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?
Pay Dirt is an engine-building, worker placement game set in frigid Alaska for 2-5 players. Players are competing to manage and grow their entire mining outfit while acquiring the most gold before the ground is too frozen to dig.
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.
Open Drafting
Select cards or items from a shared face-up display.
Worker Placement
Commit limited workers to action spaces before opponents occupy them.
Events
Triggered events alter the shared state, rules, or available choices.
Read the full game description
Pay Dirt is an engine-building, worker placement game set in frigid Alaska for 2-5 players. Players are competing to manage and grow their entire mining outfit while acquiring the most gold before the ground is too frozen to dig. The Alaskan countryside is an inhospitable environment, so players will face hardships that affect their entire outfit – not to mention the ever-dropping temperature that will shut down their operation. In Pay Dirt players start with a small basic crew, an unimpressive claim, mediocre equipment and just a little bit of cash to make a go in one of the toughest competitions this side of the globe. Gold mining isn’t cheap and players will have to sell their gold throughout the game to keep the equipment running and their workers happy. Through clever use of their equipment and workers, players can make their mining outfits more efficient and dialed in to their preference of play. Will you recruit heavily and stack your camp with workers or will you keep your eyes on better and more efficient equipment? Will you have what it takes to hit to strike it rich and hit pay dirt?