The Object of the Game is to have fun.
The in-game win objective in Oligopoly is to end the game with the highest number of victory points. Victory points are earned when cities fulfill hidden Victory Point Conditions.
Oligopoly is played over multiple rounds. Each round consists of four phases: Dusk, Night, Dawn, and Day. During each phase players take actions. The game is played over approximately seven to nine full rounds during a four-hour convention event.
Dusk
Players Settle in a city, Organize their cards, and Investigate the hidden Victory Point Condition of their city.
Settle: City Players go to their City; Business Players go to a city where they control at least one business. Players may only Produce in this city this round (for both Night and Day phases).
Organize: City Players choose which side of their City and Reward Cards will be face-up this round. Business Players choose where to place their Upgrades. Players may only Produce using face-up and visible parts of cards this round.
Investigate: Players may view and discuss their city’s hidden Victory Point Condition.
NIGHT:
Players may complete multiple night actions in any order (Produce, Unlock).
Produce: Players may use any of their Production Boxes (both black and white arrows).
Unlock: City Players may collect Rewards for any completed Quests. Rewards may be used immediately.
DAWN:
City Players Report their business tally; Business Players Invest in stock.
Report: City Players count the number of Business Cards and Business Players in their city and report that to the Bank Facilitator.
Invest: Business Players collect several random shares of stock from the Business Facilitator.
DAY:
Players may complete multiple Day Actions in any order, in their city or while moving around the play area (Trade, Produce, Purchase, Relocate, Annex, Unlock).
Trade: Players may move about the play area to trade with each other. Tradeable items are cubes, meeples, stock, Upgrade Cards, Reward Cards, Non-Played City Cards, and information on hidden Victory Point Conditions. Traded cards and resources are immediately available for the Produce action and further Trade actions.
Produce: Players may use their Production Boxes with white arrows only (no black arrows). Reminder that players may only Produce in the city where they spent the Night.
Purchase: Business Players may buy Upgrade Cards from the Bank. Relocate: Business Players may move a business they control from one city to another by discarding one cube of each color to the Bank.
Annex: Special Triggered Action! If the final businesses in a NonPlayed City Relocates to a Played City, then that Non-Played City Card is moved with the business into the new city.
Unlock: City Players may collect Rewards for any completed Quests. Rewards may be used immediately.
When the Facilitators announce the final round, it means there will be one last full round of play, starting at Dusk and ending after Day. After the Day phase finishes, players go back to their current city for end game scoring.
Once players arrive in their city, each City Player reveals their hidden Victory Point Condition one at a time. Facilitators will help guide this process.
If a city can fulfill a Victory Point Condition, then the city earns ten victory points; otherwise, the city earns nothing.
Scoring continues in clockwise order around the play area with each City Player reading their condition and all players determining if their city fulfilled that condition or not.
Each city then distributes their earned victory points evenly among all players at that city (rounding down). For example, a city that earned 20 victory points with four players distributes five victory points to each player.
All players with the greatest number of victory points win! In the case of ties, all tied players share the victory!