Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Cole Wehrle’s John Company has players taking on the roles of powerful English families utilizing the East India Company for personal gain, using its state sponsored monopoly to secure power to further their own greed. This extensively revised 2nd edition has new rules and components to better represent the Company’s insidious growth into the Indian subcontinent, and its highly dysfunctional modes of operation, requiring heavy amounts of negotiation and bribes. To get victory points, players retire family member pieces from their office cards, paying exorbitant amounts of money gained from unscrupulous exploitation. This satirical yet frank portrayal of British imperialism and globalization explores a deep involvement in horrific structures by making the players understand the processes of how the English involvement worked and why such pillaging was so blatantly done by these powerful interests.
Articles:
Luke Winkie’s “Board but Not Boring”
slate.com/human-interest/2024/01/best-board-games-root-cole-wehrle-john-company-molly-house.html
Cole Wehrle’s “Going into Empire”
wehrlegig.com/blogs/essays/going-into-empire
Cole Wehrle’s “Affective Networks At Play: Catan, COIN, And The Quiet Year”
analoggamestudies.org/2016/05/affective-networks-at-play-catan-coin-and-the-quiet-year
Table of Contents:
Preamble (0:00)
How to Play (4:31)
An Empire’s Historical Process (11:19)
Not Really a Review (32:15)
Support us:
patreon.com/shelfside
ko-fi.com/shelfside
Our Website!
shelfside.co
Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
amazon.com/shop/shelfside
Shelfside Social Media:
twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
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facebook.com/ShelfsideYT
discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62
Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: youtube.com/user/doyduh2
#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
Cole Wehrle’s John Company has players taking on the roles of powerful English families utilizing the East India Company for personal gain, using its state sponsored monopoly to secure power to further their own greed. This extensively revised 2nd edition has new rules and components to better represent the Company’s insidious growth into the Indian subcontinent, and its highly dysfunctional modes of operation, requiring heavy amounts of negotiation and bribes. To get victory points, players retire family member pieces from their office cards, paying exorbitant amounts of money gained from unscrupulous exploitation. This satirical yet frank portrayal of British imperialism and globalization explores a deep involvement in horrific structures by making the players understand the processes of how the English involvement worked and why such pillaging was so blatantly done by these powerful interests.
Articles:
Luke Winkie’s “Board but Not Boring”
slate.com/human-interest/2024/01/best-board-games-root-cole-wehrle-john-company-molly-house.html
Cole Wehrle’s “Going into Empire”
wehrlegig.com/blogs/essays/going-into-empire
Cole Wehrle’s “Affective Networks At Play: Catan, COIN, And The Quiet Year”
analoggamestudies.org/2016/05/affective-networks-at-play-catan-coin-and-the-quiet-year
Table of Contents:
Preamble (0:00)
How to Play (4:31)
An Empire’s Historical Process (11:19)
Not Really a Review (32:15)
Support us:
patreon.com/shelfside
ko-fi.com/shelfside
Our Website!
shelfside.co
Purchase Games We’ve Reviewed! (Paid Link)
amazon.com/shop/shelfside
Shelfside Social Media:
twitter.com/ShelfSideYT
instagram.com/shelfsideboardgames
facebook.com/ShelfsideYT
discord.gg/U7QQKqYT62
Links to our other stuff:
Ashton's Channel: youtube.com/ashtonwu
Daniel's Channel: youtube.com/user/doyduh2
#boardgames #tabletop #tabletopgames
