Lords of the Sierra Madre

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Lords of the Sierra Madre
By e-mail using the Decision Games Edition with variant by Phil Eklund
Sat Nov 27 15:09:38 PST 1999 (This game was played in late 1998.)
Cards list
Action summary
Smelter summary
Analysis
Errata

PLAYERS:
Indicated cash treasuries are after investors capital, profits and capitalization.

C1 Colonel Bill Greene [0] - Phil Eklund

Cash: 13
Location: Bisbee, Arizona
Income :

Hacienda San Rafael de la Zanja (Bisbee, Arizona): 6/summer
C44 Las Catilanas Mine (Tonichi, Sonora), Copper: 4/turn

Capitalizing:

RR 22, free capitalization through Spring 1903

Other

B4 Border Patrol

Upcards: 4

C2 Sheriff John Slaughter [0] - Jack Barnette

Cash: 15
Location: Douglas, Arizona
Income:

San Bernardino Ranch (Douglas, Arizona): 5/summer
RR10 Arizona and Colorado Railroad: 0

Capitalizing:

C38, Lucky Tiger Mine in Canyon del Pulpito, Sonora, 1 through Summer 1904

Other

Arizona Rangers
M36 Conspiracy General Bernardo Reyes[1] Reyista Plot to invade Mexico.

Upcards: 5

C3 Judge Albert Fall [0] - Olivier C.

Cash: 5 (7-1 for C12-1 for RR15)
Location: Alamogordo, New Mexico
Income:

Tres Rito Ranch (Alamogordo, New Mexico): 5/summer
RR7 El Paso Northeast Railroad: 0
RR20 El Tigre Suerte Road: 1 providing Lumber for Mine C32
C12 Tonichi Moctezuma Copper Company smelter: 4/turn.

Capitalizing:

RR25 Chihuahua al Pacifico, free capitalization through Summer 1904 .
RR15 Chihuahua al Pacifico plus Shepherd Mountain Road, 1 through Fall 1904.

Other

O8 Chihuahua Policia
B2 Blackjack Pershing

Upcards: 8

C4 Don Rafael Ysábel [2] - Rick Heli

Cash: 6 (7-1 for RR5)
Location: Bacatete, Sonora
Income:

La Europa Slave Plantation (Bacatete, Sonora): 6/summer
RR12 Colorado River Steam Navigation Co.: 0
C60 Mesilla 1853 Land Grant Hacienda (Dona Ana, NM): 3/summer

Capitalizing:

RR19 Ferrocaril de Cananea Sierra Tigre, free capitalization through Summer 1904
RR5 Lordsburg & Hachita Railway Co, 1 through Autumn 1902

Other:

O1 Sonora Rurales in Alamos

Upcards: 6

C5 Hauptmann Franz von Rintelen [0] - Marco Fibbi

Cash: 1
Location: Alamos, Sonora
Income:

Navajoa Slave Plantation (Alamos, Sonora): 5/summer

Capitalizing:

RR24 Ferrocaril del Pacifico, free capitalization through Summer 1903

Other:

R3 Maderista Junta [1] in Borega, Chihuahua

Upcards: 3

C6 Lord Cowdray (Sir Weetman Pearson) [1] - Alan Moorhouse

Cash: 12 (13-1 for C11)
Location: Grant County, New Mexico
Income:

Hacienda Santa Anita (Janos, Chihuahua): 4/summer
RR6 Silver City, Deming and Pacific Railroad: 0
C32 Santa Rita del Cobre Mine (Grant County, NM): 5/turn

Capitalizing:

RR17 Sierra Madra Pacific RR, free capitalization through Spring 1904
C11 Shannon Copper smelter (Clifton). 1 through Winter 1904.

Other:

M43 Riverbank Laboratories (+10 cards)
R19 Western Federation of Mine Strikers [1]
R14 Midnight Marauders [1] in Canyon del Pulpito, Sonora
B1 10^th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, 6^th Field Art General Miles [2], Fort Huachuca, AZ
O6 18^th Infantry Chihuahua Federales, Guerrerro, Chihuahua ?

