Overview

Carson City is a worker-placement and area-control game set in 1858 Nevada. Players place cowboys on action spaces and land parcels to build a prosperous frontier town. When multiple players compete for the same action or parcel, they resolve it through dice-based duels. Over four rounds, players buy parcels, construct buildings, collect income, and earn victory points. At game end, all remaining assets convert to victory points, and the player with the most wins.

Components

• 1 double-sided game board (one side with river, one without)
• 7 personality cards (double-sided: yellow for standard, red for variant)
• 51 cowboys (10 per color + 1 white sheriff)
• 60 property tiles (12 per color)
• 30 building tiles (ranches, mines, drugstores, banks, saloons, hotels, churches, prisons)
• 20 houses, 9 mountain tiles, 25 black road sticks
• 2 dice, 1 round token
• 25 revolver chips + 1 special 3-gun chip
• 10 markers (2 per color), 30 duel tiles (variant)
• Money ($1, $5, $10, $20)

Setup

1. Randomly determine initial turn order; place markers on the turn order track.
2. Each player gets $15, 1 road, 12 property tiles, and 3 cowboys.
3. Roll dice to determine center of town; place a house and 4 roads there.
4. Randomly place 9 mountains using dice rolls.
5. Place initial buildings on construction squares at their listed prices.
6. Players draft starting parcels: first player picks 1 parcel, then in reverse order each picks a second.

Turn Structure

Each of 4 rounds has 4 phases:

Phase 1 — Choose Personality: In turn order, each player selects a personality card with special powers. Turn order is then rearranged by personality card numbers (ascending).

Phase 2 — Place Cowboys: In the new turn order, each player places one cowboy per action:

• On an action square (above the map)
• On a parcel (to buy it)
• On a building (to attack or defend it)
• Pass: Move your marker to the lower turn order track. No more placements this round.

Phase 3 — Resolve Actions and Duels: Actions resolve in board sequence order. If multiple players placed cowboys on the same space, a duel occurs: each rolls a die and adds their firepower (cowboys + revolvers in personal reserve). Highest total wins; loser’s cowboy returns to personal reserve. Ties broken by lower turn order number.

Phase 4 — End of Round:

• Advance turn counter (blocks one VP purchase space).
• Players receive new cowboys (4 after round 1, 5 after rounds 2-3).
• Excess money above personality’s cash limit converts to 1 VP per $10 spent.
• Unsold buildings shift to lower prices; new buildings drawn from bag.

Actions

Action squares (resolved in board sequence):

• Wages: $4 per cowboy placed (multiple allowed, no duel).
• Ammunition: Win the 3-gun chip for this round.
• Roads (duel): Receive 3 roads for personal reserve.
• Roads (no duel): 1 road per cowboy placed (multiple allowed).
• Parcel Purchase: Buy an owner-free parcel for $1 + $1 per adjacent building/mountain/house.
• Building Construction (7 price levels): Buy a building at its listed price and place it on your parcel (road required except for ranches/mines; most buildings also require placing a free house).
• Parcels Income: $2 per parcel owned.
• Parcels Victory Points: VP = half your parcels (rounded down).
• Cowboy Victory Points: VP = half your firepower (rounded down).
• Estate Victory Points: VP = number of your buildings on parcels.
• Buying Victory Points: Buy VP at $2-$5 per point (varies by square).
• Estate Income (automatic): Each building earns money based on adjacent houses/buildings. Attackers can steal half a building’s income via duel.
• Cowboy Income: $2 per firepower point.
• Gambling Income: Roll 2 dice and receive that amount in cash.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

After round 4, final scoring:

• Each building, house, and mountain owned = 2 VP.
• Remaining money converts at $6 per VP.
• Empty parcels and unbuilt buildings score nothing.
• Highest VP total wins. Tiebreaker: lower turn order number.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Building income details: Ranches earn $1 per adjacent free parcel (minimum $1). Drugstores earn $3 per adjacent house/ranch you own. Mines earn $3 per adjacent mountain you own. Banks earn $3 per adjacent house/mine you own. Saloons earn $5 per adjacent house. Hotels earn $6 flat. Churches and prisons earn no income but provide defensive benefits.
• Ranches and mines add +1 firepower (revolver). Prisons add +2 firepower.
• Churches protect all adjacent buildings from attack. Cannot be attacked themselves.
• Prisons cannot be attacked.
• Hotels count as 2 houses for drugstore/bank/saloon income calculations.
• Personality variants (red cards): Each personality has an alternative power for more experienced players.
• Houses on owner-free parcels benefit all adjacent buildings; houses on owned parcels benefit only that owner’s buildings.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
1. Personality	Choose personality card; reorder turn sequence
2. Cowboys	Place cowboys on actions, parcels, or buildings
3. Resolve	Actions and duels resolved in board order
4. End of Round	New cowboys, cash limit check, building refresh

Duel: Die roll + cowboys in reserve + revolvers. Highest wins. Game end: After round 4. Buildings/houses/mountains = 2 VP each. Money at $6/VP.