Six syndicates, one grid. Version 1.17.0.
Launch Groundbreak from the Tronsoft Games library. The cover sheet asks two questions: how many development offices sit at the table (three to six) and how sharp the opposition should be (cadet, staff or ace). Press Break ground. If a position was saved earlier, Resume autosaved position appears beside it.
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Select a lot | Click its ticket in the assay strip, or press 1–6 |
| Lay the lot | Click the grid square, click the ticket again, or press Enter |
| Take up certificates | Press + and − on the certificate sheet, then Take up or Enter |
| Exchange a locked strip | Exchange the strip, or Enter when nothing can be laid |
| Rules sheet | h or ?; Esc closes it |
| Zoom the grid | Use the View buttons, mouse wheel, or + and − |
| Pan the grid | Drag the grid while zoomed in; 0 resets the view |
| Use the overview | Click or drag the minimap; focus it and use the arrow keys |
| High contrast | Use the View toggle or press C |
| Full screen | Use the View control or press F; Esc exits |
| Reconsider turn | Use the checkpoint control or press U before ending the turn |
| Planning overlay | Choose Off, Your strip or Mergers; V cycles modes |
| Inspect a merger | In Mergers mode, select a marked contact; select it again or press Esc to clear |
| Share a challenge | Choose Copy challenge link in the right control rail |
| Keep a position | Keep in the title bar |
Every control is a button, so the whole game plays by tap on a touch screen and by keyboard alone.
The View card changes the city grid from 100% to 250%. The mouse wheel zooms toward the lot under the pointer, while the buttons and keyboard shortcuts zoom around the centre. Drag with a mouse, pen or finger to pan while zoomed. Press 0 or Reset to restore the complete plat. Lot selection remains aligned with the transformed grid.
The minimap in the View card mirrors every developed lot and syndicate. Its outlined rectangle shows the portion of the main grid currently visible. While zoomed, click or drag the overview to recenter the board. Keyboard users can focus it and use the arrow keys to pan. The rectangle covers the complete city at 100%.
The right-side Planning overlay can mark the six lots in your assay strip or every undeveloped site that would currently join syndicates. Choose Off, Your strip or Mergers, or press V to cycle the modes.
Markers use a letter as well as color: O is open ground, C charters a new syndicate, G enlarges one, M causes a merger and × is blocked by protected syndicates. They follow the board through pan and zoom, update after every move, and remain legible in high-contrast mode.
While the overlay is set to Mergers, select a marked contact on the grid. The Merger Site Report in the left information rail lists the affected syndicates, their sizes and protection status, your holdings, and the holder prize each name would pay at its current size.
An unequal merger identifies the projected survivor and combined size. A tie lists every possible survivor and the range of your current holder prizes; blocked protected-to-protected contacts explain why they cannot be laid. The report does not add possible certificate sales or exchanges, since you choose those only if the merger actually occurs. Select the site again or press Esc to clear the report.
Use Enter full screen in the right-side View card or press F. The complete game shell expands together, keeping information on the left, the grid in the centre and controls on the right. The button changes to Exit full screen while active; press it, press F again, or use the browser's normal Esc action to return. A portal that blocks full-screen access leaves the game unchanged and shows a short notice.
The purse card shows cash, the current value of your certificates, total net worth and the gap to the strongest rival. This is a present-value comparison; possible prizes from a future merger are not counted until they are paid.
Each completed city updates the local Office Record in the left information rail: games settled, wins and win rate, podium finishes, average rank, best final fortune and the latest result. The final settlement sheet repeats the cumulative summary. A completion marker is saved with the finished position, so resuming or reopening that city cannot count it again.
The left information rail tracks each active syndicate's progress toward the twelve-lot protection threshold and counts unplayed lots that would merge it in the current position. An in strip marker means one or more of those merger lots is already among your six tickets. Immediate strip opportunities sort first, then syndicates with the most open contact sites. Discarded lots and illegal joins between two protected syndicates are not counted.
During your lot phase, the Comparative Assay in the left information rail ranks the top three legal lots. It repeats each lot's coordinate and immediate effect, while the line beneath each row shows its relative standing among all legal lots in your strip. Blocked tickets are counted but excluded.
The label above the list reports whether the Staff model sees a Close call, Useful edge or Clear favorite between its top two choices. The first row always matches the Staff adviser's lot recommendation. The comparison is read-only: it does not select a ticket, commit a move or advance the opponents' random state.
The Settlement Watch in the left information rail follows both ways the finish can become available: one syndicate grows to 38 lots, or every live syndicate reaches the twelve-lot protection threshold. It shows the leading syndicate's size, how many live names are protected and what remains on each route.
Once a finish is callable, the watch previews your projected final rank and fortune. If you are selecting certificates, that preview includes the current basket and identifies its count and cost. The calculation uses a copy of the position; only Call the finish in the right control rail can settle the actual city.
The Projected Proceeds breakdown separates that fortune into cash remaining after the selected purchase, money from liquidating certificates and final holder bonuses. Its proportion bar shows the balance at a glance, while the largest syndicate exposure identifies where the greatest combined paper and prize value sits. Those components always total the displayed final fortune.
While choosing certificates, Basket Impact compares the current selection with settling immediately after buying nothing. It states whether the projected rank changes and isolates any increase in final fortune or holder bonuses. If a purchase merely returns its cost during liquidation, the watch says so plainly. Changing the basket recalculates the comparison without buying anything.
