- BGG rating
- 8.0
City of the Big Shoulders: Burden of Destiny
- 2–4 players
- 120–180 min
- Complexity 3.8/5
- 2019
- BGG rank
- BGG #811
- BGG rating
- 7.8
Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders
2019
Rules assistance for Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–4 players
- 120–180 min
- 14+
- Complexity 4.0/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders is a board game released in 2019 for 1–4 players, 120–180 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Raymond Chandler III and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Income, and Ownership.
Expansions
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About the game
After the great Chicago Fire of 1871, the brave men and women of Chicago sought to rebuild their once-great city, and rebuild it they did. Over the next 60 years Chicago experienced an economic golden age, making such great progress that it hosted The World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, followed not long after by a celebration of its Century of Progress at The World's Fair in 1933. Many of the household brands we've come to know and love today had their start in Chicago during this time period; Oscar Mayer, Kraft, Quaker Oats, Nabisco, Swift & Co, Armour & Co, Schwinn Bicycles, Charles Schwab, and many others made a home here in this tall, bold slugger. In City of the Big Shoulders players take on the roles of entrepreneurs and investors seeking to rebuild Chicago into a city fit for the world stage. In this unique merger of 18xx-style stock manipulation mechanics with euro-style gameplay, players start companies, trade in shares, hire employees, equip their factories, produce goods and sell them to be delivered to homes across the midwest. Although City of the Big Shoulders features a large amount of strategic depth and rewarding gameplay, it does so in a shorter timeline than is typical of most heavy economic games. Players play just five rounds (also known as decades) in about two and a half hours. Each decade consists of five unique phases: A stock phase where players can buy and sell stock; a building phase where players rebuild the city of Chicago, placing action spaces on the board; an action phase where companies send their partners to make deals across Chicago; an Operating Phase where companies buy resources, produce goods, and ship them out of Chicago; and finally a cleanup phase where the board is set up for the following decade. At the end of the fifth decade, the game ends. Players then exchange shares that they have purchased over the course of the game for cash, are rewarded for any of the public goals they have accomplished over the five decades of play, and tally their money to determine who is Chicago's greatest resident. —description from the publisher
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Quined Games
- Emperor Penguin Games
- 数寄ゲームズ (Suki Games)
- Parallel Games
Questions and answers
Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders supports 1–4 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 Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders is 120–180 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 Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders for ages 14 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.
Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders has a complexity rating of 4.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a heavy 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.
Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders belongs to these categories: Economic, Educational, and Industry / Manufacturing. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, 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 Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders are: Raymond Chandler III. 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 Chicago 1875: City of the Big Shoulders 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.