John Company: Second Edition: setup guide

Setup 01

Match the four-family 1710 game

Use the Second Edition, Second Printing (2023) rulebook, which already includes the publisher’s listed errata. This route seats four families, Hastings, Benyon, Larkins and Walsh, and plays the 1710 Early Company scenario for its five turns. Deregulation and private firms, the 1758, 1813 and Long 1710 scenarios, the Crown solo and two-player rules and the setup draft variant are outside it. The rulebook presents the game as a frank portrait of the East India Company and of imperialism and its effects at home, and asks each group to agree to that exploration before playing. The tutorial follows that framing: it explains the rules plainly and does not celebrate conquest.

Setup 02

Read the board’s four areas

The board tour inspects the empty board before any pieces arrive. Five prizes on the left edge, from £2 for no points to £20 for 12, are the estates that retiring family members buy; each also has upkeep and windows. The middle holds Company Standing with its expectations, the Debt track, the Balance track, and the Court of Directors with the Stock Exchange above it. The red ribbon lists the offices in acting order, beside each Presidency’s treasury, writers box and Army. On the right, India has eight regions whose orders are worth money when filled: trade starts at the three bold home ports, towers show strength and flags show empires. The Power track sets end-game power values, and the separate Prime Minister’s dial records the policy attached to each law.

Setup 03

Set India in its 1710 position

Shuffle the twenty event tiles into a face-down stack. The back of the top tile pictures the region where most events will strike, so the next location is public. Following the scenario card, give every region its tower levels and a dome. The Mughal empire of Delhi flies the gold capital flag and dominates Punjab and Maratha, which fly small gold flags. Seven orders begin closed, and each region’s loot token starts with its £ side up. Place the Elephant on the Maratha–Delhi border facing Delhi: a looming Maratha rebellion. Put each of the seven local alliances in the Army box that lists it. This route then uses one authored legal shuffle of the tiles, chosen for teaching variety rather than as a typical draw.

Setup 04

Prepare the Company, decks and tracks

Set the Company Balance to £5, Standing on the S space with £10 expectations, and Debt at zero. The Director of Trade, Manager of Shipping and three Presidency treasuries each start with £3. Each Army has one regiment, there are no Company ships yet, and Royal Protection begins as a passed law. The power tokens start with social enterprises worth 2 power, Company shares 1, and shipping and manufacturing 0. Point the Prime Minister’s dial at its 1710 space, Power for manufacturing. Shuffle the 24 remaining law cards, leaving the separate Deregulation card out, and shuffle the twenty prestige cards with the ten blackmail cards. Deal three to the London Season Display, prestige face up and blackmail face down, then set the turn marker to one and every family to 0 VP.

Setup 05

Deal the authored setup cards

Each family takes its 18 portrait pieces and three 1710 setup cards. The tutorial uses one authored legal deal; it is not advice for choosing cards. Hastings is Chairman, with one further share, and Prime Minister with a face-down blackmail card; they also command the Army of Bombay and have a Bombay writer. Benyon is President of Madras and Manager of Shipping, with two shares, command of the Army of Bengal and a Bengal writer. Larkins is President of Bombay and Director of Trade, with a share, the Ganges fitted in the South Indian Ocean, command of the Army of Madras and a Madras writer. Walsh is President of Bengal and Military Affairs, with a share and the King George and Britannia fitted East and West. Each family starts with £5, except Benyon with £6.

Before your first move

Each turn follows nine phases along the board’s red ribbon. The London Season, skipped on turn one, rolls attrition for each office, retires pensioners onto prizes and lets retiring families take prestige cards. Each family then takes one family action, and vacant offices are filled. In Company Operation the Chairman may borrow and must allocate the whole Balance to office treasuries; the Director of Trade, Manager of Shipping, Military Affairs and three Presidencies then act in ribbon order, and an office may spend only its own treasury. Bonuses, Revenue, Events in India, Parliament, and Upkeep and Refresh complete the turn.

This is a setup companion for the scenarios below, not a replacement for the publisher’s complete setup diagrams. Open the guided table to inspect the exact locations and the recorded deal.