Game: Explorium: A High Stakes Mining Extravaganza

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kkrieger — 2007-11-17T04:59:55+00:00

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kkrieger — 2007-11-17T04:59:24+00:00

box front

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HardCore — 2006-09-29T20:11:09+00:00

Layout

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HardCore — 2006-09-29T20:10:56+00:00

Older board

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Explorium — 2005-10-30T11:49:21+00:00

New Fr. game board

Thread: Richard Harmen wins Explorium Annual Championship

Explorium — 2005-10-28T17:28:04+00:00

Richard Harmen wins Explorium Annual Championship

Congratulations to Richard Harmen who successfully out maneuvered all his opponents in an exciting three rounds of play to win the Explorium Annual Championship held at Vancouver on September 23rd and 24th. Harmen triumphed over fellow finalists Bert Lang, Benny Richmond and Lori Mcdonald - all of whom had previously qualified with $2 Billion and more in net worth totals.

The final match turned into a cutthroat game of bidding as Richard, Lori and Benny all fought to develop a gold property after discovery of a rich gold discovery in El Salvador. A Global News Wire Event in El Salvador took place and the Gold Rush was on! Bert took the lone route and kept his concentration in Nevada and China staying completely away from the Salvadoran gold boom. Richard was finally able to outbid his opponents after a risky but rewarding loan from the bank. He purchased the property for $1.4 Billion and later sold the gold in the ground for a whopping total of $3.6 Billion -- a healthy return of 157%. It was sure a gutsy move for Richard, but the one that eventually catapulted him to the top of the list.

Final Net Worth:
Richard Harmen - $7.4 Billion
Lori Mcdonald - $5.4 Billion
Bert Lang - $5.1 Billion
Benny Richmond - $2.4 Billion

Thread: Explorium Expansions - Diamond Pay out charts!

Explorium — 2005-10-28T17:23:39+00:00

A new Pay Out Chart for gold, silver, copper and diamonds for the recent Explorium expansions has been added to the rules.

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Explorium — 2005-01-15T15:21:41+00:00

Thread: Quick Comments

Dame Koldfoot — 2005-01-11T20:11:42+00:00

I have to agree with the majority of Koldfoot's assessment of this game. The money is beautiful and the box has slots to hold the various notes. You do need to remove all the notes so everything will fit into the box when you are done. I did, however, enjoy the short game we played with our friend and his 10-year-old son. I think my enjoyment stemmed mostly from selling a mine after exploration rather than mining it. I walked away with a cool $64 million, while the guys were up to their eyeballs in debt notes. If I had been the player in debt, I doubt I would have relished the game near as much as I did. I liked the "dice fest" aspect of the game very much, as well as the charts for each commodity. The dice add the element of chance and the charts eliminate the constant (and time consuming) rules debate common in some other games, especially the hack-and-slash war games Koldie favors. The record keeping was great to keep the grown-ups on track with the location, commodity, payout and lifetime of the mine; however, it was difficult for the 10 year-old to tackle. The fluctuation in the market values and the news cards added a randomness factor that keeps the game from being a complete snoozer. This was a nice change of pace for me. I hope we can play this again, but given Koldfoot’s review and our friend’s comments, I don’t think that will be likely.

Thread: Re:Pre-initial impression

Koldfoot — 2005-01-11T03:56:59+00:00

Played the game. Check out my review. Pre-initial impression was just about on target.

Thread: User Review

Koldfoot — 2005-01-10T17:42:16+00:00

Short review.

Roll dice. Roll another set of dice. Consult chart. Pass dice. Go back to sleep.
From time to time random cards come up to influence future dice rolls.

Longer review.

Consult Alex Rockwell's reply to the Wolves review. He adds some good commentary about the game.

Components

The components of the game are good. The board (a map of the world) has the valley on the fold, but so what. The play money included with the game is beautiful, and there is a lot of it. Denominations range from $100,000 to $1,000,000,000 (one billion).

There are 3 twenty-sided dice each of which has only a few numbers on it (many of the sides are blank). There are 3 six-sided dice that have instructions on them such as +1, -2 and News.

Ownership markers are very small and plastic. I find them to be small but acceptable. If one is dropped on the carpet you will likely find it without too much trouble.

Card stock is light weight, more like a heavy paper than cardboard, but there are 200 "news" cards in the game.

Game play

Players start with one mining property anywhere on the board that they choose.

On his turn a player must:

1. Consult a chart and collect income from each mine or pay to operate the mine if the price of the commodity is too low.
2. Either purchase a property or explore a property they already own.
3. Roll the market dice.

Let me start my explanation with step 2. Purchase a property is self explanatory. All property costs $500,000 unless an event card modifies it. Event cards usually modify the price in a certain country.

Explore a property. Roll the 3 twenty-sided dice. One represents gold, another silver, and the last copper. The gold die is numbered 1-5, silver 1-7, and copper 1-9. These numbers indicate the amount the mine produces each year. If a number comes up you proceed to roll two 6-sided dice. If numbers come up on more than one dice the player must now choose one resource he would like to develop before rolling the 2d6.

2d6 are then rolled to determine the lifespan (in years) of the mine. If the total is 4 or less the mine is a bust and the ownership token is replaced with a neutral token.

