Realtime Theatre

Congratulations! You just received a small, run-down theatre and a permit to start a new business there.

But … if you don’t generate income soon, your budget will run out and you’ll have to close again. And shows riddled with mistakes will drop your reputation to the point where nobody will ever visit again.

Will you build this theatre into a successful (show) business? Or will the show be over after act 1?

What’s the idea?

You are running a theatre. This means you have two tasks:

Program shows and ensure the right tools/artists/staff arrive at the right place.
Make sure people come to the shows and have a good time.

Making them happy leads to a better reputation => which leads to more visitors and higher-profile shows => which leads to more money.

Gameplay

Overview

The game is played over X rounds. Each round lasts Y minutes. There’s no timer on the pause between rounds, so take as much time as you need to upgrade your theatre and make new strategies.

During a round

All players will simultaneously take actions using sand timers. (The specific number of rounds and timers depend on your objective.)

Place your stand timer on an action space to immediately take that action. You may only move the sand timer again once the sand has run out.

Don’t forget to properly keep track of your income! (Once guests have left, there’s no way to calculate your income anymore. So do it at the right moment!)

Between rounds

When the round ends, any theatregoer that aimlessly wanders the building reduces your reputation by 1. (Even if they saw a show, you must make them leave.)

Now players can buy new departments or additions to their theatre (from their current money). Most of the time, upgrading (in a smart way) is necessary to your survival.

Similarly, you can sell departments for money. The reward will always be lower than the original price, but it’s still a lot of money, and it reduces space and complexity.

Objective

In general, the objective is to earn enough money without getting a terrible reputation.

The specific objective, however, depends on the mission you are playing.

Early missions will start with almost no departments in the theatre, allowing you to learn the game (and build a theatre from the ground up).
Later missions already have more systems in place and are more about fixing/maintaining an existing theatre (that might be in big trouble).

As such, every mission uses the management department, which keeps track of money and reputation.

So … you’re done reading rules now! Go to the first mission, do the setup, and start playing.

Tutorial

I want to try a game with no tutorial.

Each mission, only the bare minimum of (new) departments is added.
Each department has a “tutorial card” that can be placed on top of it, which tells you exactly what to do.
Leave the card on there during the first few missions. Afterwards, remove the card to reveal a new/extra slot you can now use.

IDEA: If I end up creating action slots that are only used on specific player counts, I should create “tokens” to close them off. So you don’t get confused.

Acting Well

It’s easy to (accidentally or not) cheat in these types of games.

Some things can happen easily in the heat of the moment, and might feel like a “better” way to do things, but actually break the game and reduce the fun.

These things are definitely not allowed:

Picking up a sand timer when the sand hasn’t definitely run out.
Touching someone else’s sand timer.
Placing a sand timer and not taking its action (immediately).
Placing a sand timer for someone else and saying: “hey, you can take that action now!”
Knocking over sand timers (or other things) and not correcting the mistake yourself, as fast as possible.

Cards

Shows

Each show card can have the following properties:

Ticket Price = how much money you earn per guest. If not present, defaults to 1.
Desired Guests = which guests can visit this show
Technicians = how many technicians you need to assign.
Props = whether certain stuff needs to be added by yourself.
Costumes/Changing rooms = either this is a separate need, or this number must simply be equal to the number of actors.
Time delay = how far ahead you need to plan the show. (If not present, can be immediately planned.)
Stage size = only a stage that fits the requirements can play this show
Insurance = an upfront payment is needed, or the show will only play if it has a guaranteed minimum audience
Necessary ingredients:
- A certain truck needs to be unloaded
- Actors need to arrive/be picked up
- A certain décor is needed.
- A lightshow

Guests

Each guest is simply a small token with the icon of the guest.

In early missions, these do nothing special by themselves. In later missions, each guest type has certain (dis)advantages that need to be taken into account:

?? = needs facilities
?? = will eat/drink a lot? (Or not at all?)
?? = requires quality seats? Or enough space?
?? = will (somehow) pay more? (Or will sneak in and not pay at all?)

Staff

In general, the players are the staff and do everything. However, for certain actions specific staff members are necessary (or give bonuses).

These staff need to be hired (or fired) and paid salary. All staff types are:

Director/Boss = ??
Entertainer = ??
Marketeer = ??
Programmer = ??
Technician = ??
General Assistant = ??

Departments

#0: Management

Has a tracker for score and reputation.

IDEA: This can do some other stuff. Maybe you can hire a “directory/boss/manager”. Each of them gives different bonuses/rules/restrictions. (And subsequently, you can also fire them.)

#1: Entrance

Place 6 people tokens face-down before the entrance in a queue. (So there is a clear order to them.)

Action (arriving): let as many people in as your reputation. Do so in the correct order.

Action (leaving): let as many people out of the building as you want. Shuffle those people and place them face-down at the back of any queue.

IDEA: You can have multiple entrances! This allows for multiple queues (better for space and management), is a realistic addition

IDEA: You can do market research if you want, which allows you to flip the next X theatre-goers. (Looking ahead what you’re going to receive soon.)

#2: Makeshift Stage

Action: grab a new show from the deck and add it. (If there’s already a show, it replaces the old one.)

