John Company

Another day another new game to learn.  Tough going for this old dog.

Richard billed this as a mystery game and sent out the following invitation:

"Topee or not Topee?"*

by Richard C

* (and No, I'm not trying to take the Pith here)

 

Please come along to my new Board game

Now you might end up an Officer out for Trophies and fame,

so it could be all guts and glory or it could all end in shame.

Either way, I think that you'll be glad that you came.

 

The game is about your Company in more ways than one,

we'll need to work together or it could all come undone.

Your share of the profit could be amazingly fat,

on the other hand its very easy to fall flat.

 

If you can do a deal as a Writer,

the company's future will be brighter.

Our Ships need to serve our common cause,

but will they sail to our shores?

  

Empires will rise and Empires will fall,

but the roll of the dice will have everyone in thrall.

One will have the Office that will be the envy of all,

but, if you don't make it work, it could be your own down fall.

 

There WILL be an Elephant in the room which we'll all talk about

but just wait until you see what happens when it goes Walkabout!

We won't need to do this daily,

but they certainly didn't tell us about it at Hailey!

 

Everyone will have a share,

but can we agree to make it all fair?

Nepotism is allowed if everyone agrees,

and you could end up retired in a Country Pile.... unless you can't pay the fees.

 

We'll all get to vote on laws that we like,

otherwise we can tell the Prime Minister to take a hike.

You might be able to call in a favour at a time that you choose,

It could be the difference between if you win or lose.

   

You won't have to read the rules,

I will explain them to you, so you don't just sit there like fools.

Some people think the game is in bad taste,

so the doors will be locked in case you try and leave in great haste.

 

I hope you will come,  I think it will be fun.

One way or other, a great tale will be spun.

 

Jeff and I took up the challenge, and while the game can accommodate more, three was enough in what was, for me at least, very much a learning exercise.

Like a lot of games/rules, it is essential to follow the correct sequence and that is very important with John Company and rather hard as plans and excitement spur you on, then it all gets complicated when, compounded with limited familiarity with the game/rules, you make mistakes.  But we powered on and completed three turns, enough to have a go at trying to calculate victory points.

Beautifully presented game and looking forward to playing again.