The Cost

The Cost is a challenging economic board game putting players in the role of a company whose interest is in the asbestos industry around the world.Players compete to make their fortune by concentrating or diversifying in the various aspects of the industry such as mining, refining, and shipping. The player who ends the game with the most money wins.
The Cost is played over four game rounds, but it is possible for the game to end early due to health and safety regulations shutting the industry down and eventually eliminating all areas in which to act.In each round, every player begins their turn by selecting a country in which to execute their actions. The selection of a country both triggers an event within it as well as having an effect upon the country’s economy. Players will then use a unique system to draft three actions at once for the round. The actions can be a mix of building mines, building mills, gaining government subsidies, establishing railroads, and establishing ports.
When all players have executed their actions, the players may convert their money into specific country resources with each country having its own conversion rate. The players’ industry then goes into motion, with mines producing raw asbestos, mills milling that asbestos, and railroads and ports transporting these goods around the world. The players may also have a chance to invest in their own companies to gain an edge.
When players mine or mill asbestos, they must choose to either maximize profits for short term gains or sacrifice their hard won money to minimize deaths thus sustaining the industry.
Once all the asbestos has been sold for the round, players cleanup and set the new turn order according to any players who chose short term gains.