King Oil

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King Oil by Milton Bradley

King Oil is a boardgame by Milton Bradley, created in 1974 and now long out-of-print. The game requires players to drill for oil on a three-dimensional board, acquiring property and wealth. The board is randomized using three rotating discs, hidden inside the plastic frame of the game. There are 512 possible set-ups for the game.

The rotating discs determine the depth of the wells that players will drill, with four possibilities, dry hole and three different oil bearing depths (the deeper the more costly for the player to harvest the oil).

Pipelines can be bought once you have 4 producing oil wells on a property. The pipelines span into adjacent properties, enabling the pipeline owner to siphon royalties from the adjacent property owner every turn. This game mechanic accelerates bankruptcy of opposing players, keeping total playing time within reasonable limits.

The goal of the game is to push all your opponents into bankruptcy. Once all players are bankrupt, except one, that last remaining player is the winner.

The game is played by two to four players. The game includes 1 playing surface, 84 derricks, 128 well caps, 24 tool sheds, 38 pipelines, and 32 King Oil turn cards.