Automania: The Game of the Motor Giants

Automania: The Game of the Motor Giants is a 1991 classic that puts each player in charge of a national automobile manufacturer. The goal is to export cars to six different countries using advertising budgets, stock placement, and a dash of market speculation. Each player receives wooden car pieces in six colors and a larger car token that serves as the scoring marker. The board is straightforward: a scoring track and flags representing foreign markets.

Each round, players allocate advertising money to each market. The higher spender sells first, since prices are fixed. Before revealing spending, everyone plays a Market Card (56 numbered cards in English and German) that can alter the game – for example, turning Sweden into a hungry buyer in the USA or declaring a "Car of the Year" that doubles sales. After applying card effects, sales revenue is calculated, costs are subtracted, and profit is converted into victory points (each $10,000 of profit moves the marker one space). The first to reach the end of the track wins.

Components are nicely crafted for the era: wooden car pieces, a scoring board, and a bilingual market card deck. The game has a light weight (about 1.8/5), with rules that can be taught in ten minutes, yet strategic depth emerges from the blend of commodity speculation and secret unit deployment. Some critics note that certain market cards can unbalance play, but the designer himself suggested which cards to remove for a smoother experience. Overall, Automania delivers a fun international trading experience, perfect for fans of economic games with an automotive theme and a sprinkle of surprise each turn.