Upcards: 19

C7 Governor Don Luis Terrazas [4] - Phil Vogt

Cash: 5
Location: Hermosillo, Sonora
Income:

Hacienda de San Diego (Casas Grandes, Chihuahua): 4/summer
C31 San Germán Tannery-Hacienda (Guayamas, Sonora): 4/summer

Capitalizing:

RR18 Rio Grande, Sierra Madre Pacifico: free through Spring 1903.
RR23 Ferrocaril de Rio Yaqui: free through Summer 1904
C14 Cananea Con Copper Co. Economic Hot Blast Smelter (Cananea, SN), 1 through Winter 1905

Other:

M3 Tombstone Epitaph/Tucson Citizen
O5 Federales Chihuahueños Negrenos (Chihuahua) in Guerrero
W6 Transport Ford or Mercedes Benz Trucks. Henry Ford [2]
O2 Federales 20th Battalion (Sonora) in Moctezuma
O3 Federales 11th Battalion (Sonora) inMoctezuma, Sonora?
O7 Sonora Policia
M 31 Governor of Sonora

Upcards: 12

C8 William Randolph Hearst [1] - Garry Haggerty

Cash: 5 (6-1 for RR21)
Location: Temosachic, Chihuahua
Income:

San José de Babicora Latifundium (Temosachic, Chihuahua): 5/summer

Capitalizing:

RR21 Noroeste de Mexico, 1 through Spring 1903
RR28 Kansas City, Mexico & Orient, free capitalization through Summer 1903

Other:

O4 Chihuahua Rurales in Temosachic
R1 Bandidos Villistas [2] in Barranca Aros, Chihuahua
M4 Subornation

Upcards: 6

C9 Alexander Shepherd [0] - Robert Green

Cash: 6 (7-1 for C47)
Location: Barranca Cobre, Chihuahua
Income:

Hacienda de San Miguel (Barranca Cobre, Chihuahua): 4/summer

Capitalizing:

C47 Batopilas Mining Company, 1 through Summer 1903

Other:
Upcards: 2

Unpurchased:

C10 Gold/Silver Smelter (El Paso, TX) - 8Q
C13 Calumet & Arizona Mining Co. Reverberatory Smelter (Douglas, AZ) - 10Q
RR4 Gila Valley, Globe & Northern Railway Co. - 2Q
RR8 Twin Buttes Railroad Company - 4Q
RR9 New Mexico & Arizona Railroad - 3Q
RR11 El Paso Southwest Railroad - 10Q
RR13 Duquesne M & R Co. - 4Q
RR14 Cananea, Rio Yaqui & Pacific RR - 2Q
RR16 Mexican Western Railway Co. - 11Q
RR26 Call and Pacific Railroad - 9Q
RR27 Sierra Madre Land & Lumber Co. - 7Q
M1 Presidential Elections, US Democratic Party - 0Q
M2 Presidential Elections, Mexican Anti-Reelectionism - 4Q

Discarded Cards:: None.

Activities (in chronological order):

