Components

• Player Mine pieces
• Player Money and Time tokens
• Player Investment cubes
• 1 Black pawn
• 10 Miner pieces
• 8 Port pieces
• 3 Train pieces
• 4 Adit pieces
• 50 Water cubes
• 60 Copper cubes
• 50 Tin cubes
• 3 special dice
• Instructions

Starting The Game

You should select a set of pieces, which will consist of six mines, four player tokens and twelve investment cubes.

For the first turn randomly determine the order of play.

Mark the order of play by placing player tokens in their respective positions on the Order of Play column.

At the start of the game place a number of copper and tin cubes to match the number shown in each area. Now roll all three special dice one area at a time for each of the areas that starts with cubes in it, and add the cubes indicated by the dice to that area.

Do not roll the dice or add any cubes to any of the clear areas - areas start the game empty of cubes unless there are white or orange cubes printed in that area.

Two of your Player tokens are used to record your money on the Money Track. Each player starts the game with £15. Place one player token in the £15 space and the other in the £00 space.

The Board

A Order of Play column.

B Available Developments. Miners, ports, adits, and trains that are available for placement will be placed here in Phase two.

C Time Track. When you use Time Points you move your player token along this track, from one to ten.

D Clear Areas. There are eight clear areas that do not start with copper or tin cubes in them. You do not roll to place cubes in these at the start of the game. You can still build mines in these areas, and you will also be able to prospect in these areas later, hoping to find rich ore lodes.

E Developments Display. This tells you what pieces to place in the Available Developments box.

F Actions. This table reminds you of the actions you can perform, what each action costs in time points, and the action's effects.

G Starting areas. These areas start with tin and copper cubes in them. You also roll the dice to generate additional cubes for each of these areas at the start of the game.

H Ore Prices. Roll all three special dice to determine the price of tin, and roll again to determine the price of copper. The total thrown is modified on the first and last turns, and also if the current price is at the highest or lowest level.

I Money tracks. Keep a record of your money using player tokens.

J External Investments. You pay to place cubes here to earn victory points.

Players move their tokens back along the track when they spend their money, and forwards when they receive money. The bottom track is used to record multiples of £20.

Game Play

The game is divided into four turns. In each turn you must complete the following phases:

1. Determine Ore Prices
2. Available Developments.
3. Player Actions
4. Sell Ore
5. External Investments
6. Prospect
7. End of Turn.

Phase One: Determine Ore Prices

The price of copper fluctuated in an unpredictable manner depending on the discovery of cheap deposits elsewhere. Drops in the price would cause great suffering in Cornwall as mines closed down. Some mines would switch to tin mining, whose price was more stable.

First determine the price for tin. Roll all three dice and add the numbers together. Compare the total to the values in the left-hand column of the Ore Price table. Place a white tin cube in Tin column to show the current price of tin. Roll the dice again to determine the price of copper, using an orange cube to mark the Copper price.

In the first turn you should add one to the total rolled when determining the price for both ore types. This reflects the fact that the metals were in high demand at this time.

In following turns the old price may affect the new price of ore. If the old price was at the highest level then subtract one from the total shown on the dice. If the old price was at the lowest level then add one to the result shown on the dice.

In the last turn you should subtract one from the totals rolled, which represents the way that increasing competition from other mining areas was driving down the prices of the metals. This final turn modifier should be applied as well as any modification due to the previous turn's price.

Phase Two: Available Developments

As miners had to dig deeper to reach the lodes they developed new techniques and technologies to help remove water and increase their capacity to get the ore out.

Each turn a certain number of developments will be available to be selected as actions by the players.

Remove any pieces left in the Available Developments box from the previous turn. Now restock it according to the Developments table.

Check the column for the current turn to see how many of each development should be placed in the Available Developments box.

You will also need to place Steam Pump discs in the boxes indicated.

In the first turn you place one disc in the first box. In the second turn you place one disc in the first box and two discs in the second. In the third turn place discs in the first three boxes, and fill all four boxes for the fourth turn.

The improve Steam Pumps action can only be selected once in the first turn, but may be chosen twice in the second turn, three times in the third turn and four times in the fourth turn.

When choosing this action players will usually select the largest available stack of Steam Pump discs.