If the 2d6 total is more than 4 the mine is an asset. You can either sell it to the bank (consult a chart to determine its value), or to another player who bids more than the bank would pay, or you can keep it and operate it.

At the end of the turn the player rolls the 3 market dice (one for each commodity). The price of the 3 metals is adjusted accordingly. This is where "news" cards can come into play if that result is rolled. The new prices affect only the next player.

Now, let me skip back to the first step of each turn. Refer to the value of each commodity, find the amount your mine produces each turn, consult the chart, get (or pay if the value is too low) the indicated amount of money. Repeat for each mine you have in production.

That's the game.

Game end.

There are no winning requirements. Just play until you are bored stiff or set a predetermined time limit on the game. The person with the most money and assets wins.

Thoughts on the game

The designer was obviously trying to make a game that reflected the boom and bust nature of mineral exploration. Unfortunately, he is a miner, not a game designer. I do give him some credit, though. This game will probably appeal to those in the mineral exploration industry. If you are not familiar with modern, German games it might be an alright game. It is on a par with run-of-the-mill Hasbro/Wal-mart fare.

The "news" cards add a lot of flavor to the game and often have informative tid-bits of trivia. The political situation in countries can change for the better or worse if you own a mine or buy property there, as well as changing the price of minerals on the world market.

With some publicity "Explorium" could become to roughnecks what "The Farming Game" is to rednecks. That is a game that reflects the uncertainty of the business with a lot of flavor that people familiar with the industry will appreciate.

Bottom line

It is a dice-fest with less player interaction than "Monopoly", minus any hacking and slashing that makes a dice-fest fun.

Thread: First company to receive GOLD as payment for products is 49th West Games Inc.

Explorium — 2004-12-18T18:42:36+00:00

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA--(CM News, Dec. 09, 2004)

Distributors, retailers and customers can now use 'real gold money' to order toys, games and software from 49th West Games.

Today a new service was launched that allows Canadian and US customers to order the manufacturers full range of products with 'real gold money' as a form of payment.

49th West Games is now linked into the GoldMoney, Canadian and US banking systems. To purchase products, customers can easily log into the website 49west.com and open an account through the secure GoldMoney online link. Customers may choose the amount of Canadian or US dollars they wish to convert to gold. The payment will then be automatically deducted from their bank account.

In announcing the new service, Peter Bell, Public Relations Director of 49th West Games said: "49th West is very pleased to announce we are the first toy and software manufacturer to accept, approve and receive real gold for our products. It’s as easy and efficient as opening a new account at any bank, without the high fees. All our customers directly or indirectly can now order our products by using real gold as payment."

Adds Bell: "This is establishing quite a trend in the retail sector as our lists of North American retailers are now adding this new service and form of payment for their own customers."

It is expected that Canadian and US residents will find gold money to be an easy and economical way to build their savings and secure their wealth by owning pure gold stored safely and conveniently for them in an insured vault in London, England.

By converting the world's oldest money, 49th West allows customers to avoid the high interest expense of credit cards.

Forty Ninth West Games Inc. was founded and incorporated in December 2000. The company’s mission is to be leading and proactive not only in the way it manages its operations but designs its products, and is dedicated to creating the highest quality toys, boardgames and software available in the marketplace today. This aspect permeates every detail of the production and design of these games, including marketing, packaging and customer service.

Thread: Pre-initial impression

Koldfoot — 2004-12-15T17:44:25+00:00

I have a friend who owns this game. I have been asking to play it for several months now so that I can write an objective review of the game.

He won't play it again. He has played it a couple times and he just shakes his head and refuses. I took the rules home and read them, it does look kind of... well... crappy, but I would still like to play at least one game to write an initial impression article.

I wonder if there are a couple easy fixes for the most glaring problems. Mineral exploration isn't a total crap shoot. There are logical places to look for certain minerals. Granted, there are people who get lucky. A hill billy may, for example, find oil while shootin' for food, but that is the exception.

There appears to be little player interaction.

I trust my friend's thoughts on the game. He likes most of the same games that I do.

Thread: Re:User Review

stannius — 2004-09-17T21:58:16+00:00

Alexfrog (#47536),
I am willing to play this game with you, despite any obvious flaws it might have. I am not a follower of the mining industry, but the theme of mining brings up memories of one of the first programs I wrote back in the 80's on my Commodore 64.

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Explorium — 2004-08-03T01:55:08+00:00

Thread: Re:User Review

Alexfrog — 2004-08-01T00:02:32+00:00

Hi Brent.

Awhile back, a friend of mine heard of this game frmo some people who were visiting from Vancouver, and told me about it. i was interested, and later purchased it after seeing an advertisement for it on kitco.com

However, I was disappointed in the game, by standards of the typical 'designer' (mostly German) games that we tend to play in our gaming group, and are popular among strategy board gamers as represented by the boardgamegeek community.

Mostly, mentions of the game that I had seen seemed to be from people who were interested in precious metals mining itself, and not from gamers. The 'articles' here on boardgamegeek about it, by the game publisher, seem to be pure hype. The game feels to me like it was designed by people who are really into mining and precious metals, and who dont know very much about game design or gaming, and that it was likewise designed for people interested in or who want to learn about precious metals, and not for gamers.

