Automobile
- Players
- 3-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 5 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 120 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 12+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 3.5 / 5
- Year
- 2009
About the game
Automobile drops 3-5 players into the early 20th century U.S. auto industry, purchasing factories that churn out low-, medium-, and high-value vehicles from the 1893 Duryea onward. Each round, players know a portion of market demand and must decide how much to manufacture, knowing overproduction brings costly inefficiency. Special action spaces let you tap historical figures like Ford, Durant, and Kettering for unique one-turn abilities. As newer models roll out, older ones lose value, pushing players to keep pace with changing technology. It's a tightly wound economic engine from designer Martin Wallace.
Hobbli's Notes
Automobile is a brutal, satisfying economic puzzle: the tension between building enough cars and not flooding your own market is the whole game, and it rarely lets up. It rewards players who can read supply and demand ahead of the table. Just be ready for real downtime between turns and a game that punishes miscalculation hard.
What we like
- Deep, historically grounded economic simulation.
- Meaningful production-versus-demand decisions every round.
- Strong player interaction through the shared market.
- Thematic special actions tied to real auto-industry pioneers.
Keep in mind
- Significant downtime between turns in larger groups.
- Punishing mistakes can snowball into a rough game.
- Steep learning curve for the market and inefficiency systems.
Who it's for
Experienced economic-game fans aged 12 and up who enjoy heavy market simulation, best suited to a dedicated group of 3-5 players.
