# Carson City

Carson City is a board game for 2–5 players. It plays in 90 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 4. It is rated 6.4 out of 10 by 43 Ludoya reviewers.

- **Players:** 2–5 (best with 4)
- **Playing time:** 90 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 3.2 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2009
- **Categories:** Economic, City Building, American West
- **Mechanics:** Tile Placement, Variable Player Powers, Worker Placement, Dice Rolling, Area Majority / Influence, Turn Order: Pass Order
- **Ludoya rating:** 6.4 out of 10, from 43 reviews
- **Owned by:** 26 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 202
- **Unique players:** 254

**Designers:** Xavier Georges

**Artists:** Alexandre Roche

**Publishers:** Quined White Goblin Games

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nexus | 4495 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/carson-city/ |

## Expansions

- [Carson City: Gold & Guns](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-gold-and-guns)
- [Carson City: A New Beginning](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-a-new-beginning)
- [Carson City: The Lawyer / Editor](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-the-lawyer-editor)
- [Carson City: The Indian](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-the-indian)
- [Carson City: Horses & Heroes](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-horses-and-heroes)
- [Carson City: Father Christmas Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-father-christmas-promo)
- [Carson City: The Teacher & Town Hall](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-the-teacher-and-town-hall)
- [Brettspiel Adventskalender 2018](https://www.ludoya.com/games/brettspiel-adventskalender-2018)
- [Carson City: Solo Pack](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-solo-pack)

## Similar games

- [Carson City: Big Box](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city-big-box)
- [Caylus](https://www.ludoya.com/games/caylus)
- [Nevada City](https://www.ludoya.com/games/nevada-city)
- [Embarcadero](https://www.ludoya.com/games/embarcadero)
- [Coloma: Deluxe Edition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/coloma-deluxe-edition)
- [Western Town](https://www.ludoya.com/games/western-town)
- [Coloma](https://www.ludoya.com/games/coloma-2)
- [Caylus 1303](https://www.ludoya.com/games/caylus-1303)
- [Québec](https://www.ludoya.com/games/quebec)
- [Belfort](https://www.ludoya.com/games/belfort)
- [Barcelona](https://www.ludoya.com/games/barcelona-2)
- [Everdell: The Complete Collection](https://www.ludoya.com/games/everdell-the-complete-collection)

## Rules questions

### Can I place a cowboy on an action or parcel that's already occupied? What happens then?

Yes — you may place a cowboy on a square or parcel already occupied; that triggers a duel in which each involved player rolls a die and adds their firepower (cowboys + revolvers in reserve); the highest total wins the right to perform the action and losers return their cowboy to their personal reserve (tie broken by lower turn-order number). (p. 3) 

### Are there action spaces where multiple cowboys can be placed without a duel?

Yes — some squares explicitly allow multiple cowboys without a duel: Wages gives $4 per cowboy on the square, and one Roads square gives one road per cowboy on it; other action squares follow the board's sequence and duel rules. (pp. 3–4) 

### Do I need a road to build on a parcel? Any exceptions or extra requirements?

Generally a parcel must be reached by a road (at least one road touching a corner) to build, and many buildings also force you to place a house on a free road-reached parcel; exceptions: ranches and mines do not need a road. You may also buy a building and keep it in front of you to place later (see timing rules). (pp. 4, 6) 

### What happens if I finish the turn with more cash than my personality's cash limit?

Any money above your personality's cash limit must be spent; for every $10 you must spend you receive 1 victory point (you may spend more money voluntarily and still get 1 VP per $10). Each personality card shows its cash limit. (pp. 3, 7) 

### Do houses that belong to other players (or owner-free houses) count toward my building incomes?

An owner-free house increases neighbouring buildings' values for everyone, but a house built on a parcel belonging to a player only benefits that player's buildings (the same distinction applies to mountains/mines). (p. 5) 

### Can I attack a church or a prison, or attack buildings next to someone else's church?

No — you may not attack a church or a prison; furthermore a church prevents attacks on all directly adjacent buildings of its owner, and building a church next to a building being attacked cancels that attack. (p. 6) 

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/carson-city)
- [Carson City in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/carson-city)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39938)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-23. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._