After explaining the rules to a few people in my gaming group, everyone decided they would rather play something else, so I have never been able to give it a try.

As you say, the basic game is uninteresting, so I consider the advanced rules to be the true game.

The heart of the game, in essence, is based around the decision: how do I finance my mines, and when do I go into production. In a sense, the decisions that a real world mining company faces.

As a game however, it feels incomplete. It feels like there is one cool piece of a game there (how do I finance things, and when), but that some accompanying mechanic to give it a depth of strategy is simply not there. It has the dealmaking element in the financing as well, but there just isnt enough there, by itself. The rest of the game is incredibly simplistic. You choose plots of land to explore, and the exploration results are perfectly random. Events happen that a completely random. Prices move due to die rolls in a manner that is perfectly random. On your turn, you get to do one thing, either buy a property or explore, and then when you find metals, you choose what to do.

My feeling is that if the game was to be designed by a true game designer, with the goal of making a great strategy game, it couldve been done, still keeping the good (and fairly realistic) parts of the current design, the financing, and in some way making a true game out of it. It wopuld probably turn out somewhat similar to the 18XX series of railroad games, which deal with financing and development of railroad companies, and include shares, a stock market, and so on.

Some comments:

wolves wrote:
My Background

My name is Brent Brand; I’m an investment adviser that follows the gold and mining sector closely.
I enjoy board games with a group of people that get together usually once or twice a month. I am new to this website and plan on writing further reviews in the future. Therefore to date I am not sure if I qualify in the eyes of an actual gamer so please read my first review and take
it for what it is worth to you.

Welcome to boardgamegeek. I suspect that if your group begins to play many of the games which are very popular here, you will find they are far, far beyond anything you have ever seen in boardgames, previously. I would be interested in howu think of explorium (and how you would try to fix it to make a great game), after that.

I am also interested in the precious metals mining sector, as I feel that we are entering a new inflationary cycle, and the next 10 year will be much like the 1970s, with soaring oil and commodity prices, and a stock market which goes sideways in a large trading range.

I first noticed a write up on Explorium in a major financial magazine that I frequently purchase. Naturally because I’m in the industry with a particular interest in mining it caught my eye.

I have also noticed that based on the way it was advertised (to people interested in precious metals investing, not to gamers), and I think this is descriptive of the type of game it is.

Explorium is a pure speculation/investment type of game where players speculate on hopes of finding economic gold, silver or copper reserves. This game allows you to feel the rush of success as you role-play from a small mineral exploration company to mining tycoon. After the first round, each player will have had the opportunity to acquire a mining claim. The location may be relevant based on the news card that you conceal in your hand that can be played now or in the future. If you understand the relationship between geology and mining, you will eventually learn that there is a realistic bias to the role of geography.

In a way, this game is a fairly good educational game, similar in that way to Cashflow (by the author of the Rich dad series of books), which is also a great education tool and a subpar game.

One problem I had with the game was that each turn, one is able to either purchase a territory or explore. Lets say I purchase one, then I explore. I come up with nothing, randomly, via roll of the dice. I now spend 2 turns doing nothing. I purchase again and then I explore. If I get something, I now am finally doing something in the game on turn 4, whereas many others were getting started on turn 2. This is both unbalanced and highly frustrating to those who get unlucky. One way that would help to fix this problem would be to start each player with several cliams. Thus on turn 1 if I failed to get something on exploring on of these claims, I can immediately try again on turn 2. A failure due to a bad roll costs me only 1 turn not 2, and I am not as far out of the game.

The game comes complete with some of the best looking play money I have ever seen -- but only on one side. If the designers would have added graphics to both sides, I’m sure they could’ve been in the running for the best looking play money in a board game.

I've seen this from the hype as well. I would agree its good from play money standards, especially when compared to games such as monopoly. However, I have seen interesting play money in many boardgames.

If I was to think of the best possible thing to use as money during a game, it would be poker chips (of varying colors for denominations). This is much easier to handle than small slips of paper. Obviously this cant be included in the game however. The most interesting play money I have seen in a game is in some of the 18XX train games, which have replicas of the actual american currency from the time period, with the U.S. gold and silver certificates.

There is a batch of small, round plastic counters in 7 different colors. The largest pain regarding these counters is that they are quite small and take some care in placing them on the map. The 200 high gloss news cards come with full color to represent each nation’s flag and are of very high quality. This is a nice touch as to the educational part of the game. There is also an authentic looking map/game board with a lot of detail of the world. The 8 colorful dice ranging from six to twenty sides have a nice weight and feel. You will love to roll these dice. The three pay charts are of high gloss and sturdiness, but again, only single sided. All in all the components rate very highly in my opinion and would rate even higher if only they would have been double sided.

While I think the components are fine for the game, they are not up to the top quality components that are found in some of the other games I have played. The company Days of Wonder is especially known for its top level components. This is not a big deal to me in playing a game, but it is for some people. For me, I place a much higher value on the quality of gameplay and the depth of the game.

The game is quick to set up unlike some games that take forever. We play with four and five players. Each way is fun, but a little more involved with five as there are more opponents involved with bidding competition.

