Gear & Piston

A 30-60 minute game about the early years of automotive design for 2 to 6 players.

In Gear & Piston each player builds an automobile prototype. Each turn the players plan their actions by taking turns to place their tokens and thus reserve actions in the various locations.

When the locations are resolved, the players take new or junk parts in their hand. They can also steal parts, ply the black market for stolen blueprints, and use unions to muscle each other out of the way. In the end of every turn, the players build a number of parts according to how quick they were to get back to their workshops.

Players need to balance how fast they build their automobile with how reliable it is. One can quickly cobble some junk parts together, or spend time on developing valuable new patents. In the end, two investors judge the prototypes and announce their decision on the winning design.

The game can be set up and explained in less than 10 minutes. A game for two players takes 20-30 minutes to play, with the duration increasing by 10 minutes per additional player.