the ‘pot’. This is a very clever mechanism that really adds some nice tension to the game. Since the only way to earn money without forfeiting victory points is to drop out of bidding rounds and take the money currently in the pot, often players must drop out of a bid for a share they desire in order to replenish their funds!

This process continues until everyone has dropped out of the bidding except one player. That player then has the choice of taking possession of the share, OR selling any shares he has that match color of the border on the share that was up for bid. Whichever option he chooses, the player who dropped out of the bidding last gets to exercise the other option. Again, a very clever mechanism that forces some tough decisions. Often, a player will choose an option just so his opponent will not have the opportunity to exercise it. So, there is a touch of nastiness in the game, too!

When a player opts to sell shares, each share is worth an amount equal to the TOTAL number of that company’s shares currently in possession by ALL of the players. So, if there are four shares of Frisco in the possession of the players, each share is currently worth four victory points. When a player does opt to sell shares, he discards these cards and moves his marker the corresponding number of spaces on the board.

If a player ever finds himself short of funds, he may surrender two victory points and receive two chips. This maneuver is called “taking credit” in game parlance. However, this is usually an act of desperation as it can be quite costly!

Play continues in this fashion until the ‘stock market crash’ card surfaces. At this point, all remaining shares held by the players are worthless and are only relevant as a tie-breaker. For each five chips in a player’s possession, he receives one victory point on the board. The player who has accumulated the most funds (victory points) is declared the winner.

In true poker fashion, knowing “when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em” is a critical skill. Choosing which shares to go after in the bidding rounds and which to pass on is vital. Further, one must keep a very close eye on the number of shares of each company that have surfaced and the number that remain in the deck. It is quite easy to get stuck with an abundance of shares in one company and have no further opportunity to sell those shares as all shares that would allow a sell-off have already surfaced. When this occurs, you can kiss your chances at victory good-bye!

Bidding games are generally not my favorite genre in the gaming hobby. Not surprisingly, I tend to perform horribly at this type of game. This general rule held fast in my first few playings of Mogul, but I finally broke through in my fourth game and captured a victory. I’ve remained competitive in all future games. Perhaps that is one reason why I enjoy this one so much!

Our first game involved Steven, Michael, Jim and I. The game was going over very well and I had managed to break into the lead. Unfortunately, I received an urgent phone call that took me away from the gaming table for quite awhile, so the game was aborted. Sigh. Another “win” out the window!

Later in the evening, we did play the game to completion, with Keith, Michael, Jim, Darren, Joey and I being the railroad tycoons. At various points during the game, all players save Darren were in the lead. Darren fell into the trap I mentioned above: he held four shares of Frisco, but there were no further shares in the deck that would allow them to be sold. Thus, he was stuck with what was destined to be worthless shares.

Keith burst out to a large lead late in the game, but was overtaken by both Michael and Jim. However, he managed one more sale late in the game to nudge past both of them for the victory.

Finals: Keith 25, Michael 24, Jim 23, Greg 21, Darren 20, Joey 16

Ratings: Jim 7.5, Keith 7, Michael 7, Greg 6.5, Joey 6, Darren 4.5

Thread: Session Report

rdsmith — 2003-04-14T13:31:27+00:00

Have had this for quite some time, and finally got a chance to play it. Heard a lot of good stuff about Mogul, and I wasn't disappointed. If you like auction games with a twist, this is a must buy for you. Especially since it is a train theme using actual railroads, even though any commodities could have been used.

I jumped off to an early lead with everyone else chugging along evenly spaced behind me (ironic isn't it!). Then Raymond started getting bunches of shares, with Brian rolling in dough by snarfing up the chips just before I had a chance to far too many times. This left Mike and I out of the loop and struggling along for most of the game. With come key selling of Sou Pac and later Frisco by me, it got me in the chase, but Raymond had gained too much to catch.

Raymond = 29
Ray = 25
Michael = 23
Brian = 21

Thread: Session Report

garrylloyd — 2002-12-17T15:25:07+00:00

Players: Mark G, Nige, Mark K, Garry

I then explained this new auction game from Michael Schacht. This one has had the best reports of the 3 he released at Essen and I found it to be quite clever. The aim of the game is to acquire shares in five companies and then sell them later for a profit ( of VPs). There are two interesting aspects to the game. The first is the auction mechanism: To stay in the auction, you just need to pay one chip each time the bidding comes round to you. Alternatively, you can drop out of the auction and take all the chips bid so far. The winner of the auction can then choose to take the share into their hand or sell shares of a different company as shown by the border colour of the card. (The runner up in the auction gets the other action). This is the other interesting aspect. You only get to sell shares in a company at certain points when the right card gets auctioned AND you win the auction or come second and the winner chooses not to sell. This makes for some interesting dynamics in terms of the value of the cards to different people. The price paid in VPs for each card sold is determined by the total number of that share in circulation at the time of sale. So the more shares are out, the more you will get for them but then the more competition there is likely to be for the ability to sell.