While this is true, the game length is a bit long, espeically for a game without a great deal of depth. Shorter games (1 to 2 hours) tend to get player far more frequently than longer games. Still, there is a place for these longer games, and if well done, this game could be in the class of the 18XX games and other longer strategy boardgames.

The banker pays out $2 million to each player as start-up capital. In this game all cash is publicly exposed as other players may attempt takeovers on cash rich companies. The banker then sets the metal market by either rolling the dice and moving the market counter, or by setting current prices from logging into the games’ website (this is our preferred setup). Each player is handed a mine operations sheet and then must name their company. The first player then immediately draws a news card that he conceals until played. If the news card drawn is advantageous to a particular region, most likely the player will then purchase a property there. This is where the concept of satellite mining enters the game. Other players may follow in hopes of a rewarding news card that eventually will be played. Warning: there is no guarantee that the card played will be positive or even affect other players.

While the trend of others following a player who has purchased a certain property, by acquiring similar claims is interesting, this game mechanic does not have much depth to it. You simply draw random cards, and then buy claims, based on your knoweldge of the cards in the deck, and which you have seen. If the play on the gameboard were much more interesting, it might complement the depth in the financing, and make a great game.

The cards represent almost every nation with gold, silver and copper potential. The political, geographical, economical, historical and cultural facts in these cards are quite overpowering. If you like trivia, you’ll be amazed at the information contained in these cards.

I certainly agree there is educational value in the game.

The game begins when the first player draws a news card and then purchases a claim. The player then rolls the metal market dice to adjust the market (the supply and demand rule is not set until the second round). At the beginning of the second round, the first player draws an additional news card. it’s easy to see where the cards can quickly become a factor. All metals are increased by one point on the index to reflect supply and demand since there can be no selling of reserves at this point. The player now has a choice to either purchase another mining claim, or spend the cash on an exploration program.

Again, not much depth to this aspect of the game. Essentially, one has a single action, and two choices of what to do. If this aspect of the game was more interesting, it might have a place with the deeper strategy boardgames.

If the prices of the metal followed some sort of trend system, isntead of being random, it might also be more interesting. For example, something similar to what is done in the remake of the old avalon hill game 'stock and bonds', where there is a bull and bear market path, and the current position moves a random number of spaces each turn, so one has a general feel of where things are going, but does not know for sure wether prices will rise or fall right now. Also, its somewhat unrealistic for the prices of the different metals to be completely uncorrelated. Rather, they should move in the same direction, but by different amounts.

Just prior to ending a turn, the player may opt to sell any one of their properties to the bank or another player. Now if you lack in negotiation skills, I’m sorry, but you’ll get pummeled in this phase because player interaction and the ability to close the deal can advance you up the corporate ladder quicker than you can imagine.

This is one of the aspects of the game that is interesting, and is also the area of the game that involves player interaction. I only wish the other aspects of the game were at this level.

Essentially, to me the game is all about how one will finance their operations, and what strategy to persue. Is one trying to be an exploration company, and find and develop good properties and then sell them for a lot of money? Is one trying to become a major, and develop a mining empire like say, Newmont mining, and acquire properties from the others and then bring them into production? Is one trying to accumulate cheap properties when metal prices are low, and then sit on them, say like Silver Standard Resources, acquiring many silver resource properties with silver prices at the bottom of a bear market, and then either selling or developing those properties when metals prices move higher? Does one Try to sepcialize in one metal and make a killing if it goes up, or spread around on the highest quality properties they can find?

The primary decision seems to be: ok, you got a property, it has this grade of ore, and this many years of life. Do you mine it or sell it. If you mine it, do you finance it through debt or equity. Since this is the part of the game with substantial depth, I wish it was fleshed out more fully. Even the advanced rules are very unclear on how it all works. They do not even specify a rate of interest to be paid on the debt (or maybe I just didnt read them well enough). Also, since equity financing and corporate takeovers are part of the game, a NECESSARY game component would be share certificates in different companies, but this component is mysteriously absent. I cant for this reason consider the game components to be complete.

I wish this aspect of the game was fleshed out more, and was the the game itself, not some 'advanced rules' or variation, which one must cobble together by adding different rules explained at the end of the rules. Imagine how cool it would be to see something like the recent Iamgold / Wheaton River / Golden Star / Couer D'alene merger/takeover fiasco played out in game, amongst the players! The game seems to leave it up to the players to work out how these parts of the game should work out however, instead of coming with a comprehensive, clear set of rules to describe what all can happen, and components for shares in the various companies.

If you are one of those players that just can’t wait their turn, it can take up to 2 or 3 minutes, but the effective thing is that everybody is involved with each other’s turns so this seldom becomes a factor.

Downtime between turns is certianly a drawback in many boardgames. Certainly, you can do some dealmaking in this, so it doesnt seem terrible, but its not perfect either. It seems to me to be about average when compared with other boardgames, so thats ok.

Once a property is put up for sale by a player, the next player to the left gets a chance to offer an amount equal to or greater than the bank is willing to pay. Play continues all around the table so each player has had an opportunity to bid for the property. The round immediately ends with the highest bid on the property.

Once the bidding is completed and payment terms are settled, all pertinent property information is recorded on the buyer’s mine operations sheet.

