- BGG rank
- BGG #3,965
- BGG rating
- 6.9
A Brief History of the World
- 3–6 players
- 90–180 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2009
- BGG rank
- BGG #3,363
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Canal Mania
2006
Rules assistance for Canal Mania
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 90 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.9/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Canal Mania
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Canal Mania is a board game released in 2006 for 2–5 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Steve Kendall and Phil Kendall and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Income, and Ownership.
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About the game
Canal Mania is a game about the great canal-building era of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that captures the feel of the period and gives players plenty of decision making in their attempts to complete some of the most famous British canals. Players will engage brilliant engineers such as James Brindley and Thomas Telford in their efforts to create canals linking emerging manufacturing centers, thereby providing the waterways that supplied the goods generated by the Industrial Revolution. The goal of this game is to have more victory points than your opponents. You gain victory points by building canals (with 0-3 victory point for each hex and 2-8 victory points for the contract) and moving goods through canals (1 for each town you visit, including the first one). Each turn has 3 phases. In each Phase you can chose one action: First Phase: - Take a contract from parliament - Exchange engineers - Discard the five face up building cards Second Phase: - Pick up three face up build cards - Build tiles Third Phase: - Move one good token Any Phase Alternative: - Draw one card from the top of the build deck
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Ragnar Brothers
- Spiral Galaxy Games
Questions and answers
Canal Mania supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Canal Mania is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Canal Mania for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Canal Mania has a complexity rating of 2.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Canal Mania belongs to these categories: Economic and Transportation. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Income, and Ownership. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Canal Mania are: Steve Kendall and Phil Kendall. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Canal Mania as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.