Have you ever wondered where weapons, armour and the more mundane commodities come from? In the realm of Zanziar they come from a factory. Factory 42 to be precise. In this competitive game with negotiation and cooperative elements, two to five players take on the role of rival Dwarven Team leaders, or foremen if you prefer, in the manufacturing facility. Dwarven life can be harsh on the production line, so workers must be managed as government production goals are met, rivals are undercut and tools and storage facilities are improved upon.

Industrial Revolution: Steam power features heavily in a steampunk-esque environment. Resources, tools, workers and determination all come together during manufacturing as commodities are produced to fulfill government orders and private Elven commissions.

Bureaucratic Pen Pushers: Bureaucracy features heavily in factory 42. The government has certain requirements for each round of gameplay. Required items are shown on Order cards which also detail government resource contributions and the three levels of manufacturing quality. The higher the quality of production, the greater the resource requirements, but equally the greater the reward. Failure to fulfill the government orders comes with a penalty for all players not contributing.

Loading: Players can tactically direct their workers to the loading bays where resources are loaded onto lines of rail transport. The order of this can be extremely vital to success. Misjudging (or cunningly foreseeing the future) may lead a player to have to load a cart for a rival rather than for themself. Alliances may be made during this process, just as enemies can be made of rivals, depending on the choices made when loading.

Shipping and Storage: Once loaded, each rail cart proceeds to the shipping location awaiting direction. Workers have the option of forwarding the loaded carts to player docks. Once more, the order of placement is paramount as carts are only shipped in order. A cart might not contain useful resources and so could be sent to a rival, taking up valuable storage space, or maybe it will benefit a rival in an attempt to build a verbally agreed alliance. Often a cart has been loaded with a wide variety of resources and only part of this precious load is of use. Limited storage space in player’s personal docks and warehouses dictates the shipping decision-making process as much as a rival’s needs.

Manufacture and Accounting: The government dictates what should...no, what must be manufactured during a game round. The government orders must be completed or otherwise some or all players will suffer sanctions. A degree of cooperation is needed here for the greater good of Dwarven society, but on an individual level, completion of a government order leads to rewards and ultimately progression along the path to victory.

Features of Factory 42

Capricious Bureaucracy: Resources made available to all players, making up a common pool, are delivered via the Bureaucracy Tower; a mechanic that can deliver or withhold resources in a random manner. This replicates the notion that “the powers that be” redirect funds/resources by tying them up in red tape, trapping resources that would otherwise normally be available for the general populace. What goes into the tower does not always come out, or may have been held up during some unknown bureaucratic process, to later materialize when least expected.

Requisition: Tactical decisions start with the acquisition of resources vital to the production process. The order of worker meeples on the requisition line dictates the volume of resources acquired for the common pool (available to all) and the number that can be obtained and stored in a player’s personal warehouse. Choices made here can benefit a player’s future actions but may also unwittingly aid a rival, making each choice so very important.

Loading: Players can tactically direct their workers to the loading bays where resources are loaded onto lines of rail transport. Order here can be extremely vital to one’s success. Misjudging the order (or cunningly foreseeing the future) may lead a player to have to load a cart for a rival rather than for one’s self. Alliances may be made during this process, just as enemies can be made of rivals, depending on choices made when loading.

Shipping and Storage: Once loaded, each rail cart proceeds to the shipping location awaiting direction. Workers have the option of forwarding the loaded carts to player’s docks. Once more order of placement is paramount as carts are only shipped in order. A cart may not contain useful resources and so could be sent to a rival, taking up valuable storage space, or maybe it will benefit a rival in an attempt to build a verbally agreed alliance. Often a cart has been loaded with a wide variety of resources and only part of this precious load is of use. Limited storage space in player’s personal docks and warehouses dictates the shipping decision-making process as much as a rival’s needs.

Trade and Research: Commodities may be traded on an ever-changing market, often enabling an unnecessary resource to be exchanged at a price, for something of more use. Research is equally important, allowing players to expand storage facilities, improve material handling in the manufacturing process or even learn how to use Invention cards to add special actions/abilities during play

Manufacture and Accounting: The government dictates what should...no, what must be manufactured during a game round. The government orders must be completed or many, sometimes all players suffer sanctions. A degree of cooperation is needed here for the greater good of Dwarven society, but on an individual level, completion of a government order leads to reward and ultimately progression on the path to victory

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