The complexity of the poutout sheets was frustrating to me. I had actually convinced my group to give the game a try, until they saw the payout sheets and realised that instead of nice, game friendly round numbers, they were going to be faced with an accounting mess. It was because of this that we didnt play.

There are many different properties available in the game and each is designated by a property ID number. The properties pay in two different methods: one is the option used by most present day mining exploration companies, and that is to simply hope for the best in discovering a metal deposit that can then be sold to the highest bidder. They are not in the business of actual mining, rather, they are treasure hunters of the world. This is exactly what takes place in this game. If you are successful in discovering a metal deposit, you can then sell immediately to the bank or highest bidder. If you want to play as a mining company that actually puts up capital to build a mine operation, you will then speculate that metal prices will rise or stay high so that incomes will be collected for the duration of the property’s mine life. Now this is where once again the negotiations can make a difference. It’s funny, but when the market is low, you’d be amazed at how quickly players are willing to sell off their properties for dirt cheap prices. Now doesn’t this sound a little familiar?

Yes, and it was, in a way, the most interesting part of the game to me. There are different strategies available to the players, and different paths to success. I wish there was enoug hto the rest of the game, to make it a complete package.

We understand the complexities of investments and mining, so when we bring beginners in the industry to the table we can easily dominate. I have had a few play sessions with some experienced gamers, and most in cases, they get waxed when playing this game.

Well thats good. If experience players cant clean up against newbies, it cant have much depth to it.

The game will likely appeal however, to monopolians and risk type players as the playability and concepts are easy to understand.

Well, given as those two games mentioned tend to be the type of games that are denounced as terrible on boardgamegeek, I dont know what to say.

Most boardgamers see these games as part of the reason that the average person doesnt play board games. Since the average person has only played monopoly and risk, which have large luck elements, lack of deep strategy, and do not frequently give interesting decisions, they dont think that boardgames are anything special, and never become interested.

This game certainly seems to follow those in this respect, whereas if it had been designed with the game principles common in german games in recent years, it might be far better.

I still want to give this game a try at some point, but I dont know if its going to happen. I felt, when reading through the rules, that there could be a good game there if a game designer could go through and fix it, and add something more interesting to the parts of it that are now purely random.

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Kev_992 — 2004-07-16T22:23:42+00:00

Second Edition

Thread: User Review

wolves — 2004-07-09T20:33:11+00:00

My Background

My name is Brent Brand; I’m an investment adviser that follows the gold and mining sector closely.
I enjoy board games with a group of people that get together usually once or twice a month. I am new to this website and plan on writing further reviews in the future. Therefore to date I am not sure if I qualify in the eyes of an actual gamer so please read my first review and take it for what it is worth to you.
I first noticed a write up on Explorium in a major financial magazine that I frequently purchase. Naturally because I’m in the industry with a particular interest in mining it caught my eye. I purchased the game a while ago now and have played both the basic and advanced versions. Both are fun, entertaining and quite competitive, however our group prefers the advanced version for all the extra features involved. Now let's get to the game…

Explorium is a pure speculation/investment type of game where players speculate on hopes of finding economic gold, silver or copper reserves. This game allows you to feel the rush of success as you role-play from a small mineral exploration company to mining tycoon. After the first round, each player will have had the opportunity to acquire a mining claim. The location may be relevant based on the news card that you conceal in your hand that can be played now or in the future. If you understand the relationship between geology and mining, you will eventually learn that there is a realistic bias to the role of geography. On the other hand, if you are uniformed as to the complexities of mining, this game may at first come across as geographically irrelevant. But the fact is that the properties you choose is very important. The game lasts for eight, twelve or twenty-four rounds (2- 4 hours). At the end of the game, the player with the highest NAV (net asset value) is declared the winner. The game takes about three hours to play on average.

The game comes complete with some of the best looking play money I have ever seen -- but only on one side. If the designers would have added graphics to both sides, I’m sure they could’ve been in the running for the best looking play money in a board game. There is a batch of small, round plastic counters in 7 different colors. The largest pain regarding these counters is that they are quite small and take some care in placing them on the map. The 200 high gloss news cards come with full color to represent each nation’s flag and are of very high quality. This is a nice touch as to the educational part of the game. There is also an authentic looking map/game board with a lot of detail of the world. The 8 colorful dice ranging from six to twenty sides have a nice weight and feel. You will love to roll these dice. The three pay charts are of high gloss and sturdiness, but again, only single sided. All in all the components rate very highly in my opinion and would rate even higher if only they would have been double sided.

The game is quick to set up unlike some games that take forever. We play with four and five players. Each way is fun, but a little more involved with five as there are more opponents involved with bidding competition.

The banker pays out $2 million to each player as start-up capital. In this game all cash is publicly exposed as other players may attempt takeovers on cash rich companies. The banker then sets the metal market by either rolling the dice and moving the market counter, or by setting current prices from logging into the games’ website (this is our preferred setup). Each player is handed a mine operations sheet and then must name their company. The first player then immediately draws a news card that he conceals until played. If the news card drawn is advantageous to a particular region, most likely the player will then purchase a property there. This is where the concept of satellite mining enters the game. Other players may follow in hopes of a rewarding news card that eventually will be played. Warning: there is no guarantee that the card played will be positive or even affect other players.

