ACROSS THE SCALE — SOLD BY THE TON

SPOT SALES SATURATE THE MARKET — EACH LOAD KNOCKS THE PRICE DOWN. IT RECOVERS DAILY. ORDERS LOCK FULL PRICE +35%.

THE IRON

MISS 3 LOAN PAYMENTS AND THE BANK STARTS TAKING TRUCKS. KEEP CASH ON HAND AT DAY'S END. SHORT ON CASH? WORK A DRAGLINE SHIFT YOURSELF — ONCE A DAY, AND YOUR TICKET GOES STRAIGHT IN THE DRAWER.

ORDER BOARD

UPGRADES & THE BANK

CB RADIO

HOW TO PLAY

YOU OWE THE BANK $60,000. IT DRAFTS $1,200 EVERY NIGHT. PAY OFF THE NOTE AND THE PIT IS YOURS. MISS 3 PAYMENTS AND THE BANK STARTS TAKING YOUR TRUCKS — LESS IRON, LESS MONEY, DEATH SPIRAL.

1. DIG — PICK DRAG-1 OR DRAG-2, CLICK A CELL IN THE SELECTED PIT. LAYERS ALWAYS RUN TOPSOIL > RED DIRT > SAND+GRAVEL. ONE LAYER = 3 HRS = 60 TONS.
2. HAUL — DUMP TRUCKS AUTO-PULL FROM THE FULLEST PIT. CLOSER PITS HAUL FASTER.
3. SORT — TOPSOIL + RED DIRT SELL STRAIGHT OFF THE PILE. RAW S+G RUNS THROUGH THE PLANT: 45% SAND / 40% GRAVEL / 15% BIG ROCK.
4. MIX — WITH THE PUGMILL: 50 SAND + 50 GRAVEL > 100 AGGREGATE. MAX 200T/DAY. BEST MARGIN IN THE GAME.
5. SELL — EVERYTHING GOES BY THE TON ACROSS THE SCALE.

A — 0.3MI, 12T/TRK-HR. DRY (WATER AT 5) BUT THIN S+G.
B — 0.6MI, 10T/TRK-HR. BALANCED. WATER AT 4.
C — 1.0MI, 8T/TRK-HR. RICHEST S+G, BUT WATER AT 3. BUDGET FOR PUMPS.
D — 0.8MI, 9T/TRK-HR. DEEP TOPSOIL. $25,000 IN UPGRADES.

DIG TO THE WATER TABLE AND THE CELL FLOODS — ALL WORK STOPS. SET A PUMP ($40/DAY) TO DRAIN IT. THE HIGH-CAP PUMP UPGRADE LETS ONE PUMP DRAIN A WHOLE PIT.

BASE PRICES/TON: RED DIRT $8, TOPSOIL $12, SAND $18, GRAVEL $20, BIG ROCK $28, AGGREGATE $30. EVERY 50T SPOT SALE KNOCKS THAT PRICE DOWN ~7% (FLOOR 50%). PRICES RECOVER 5%/DAY. ORDERS LOCK FULL PRICE +35% — FILL THEM FIRST. GREEN "READY" = WEIGH OUT NOW.

MACHINES BURN FUEL AND WEAR DOWN. FUEL TRUCK AUTO-FILLS FROM YOUR DIESEL ($700/200GAL — DON'T RUN DRY). CONDITION UNDER 30 = BREAKDOWN RISK. GREASE WORST ($150) BEFORE IT SNAPS. WORK TRUCK IS WHY REPAIRS TAKE 5 HRS, NOT 10.

$600 WAGES + $150 PLANT POWER + $40/PUMP + $1,200 BANK = UP TO ~$2,000/DAY BEFORE DIESEL. KEEP CASH ON HAND AT NIGHTFALL.

DAYS 1-3: BOTH DRAGLINES IN PIT A, SELL DIRT FAST, COVER THE BANK. THEN CHASE S+G AND FILL ORDERS OVER SPOT SALES. SAVE FOR THE PUGMILL. PIT C IS THE MID-GAME BET. PAY $5K CHUNKS ON THE NOTE WHEN FLUSH.

REP (0-100): DELIVERIES CLIMB IT, DEAD ORDERS DROP IT -8. HIGH REP = BIGGER ORDERS, AND AT 75+ THE COUNTY CALLS WITH 400-600T CONTRACTS AT 1.5X. STORMS RAISE EVERY WATER TABLE BY 1 FOR 2 DAYS. DIESEL SPIKES TO $1,100. RUSH ORDERS PAY 1.8X ON A 2-DAY FUSE. DRAGLINES TAKE 3HRS TO TRAM BETWEEN CELLS — PLAN AHEAD. AUTO-GREASE (FLEET TAB) SERVICES ANYTHING UNDER 60 FOR $200 A POP. THE GAME AUTOSAVES EVERY NIGHT — WHEN A PIT IS DUG OUT, RE-LEASE IT IN THE SHOP FOR FRESH DEEP GROUND. HIT CONTINUE ON THE TITLE SCREEN. MUSIC: 8-BIT COUNTRY STARTS WITH YOUR SHIFT — THE ♪ BUTTON UP TOP MUTES IT.