Phase Three: Player Actions

This is the longest and most important phase of each turn. Each player will have the opportunity to take a number of actions to build, improve, and operate mines.

Each action takes an amount of time to perform. The amount of time each action takes varies, as shown on the Action Display. Each player has ten Time Points to spend on actions during this phase. Players record the amount of Time Points they have used on the Time Track. The order of play is determined by how much time each player has spent during the phase.

During the early part of each turn the active player is always the player who has their token highest on the Order of Play column. If there are no tokens on the 'Order of Play' column then the active player is the one who has spent the least amount of Time Points.

If more than one player is tied for the fewest Time Points then the player closest to the top of the column is the active player. Note that a player will be able to take several turns as the active player so long as all of the other players remain ahead of him on the Time Track.

There are nine actions for a player to select from. Each costs a number of Time Points. After the active player has completed the action he should move his token a number of spaces along the Time Track to record how many Time Points he has used.

If this results in his token finishing in the same space as another player's token then the active player's token is placed in the first empty space below in the same column.

When you are the active player you MUST perform one action from the following list:

1. Build mine
2. Mine ore
3. Build port
4. Place miner
5. Build adit
6. Build train
7. Improve steam pumps
8. Sell pasties
9. Pass

You can only perform an action if you have enough Time Points available to complete the action. If this means that the only action available is the PASS action then you must select it. Once you have passed your token will be placed on the Order of Play column and you will not be able to perform any more actions this turn.

The action phase ends when all of the players have passed. Once all but one of the players have passed the remaining player may perform just one more action, (if he has the Time Points available), before then passing.

Some of the actions require you to take a piece from the Available Developments box. If the desired piece is not in the box then the corresponding action cannot be selected, (e.g. as there is only one adit available each turn the Build Adit action can only be performed once and by just one player each turn).

A. Build Mine

When you take this action you choose an area of the board and mark it by placing the black pawn in the area. The right to build a mine in this area is now put up for auction. The player selecting this action must bid first, and must bid at least £1.

The player to his left now makes a higher bid, or passes and drops out of the auction. Once a player has dropped out he cannot rejoin the current auction. Bidding continues clockwise around the table until all but one of the players have dropped out.

The player who wins the auction must pay the amount of his bid, (adjusting his tokens on the Money Track as necessary), and places one of his Mine pieces in the area, and also uses two Time Points. Note that the player with the winning bid need not be the active player, and the active player will immediately be able to select another action).

Players may take part in the auction even if their tokens are further along the Time Track than the active player, so long as they have the two Time Points required to complete the action. However, players may not take part in the auction if they have selected the Pass action, if they have less than two Time Points remaining, or do not have enough money to bid.

When choosing which area to put up for auction you can only select an area that does not already contain a mine. No area can ever contain more than one mine.

You could choose to put up for auction an area that has no cubes in it. After the auction has been completed, and the mine has been built in one of these clear areas, roll the three dice to see how many copper, tin, and water cubes are added to the area. This is done after the Time Points and money have been spent - you do not know what resources there are until after you have built and paid for the mine.

No player can ever build more than six mines. Once built a mine remains on the board for the rest of the game and cannot be sold, traded, or removed. Each area cannot contain more than one mine.

B. Mine Ore

Once you have a mine you may want to use it to get ore out of the ground. The Mine Ore action allows you to take a certain number of copper and tin cubes from one area. You can only mine ore in an area where you already have a mine.

Each mine has a basic Mining Capacity of two. This means that you can remove a total of two tin/copper cubes from that area. This Mining Capacity is increased by each port, miner, and train in the area. Each of these developments in an area will increase that mine's capacity by one, (and only one of each development can be built in an area).

There is also a cost to Mine Ore. Each tin/copper cube that you remove from an area will cost you an amount equal to the number of water cubes in that area, i.e. the more water the more expensive it is to mine the ore. Note that you do not receive any money for the ore until later in the turn, so the amount of money that you have available will limit your ability to Mine Ore.

If there are no water cubes in an area then there is no cost to Mine Ore in that area.

You choose which ore cubes you take from an area. You can remove any mix of tin and copper cubes that you wish, up to your Mining Capacity. You can also choose to remove fewer cubes than your Mining Capacity.

