It is the 1880s: Minneapolis, Minnesota is situated in an ideal location along the Mississippi River, near the powerful Saint Anthony's Falls, and in close proximity to the wheat fields of the Northern Plains. The combination of these two features propels the city in flour production and earns it the moniker of "Mill City." In Mill City, players each represent a milling company and are responsible for producing flour and shipping it via boxcars to distribution centers. The milling companies must use the Saint Anthony's Falls to produce the water power needed to mill grain into flour. After milling is complete, the flour is loaded into boxcars and shipped to distribution centers in the Midwest. The player who can best balance milling and shipping based on the available water power and shipping capacity with investing in the rising distribution companies will be victorious.