Wildcatters

The Authentic Oil and Gas
Exploration Game

Review by Kerry Lloyd

Designed by Ken R. Kessler
JC, Productions 605 Throckmorton, Ft. Worth, TX 76102
Released: 1984
Catalog No.JC1084
Price: $35.00
Complexity: Beginner
Solitaire Suitability: None

In Wildcatters, players are introduced to the intricacies of life in the "oil patch," the energy production business where fortunes are gained and lost daily in the pursuit of the black lifeblood of the biggest, richest industry in the world. The game involves securing oil eases in the U.S., developing them, and collecting money from monthly production. Up to eight players can participate, and the winner of the game is the richest player at the agreed upon stopping point.

Wildcatter is basically a specialized version of Monopoly, but it is a fine game with an especially interesting background.

The Wildcatters box is the first thing that catches the eye--a brightly colored 12" X 24" X 2" (they do things in a big way in the oil game), with a striking photo of the sun setting behind a gusher blowing oil. Inside is one of the finest collections of game components it has been my pleasure to use in a long time.

The game board is a Monopoly-style track with a map of the U.S. in the center detailing all the major oil fields in the country and indicating those that are used in the game. The color values on the board are superb and contribute significantly to the enjoyment of game play. Two formed plastic trays hold the pieces for the game and support the board as well; ,inside these trays can be stored the cash, three dice, eight differently colored plastic player markers in the form of Learjets, 140 high plastic drilling rigs, and 200 dry hole markers. The 20 Blowout cards, the 20 Wildcat cards, the 33 property lease cards (showing drilling costs and chances, and production statistics, with a thumbnail history of the individual oil field on the back), and the players' lease identification markers (in eight colors, to match the Learjets) fit nicely in between the trays, as does the 24- page rule book. All of the cards are printed (very colorfully) on a good heavy, long-lasting card stock.

The game itself plays quickly and easily and rapidly falls into a rowdy "everybody has fun and makes a lot of noise and enjoys themselves tremendously" mode. Several things are usually going on at once, with one player possibly drilling while the banker is holding an auction for a property lease. Good play and a sense of economic realities will aid in accumulating a fortune in Wildcatter. The game is definitely fun to play, particularly with four to six players.

Players start the game at Exploration Headquarters in Houston, with a Learjet, $6,000,000 to lease properties and drill wells, and a set of 12 markers which can be placed on the playing track to indicate possession of a lease. Motion around the board is handled by the roll of one or two dice. When movement brings a player to a property lease, he pays the current monthly production for that lease to the owner if it is held, but may lease it if it is not currently held by another.

Drilling for oil is done with the special red drilling die and is set on an exploratory basis until the first producing well comes in. After the first producer on a lease, drilling, is developmental. You already know where the oil is, now let's get it out of the ground. Producing wells cost twice as much as a dry hole to develop, and a player must demonstrate the ability to pay for the wells before he drills them.

Producing wells yield monthly production; whenever a player passes Exploration Headquarters, he collects the total monthly production for all his producing wells and this can add up to millions of dollars. If he lands directly on the (Go) square, he collects double. If a player lands on one of his own already developed properties, he collects double the monthly production for that lease.

The Wildcat and Blowout squares require the player to draw a card which adds spice to the game, with chances that a dry well might be activated, or that the player pay a $450,000 bill for drilling mud. Leases may expire on undeveloped property, requiring another payment to keep development rights on the property, and a player might even wind up in Washington under Senate investigation. Players may borrow money from the bank to finance their operations, but this is a risky business as the bank collects all of the player's income until the loan plus 20% interest is paid back.

All fines and penalties (but not leasing costs, loan payments, or interest) go into the Top Lease fund (a square at one corner of the board -similar in position and use to Free Parking), and are collected by the person who lands there. Landing on Top Lease not only produces large amounts of cash, but allows the lucky player to top lease (i.e., steal legally) another player's desirable but undeveloped property.

Four versions of the game are suggested: "Sky's the Limit," played until someone goes bankrupt; "Fame and Fortune," played until someone reaches a preset amount in cash; "Time's Awastin," played with a set time limit; and the "Elephant Hunter," everyone starts with $20,000,000. The last page of the rules outlines some interesting additions that make the game a little different.

The rule book is well laid out and nicely written with each major portion of game play thoroughly covered. The last half of the booklet provides quite a bit of information on the oil and gas industry, including production statistics and a discussion of the economics of drilling and production. The glossary lists much of the jargon of the oilmen and inserts an interesting flavor into the game.

Strategy is important in the play of Wildcatters. if a Player is not careful how he spends, it is very easy for him to wind up with little or no money; unable to afford drilling new wells. The luck of drilling will influence the play of the game considerably. A field which should produce eight to ten good wells may produce only one or two, and the developing player is neck deep in hot water rather than flowing oil. Seldom is the winner the same twice in a row; tactics which are successful in one area may not work again, and it is very easy to go from rags to riches and back again several times in the course of a single session.

Wildcatters is not a radically new game concept, but the setting for the game, the oil industry, is an excellent choice. The background research appears to have been done quite competently. A great deal of fun can be added to game play as the players pick up and use the jargon of the oil patch. Playing the game easily provides a feeling of being an oil magnate, particularly when one hits a gusher on a spectacular lease, or when a prime producer suddenly goes dry.

Even at a $30.00 price tag, this game is worth the investment. I heartily recommend it for anybody who likes a rousing good game.

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