The dilemma. Your new line must pass Cinder Gap. Every engineer in Lordsbridge says go round: twelve miles of easy curves. Only old Ezekiel Thrupp swears he can drive a tunnel straight through the ridge in two years.
From the gameThe painting on this decision card in Ferrovia.
What would you do?
Play itDecision 1 of 1
Dilemma
Everyone says go round Cinder Gap
Your new line must pass Cinder Gap. Every engineer in Lordsbridge says go round: twelve miles of easy curves. Only old Ezekiel Thrupp swears he can drive a tunnel straight through the ridge in two years.
If the roll succeedsThe headings meet within an inch. The Cinder Gap tunnel is the wonder of the age.If it failsThe tunnel floods at the halfway mark. Thrupp swears, the shareholders swear louder.
What happenedTwelve gentle miles, built on time. Nobody writes songs about it.
What happenedThe plans gather dust. Thrupp takes his drawings to Crane.
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
Back Thrupp and drive the tunnel (£1,200).Bold · decided by a d20 roll against 14
Succeeds: The headings meet within an inch. The Cinder Gap tunnel is the wonder of the age.
Fails: The tunnel floods at the halfway mark. Thrupp swears, the shareholders swear louder.
Go round, as everyone advises (£500).Certain outcome
Twelve gentle miles, built on time. Nobody writes songs about it.
Shelve the line for now.Certain outcome
The plans gather dust. Thrupp takes his drawings to Crane.
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 “Everyone says go round Cinder Gap”?
There are three: “Back Thrupp and drive the tunnel (£1,200)”; “Go round, as everyone advises (£500)”; “Shelve the line for now”. 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?
The tunnel floods at the halfway mark. Thrupp swears, the shareholders swear louder.
What happens if the bold choice succeeds?
The headings meet within an inch. The Cinder Gap tunnel is the wonder of the age.
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.
