Family Business

What’s the idea?

You are running some big business together.
But you win on your own.

In other words, each player will have 1 or 2 “roles” within the family. These roles are executed, every round, in the same order.

This means you need to work together and negotiate all the time, but not be too friendly. Because in the end, you do want the most points for yourself. (This was inspired by a similar aspect of the game John Company.)

Below is a rough version of the rules.

Setup

Pick your set of roles, distribute them as fairly as possible. (Should probably allow some roles to be left out to ensure all players have the same number of roles.)

Place the second card of each role (that’s in the game) in a row on the table. Sort them from lowest to highest number.

Create a shuffled, facedown event deck in the center of the table.

Sort all material (military, resources and money?) based on type.

Objective

The game ends when the event deck is empty. The player with the highest score wins.

Gameplay

Play happens in rounds.

Each round, move through the roles in the order shown on the table (left to right). Each player simply executes that role however they wish.

Of course, there should be roles / events that can change this order over time.

Once done, go around the table clockwise, starting with the Master of Finance. Each player takes a turn drawing 2 event cards and handling them (one at a time).

If you beat the event (you have what it requires), place it facedown in front of you. You will score its points at the end of the game!
If you don’t win, you take the penalty shown and stop drawing.
- This often means losing your role, being unable to do it next turn, losing your funds / resources, etcetera.

It must be balanced in such a way that players truly need each other. They need you to survive so you can take your action. But they don’t want you to survive too well and score too many points.

Roles?

What might the roles be?

Finance: you start the round by distributing the income across all players. (Income which they’ll use for their own actions.) => this is also “economics/treasury”
Military: they can buy more soldiers and move them between players.
Diplomacy: they can ??
Trade: they can convert resources, get more of them, move them between players, strike deals with imaginary other countries, etcetera
Technology: ?? (Research & Development?)
Services: ??

Event Cards?

For example, there might be an attack. If you haven’t invested in enough military, well, tough luck.
Or some resources might be scarce, and you need to be able to fill that gap with extra reserves.

What's the idea? * You are running some big business _together_. * But you win _on your own_. In other words, each player will have 1 or 2 "roles" within the family. These roles are executed, every round, in the same order. This means you need to work together and negotiate all the time, but not be too friendly. Because in the end, you do want the most points for yourself. (This was inspired by a similar aspect of the game _John Company_.) Below is a rough version of the rules. ## Setup Pick your set of roles, distribute them as fairly as possible. (Should probably allow some roles to be left out to ensure all players have the same number of roles.) Place the second card of each role (that's in the game) in a row on the table. Sort them from lowest to highest number. Create a shuffled, facedown event deck in the center of the table. Sort all material (military, resources and money?) based on type. ## Objective The game ends when the event deck is empty. The player with the highest score wins. ## Gameplay Play happens in rounds. Each round, move through the roles in the order shown on the table (left to right). Each player simply **executes** that role however they wish. _Of course, there should be roles / events that can change this order over time._ Once done, go around the table clockwise, starting with the Master of Finance. Each player takes a turn **drawing 2 event cards** and handling them (one at a time). * If you **beat** the event (you have what it requires), place it facedown in front of you. You will score its points at the end of the game! * If you **don't win**, you take the penalty shown and stop drawing. * This often means losing your role, being unable to do it next turn, losing your funds / resources, etcetera. _It must be balanced in such a way that players truly need each other. They need you to survive so you can take your action. But they don't want you to survive too well and score too many points._ ## Roles? What might the roles be? * **Finance**: you start the round by distributing the income across all players. (Income which they'll use for their own actions.) => this is also "economics/treasury" * **Military**: they can buy more soldiers and move them between players. * **Diplomacy**: they can ?? * **Trade**: they can convert resources, get more of them, move them between players, strike deals with imaginary other countries, etcetera * **Technology:** ?? (Research & Development?) * **Services**: ?? ## Event Cards? * For example, there might be an _attack_. If you haven't invested in enough military, well, tough luck. * Or some resources might be scarce, and you need to be able to fill that gap with extra reserves.