Silicon Valley

Inspired by Big Boss from Wolfgang Kramer, and Chartered: The Golden Age, and perhaps Acquire.

This is what I love about the general idea.

Growing companies over time is fun.
Trying to get the shares of the right companies at the right time.
And strategic takeovers / merges of companies as they meet each other.
The idea of cards with random numbers that correlate to one specific field on the map. (Allowing you to hold/control choke points.)

I, however, want to simplify it. Bring it back to just a handful of tiles and simpler rules. Below is my attempt, switching the theme to Silicon Valley (growing/creating/investing in tech startups in the 80s).

Setup

Create separate piles for every different company ( = share tiles).

Then create one deck of all remaining tiles. From this deck,

Place a 5x5 grid of random tiles on the table.
Deal every player 3 tiles to take into their hand.

Objective

The game ends when the deck has run out.

Players calculate their score.

For each company, multiply your # shares by company value.
Then add how much money you have.
(And subtract 1 for each number tile left in your hand?)

Highest score wins!

Gameplay

On your turn, either play a tile or grab a tile. You cannot pass.

General rules

The value of a company is equal to its size ( = number of tiles).

Tiles have three parts: a number, a money value, and perhaps a power.

Whenever you receive money, find tiles in your hand of which the money values add up to the correct amount. (If you can’t do this, round down to the nearest figure you can reach.) Now place these open in front of you.

Finally, make sure you always check the permanent powers from tiles currently on the board.

Play a Tile

You can play any tile in your possession: hand, money, or share.

If you play a tile for its number, it must match a tile already on the board.

If this tile is connected to a company, replace it with a share of that company. (You’ve just grown the company by one!) This might cause a merger, see “LINK TO SECTION”.
Otherwise, you start a new company. Swap the existing tile with a share tile that isn’t in play yet. (If all companies are in play or out of shares, you can’t start a new one.)

You receive the current value of the company you changed as money.

You can also play a tile for its power, in which case you simply execute that.

If you play a share, you sell it. Receive the current value of that company as money.

Whatever the case, discard the tile you played.

Grab a Tile

Take a tile from the board into your hand for free.

If you want to take a tile that belongs to a company, however, you must pay the current value of the company. (You can’t take a tile that would split the company in two.)

Fill any gaps you create with tiles from the deck.

Merging

As soon as two companies are adjacent to each other, they must merge.

The bigger company always swallows the smaller one. (If tied, the active player decides which one wins.)
Turn all the tiles of the smaller company facedown. (This represents they are now part of the bigger company.)
(Any shares from the smaller company are currently worth 0, because the company does not exist!)

@ALTERNATIVE: When companies merge, the smaller company is “cashed out”? (Current value paid out to all shareholders, then removed entirely from the game to never come back.)

@ALTERNATIVE: Company tiles are just facedown tiles. So you flip the current tile face-down, instead of replacing with a share.

@ALTERNATIVE: You can take a tile that would split a company in two, just according to some rules/cleanup?

Powers

There are two types of powers.

Permanent: these are true when the tile is on the board and permanently mess things up.
Trigger: these trigger when you play the card on purpose for its power.

Permanent powers might be …

A tile devaluing nearby property.
A tile that allows you to grab again (once grabbed)
A tile that forbids growing companies on the same row/column/adjacency
A tile that simple costs (a lot of) money to grab => or one that functions as an obstacle or wall in some other way.

Triggered powers might be …

Remove two tiles at random.
Remove one tile from any company.
Receive one share from any company.
View another player’s hand.
View the top 5 cards of the deck and draw three.

Material

Everything goes through tiles. There are a few types.

Tiles. Show a number, money, and power.
- Numbers range from 1—36. Every number is in the deck twice => needed to allow matching numbers already on the board.
- Money ranges from 1—6.
- Powers only appear some of the time.
Shares: This represents part of a company, either on the board or in your hand.
- There are 6 companies.
- With 6 shares each.

So, how much material do we need? 108 tiles

Numbers = 36 x 2 = 72 tiles
Shares = 6 x 6 = 36 tiles

With 12 tiles per page, this means exactly 9 pages of material!

Could This Be A One Paper Game?

I don’t see how. The whole point is that …

Companies can grow, shrink, and merge.
Companies can “change owner”.
There’s money involved and it constantly changes hands.

This all works against the permanency of OPGs.

