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Carnegie

Carnegie

#127BGG ↗

2022 · 1-4 players · 120min · weight 3.82 · 11,852 ratings

port: no portdifficulty: Medium
BGGv4 widev4v4 deepSources2Rules cardCandidate0.580Deep dive
Bayes
7.52
Users rated
11,852
Owned
16,506
Wishing
3,764

At a glance — v4 wide

Controlled-vocabulary primitives + 8-axis MDA aesthetic vector. Vocab v2.

Core loop (micro)

Pick one of four department actions; everyone follows. Move employees on US map to ship goods and unlock philanthropic projects.

MDA aesthetic vector (0–3)
Sensation
0
Fantasy
1
Narrative
1
Challenge
3
Fellowship
1
Discovery
1
Expression
2
Submission
0
Mechanic-interaction primitives (5)
  • [3]action_selection_via_card— “active player will choose one of four actions, which the other players may follow
  • [3]network_building— “create transport chains across the United States; BGG: Network and Route Building
  • [2]engine_growth— “recruit and manage employees, expand your business, invest in real estate, produce and sell goods
  • [2]delayed_payoff— “donations: upon death more than $350 million bequeathed; end-game philanthropic VP
  • [1]variable_player_powers— “work with important personalities of the era; department specializations create asymmetry

Translation candidate

Composite fit_score = bayes×0.30 + wish×0.18 + compress×0.17 + difficulty×0.20 + headroom×0.15.

bayes_norm×0.300.615
wish_norm×0.180.695
compress_norm×0.170.000
diff_norm×0.200.600
port_headroom×0.151.000
fit_score (total)0.580= 0.580
Difficulty reasoning

Follow mechanic and grid map work fine digitally; heavy weight and 2hr length push past comfortable phone session.

Closest loop translation
none yet

Rules card

Synthesized from sources below. Readiness: ready. Confidence: 0.64.

Readiness

ready (confidence=0.64, rules=0.90, fun=0.15). BGG rank: 127; year: 2022; weight: 3.82; playtime: 120 min

SourceQualityRoleNote
bga_tutorial0.85rules authorityBGA implementation rules summary
llm_memory0.10draft synthesissonnet-self-rated-6-unknown

Core Loop

Carnegie was inspired by the life of Andrew Carnegie who was born in Scotland in 1835. Andrew Carnegie and his parents emigrated to the United States in 1848. Although he started his career as a telegraphist, his role as one of the major players in the rise of the United States’ steel industry made him one of the richest men in the world and an icon of the American dream.

Andrew Carnegie was also a benefactor and philanthropist; upon his death in 1919, more than $350 million of his wealth was bequeathed to various foundations, with another $30 million going to various charities. His endowments created nearly 2,500 free public libraries that bear his name: the Carnegie Libraries.

During the game you will recruit and manage employees, expand your business, invest in real estate, produce and sell goods, and create transport chains across the United States; you may even work with important personalities of the era. Perhaps you will even become an illustrious benefactor who contributes to the greatness of his country through deeds and generosity!

The game takes place over 20 rounds; players will each have one turn per round. On each turn, the active player will choose one of four actions, which the other players may follow.

The goal of the game is to build the most prestigious company, as symbolized by victory points.   —description from the publisher

Turn Structure and State

  • BGA tutorial is present; useful for exact turn flow and implementation gotchas.
  • BGG description anchor: Carnegie was inspired by the life of Andrew Carnegie who was born in Scotland in 1835. Andrew Carnegie and his parents emigrated to the United States in 1848. Although he started his career as a telegraphist, his role as one of the major players in the rise of the United States’ steel industry made him one of the richest men in the world and an icon of the American dream. Andrew Carnegie was also a [...]

Win Condition and Arc

Win/scoring arc needs verification from a rules authority.

Decision Primitives

BGG mechanisms: Action Retrieval, Area Movement, Connections, End Game Bonuses, Follow, Grid Movement, Income, Movement Points, Network and Route Building, Resource to Move, Solo / Solitaire Game, Square Grid, Tech Trees / Tech Tracks, Turn Order: Progressive, Variable Phase Order, Worker Placement, Different Worker Types

v4 controlled primitives: action_selection_via_card, network_building, engine_growth, delayed_payoff, variable_player_powers

Why It Is Fun

Fun read needs player-voice synthesis.

Friction and Failure Modes

  • Treat Sonnet-memory edge rules as draft until confirmed by manual, BGA, or transcript.

Translation and Design Hooks

  • Use this card to ask: which primitive carries the fun if theme/licensing is removed?
  • For iOS, look for short-session compression, clear state visualization, and a digital-only twist.
  • For new tabletop design, look for the tension source and decide whether to preserve or invert it.

Edge Rules and Gotchas

No verified edge-rule section yet.

Sources Used

[
  {
    "kind": "bga_tutorial",
    "path": "data/bga_tutorials/310873.md",
    "quality": 0.85,
    "note": "BGA implementation rules summary"
  },
  {
    "kind": "llm_memory",
    "path": "data/llm_memory_sonnet/310873.md",
    "quality": 0.1,
    "note": "sonnet-self-rated-6-unknown"
  }
]

Sources (2)

Inputs to rules-card synthesis. Click any pill with ↗ to open the original source.

BGA tutorial0.85LLM memory0.10