If Oil Barons is Monopoly with attitude, Oil Imperium is its slightly more serious cousin who read a business textbook once and won’t let you forget it. Released in 1989, this game dives deeper into the logistics of oil drilling, refining, and selling, offering a more involved simulation that rewards careful planning over reckless ambition. There’s a surprising amount of depth here, from managing infrastructure to navigating market dynamics, all while trying not to go bankrupt in spectacular fashion. It’s the kind of game that quietly consumes your time; you start by checking one well and suddenly it’s two hours later and you’re emotionally invested in crude oil prices. It may not have flashy graphics, but it has that addictive “just one more turn” quality that sneaks up on you.
Zero Magazine Issue 1 (1990): "The basic aim of Oil Imperium, the latest game from Rainbow Arts is to make piles (or barrels, in this particular case) of moolah by becoming a JR Ewing clone and exploiting the worlds' natural oil resources. You play against three other opposing oil barons (either computer or player operated) and can choose to win in one of four ways: by becoming the richest oil baron after three years; by making over $80 million dollars in liquid assets; by bankrupting all three other players or by taking over 80 percent of the market share. Have you got the speed, skill and determination to out-JR JR? Would you rather be burning down the opposition's oil rigs or beating them by supplying the best grade of oil and at the fastest speed? Now's your chance to prove that when it comes to oil, you're as slick as the rest. Oil! Slick! Geddit?"
Write a comment Have you ever played Oil Imperium? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Write something about it: share your experience, give us hints on how to properly run this game or simply say how much you loved it.
You may also like...
These are some of the abandoned games similar to Oil Imperium in some way.