The cards represent almost every nation with gold, silver and copper potential. The political, geographical, economical, historical and cultural facts in these cards are quite overpowering. If you like trivia, you’ll be amazed at the information contained in these cards. Each card comes with it’s own unique piece of data/trivia with game specific results at the bottom. For example; United States: In Nevada, the silver rush may have been the truest example of a gold rush. In the early 1800’s, silver formed on the surface… “Nevada horn silver” prospectors could actually shovel it right off the surface of the ground. Results: If mining silver in West USA property #’s 7 & 13, reduce the cost to explore to $500,000. Move silver down 3. There are 200 cards, all with their own unique piece of information. I rate this element of the game very highly.

The game begins when the first player draws a news card and then purchases a claim. The player then rolls the metal market dice to adjust the market (the supply and demand rule is not set until the second round). At the beginning of the second round, the first player draws an additional news card. it’s easy to see where the cards can quickly become a factor. All metals are increased by one point on the index to reflect supply and demand since there can be no selling of reserves at this point. The player now has a choice to either purchase another mining claim, or spend the cash on an exploration program. The market prices and news cards will definitely play into this corporate move, but there are also other reasons why a player may commence exploration activities over purchasing an additional property. But I’ll leave that up to you to discover on your own. Just prior to ending a turn, the player may opt to sell any one of their properties to the bank or another player. Now if you lack in negotiation skills, I’m sorry, but you’ll get pummeled in this phase because player interaction and the ability to close the deal can advance you up the corporate ladder quicker than you can imagine. My personal best coup was being able to pull off nearly a 1000% increase from what the bank was willing to pay. If you decline on selling, you may offer to buy another players’ property, since you may just be holding a card on someone else’s property, or you may just like to be downright ruthless and get some poor dupe at the table to waste his cash reserves in a bidding war. This is a not a game for the faint hearted or bookish plotter who would prefer to silently sit back and plot his moves five turns in advance. This game can get even heated and sometimes a little tense when the market doesn’t act in your favor. This phase is where you must be able to think on your feet. This brings me to a point where I’ve read comments on Explorium about a player that was making money for three years in a row on a gold property suddenly started losing because the market was down…Well that’s the way it is in the business of mining - call any CEO and they’ll tell you the same thing. After this is complete, the player rolls the market dice and if a news card is the result, it is read aloud as public knowledge to all players. Play then advances to the next player. If you are one of those players that just can’t wait their turn, it can take up to 2 or 3 minutes, but the effective thing is that everybody is involved with each other’s turns so this seldom becomes a factor.

Once a property is put up for sale by a player, the next player to the left gets a chance to offer an amount equal to or greater than the bank is willing to pay. Play continues all around the table so each player has had an opportunity to bid for the property. The round immediately ends with the highest bid on the property.

Once the bidding is completed and payment terms are settled, all pertinent property information is recorded on the buyer’s mine operations sheet.

There are many different properties available in the game and each is designated by a property ID number. The properties pay in two different methods: one is the option used by most present day mining exploration companies, and that is to simply hope for the best in discovering a metal deposit that can then be sold to the highest bidder. They are not in the business of actual mining, rather, they are treasure hunters of the world. This is exactly what takes place in this game. If you are successful in discovering a metal deposit, you can then sell immediately to the bank or highest bidder. If you want to play as a mining company that actually puts up capital to build a mine operation, you will then speculate that metal prices will rise or stay high so that incomes will be collected for the duration of the property’s mine life. Now this is where once again the negotiations can make a difference. It’s funny, but when the market is low, you’d be amazed at how quickly players are willing to sell off their properties for dirt cheap prices. Now doesn’t this sound a little familiar?

The payouts are always changing simply because the prices of the metal are also changing, which again sounds quite familiar in real life. I know of a couple of mining execs who state they could be making $2 million one day, and $3 million the next day from their properties, simply because the POG can make all the difference. Now what is quite interesting is how the designers were able to correlate exact volatility that happens every day in the mining world. I reviewed the payout charts to compare, and sure enough, at $400/oz a mining company with around 5,000,000oz/yr, or in my guess 100bits/yr, can easily bring in $300 - 400 million just as the payout charts reveal. Now imagine if gold prices continue to rise towards and over $500/oz what kind of profits these companies will report. The fact of the matter is that the cost to get gold out of the ground doesn’t change but the price of the metal does, and the game plays out in the same way. Moreover, as in real life, if current prices don’t cooperate the game allows you to place the property on hold in hopes of better prices in the future. However, there is a re-startup cost of $10 million to play this option. The payout charts are very accurate to real-world payouts and the key is the metal prices. The only complaint I have is that I wish the designers had done double siding. This way, the information on them would have been easier to see for those with poor eyesight, and also more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

How does the game play? We have discovered the game to be fun, competitive, and addictive. The theme of the game is speculation and control of the mining world. This closely fits the game play and is easily understood.

There is a constant need to monitor the market and news cards, both public and concealed. It is also a good idea to monitor not only yours, but your opponents cash reserves. To facilitate this, we used the mine operations sheets during the game; I would jot down newsworthy events frequently and refer to my notes throughout the game. I also like to keep track of all my transactions to indicate the purchase and sale prices of my properties. This will help players keep track of the entire goings on during the game.

