The dilemma. Mr Hector Grail, whom the papers call the King of Railways, offers to fold your house into his great amalgamation. Your directors beg you to accept: a handsome price, and safety for all. Grail's own books are said to be a mystery.
From the gameThe painting on this decision card in Ferrovia.
What would you do?
Play itDecision 1 of 1
Dilemma
The King of Railways wants your line
Mr Hector Grail, whom the papers call the King of Railways, offers to fold your house into his great amalgamation. Your directors beg you to accept: a handsome price, and safety for all. Grail's own books are said to be a mystery.
If the roll succeedsGrail's empire collapses in a year, exactly as you said. Your house stands alone and admired.If it failsGrail's lawyers are better than your proof. The shareholders call you a fool who refused a fortune.
What happenedYour trains share his stations and his timetables. You keep your name, for now.
What happenedGrail takes the silence as a 'perhaps'. His agents keep calling.
No right answer.
In the game the roll is d20 plus your adviser’s skill. Here the bonus is a flat +2.
The options and what happens
Refuse and denounce his books before the shareholders.Bold · decided by a d20 roll against 14
Succeeds: Grail's empire collapses in a year, exactly as you said. Your house stands alone and admired.
Fails: Grail's lawyers are better than your proof. The shareholders call you a fool who refused a fortune.
Negotiate a working agreement instead.Certain outcome
Your trains share his stations and his timetables. You keep your name, for now.
Leave his letter unanswered.Certain outcome
Grail takes the silence as a 'perhaps'. His agents keep calling.
About this card
This is one of 8 hand-written dilemmas set in Ferrovia (1846, the height of the railway mania), one of three ages in Be a CEO, a business strategy game where you run a trading house. Each dilemma has one bold option, decided by dice, and safer options with certain outcomes. The text above is the card exactly as it appears in the game, with the amounts it showed on the first day of a new game.
Questions
What are the options in “The King of Railways wants your line”?
There are three: “Refuse and denounce his books before the shareholders”; “Negotiate a working agreement instead”; “Leave his letter unanswered”. The first is the bold option: the game rolls a d20 plus your adviser’s skill against 14. The other two have certain outcomes.
What happens if the bold choice fails?
Grail's lawyers are better than your proof. The shareholders call you a fool who refused a fortune.
What happens if the bold choice succeeds?
Grail's empire collapses in a year, exactly as you said. Your house stands alone and admired.
Written by the Mantar Tech team from the game’s own data and text. Be a CEO is in closed alpha, so numbers and cards can change. About the art: much of it was made with AI tools and then selected and edited by hand.