Mark K felt he was at a disadvantage by starting because he felt unable to drop out at an opportune moment because the player before him dropped out and pinched the chips. I'm not sure if this was a big disadvantage but it may have been because we got one rule wrong. We played that the start of each auction moved round the table in order each turn, whereas on rereading the rules, I see that the person acquiring the card in an auction starts the next one. Nige had a plan to make sure he picked up chips at many opportunities and concentrated on buying blue shares. I managed to cash in a few shares for some useful points but then had to concentrate on slowing Nige down as he was setting himself up for a massive sale of four blue shares and had plenty of chips to bid with. The two Marks were starved of chips so I had to pay chips to try and stop Nige. I managed once to do this, but Nige then was able to achieve his aim next time around a blue bordered share came up. That proved critical and Nige won easily in the end, 8 points clear of me.

Result: Nige 36, Garry 28, Mark K 20, Mark G 17

Ratings: Nige 7, Garry 7, Mark K 5, Mark G 6

Thread: User Review

sirbasil2000 — 2002-12-05T18:44:17+00:00

Mogul is made up of a deck of 30 share cards and a "crash" card (and a playing board and player markers, but those are incidental). The "crash" card gets buried in the bottom part of the deck and provides a random end point. Share cards represent ownership in one of five companies (the number of share cards per company range from five to eight), and each card also has a different-colored border, which represent one of the other four companies. The number of times a color appears on a card border also ranges from five to eight.

The auction mechanism itself is subtle but clever. In order to stay in the auction when it comes around to you, you have to contribute a chip into the pool. If, however, you decide to bow out, you collect all the chips currently in the pool (if any). You constantly have to reevaluate whether taking the pool is worth more than riding out the auction. Players who bow out early have a better opportunity to try to recoup some of their expenses from earlier auctions (or even turn a profit) than players who stay in the auction longer. I find that this system is a vast improvement over Don, which was published by the same designer last year. Don's system, based on my experiences with the game, practically encouraged players to collude by passing the winning bid back and forth between auctions, and a cash-poor player in the middle-game was often relegated to role of observer for the rest of the game. Players would have a much harder time colluding in Mogul (assuming it was even attempted), as it is easier for the other players to steal the pool out from under them.

The winner of the auction has a choice; they can either take the share that was put up for bid, or they can sell as many shares as they want of the company represented by the border color of the card up for bid. Sold shares are worth a number of victory points equal to the number of shares currently held by all players (and is the primary source of points in the game). The player that came in second for the auction gets the option not chosen by the winner; that is, if the winner of the auction chose to sell shares, the player in second would take the share that was put up for bid. Ideally, you'd want to position yourself such that either choice you are left with in second place is usable (plus you get to take the contents of the pool, which was something the winner didn’t get).

There are two other ways to get victory points in the game, though their importance is minor by comparison. One is when an additional share in a company in which you own stock is initially put up for auction (you get one victory point per share you own), and the other is when you turn in five chips per victory point at the end of the game. Shares held at the end of the game are worthless.

There are a few more aspects of the game I should point out. Obviously the game is an auction game, but like Pizarro & Co. the game is only one auction after another (and I hear some people aren’t into pure auction games). Also, the game does seem to require a modicum of memory skills. Not only are you constantly having to keep track of other player’s chip and stock levels, you also have to keep an eye on the number of times a certain color border has appeared, thus the number of selling opportunities left for a particular company. Mogul also has a certain element of speculation. There is an inherent advantage in holding more than one share in a particular company, as it gives you better control over the selling price of the stock. However, the same advantage tends to give other players the incentive to keep the few selling opportunities away from you, perhaps even to sell their own solitary share, while the price is still inflated. And finally, the game is highly dependent on the differing playing styles of those involved. If the players on your right are unscrupulous in their ability to snag the pool right before you want to, you can expect to spend a lot more time trying build up your cash levels than you’d prefer.

Regardless of the game’s potential pitfall (due to differences in taste or whatnot), Mogul’s design works. The game is fast paced, almost painfully so, very engaging, and the learning curve for most players is pretty shallow. In most games I have played in new players have figured out most of the nuances well before the halfway point, and thanks to its short length, were willing to give the game another go. Mogul allows for up to five players, and I played it with both four and three. I suspect the game simply works better with fewer players, as the possibility of collecting a larger pool of chips is increased.

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ScottH — 2002-11-24T02:13:30+00:00

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ScottH — 2002-11-24T02:13:24+00:00