The dilemma. Every line carries third-class passengers in open trucks, in rain and smoke and sparks. Your directors say roofs and seats for the poor are a waste. A coroner's report on a frozen child is on your desk.
From the gameThe painting on this decision card in Ferrovia.
What would you do?
Play itDecision 1 of 1
Dilemma
Third class in open trucks
Every line carries third-class passengers in open trucks, in rain and smoke and sparks. Your directors say roofs and seats for the poor are a waste. A coroner's report on a frozen child is on your desk.
If the roll succeedsYour covered carriages fill to bursting. Parliament makes them the law for every line.If it failsThe cost is greater than Prudence feared and fares cannot cover it. The poor still bless your name.
What happenedA few lucky passengers ride dry. The rest watch them go.
What happenedThe trucks stay open. The coroner's report goes into a drawer.
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
Roofs and seats for all third class at a penny a mile (£900).Bold · decided by a d20 roll against 12
Succeeds: Your covered carriages fill to bursting. Parliament makes them the law for every line.
Fails: The cost is greater than Prudence feared and fares cannot cover it. The poor still bless your name.
Roof a few trucks on the busiest trains (£250).Certain outcome
A few lucky passengers ride dry. The rest watch them go.
Do as every line does.Certain outcome
The trucks stay open. The coroner's report goes into a drawer.
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 “Third class in open trucks”?
There are three: “Roofs and seats for all third class at a penny a mile (£900)”; “Roof a few trucks on the busiest trains (£250)”; “Do as every line does”. The first is the bold option: the game rolls a d20 plus your adviser’s skill against 12. The other two have certain outcomes.
What happens if the bold choice fails?
The cost is greater than Prudence feared and fares cannot cover it. The poor still bless your name.
What happens if the bold choice succeeds?
Your covered carriages fill to bursting. Parliament makes them the law for every line.
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.