When you take tin and copper cubes off the board you must place them in front of you - they will be sold later in the turn. There is no limit to the number of cubes that you can hold during a turn.

When all of the copper and tin cubes have been removed from an area mines, developments, and water cubes remain on the board.

The Mine Ore action also uses one Time Point.

C. Build Port

Many of the coves around Cornwall's craggy coast contain the remnants of old mining ports. Ports were built to bring coal in to feed the energy hungry steam pumps and ship ore out to the smelting plants in South Wales.

Although Cornwall was blessed with a cornucopia of metals she was endowed with no coal at all, which meant that it all had to be imported.

There must be a port piece in the Available Developments box in order to select this action. You take one port piece and place it in any area of your choice. You must select an area that has at least one border touching the sea.

The chosen area does not need to contain one of your mines, nor that of any other player. Only one port piece can be placed in an area, and once placed it cannot be moved or removed.

When you place a port in an area you immediately remove one water cube from that area. The port also increases the Mining Capacity by one in that area, as more ore can be shipped out of Cornwall.

Building a port uses two Time Points. There is no financial cost.

D. Place Miner

The history of tin mining in Cornwall goes back millennia, to the time of the Phoenicians. Copper mining was a more recent development, driven by the demand of the Royal Navy for sheathing for their ships. As copper and tin mining expanded in the 19th century so in turn the demand for labour increased.

There must be a miner piece in the Available Developments box for you to select this action. You take one Miner piece from the box and place it in any area of your choice, (you do not have to place it in an area where you have a mine).

Only one miner can be placed in each area. Once placed the piece remains there for the rest of the game.

A miner will increase the Mining Capacity of an area by one.

Placing a Miner takes one Time Point. There is no financial cost.

E. Build Adit

The biggest problem facing the Cornish miner was pumping water out of the mines.

This required a lot of energy, either in the form of horses or coal. One solution to reducing the amount of energy required was to dig a tunnel into the side of a hill to meet the mine shaft.

The water raised could now be dumped into this tunnel, known as an 'adit' rather than pumping it all the way up to the surface. In the course of building an adit it was quite common to come across new lodes of copper and tin.

There must be an adit piece in the Available Action box for you to select this action. You take the piece and place it such that it connects two adjacent areas, lying across the border. You immediately remove one water cube from each of the two areas. You also add one copper and one tin cube to each of the two areas.

The adit remains in place for the rest of the game. Only one adit can be built across a single border, but it is possible for an area to have further adits connected to it as long as they are built across borders that did not have adits across them.

Building an adit takes three Time Points. There is no financial cost.

The two areas connected by an adit do not have to contain mines.

It may be that only one of them does. You would still remove Water cubes and add copper and tin cubes as normal so long as the area already contained at least one cube.

You do not add cubes to a clear area when you build an adit. If the area has cubes placed in it later on, then one extra tin and one extra copper cube are placed in the area, and one less water cube.

F. Build Train

Probably Cornwall's most famous son is Richard Trevithick who built the first steam train. Once again the driving force was to be able to bring more coal to the mines to power the steam pumps.

You can only select this action if there is a train piece in the Available Developments box. You take the train piece and place it in an area of your choice, (it does not have to contain one of your mines). Only one train piece can be placed in each area. Once placed a train piece cannot be moved or removed.

When you place a train piece you remove two water cubes from the area that the train has been placed in AND one water cube from every adjacent area. The Mining Capacity of any mine in the same area as the train is increased by one. Note that any mines in adjacent areas do not have their Mining Capacity increased.

You can have a maximum of one train in each area. The train remains in that area until the end of the game.

It takes two Time Points to build a train. There is no financial cost.

G. Improve Steam Pumps

Hopefully by now you will have realised the importance of pumping technology in mining. Steam power was developed primarily to pump water out of mines, using it to power machinery was a later development.

Engineers were continually making improvements to steam pumps, although they had to be careful not to infringe James Watts patent. Generally the aim was to use less coal to produce more power, as coal was a heavy commodity to import.

Depending on the turn number there will be a number of stacks of white steam pump discs on the Steam Pump track, just above the Available Developments box. As an action you can take one stack of steam pump discs and use them to remove water cubes from the board.

