Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
DRCongo explores a hopeful hypothesis that if enlightened industrialists worked to develop the economy of this mighty country, then it would escape the clutches of a crippling insurgency. Players build industries and expand a transport network of river, rail and roads.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Auction/Bidding
Bid against other players to determine who receives an item, action, or priority.
Commodity Speculation
Buy or influence goods whose values change before they are sold or scored.
Dice Rolling
Roll dice to introduce uncertainty into actions, production, movement, or resolution.
Network and Route Building
Create connected routes that improve reach, delivery, control, or scoring.
Variable Phase Order
The order of phases changes according to player choices or game state.
Read the full game description
DRCongo explores a hopeful hypothesis that if enlightened industrialists worked to develop the economy of this mighty country, then it would escape the clutches of a crippling insurgency. Players build industries and expand a transport network of river, rail and roads. Oil, minerals and crops are produced and if sold via the Atlantic port of Matadi, players reap rich rewards. Players develop their own cities and hydroelectricity can be sold to these. The game is built in four game layers with layer two introducing insurgents and peacekeepers, layer three the Government, and layer four strategic interventions by other countries. The game is played on a map showing the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and their "capital" towns. Transport routes are shown and include the major rivers and railways and export routes. In a turn a player may carry out one of five actions: build industry, place transport, develop city, produce resources, or sell resources. A neat and tidy economic game is made complicated by the presence of insurgents at game start, and these are suppressed and eliminated by use of players peacekeepers. This is a typical Ragnar Brothers dice combat system—simple but bringing tension and fun to proceedings.