The dilemma. Railway shares are the only talk in every club. Prudence, your directors and your own brother all urge you to put the house's reserve into new schemes. You have counted the miles promised, and they would cross the realm four times.
From the gameThe painting on this decision card in Ferrovia.
What would you do?
Play itDecision 1 of 1
Dilemma
Every broker says buy more railway shares
Railway shares are the only talk in every club. Prudence, your directors and your own brother all urge you to put the house's reserve into new schemes. You have counted the miles promised, and they would cross the realm four times.
If the roll succeedsThe crash comes in the autumn. You are the only house that saw it, and everyone knows it.If it failsThe crash does not come, not yet. You are laughed at in every club in Lordsbridge.
What happenedYour name joins every prospectus in town. The scrip is worth exactly what the next buyer will pay.
What happenedThe fever rises and falls around you. Your reserve sits safe and dull.
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
Sell out and warn the public in the Gazette.Bold · decided by a d20 roll against 13
Succeeds: The crash comes in the autumn. You are the only house that saw it, and everyone knows it.
Fails: The crash does not come, not yet. You are laughed at in every club in Lordsbridge.
Buy in with the crowd (£400).Certain outcome
Your name joins every prospectus in town. The scrip is worth exactly what the next buyer will pay.
Neither buy nor sell.Certain outcome
The fever rises and falls around you. Your reserve sits safe and dull.
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 “Every broker says buy more railway shares”?
There are three: “Sell out and warn the public in the Gazette”; “Buy in with the crowd (£400)”; “Neither buy nor sell”. The first is the bold option: the game rolls a d20 plus your adviser’s skill against 13. The other two have certain outcomes.
What happens if the bold choice fails?
The crash does not come, not yet. You are laughed at in every club in Lordsbridge.
What happens if the bold choice succeeds?
The crash comes in the autumn. You are the only house that saw it, and everyone knows it.
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.