Inspired by **Big Boss** from Wolfgang Kramer, and **Chartered: The Golden Age,** and perhaps **Acquire**. This is what I love about the general idea. - Growing companies over time is fun. - Trying to get the shares of the right companies at the right time. - And strategic takeovers / merges of companies as they meet each other. - The idea of cards with random numbers that correlate to one specific field on the map. (Allowing you to hold/control choke points.) I, however, want to *simplify* it. Bring it back to just a handful of tiles and simpler rules. Below is my attempt, switching the theme to _Silicon Valley_ (growing/creating/investing in tech startups in the 80s). ## Setup Create separate piles for every different **company** ( = share tiles). Then create one deck of all remaining tiles. From this deck, - Place a 5x5 grid of random tiles on the table. - Deal every player 3 tiles to take into their hand. ## Objective The game ends when the deck has run out. Players calculate their score. - For each company, multiply your **\# shares** by **company value.** - Then add how much money you have. - (And subtract 1 for each number tile left in your hand?) Highest score wins! ## Gameplay On your turn, either **play a tile** or **grab a tile.** You cannot pass. ### General rules The **value of a company** is equal to **its size** ( = number of tiles). Tiles have three parts: a **number**, a **money value**, and perhaps a **power.** Whenever you receive money, find tiles in your hand of which the money values add up to the correct amount. (If you can't do this, round down to the nearest figure you can reach.) Now place these *open* in front of you. Finally, make sure you always check the *permanent* powers from tiles currently on the board. ### Play a Tile You can play any tile in your possession: hand, money, or share. If you play a tile for its **number**, it must match a tile already on the board. - If this tile is connected to a company, replace it with a *share* of that company. (You've just grown the company by one!) This might cause a *merger*, see "LINK TO SECTION". - Otherwise, you start a *new* company. Swap the existing tile with a share tile that isn't in play yet. (If all companies are in play or out of shares, you can't start a new one.) You receive the current value of the company you changed as money. You can also play a tile for its **power,** in which case you simply execute that. If you play a **share**, you sell it. Receive the current value of that company as money. Whatever the case, discard the tile you played. ### Grab a Tile Take a tile from the board into your hand *for free*. If you want to take a tile that belongs to a **company**, however, you must pay the current value of the company. (You can't take a tile that would split the company in two.) Fill any gaps you create with tiles from the deck. ### Merging As soon as two companies are adjacent to each other, they must **merge**. - The bigger company always swallows the smaller one. (If tied, the active player decides which one wins.) - Turn all the tiles of the **smaller company** facedown. (This represents they are now part of the bigger company.) - (Any shares from the smaller company are currently worth 0, because the company does not exist!) **\@ALTERNATIVE:** When companies merge, the smaller company is "cashed out"? (Current value paid out to all shareholders, then removed entirely from the game to never come back.) **\@ALTERNATIVE:** Company tiles are just facedown tiles. So you flip the current tile face-down, instead of replacing with a share. **\@ALTERNATIVE:** You *can* take a tile that would split a company in two, just according to some rules/cleanup? ## Powers There are two types of powers. - **Permanent:** these are true when the tile is *on the board* and permanently mess things up. - **Trigger:** these trigger when you *play* the card on purpose for its power. Permanent powers might be ... - A tile devaluing nearby property. - A tile that allows you to grab again (once grabbed) - A tile that forbids growing companies on the same row/column/adjacency - A tile that simple costs (a lot of) money to grab => or one that functions as an *obstacle* or *wall* in some other way. Triggered powers might be ... - Remove two tiles at random. - Remove one tile from any company. - Receive one share from any company. - View another player's hand. - View the top 5 cards of the deck and draw three. ## Material Everything goes through tiles. There are a few types. - **Tiles**. Show a *number, money, and power*. - Numbers range from **1---36**. Every number is in the deck twice => needed to allow *matching* numbers already on the board. - Money ranges from **1---6.** - Powers only appear *some* of the time. - **Shares:** This represents part of a company, either on the board or in your hand. - There are **6 companies.** - With **6 shares each.** So, how much material do we need? 108 tiles - Numbers = 36 x 2 = 72 tiles - Shares = 6 x 6 = 36 tiles With 12 tiles per page, this means *exactly* 9 pages of material! ### Could This Be A One Paper Game? I don't see how. The whole point is that ... - Companies can grow, shrink, and merge. - Companies can "change owner". - There's money involved and it constantly changes hands. This all works *against* the permanency of OPGs.