Chicago 1875: City Of the Big Shoulders - Master Print 2025 edition

Step into the vibrant world of City of the Big Shoulders, where the spirit of post-fire Chicago comes alive! After the devastating blaze of 1871, the resilient citizens of Chicago rolled up their sleeves and set to work, transforming their city into a thriving hub of industry and innovation. Over the next 60 years, Chicago flourished during an economic golden age, proudly hosting the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, followed by the spectacular Century of Progress at the World's Fair in 1933.

This era gave rise to many iconic brands we cherish today, including Oscar Mayer, Kraft, Quaker Oats, and Nabisco. These businesses forged their legacies in the heart of the Windy City, embodying the bold, ambitious spirit of Chicago's industrious men and women.

In this engaging game, players take on the roles of determined entrepreneurs and savvy investors striving to rebuild Chicago into a city worthy of global recognition. Combining elements of 18xx-style stock manipulation with euro-style mechanics, players will embark on a journey of strategy where they can start new companies, trade shares, hire employees, and equip factories to produce goods for delivery throughout the Midwest.

City of the Big Shoulders offers a rich tapestry of strategic depth and rewarding gameplay, all within a streamlined timeline. The game unfolds over just five rounds—also known as decades—lasting around two and a half hours. Each decade features five distinct phases:

• Stock Phase: Buy and sell stocks to build your wealth.
• Building Phase: Help reconstruct the city by placing action spaces on the board.
• Action Phase: Facilitate deals across the bustling city with your companies.
• Operating Phase: Acquire resources, produce goods, and ship them out from Chicago.
• Cleanup Phase: Prepare the board for the next exciting decade.

As the final decade wraps up, players exchange their accumulated shares for cash, score points for achieving public goals, and tally their fortunes to determine who will emerge as Chicago's greatest resident.

Get ready to immerse yourself in a world of opportunity and competition with City of the Big Shoulders—where you don’t just play the game, you shape history!