Each disc allows you to remove one Water cube. You may remove water cubes from any area you choose, even one with no mine. If you have more than one steam pump disc to use you may remove water cubes from one single area or a combination of different areas.

After removing water cubes all of your steam pump discs should be returned to the general supply at the side of the board, (they will be available again in subsequent turns).

Steam pump discs that are unused by the end of the current turn are also returned to the general supply. It takes one Time Point to take and use one stack of steam pump discs. There is no financial cost.

Action

H. Sell Pasties

Cornwall's most famous delicacy is the pasty. It was the miners' lunch, a mixture of meat and vegetables surrounded in a pastry case with a thick crust along one side to allow the miner to hold it in his dirty hands, (this part of the crust was not normally eaten).

In reality pasties were home made, by the miners' wives. However, in this game you can Sell Pasties to raise £1. It is usually an action to be taken when you have spent too much money and need to get a little back to perform another action. When you take this action you add £1 to your Money total.

The Sell Pasties action takes one Time Point.

I. Pass

If you choose to pass you remove your player token from the Time Track and move it to the highest empty space on the Order of Play column.

You cannot perform any more actions this turn, nor can you take part in any auctions. If you are on the '10' space of the Time Track then you must take the Pass action.

If all but one of the players have passed the remaining player may perform just one more action, (if he has the Time Points remaining), before being forced to select the Pass action.

The Pass action uses no Time Points.

4. Sell Ore

The Action phase will end when all players have passed. Players must now sell all of the tin and copper cubes they have mined during the turn.

The Ore Price table tells you how much money you receive for each tin and copper cube you sell. You need to calculate how much money you will receive in all and add this to your total on the Money Track.

You cannot retain tin or copper cubes to sell in later turns - you must sell everything you have. All of the sold cubes are returned to the general supply.

5. External Investments

Once you have earned your money from selling ore you now have the opportunity to invest it in ventures outside of Cornwall. A lot of Cornish mine owners invested in Welsh copper smelting in an attempt to control the entire industry.

The order in which players invest is determined by the Order of Play column. When it is your turn to invest you can make a single investment, then play passes to the next player on the track. You repeat this process until everyone has made as many investments as he wishes. Each player has just twelve investment cubes to use through the course of the game.

The Investment Display is made up of four rows, one for each turn of the game. You can only place an investment cube in a space in the row that matches the present turn, e.g. in the third turn you can only place cubes in the third row.

Each box can contain no more than two investment cubes. Those cubes could belong to the same player or two different players.

To place a cube in a box you must pay the amount shown at the top of the column. You adjust your Money total accordingly. The box shows how many victory points you will score at the end of the game. Note that the value of investments declines over the course of the game. Also note that External Investments is the ONLY way to score victory points in the game!

You need to be careful that you do not invest too much of your money as you will need some funds to bid in auctions and mine ore in the following turn. Obviously in the final turn you invest as much as possible.

6. Prospecting

The game starts with a certain number of areas already 'seeded' with tin and copper cubes. There are eight clear areas that do not start with any cubes. In this phase two of these areas will have cubes added to them.

The first player on the Order of Play column must choose one clear area, (one with neither ore cubes nor a mine). He rolls the three special dice and places cubes in the area according to the roll.

The player who is second on the Order of Play column must now choose a different clear area to roll the dice for. If all areas on the board already contain cubes or mines then no Prospecting action is taken.

If there is an adit connected to the area being rolled for then place one extra tin and one extra copper cube, and one less water cube than the dice indicate.

If there is a train in the area place two fewer water cubes and one fewer water cube for each adjacent train. If there is a port in the area place one less water cube.

7. End of Turn

The game will end at the conclusion of the fourth turn. There is no Turn Track on the board - players can see which turn they are in from the cubes on the Investment Display. If it is not the fourth turn then start a new turn.

End of the Game

The game ends after four turns. Players now count up their victory points for the cubes on the Investment Display. You do not score anything for money, mines or other developments on the board.

The player with the highest total of victory points wins the game.

In the case of a tie, the tied player with the most money left is the winner. If there is still a tie then count tin and copper cubes controlled by the tied players, (i.e. cubes remaining on the board in areas that they have mines in).

The player with the most cubes remaining is the winner. If there is still a tie then the tied player highest up the order of play wins.

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