Bidding on properties is a blast, especially if you carry some cards that can advantage the properties that much more. In a single purchase I spent $1.2 billion for a gold property in El Salvador and later $2.1 Billion for a copper mine in Mauritania – my two biggest deals ever. I thought those properties would bring in profits faster than I could explore and produce on my own. I believe in making my own growth and in making it fast, and that’s exactly what happened. I ended up selling my El Salvador property two turns later for a cool $1.8 Billion. With the property in Mauritania, I ended up keeping for ten years and made a little over $200 million in profit. Others I know play as conglomerates in that they believe generating returns by trading in and out of properties is the most efficient way.

Always remember to play the game with one thought; and that is to make more money than your opponents. In certain cases that will come up, don’t be afraid to purchase properties for a premium if the purchase will help you catch the front-runner. It is also a good idea to purchase properties that you think will be able to make a run for top profits due to a metal price increase, because at any time, you can play your cards to move the markets in your favor. You’ll feel on top of the world if you can buy a property from a player that was previously leading, and then only to see your initial investment increase exponentially over time. For years, some of the most real-life successful companies have been defined by big bets that eventually paid off. This is how I recommend you play this game.

It is great fun to be able to turn your company around and transform it to the largest company in the game. There are different ways of going about this. Some players like to try to purchase properties and make quick, decisive moves by playing the market and trading up for profits - always hoping for a big payday at the end of their turn. Others like to put the brakes on and play a more stabilized strategy, embarking on a more fulfilling task of building something tangible like a major mine operation. With yearly profits steadily coming in year after year, the mining strategist is in the enviable position of snapping up properties from competitors at attractive prices.

Beware of debt, it can be a killer especially when interest must be paid every turn, however the ferocity of the battles in obtaining the lead position offer players no other choice if they are to stay in the game. Arranging debt financing can be very difficult and much more costly in terms of interest and compensation. In the real world it is unusual to loan money to pay for an exploration activity since there is no security for such a loan. The miner could be hard pressed to pay it back if there are no discoveries. In the game world, coming up with 20% cash security when you are just starting out can be a little tough to manage, so we immediately borrow our maximum amount right at the beginning of the game when cash reserves are sitting at $2 million. Another viable method of raising capital is in selling equity in their company at increments of 5% per offering. One of the drawbacks to this method is an amount distributed from your company’s profits must be paid in proportion to the number of shares your opponents hold. The amount of the dividend may fluctuate with the company’s profits. Again this is open ended and the players may offer what they feel is worthwhile in owning another piece of the pie. In the game, unlike the real world, the company is obligated to pay the dividend. It is your choice as to which method you choose in raising the necessary capital.

The graphics on the board are colorful, however not as distinctive as I’ve witnessed in other games of this caliber. The theme is mining in today’s modern world and yet the map almost has a historic feel to it. The property markers are round and quite small and can at times be a little cumbersome to place on the map. The paper money, and charts would have looked and felt better with double siding.

We understand the complexities of investments and mining, so when we bring beginners in the industry to the table we can easily dominate. I have had a few play sessions with some experienced gamers, and most in cases, they get waxed when playing this game.

The game is about making the deal and being able to think quickly. Gamers that are used to no time limits and little pressure may feel somewhat intimidated by playing this game. Hard core strategy gamers not enamored of this game type will not be fans of Explorium. The game will likely appeal however, to monopolians and risk type players as the playability and concepts are easy to understand.

Explorium is surprisingly easy to learn for a game that deals with a mining theme and it has something for anyone with a fondness for big money, and making loads of it. The other interesting thing about the game is that the players are always involved and you'll need to be engaged in negotiations other than just the standard “it’s your move” type thing. For example, if your opponent is making a deal with another player during their turn, nothing stops you from getting in on the action or even playing a news card from your hand to maybe sway the deal completely over to your side.

Explorium was enjoyed a lot by all of us. It is colorful, informative, sets up nicely and has a good overall pace to game play that kept us all tuned in. The decisions that must be made are on the spot and this adds to the rush and excitement of the game. The game has a specific theme and a little knowledge beforehand can give a player the upper hand, but not the last hand… and that’s what we love about this game. There is an element of poker in this game; bluffing your opponents, knowing how and when to negotiate is frequently used. Table talk is a lot of fun as players try to convince other players to either buy or sell their properties. The game will remind you how satisfying and explosive, fast action dealing can be, particularly when you succeed in closing the big deal.

Explorium is a fun and actually addictive game that, if allowed, will easily consume your free time. I wouldn’t rate it a 10 or even a 9 simply because the designers could have added a little more to the print material. However this does not affect the experience of high level intensity, quick pace, and interesting information included in the package. I would place Explorium for its game play at the highest levels. I feel the overall game deserves an 8 out of 10.

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Kev_992 — 2004-07-09T10:36:42+00:00

Thread: Quick Comments

Uncle — 2004-06-18T01:29:30+00:00

Explorium! A bit of a mixed bag from the playing I was involved with last night. Lets start with the good:

The paper money and debt certificates are great - maybe the best part of the game. Plus, how many games do you know of that have BILLION dollar bills? Somewhat unfortunately, the money/debt certs are only printed on one side, but oh well.

