Review: Raccoon Tycoon

Unlike in Catan, the value of your wheat, wood, iron, coal, manufactured goods, and luxuries will fluctuate depending on what has recently been bought and sold in the game's marketplace.

If you've ever thought that what Settlers of Catan really needs is a more robust market mechanism and a heavier emphasis on industry rather than pastoral utopia, Raccoon Tycoon has you covered.

Would-be tycoons in this board game attempt to fuel an adorable woodland industrial revolution by initially building up piles of resources. Unlike in Catan, the value of your wheat, wood, iron, coal, manufactured goods, and luxuries will fluctuate depending on what has recently been bought and sold in the game's marketplace.

See that an opponent is stacking up a big pile of coal? You can tank his potential profits by selling your own coal supplies, lowering the price he'll receive (or forcing him to wait to sell until prices recover). Did wheat just hit a new record high? The market is telling you to sell, sell, sell!

But this isn't just about resource gathering. After all, what good are coal and iron if they can't be turned into factories, towns, and railroads? To win, players must navigate the commodities market, trade goods for cash, and then use the cash to build the most prodigious industrial empire.