wildcatting

An oil drilling game.

"I suppose you're looking to drill the next Spindletop," the surveyor said, hanging his hat on a hook by the office door. "I don't know if you'll find it out here in West Texas, but hell. We'll do anything honest to make a living."

Wildcatting

Welcome to Wildcatting! The year is 1902, and you've traveled to West Texas from back East to secure your name as an oil speculator. You have hired a top-notch surveying team and are prepared to go deeply in debt to make the find of the century!

To win at Wildcatting, you'll need to painstakingly analyze surveyor's reports to determine if oil lurks somewhere beneath the crusty soil. And if you decide to drill, you better believe, because for each foot you drill, you'll be paying and paying big. How deep are you willing to go?

Even if you find oil under the surface, don't think the government isn't going to notice. For each week you keep your well operational, you'll be paying through the roof just to keep the taxman off your back. And just because a well is producing doesn't mean it will continue to do so. Closely monitor oil market price trends and well output. Sell at just the right moment or even your best well will drain YOU dry.

Do you believe in the drillbit? The life of a wildcatter isn't easy, but the payoffs can be big. If rising demand manages to offset the relentless increasing supply of abundant oil from other wells, and if your well output manages to outstrip the extortionary tax rate, you can get healthy real quick playing Wildcatting.