Who doesn’t love an adorable animal? How about more than one? Now what if those animals were giants of industry and trade and you got to buy and sell all sorts of good with them as you try to be a part of their railroad monopolies? Well wonder no longer-because I have just the game for you!
Raccoon Tycoon is designed by Glenn Drover. Illustrated by Jacoby O’Connor, Annie Stegg. It is published by Forbidden Games and plays 2-5 players.
Raccoon Tycoon has players attempting to produce the most valuable commodities they can in a marketplace that is in constant flux as others buy and sell goods at the same time. Selling them will grant profits to buy buildings or railroads, or saving them you can attempt to use the commodities towards building various towns. In the end the player with the most victory points will be crowned the “top dog” of the town of Astoria!
Setup
Each player starts with 3 Price and Production cards and a number of commodities based on the place they are in. Each commodity starts at its base price on the board and the extra tokens are placed off to the side. $10 is given to each player and someone picks and plays as the banker. The Railroad deck is constructed based on players in the game and shuffled into a pile. The Town Deck is stacks and orders in descending number order from the “2 VP” buildings down.
Gameplay
The game begins with the starting player and then each subsequent player to make a round. The game continues until an end-game condition is met, then the round is finished. On a player’s turn, they may complete one of five actions. These are:
Production. In Production you are going to play one of the Price and Production (P&P) cards from your hand and take up to three of the Commodities shown on the card into your collection. You may have up to ten at the end of your turn. You will then raise the price one dollar each for the items that are part of the price. You then refill your had to the maximum of three, or if you have a building that allows you to draw up to four or five you do that.
Sell a Commodity. In selling a Commodity, any quantity of a single type can be sold for the price listed in the market. Then that commodity is decreased by one dollar for each item that you sold. This causes the market to fluctuate based on the P&P cards played.
Start a Railroad Auction. Here you will select one of the two Railroads available and put it up for auction. Placing it up for auction at the minimal price listed players can continue to bid it up or drop out. When there is only one player left because everyone else has passed, they win the auction and gain the card. If the player who started the auction loses the auction, they may take another action immediately.
Purchase a Building Tile. Here players select one of the four that are in the market and pay the cost shown one the tile. They then gain that building in front of them for the rest of the game. A new building is taken from the stack and replaces it. The double sided buildings start on the +1 face and can be flipped to the +2 side in a subsequent turn if you pay the cost on the other side. These building will give you additional resources or ways to improve your game through storage, hand size or other advantages through the game.
Purchase a Town. Finally a player may also use their commodity tokens to purchase a Town. these are paid and then placed in front of the player who purchased them. The next town card is then flipped and available for a different player to buy.
What could be better
Money. I have become a gaming snob when it comes to money. Paper money works but I really do prefer some type of chip or coin. The paper money in this game is plastic coated material so it’s better than the standard type, but it is still the first upgrade I want to make here.
End game. I felt like the first few times I played this, someone could easily rush the end game of this by throwing Auctions for the Railroads up like crazy on their turn. Having to empty two of the three piles of purchasable piles helped even the pace and length of the game better.
What I liked
Gameplay. This game is a tight little economic and auction setup with pretty straightforward rules. If you like those mechanics you will find this game right up your alley. I love how streamlined your turns are-you pick an action and take it. There is little room for moving outside of that so it keeps the game moving well.
Art. Wow-the art on this game is top notch. I love the animals and their Railroad card portraits, they really stand out on the table. The buildings and resources are fun also in a more cartoon way. And those locations Towns are beautiful as well, really pulling you in to the world of the game.
Components. The paper money as the exception, the resource components are a nice thick cardboard and hold up from constant use very well. The cards are well made also.
Overall
When it comes to games hitting my table, there are constantly new titles that I’m trying to get friends and family to play. Often times they are played a few times and moved to the bottom of the pile. But every once in a while a game rises to the top and is not only played multiple times it is even requested! So sits Raccoon Tycoon on my shelf after playing it in our house. It has been a hit with us and is sure to stay a staple off of our shelf.
When you combine auction with anything I am always interested. With Raccoon Tycoon we have it combined into a marketplace setting with resource buying and selling and numerous ways to score points. It is a great smash-up of some of my favorite mechanics and one that I think works really well. Good auction games are hard to find-this one gets it done really well. You can see a push to get resources and money at different points in the game and then all of sudden it’s auction central as Railroads start flying off the board! The wax and wain of money and resources is fun to watch as it happens and it is one of my favorite parts of the game.
Overall you don’t want to miss out on this one! Raccoon Tycoon is sure to be a popular game at your next game night for players young and old alike. Don’t be afraid to introduce this one to newer players, the single action turns can really help players to get a handle on the gameplay easily. Good luck on your next game night with this one as you try to be the biggest Tycoon of all!
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