Fleece & Fortune: The Cotswold Woollen Industry in 18th-century Gloucestershire

Fleece & Fortune is a medium-to-heavy economic board game set in the 18th-century Cotswold woollen industry. Players take the role of clothiers operating water-powered mills, managing the acquisition of wool, the processing of cloth, and the fulfilment of orders from regional and international markets. On their turns, players use a worker placement / action selection system to assign workers to action spaces on the main board. These actions allow players to acquire different types of wool, send wool to spinners and weavers, process cloth in mills, improve their production capabilities, and secure new orders and status objectives. Many production steps take place in shared infrastructure, creating indirect interaction as players compete for timing and access. Orders represent commissions for specific types of cloth and require players to sequence production efficiently. As the game progresses, orders become more demanding but also offer greater rewards. In addition to fulfilling orders, players pursue Status Cards, which represent long-term objectives such as industrial expansion, market influence, or reputation within the trade. The game does not use dice or random movement. Instead, player interaction and variability arise from action competition, order availability, and the timing of shared production spaces. Victory is determined by Status, reflecting a player’s standing within the woollen industry, rather than by traditional victory points. Through its systems, Fleece & Fortune aims to model the historical processes and economic decisions faced by real clothiers, combining strategic planning, optimisation, and indirect player interaction. —description from the designer