Signing up players.
Choosing hacendadoes.
Dice roll server used to determine choice order as follows: Rick Heli, Olivier C., Phil Eklund, Jack Barnette, Alan Moorhouse, Phil Vogt, Garry Haggerty.
Rick Heli chooses C4 Don Rafael Ysábel.
Olivier C. chooses C3 Judge Albert Fall.
Phil Eklund chooses C1 Colonel Bill Greene.
Jack Barnette chooses C2 Sheriff John Slaughter.
Alan Moorhouse chooses C6 Lord Cowdray (Sir Weetman Pearson).
Phil Vogt chooses C7 Don Luis Terrazas.
Garry Haggerty chooses C8 William Randolph Hearst.
1898 Winter.
Card is M43 Riverbank Laboratories - 1 gold.
Card Auction.
Passing: Terrazas, Don Rafael, Fall, Hearst, Greene.
Bidding 1: Cowdray. Cowdray takes it.
Common Card Auction.
Passing: Terrazas, Greene, Hearst, Cowdray, Slaughter.
Fall bids 1 on RR7.
Don Rafael bids 1 on RR12.
1898 Spring.
Card is E15 Garbanzo bean demand explodes! Slave Plantation profits up two - 1 gold.
Common Card Auction.
Slaughter bids 1 on B3 Arizona Rangers.
Terrazas bids 1 on M3 Tombstone Epitaph/Tucson Citizen.
Terrazas stature +1.
1898 Summer.
Card is E19 Yaqui Deportations! Slave Plantation profits down 1 - 1 gold.
Mexican hacendadoes may withdraw from bidding for a year, raising leadership two ranks.
Terrazas, Don Rafael withdraw.
All re-invest profits.
RR12 Colorado River Steam Navigation Co. matures.
Slaughter bids 1 on RR 10 Arizona and Colorado.
1898 Autumn.
Card is C32 Santa Rita del Cobre Mine of Grant County, New Mexico - 1 gold.
Bidding 1: Cowdray. Cowdray takes it.
No bidding on common cards.
1899 Winter.
Card is C44 the Las Catilanas Mine of Tonichi, Sonora (8 quarters) - 1 gold.
Terrazas pays capitalization cost for Cowdray's Santa Rita del Cobre Mine.
Hearst bids 1 on C44, but Greene bids 3 and takes it, spending 2.
1899 Spring.
Card is E2 HALLEY'S COMET - 2 gold. +1 to end the game. Arizona Rangers relinquished.
Rafael transfers 2 AU to Hearst.
Hearst takes Sonora Rurales, spending 1. Hearst transfers Sonora Rurales to Don Rafael; Don Slaughter takes Arizona Rangers, spending 1.
1899 Summer.
Card is R19 Western Federation of Mine Strikers [1]. 0 quarters.
All players re-invest.
Cowdray pays 1 Au for R19.
Fall pays 1 gold for Sonora Police, 1 for Chihuahua police.
Terrazas pays 1 to capitalize Cowdray's mine.
Both Terrazas and Don Rafael return from Yaqui deportations with +2 stature.
1899 Autumn.
Capitalization of all immature railroads increased 2 quarters (this affects RR10).
Card is E21 Panama Canal announced - 2 gold.
Terrazas takes a Chihuahua Federales for 1 Au.
1900 Winter.
Card is W6 Transport Ford or Mercedes Benz Trucks. Henry Ford [2] - 1 gold.
Terrazas pays 1 to capitalize Cowdray's mine.
Hearst bids 2 on O4 Chihuahua Rurales, 2 on M4 Subornation, spending 1 each.
Fall bids 2 on C12 Tonichi Moctezuma Copper Company smelter, spending 1.
Cowdray bids 1 on RR6 Silver City, Deming and Pacific Railroad.
Terrazas, Don Rafael and Slaughter each bid 1 for the trucks, won by Terrazas.
1900 Spring.
Card is R1 Bandidos Villistas [2] in Barranca Aros, Chihuahua - no gold.
Greene, Cowdray and Don Rafael combine to bid 3 on the Villistas.
Hearst bids 3 on the Villistas, Terrazas adds 1 – Hearst takes the card.
Fall bids 1 on B2 Blackjack Pershing.
RR10 Arizona and Colorado Railroad matures.
San Bernardino Ranch goes up 2 profit levels.
1900 Summer.
Card is R3 Maderista Junta [1] in Borega, Chihuahua - no gold.
Terrazas, Slaughter, Fall takes profits.
Greene, Hearst, Cowdray, Don Rafael re-invest.
Terrazas pays 1 to capitalize Cowdray's mine.
RR6 Silver City, Deming and Pacific Railroad matures.
1900 Autumn.
Card is C60 Mesilla 1853 Land Grant Hacienda in Dona Ana, NM - 2 gold.
Slaughter bids up to 2 on the Hacienda, Don Rafael up to 5, Terrazas up to 3, Fall up to 2.
Don Rafael takes it, paying 4.
B>1901 Winter.
Card is C31 San Germán Tannery-Hacienda (Guayamas, Sonora) – 1 gold.
(2 quarters to mature, will enter a profit of 3 since ferry is complete.)
Bidding for the Hacienda: Greene up to 2, Slaughter 3, Terrazas 4 and takes it.
C44 Las Catilanas Mine (Tonichi, Sonora) matures: 0 Copper.
Judge Fall bids 2, pays 1, on RR20 El Tigre Suerte Road.
Terrazas bids 1 on a federales in Sonora.
Terrazas bids 1 on RR18.
