It is with no small measure of excitement that I recount, from the pen of our most diligent correspondent at India House, the particulars of a recent and quite extraordinary campaign chronicling the fortunes of the Honorable East India Company. The game commenced in the year 1710, a most ambitious start, and allowed, most provocatively, for independent Firms to challenge the supremacy of the Company itself.
Mr. Katz assumed the Chairmanship at the outset, and Miss Tritle, no stranger to political ambition, began the game in the exalted office of Prime Minister.
In most accounts, such felicity is but a prelude to catastrophe; indeed, India has been known to respond to English profit with an uprising of considerable vehemence. Yet no such calamity befell the Company this time. Rebellions were curiously absent, and luck appeared to favor the British traders. Mr. Katz’s good sense was rewarded further: he retired two members of his esteemed family to the comfort of English estates, there to enjoy the tranquil ignorance of ill-gotten gains.
With the arrival of the Second Turn, the Chairmanship passed to a Mr. LaDue, of the blue family, and the Company’s fortunes, rather than diminish, shone yet more brightly. Trade blossomed, clashes with the formidable Maratha Empire were deftly avoided, and Company Standing rose to its highest possible point, a phenomenon rarely witnessed and scarcely believed without documentation.
Yet by the Third Turn, one perceived a darkening of the skies. The Company, still boasting robust returns and, according to Mr. LaDue, “expert management,” was well-positioned to distribute dividends most liberally. Alas, the expectations of the shareholders were dashed most scandalously when Miss Tritle’s family did, if whispers from within the Board of Governors are to be believed, blackmail the Company with matters most unbecoming of polite society. Something to do with Molly House, one hears, though one hardly dares inquire.
Miss Tritle departed with half the Company's revenue. This unspeakable scandal forced the Company into hasty loans and fiscal disgrace. Parliament convened shortly thereafter, and Miss Tritle, now diminished in influence, was quite unable to prevent Mr. Katz, now bolstered by several Rotten Boroughs of the East End, from claiming the Prime Ministry for himself. Thus did the wheel of fortune turn.
In the Fourth Turn, the intrigue only deepened. The rumor of deregulation grew louder. Players now prepared to form their own Firms, so that they might pursue trade independent of the old Company. Mr. Burdett, Mr. Povilaitis, and Miss Tritle invested in workshops with great ambition. Mr. Burdett’s matrimonial alliance, though advantageous in social standing, aligned him with a family notoriously hostile to shipbuilding, a fact which would render his independent mercantile aspirations difficult to realize.
Meanwhile, Chairman LaDue, though deeply invested in the Company (to the tune of five shares!), was obliged to take four rounds of debt, surely a dangerous strategy, as trade fortunes in India are never long assured. In Bengal, rebellion boiled over, and the Governor, poor man, was forced to flee. The Maratha Empire now controlled the northern provinces entirely, and its dominance was viewed by many as irrevocable.
The Fifth Turn saw the passage of the Deregulation Law, an act that opened the floodgates. Mr. Katz and Mr. Povilaitis formed their own Firms, financed by Mr. LaDue and Mr. Burdett respectively. Mr. Katz’s enterprise, agile and well-prepared, outpaced the Honorable Company in securing profitable trade routes. The rewards were staggering wealth flowed, estates were bought, and reputations burnished. Mr. Povilaitis and Mr. Burdett managed a modest return, but little more than subsistence. The Company, now aged and infirm, could barely compete. Its failure was all but assured.
By the Sixth and Final Turn, the matter was decided. The Company, a once-mighty engine of empire, stood on the precipice of total collapse. The players scrambled to secure their own fortunes before the inevitable end. Mr. Katz, having amassed a vast war chest, orchestrated a final retirement so splendid that it placed him, without question, at the pinnacle of society. Mr. Povilaitis’s Firm had been no less industrious but could not match the commanding lead.
And when the Company did indeed fall, a card was drawn to assign blame. To Mr. Katz’s eternal relief, that blame fell upon the Governors, and as there were none left in office, no reputations were ruined, and Mr. Katz ascended to his final triumph unscathed.
Final Scores:
- Chris Katz 31VP
- Ed Povilaitis 26VP
- Jeff Burdett 22VP
- Grant LaDue 18.5VP
- Jennifer Tritle 18VP
Thus, concludes this most eventful chronicle, in which ambition, prudence, fortune, and scandal each played their part. In the end, it was not the Company that stood tall, but the individuals who, through cunning or conscience, secured their own posterity.
With all due civility and admiration,
Your Most Obedient and Humble Servant
GM notes:
The 2025 John Company tournament, now in its second year as a Century event, continued to attract a strong following. We had 28 players this year, up from 25 last year, and it was fun to see a core set of returning players who were looking to connive and backstab their way to (tarnished) glory.
We made a couple of changes to the format this year. The heats were intended to have a mix of 1710 and 1758 scenarios, but in the end only one table out of 9 went with 1758. My goal is to attract new players, and that means the default for heats will always be the 1710 scenario (i.e., no player Firms) and new players understandably are hesitant to try the more advanced scenario.
The Semifinal was all 1758 scenario, and the Final was a full campaign starting in Turn 1. It was gratifying that Chris Katz won the Final and was able to do so without having played the game prior to WBC, this is a testament to our system of seeding each game with an experienced player to help teach and move the action along (along with Chris’s excellent game play as well :)). I’m not sure if I want to continue doing a full campaign for the Final, however, the possibility of a REALLY long game is too high and I don’t want to burn people out. I’ll have to discuss this with my assistant GM’s, and if you have any thoughts, please send them along.
The other change was to tie-breakers, and this went over really well. I hate the final tie-breaker from the game as written, seating order from Prime Minister, as it just seems lazy and anti-climactic. We added multiple tie-breakers from game state including power, money, trophies, and I liked it much better.
A final note, the Company only survived a single game (out of a total of 13), which brings the total Company survivals in three years to….TWO. The Company is incredibly brittle in all scenarios, so diversification in your family focus is vital.
Hope to see you next year!
Burdett, Jeff [3rd Year]