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El Capitán
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Tycoon
1998
Rules assistance for Tycoon
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 90 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.6/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Tycoon
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Tycoon is a board game released in 1998 for 2–4 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Horst-Rainer Rösner and its main mechanics are Point to Point Movement and Area Majority / Influence.
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About the game
In Tycoon, players are businessmen traveling around the world, doing what businessmen do: making money. In this case, business is defined as opening hotels and factories in major cities, like Sydney, Cairo, and New York. Players are seeking to build hotels in as many cities as possible while also building the first or second most hotels in given cites to earn money, which is also your score. Additional money can be earned by building factories in each city, but these are limited in number. During the course of the game players will take turns buying and/or using plane tickets to move about the board's nine cities. A number of tickets are displayed in rows, divided into two types: The more expensive scheduled flights which allow you to move directly to the printed city, or move your token a number of city spaces orthogonally on the board. Cheaper charter flights allow movement directly between the two city spaces printed on the ticket. You may buy tickets at any time during your turn, and you are not required to move but must do so before taking any regular actions; you may also use any many tickets in a turn as you wish. The regular actions include building hotels and factories. Hotels are built on a u-shaped track. When a hotel is built on a red space the building that is oldest/furthest back on the track is removed. Players with the first and second most hotels on the track will be the only ones to score, with ties broken by the player with the earliest bulding on the track. There are only two factory spaces per city, and they will score points equal to the second place of the hotel scoring. In lieu of any actions or flying, or if you simply have no money, you may also take out loans; this removes your token from the board and forces you to use the more costly scheduled flights to return to the board. At the start of the game players are given all of their factories. Each round players are given a set number of hotels in addition to any they have left over from the previous round. When any player has built all of the hotels in front of them a scoring occurs. After three scorings the game ends and the player with the most money is the winner.
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Questions and answers
Tycoon supports 2–4 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 Tycoon 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 Tycoon for ages 10 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.
Tycoon has a complexity rating of 2.6 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.
Tycoon belongs to these categories: Economic. Its main mechanics are Point to Point Movement and Area Majority / Influence. 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 Tycoon are: Wolfgang Kramer and Horst-Rainer Rösner. 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 Tycoon 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.