Wildcatters

Build rigs, tankers, trains and refineries across a world map and deliver more oil than rival barons.

Designers: André Spil, Rolf Sagel
Published by: RASS Games
Editions by: Capstone Games

Wildcatters is a heavy economic game from 2013 set in the boom years of the 19th-century oil industry. You are an oil baron developing fields, bidding for oil rights, and building rigs, tankers, trains and refineries across a world map split into eight areas. The goal is to deliver more barrels to the continents than your rivals while also holding more shares and money. With four players it lasts seven rounds. You choose an area card to get money for building, then buy oil actions, and you share work with others in the same field, since cooperating lowers costs for everyone. A long, tense game of shared infrastructure and sharp bidding.

World map with eight oil areasBid for oil rights, then build and shipShared infrastructure that helps and hurts

Who it's for

You like heavy economic strategy with auctions, shares and shipping, and you have about four patient players.

Not for you if…

You want a light or quick game. It is long, rules-heavy and punishes sloppy bidding.

Vibe's take

Heavy and strategic. Everyone depends on shared fields and shipping lines, so you help rivals just enough to help yourself more.