John Company
Officially John Company (Second Edition)
HISTORICAL POLITICAL BOARD GAME (Second Edition 2022) by COLE WEHRLE + SIERRA WEHRLE — simulates the BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY's rise, colonial exploitation + eventual collapse (1650-1858). Players play RIVAL BRITISH FAMILIES trying to enrich themselves via appointments, trading, military ventures in India, while the Company itself must survive. Signature: STRUCTURAL CRITIQUE OF COLONIALISM baked into rules; multi-generational strategy; players' families are the winners, not the Company. Highly acclaimed critical + political design.
Quick facts
Category
Board Games
Type
Team sport
Players
1–6
Duration
~240 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
First edition 2017; SECOND EDITION 2022 refined + expanded via Kickstarter
Olympic
No
Popularity
niche
How it works
Objective
Enrich YOUR FAMILY (not the Company). Retire wealthy heirs; buy country estates.
Rules
Basic rules
Players are British ARISTOCRATIC FAMILIES vying for Company appointments
Signature meta-goal: family enrichment.
6 COMPANY OFFICES: Chairman, Director, Manager, Officer, Writer, etc. — auctioned each year
Signature office auction.
COMPANY may EXPAND (open new factories, wage wars in India, ship trade goods)
Empire operations.
PLAYERS may EMBEZZLE, TAKE BRIBES, DIVERT PROFITS to family purse
Signature corruption mechanic.
Companies CAN GO BANKRUPT — players who neglected shareholder / regulation duties suffer
Signature company-collapse risk.
END: family with most PRESTIGE (from estates + wealth) wins; not who ran the Company best
Signature amoral scoring.
Scoring
Prestige from country estates, family wealth, achievements. Company survival matters only insofar as it profits your family.
Win condition · Most prestige (country estates + wealth heirs).
Equipment
Map of British India (regions, cities, factories) + Company office board + family boards
Signature components
Officer + Manager + Chairman appointment cards + trade + military decks
Signature company office
Terminology
- The Company
- The British East India Company — the shared institution players run + exploit.
- Family
- Player faction; the winner is the family, NOT the Company.
- Office
- Company appointment (Chairman, Director, etc.) auctioned each year.
- Prestige
- Endgame scoring — country estates + retired heir wealth.
- Cole Wehrle
- American designer + Yale-educated American Studies scholar; specializes in games critiquing empire + colonialism.
Where it is played
Frequently asked
Is John Company a 'colonialism-good' game?+
The OPPOSITE. John Company is a STRUCTURAL CRITIQUE of colonialism. Cole Wehrle (academic in American Studies) designed the game so PLAYERS ARE MOTIVATED TO EXPLOIT the Company + India for personal gain, mirroring the actual historical behavior. THE COMPANY EVENTUALLY COLLAPSES OR IS NATIONALIZED in most games — reflecting the actual 1858 dissolution. India is often shown as a suffering victim of Company greed. It's designed to make players FEEL the amorality of the historical enterprise + reflect on colonial legacies. Critically celebrated for its politically-conscious game design.
Sources & provenance
- Wehrlegig Games — John Company— Wehrlegig Games
- BoardGameGeek— BGG