1901 Spring.
Card is M36 Conspiracy General Bernardo Reyes[1] Reyista Plot to invade Mexico – no gold.
C32 Santa Rita del Cobre Mine (Grant County, NM) completed for Cowdray.
M4 Subornation capitalization completed for Hearst.
Terrazas pays 1 to capitalize Cowdray's mine.
Bidding on Reyes: Don Rafael: 1, Cowdray: 2, Slaughter: 3, taking it.
1901 Summer.
Card is E9 War in Europe. Copper up 2. Cowdray sends his butler to the Army – 2 gold.
Mine C32 pays 1 to Cowdray, 2 to Terrazas; RR6 pays 1 to Cowdray; Mine C44 pays 2 to Greene.
Fall, Slaughter, Cowdray take profits.
Greene, Don Rafael, Terrazas, Hearst re-invest.
Greene bids 1 on RR22.
Cowdray bids 3 on B1 10^th Cavalry (pays 1), 2 on Chihuaha Federales (pays 1)
Don Rafael bids up to 4 on C11. Cowdray pays 5 (bids up to 5) and takes it.
C60, C31 mature.
Cowdray rebases at C32 Santa Rita Mine.
1901 Autumn.
Card is R14 Midnight Marauders. No gold.
Mine C32 pays 2 to Cowdray, 1 to Terrazas; RR6 pays 1 to Cowdray; Mine C44 pays 2 to Greene.
RR20 matures.
Robert Green joins the game and chooses C9 Alexander Shepherd.
Marco Fibbi joins the game and chooses C5 Captain von Rintelen.
Shepherd starts capitalizing C47.
Fall bids 2 on R14, Rintelen bids 2, Shepherd bids 1, Cowdray bids 4 and gets it for 3.
Rintelen bids 1 for R3, Shepherd bids 1. Tie; Rintelen gets it.
Don Rafael bids 3 for RR5 and gets it for 1.
Rintelen bids 1 for RR24.
1902 Winter.
Card is E14 Diaz subsidizes construction of Mexican RR. 1 gold.
Rintelen uses subsidy for RR24, Terrazas for RR18, Greene for RR22.
Mine C32 pays 1 to Cowdray, 2 to Terrazas; RR6 pays 1 to Cowdray; Mine C44 pays 2 to Greene.
RR20 pays 1 to Fall, Slaughter and Cowdray for providing lumber to Mine C32.
Shepherd bids 2 on O3 Federales 11th Battalion (Sonora), gets it for 1.
Heast bids 1 each on RR21 Noroeste de Mexico and RR28 Kansas City, Mexico &Orient.
Cowdray bids 4 for RR17 Sierra Madra Pacific RR, gets it for 1.
Don Rafael bids 2 for RR19 Ferrocaril de Cananea Sierra Tigre, gets it for 1.
Fall bids 4 on RR25 Chihuahua al Pacifico , gets it for 1.
1902 Spring.
Card is M31 Gubernatorial appointment in Sonora. 1 gold.
Mine C32 pays 2 to Cowdray, 1 to Terrazas; RR6 pays 1 to Cowdray; Mine C44 pays 2 to Greene.
RR20 pays 1 to Fall, Slaughter and Cowdray for providing lumber to Mine C32.
Greene bids 1 for Border Patrol.
Votes for Terrazas : Hearst (6), Terrazas (7). Total 13
Votes for Corral : Rintelen (4), Cowdray (3), Don Rafael (3), Fall (5), Greene (2). Total 16
RR20 pays 1 to Fall, Slaughter and Cowdray for providing lumber to Mine C32.
Terrazas elected Governor of Sonora by 28 votes to 24.
All Orange cards in Sonora except Rurales transferred to Terrazas.
1902 Summer
Card is C38, Lucky Tiger Mine in Canyon del Pulpito, Sonora - 1 Gold.
Mine C32 pays 1 to Cowdray, 2 to Terrazas; RR6 pays 1 to Cowdray; Mine C44 pays 2 to Greene.
RR20 pays 1 to Fall, Slaughter and Cowdray for providing lumber to Mine C32.
Fall, Slaughter, Hearst, Don Rafael (C4) Terrazas (C7), Cowdray, Shepherd take profits.
Don Rafael (C60), Terrazas (C31), Greene, Rintelen re-invest.
C12 matures.
Fall bids 1 on RR15.
Terrazas 1 AU on RR23, 1 AU on Smelter C14, Cannaea Con Copper Co.
Fall bids 1 for C38, Terrazas bids 5. Slaughter bids 9 and gets it for 6
The State of Sonora subsidizes the capitalization of RR23.

At this point in the game, we realized that we had not handled the gubernatorial "election" on the previous turn as well as we might have. Instead of the simultaneous blind voting system that we used for pbem purposes, we should have just conducted a regular auction via e-mail as is done in the face-to-face game. We didn't do this because we wanted to save time – a false economy! But because we failed to do so, the Terrazas player became so powerful (a stature 4 governor!), and at so little cost, that there would be just about no way to prevent him from winning the game. So the rest of us all agreed to concede at this point and hope to handle the situation better if we ever played again. Still, I hope this foreshortened game provides a useful introduction and "feel" for the game if you are just starting to play it.

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