TAP A PIT AND HIT ★ HAUL THIS FIRST — TRUCKS EMPTY THAT PIT BEFORE ANY OTHER WHILE IT HAS DIRT ON THE GROUND (THE STAR SHOWS ON THE MAP). WHEN NOTHING IS ON FIRE, THE TIP BAR NOW SHOWS YOUR NEXT GOAL — A LADDER THAT RUNS FROM PAYING THE NOTE ALL THE WAY TO DIRT BARON ($500K). AND IN THE DRAGLINE SEAT, A RUMBLE ON THE CAST MEANS ROCK IN THE PASS: THE RED MARK ON THE DRAG METER IS THE BOULDER — HOLD THE CUT UNDER 50% TILL YOU'RE PAST IT, OR HANG THE BUCKET UP HARD.

SHORT ON CASH? THE FLEET TAB HAS TAKE THE SEAT — WORK ONE DRAGLINE SHIFT YOURSELF, ONCE PER DAY, AND YOUR TICKET LANDS IN THE COMPANY DRAWER AS CASH. LEAVE THE SHIFT EARLY AND YOU GET NOTHING, AND THE DAY IS STILL BURNED. AFTER ANY SHIFT (FROM THE OFFICE OR THE TITLE SCREEN) YOU CAN POST YOUR TICKET TO THE HIGH TICKETS BOARD AND SEE THE ISLAND'S TOP FIVE.

THERE IS A SECOND WAY TO PLAY. FROM THE TITLE SCREEN, HIT RUN THE DRAGLINE AND YOU ARE IN THE SEAT OF A NORTHWEST 80-D INSTEAD OF RUNNING THE OFFICE. LOWER THE BUCKET ON THE BANK, HOLD DRAG AND FEATHER THE HOIST TO KEEP THE CUT IN THE GREEN, THEN SWING AND DUMP — INTO A TRUCK FOR FULL CREDIT, ONTO THE STOCKPILE FOR HALF WHEN NO TRUCK IS SPOTTED. ONE SHIFT IS THREE MINUTES. YOUR BEST SHIFT IS SAVED.

THE II PAUSE BUTTON UP TOP STOPS THE CLOCK — THE MAP SAYS PAUSED SO YOU CAN'T MISS IT, AND IT TURNS INTO ▶ PLAY TO START BACK UP. ON A KEYBOARD, SPACE DOES THE SAME. NOTHING BURNS FUEL, WEARS OUT, OR COMES DUE WHILE YOU ARE PAUSED — TAKE YOUR TIME READING THE ORDER BOARD.

THE YELLOW TIP BAR UNDER THE TICKER IS YOUR PIT BOSS. IT ALWAYS SHOWS THE ONE MOST URGENT THING TO DO — NOTHING DIGGING, WATER IN THE HOLE, DIESEL LOW, AN ORDER READY TO WEIGH OUT, THE BANK DRAFT COMING WITH NO CASH. TAP THE BAR AND IT JUMPS YOU STRAIGHT TO THE RIGHT TAB. WHEN THE BAR GOES GRAY, EVERYTHING IS RUNNING. TURN IT OFF ANY TIME WITH TIPS UP TOP.

DIGGING IS THE BOTTLENECK — DRAGLINE 3 ($22,000) IS THE ONLY REAL WAY TO SCALE, AND ONCE YOU RUN THREE BUCKETS THE HAUL DISTANCE FINALLY BITES: FAR PITS CAN'T MOVE WHAT YOU DIG. THE ROCK CRUSHER ($14,000) TURNS DEAD BIG ROCK INTO BASE ROCK AT $34/T, 150T/DAY. PAY THE NOTE OFF AND YOU GET A SCORE SCREEN — AFTER THAT NET WORTH REPLACES DEBT IN THE TOP BAR AND YOUR BEST DAY IS SAVED. THE ♪ BUTTON NOW CYCLES ON / MED / LOW / OFF.

DRAGLINES AUTO-TRAM TO THE NEXT CELL WHEN ONE FINISHES (SAME 3HR TRAM). CAN'T FILL AN ORDER? PASS IT FOR -2 REP INSTEAD OF -5 WHEN IT DIES. THE RADIO POSTS A NIGHTLY LEDGER — MONEY IN, MONEY OUT, NET. AN ALARM SOUNDS THE MOMENT THE DIESEL RUNS DRY. AND WATCH THE MAP: EVERY PIT SQUARE NOW SHOWS ITS OWN LAYER, DEPTH, AND FLOODING.