Closing Basket Scan goes one step further by testing every legal purchase the current cash, pool and certificate limits allow. It displays the strongest closing basket, its cost, projected rank and final fortune, then reports what the current selection leaves behind—or confirms that it is already optimal. The scan never fills the basket; selections remain controls in the right rail.
The Live Closing Field beneath the forecast lists every office in projected order. Your row is highlighted; each rival row states the exact amount it stands ahead of, behind or level with you. Changing the certificate basket updates the field immediately. After settlement, the same list is labeled Final Field and remains available while you inspect the city.
The optional Staff adviser appears in the right control rail during your lot and certificate decisions. For a lot, it recommends a legal ticket and repeats the most important quoted consequence. For certificates, it proposes a basket, shows the cost and balances expected growth, holder prizes and a cash reserve.
Select recommendation only fills the suggested choice. It never lays a lot, buys certificates, exchanges a locked strip or calls the finish. Review the normal controls and confirm the action yourself. The calculation is deterministic and runs on a copy of the position, so asking for advice does not change the game or consume the opponents' random choices.
When a finish is callable, the adviser badge changes to Closing and its recommendation comes from Closing Basket Scan rather than the normal growth model. It reports the best closing purchase, cost, projected rank and fortune. Choose Fill best closing basket to copy that selection into the certificate controls. You must still confirm the purchase and separately call the finish.
A checkpoint is prepared when each of your turns begins. After committing a lot, charter, survivor or transfer decision, choose Reconsider turn in the right control rail or press U. The board, money, certificates, strip, logs, activity totals and opponent random state all return to the exact opening position of that turn.
The checkpoint closes after you take certificates or pass that phase and the next office begins. It belongs to the current play session and does not survive a page reload; autosave continues to preserve the latest stable decision point.
The current seed, office count and opposition level appear beneath the round information. Choose Copy challenge link in the right rail to share an address containing all three settings. Opening it reproduces the initial grid, strip, draw order and deterministic computer choices.
After settlement, Replay this city immediately begins the same setup. It is a new game for Office Record purposes, so a replay only adds another result if you play it through settlement.
Use High contrast in the View card or press C. The mode switches the interface to black-on-white, strengthens panel and button edges, outlines color chips, and redraws the city grid with black lot boundaries and a distinct six-color syndicate palette. Every syndicate lot still carries its initial, so the board never relies on color alone. The display choice is stored in this browser and restored on the next launch.
Each certificate row reports whether you lead, are tied for the lead, or how many additional certificates would put you ahead of the strongest rival. The top-prize figure is the current gross first-holder prize before any tied rank is pooled and divided.
Hover over a live syndicate's name in the register to outline every lot it controls and soften the other syndicates. Click the name to lock that trace while comparing your assay strip. Click it again or press Esc to clear it. The same buttons work with keyboard focus.
The New game button opens the setup sheet without discarding the current position. Choose Continue current game or press Esc to return to the board unchanged. A replacement game begins only after you press Break ground.
When the finish is available, Call the finish first opens a projected settlement sheet. The calculation includes certificates currently selected in your purchase basket, every live-syndicate prize and every final certificate sale. Confirm to settle, or choose Return to the market or press Esc to cancel without changing the game.
Offices act in seat order, over and over, until someone calls the finish. A turn has two parts: lay one lot, then take up certificates. A merger can interrupt between the two, and the transfer slate then asks every holder in turn what to do with the paper. Later offices open with a small cash allowance, because they get to charter later.
You hold six lots. The assay strip quotes each one before you commit:
When a lot touches two syndicates, the larger absorbs the smaller. If they are equal, the player who laid the lot chooses which survives. The absorbed syndicate settles at once, at the price its size commanded:
Then every holder disposes on the transfer slate: sell at the old price, exchange two old certificates for one of the survivor, or hold — which is worth nothing unless that name is chartered again later. A syndicate of twelve lots or more is protected and can never be absorbed.
Once a syndicate reaches thirty-eight lots, or every syndicate on the grid is protected, the office whose turn it is may Call the finish. The city settles: prizes are paid on every live syndicate and all paper is sold at its current price. The largest purse wins.
After settlement, the final report shows every office in rank order, your finish, and either your winning margin or your gap to the winner. Its activity grid summarizes rounds, lots built, charters, mergers, certificates you bought, and the bonuses you collected during mergers and final settlement.
Choose Inspect finished city to return to the board, or Start another city to open setup. Activity totals survive autosave and recovery in this version. Older saved positions remain compatible, though their historical activity begins counting when they are resumed.
There is no elimination and no way to be knocked out. You lose by finishing with a smaller fortune than another office — usually by holding second place in syndicates that never merge, or by spending a purse on paper that settles small.
Groundbreak autosaves whenever play reaches a stable decision point. The
purse card shows the latest save time. Keep writes an immediate checkpoint
under tronsoft_groundbreak_save. Display preferences and the Office
Record use their own keys in the same namespace. The cover sheet offers a valid
position as Resume autosaved position.
Before recovery, the game checks the save format, board dimensions, player records, turn data and an integrity fingerprint. Older format 1 saves remain compatible. New game returns to the cover sheet without changing the current position until a replacement game actually begins. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Charter early: two free certificates in a syndicate that grows is the cheapest paper in the game. Watch the second place — four times the price for being second in a big syndicate beats eight times the price for leading a small one. And the merger prizes fall due immediately, so a lot that triggers one is often worth more than a lot that builds one.