Now for the not-so good...

The level of player interaction was absolutely nil, and with 5 players, it was easy for someone to go to the can and lose interest between their turns.

Making money is a SERIOUS crapshoot, as the players have no control over the whims of the stock market. Realistic, maybe, but it makes for a game where one player got 862 million in one turn for gold production, but two player turns later gold mines were losing money. There does not seem to be any kind of moderating influence for the stock market, which I see as a flaw - probably because I'm spoiled on euros like Funkenschlag (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/12166) , which wonderfully represent things like supply and demand.

I guess my overall feeling is that you could program a computer to play this game very easily, because it wouldn't need an AI. It could keep track of the housekeeping events, and decide randomly where to buy land and explore, because geography doesn't matter in this game. You're equally likely to strike a gold motherlode in England, California, or the Sahara Desert. When I play games, I need to feel that I will win or lose the game by making good or bad decisions, rather than have it decided by blind luck.

Overall comment - solitaire for 5.

Thread: New Mining game hits market!

Explorium — 2004-04-21T02:57:07+00:00

Toronto, Ontario, April 19, 2004 (The Northern Miner)
Ever wanted to be a mining tycoon exploring Africa for the next Obuasi? Perhaps you already are, but for others, the next best thing may be Explorium, a new board game from Vancouver, Vancouver-based 49th West Games.
Explorium involves strategy, role-playing and trivia. Players can take their companies to the jungles of Brazil, the vast deserts of the Sahara, or even the desolate regions of the Siberia.
The race starts as you set the gold, silver, and copper prices for the game from the live “ticker tape” on the games web site. The properties you buy and the fortunes you find determine your net worth. Players must find ways of financing their projects, including accruing massive debt.
As few as two, or as many as six players can play at one time. Explorium is designed for ages twelve and higher.

Brian Sylvester, Editorial Assistant, Northern Miner

Thread: New Board Game Mimics High Stakes Mining Industry

Explorium — 2004-04-21T02:55:46+00:00

Vancouver, British Columbia, March 9, 2004 (Resource World Magazine)
Those of us associated with the resource industry are well aware of the risks, challenges, disappointments as well as the thrill of discovery and possible riches to be made. Sean Mahoney, President, and Dale Nejmeldeen, Vice President, of 49th West Games Inc. have developed a new and exciting board game called Explorium. Never the same game twice, Explorium combines chance, risk, strategy into a game that draws on real-life scenarios in the exploration and mining industry. The game was conceived about two and half years ago as a result of Sean and Dale’s interest in the mining industry. They believed that people not involved in mining thought it was a big mystery and a game would go a long way to help promote an understanding of the industry and possibly bring in new investors.
Suitable for teenagers and adults, the object of the game is to acquire the most wealth by successful exploration, high stakes deal making and stock market savvy. The game takes from one to three hours to complete. The players (2 to 6) run their own company, amass mineral properties, and explore them while keeping a watchful eye on metal prices that constantly change throughout the game.
While each player strives to find the mother lode, good quick decisions and corporate strategies will separate the winners from the losers, but watch out for devastating news releases that can disrupt your company’s plans. Just like in real life, the players must outwit and outbid each other in their drive for success to discover the largest gold field in South Africa or the biggest copper deposit in Bolivia.
Explorium comes with and 18 by 24-inch detailed world map playing surface, authentic looking, full size play money, gold, silver and copper payout charts and 200 global news cards with up to the minute historical, political and cultural-specific facts. There is even an authentic looking live ticker tape to set the motion.
Ellsworth Dickson, Co-Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, Resource World Magazine.

Thread: Explorium travels to New York City for the American International Toy Fair

Explorium — 2004-04-21T02:53:40+00:00

New York City, New York, February 3, 2004 (About.com)
Forty-Ninth West Games Inc. participated in Booth 6177 at the American International Toy Fair in New York City, which is an annual event where hundreds of companies show off their toys and games, hoping to attract the attention of retailers and the press. The 2004 Toy Fair takes place February 15 to 18. Explorium and 49th West Games is honored to be accepted to the 100th Annual American International Toy Fair at the Javits Convention Centre in New York City.

Thread: Explorium Front and Center at the Vancouver Mineral Roundup

Explorium — 2004-04-21T02:52:00+00:00

Vancouver, British Columbia, January 8, 2004 (BC & Yukon Chamber of Mines)
The Explorium team wishes to invite you to booth F28 at the 21st Annual Mineral Exploration Roundup at the Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina, 1601 Bayshore Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia on January 26-28, 2004. The theme is “Creating Wealth Through Discovery.” It will include industry leaders, explorers, investment advisors, suppliers, and students. With rising interest in gold, Roundup 2004 is sure to be the biggest and best to date, well exceeding last year’s show that attracted a record 3000 participants. Come try your hand at staking a property, rolling...

Thread: Quick Comments

mcquiad — 2003-12-10T14:25:56+00:00

this game is just of the press and I have one of the first copies. This will Iam sure be a classic we want to play it all the time. check out the money this is the nicest play money I have ever seen.
Mcquiad