Union Stockyards Review

Market manipulation at its finest.

Union Stockyards puts you in the shoes of one of the Big 5 families at the height of the Chicago meatpacking industry. Each round begins with livestock being added to the pens and an event phase that will potentially effect markets or cause workers to go on strike. If a strike happens, each player will lose a worker until the strike has been resolved. Up next, players will take turns putting out workers and doing actions. This can involve slaughtering livestock which is where you'll make money. Depending on your profit margins vs. the overall supply of the animal will determine how much money will be made. The markets can fluctuate with certain actions and if you attain different buildings or fame levels. When you purchase a building, you must be able to pay for both it and the land it sits on. You can reserve land as well and when it's placed, it becomes a part of a network of buildings manifesting the actual stockyards. If you can trace a route of buildings to a railroad you'll attain bonuses at the end of the game potentially. After all workers have been placed, the round ends and the market will adjust again based on the inventory from the round. This continues for 6 total rounds and scores will be counted up based on the buildings you have built, how much money you have, profit margins, and other factors. Whoever has the most points will be the winner.

The Good: This game has some of the best market manipulation that I have seen in a game. The ability to control part of the market while potentially hindering another is so well implemented. I also love the chunky blocks that are used for buildings. It's a small section of the board but it immediately draws you in. When more and more buildings are out there, it becomes more challenging to make one fit and since the market is so tight you don't want to have to potentially pay other players for the use of their land. It's fantastic. The historical information provided in the game is interesting and provides a lot of insight into something that I didn't even know existed.

The Okay: Thematically, this game is immediately not going to be for everyone. I can think of several groups it will immediately turn off. That said, the game does do a good job of avoiding gruesome imagery that could be used with the subject. Beyond the wonderful market and build actions, this is a pretty run of the mill worker placement game. Not necessarily a bad thing but it can leave something to be desired. I also would have liked to see some sort of asymmetry between the families. Having them all play the same meant you were only picking a color essentially.

Final Thoughts: Union Stockyards is a great introductory worker placement game. I cannot emphasize enough how great the market is handled. Seriously, it's fantastic. There's a lot of tension as the game plays out from start to finish. Early on just trying to figure out how to tackle the markets and then at the end trying to maximize your points and fame to get the most out of your work is great. Again, there's going to be people who won't like this theme and I totally understand it but if you have a group that doesn't mind it this is an absolute must have for the collection.

A review copy was provided by the publisher.