Action: bring X people to the show

The small stage only supports “festival shows”. It has a max capacity of 4 people.

As soon as you replace the old show, earn as much income as there are guests that match the show type. Then, all guests must leave the show.

You can always ignore a certain restriction. However, for each restriction/requirement ignored, your reputation lowers by 1. (For example, playing a show with one missing prop, will work just fine, but simply decrease your reputation by -1.)

#3: Small Stage

Action: execute the show => once this sand timer runs out, it is done, and you can clear out both the show and the guests.

IDEA: “Programming” actually means programming. During a round, you need to research new shows, and plan some of them in future rounds.

Once planned, you cannot change them. (Well, you can, but it has huge downsides.)

IDEA: With the exception of “festival shows” or “small shows”, which can be held the very same round.

Mission #1: A New Start

Setup:

Money = X
Reputation = Y
Departments = Entrance & Makeshift Stage
Shows = only include shows with a “FESTIVAL ICON”
Staff = none
Guests = include all, shuffle

(As you will learn later, you need bigger stages or other departments for any other type of show.)

Blurb: This is your new theatre! I know, it’s not much, and it only has a small entrance and even smaller stage. But still, if you program the right shows, you should be able to attract an audience and earn some money. From there, you could upgrade!

IDEA: When playing a show, use several timer spaces next to each other (labeled 1, 2, 3, …). A timer starts at space 1. Whenever it ends, you flip it over onto the next space. The show is over once that timer reaches the final position.

Of course, the duration of a show can depend on the show itself. Either it shows a number on the card, or the actual timer space are on the card.
The only “boring” thing, would be if one player is just locked into making this show progress. So perhaps this should be a general timer. Or an exception: whatever timer is here, can be used by everyone.

IDEAS:

Department: Garderobe
Department: Costumes & Changing Rooms
Department: Facilities (toilet, bathroom, etc.)
Department: Cafeteria/Restaurant/Food & Drinks
Department: Marketing & Research
Department: Electricity & Stuff??
Department: Talent Programme. (Here you can actually produce new talent and then produce your own shows or draft staff/actors from that pool.)
Department: The Outside World (can have events, government grants, societal preferences, etc.)
Department: Parking Lot

MINI-GAMES

IDEA: “Light show” => shows have a certain pattern of lights, you must “program” these before the show starts. (By placing colored tokens down in certain slots?)
IDEA: “Ticket checking” => there are fake tickets, but you can only find them by looking closely and finding something that’s off. (Maybe it even changes per round.) For every fake ticket you DIDN’T check (correctly), the visitor apparently didn’t pay for it, so remove X money from your supply.
IDEA: Something about “mime” or those “tableaus” (from drama lessons). Maybe you have some fiches, or some pieces of rope, or something to imitate a specific pose on a card. (Or, more uniquely, actually communicate some word to another player, all in realtime.)

IDEA: It’s also your responsibility to put theatre-goers into a certain show. This adds an extra difficulty: what’s the best way to distribute the clients we have over our current shows? (And then you have to figure that out with time pressure and stuff.)

IDEA: “Décor” => some shows need it. You can only play those shows if you have the décor they need (you bought it earlier). Alternatively, you need a special piece of equipment for loading décor.

IDEA: Some shows require a certain amount of time before their players/props/whatever arrive.

Firstly: this might mean you cannot program them next round, but must program them in advance 2 or 3 rounds
Secondly: this might mean you need to get those people in time. For example, a card might say “4 actors already here, 4 need to be picked up”
Or there might be a department of “loading/unloading/travel”. This must be activated to let actors/trucks inside the theatre.

IDEA: Programming at least X different shows (as in: a different genre) gives a reputation bonus or a money bonus (a grant from the government for supporting the arts, or something).

IDEA: Paying the rights to a script? Or writing a new script yourself?

If a script/actor/show came from your own academy, not only does this make it cheaper/quicker, it also allows you to “shape” those exactly how you want.

Congratulations! You just received a small, run-down theatre and a permit to start a new business there. But ... if you don't generate income soon, your budget will run out and you'll have to close again. And shows riddled with mistakes will drop your reputation to the point where nobody will ever visit again. Will you build this theatre into a successful (show) business? Or will the show be over after act 1? ## What's the idea? You are running a theatre. This means you have two tasks: - Program shows and ensure the right tools/artists/staff arrive at the right place. - Make sure people come to the shows and have a good time. Making them happy leads to a better reputation => which leads to more visitors and higher-profile shows => which leads to more money. ## Gameplay ### Overview The game is played over X rounds. Each round lasts Y minutes. There's no timer on the pause between rounds, so take as much time as you need to upgrade your theatre and make new strategies. ### During a round All players will simultaneously take actions using *sand timers*. (The specific number of rounds and timers depend on your objective.) Place your stand timer on an action space to *immediately* take that action. You may only move the sand timer again *once the sand has run out*. Don't forget to properly keep track of your income! (Once guests have left, there's no way to calculate your income anymore. So do it at the right moment!) ### Between rounds When the round ends, any theatregoer that *aimlessly wanders the building* **reduces your reputation by 1**. (Even if they saw a show, you must make them leave.) Now players can ***buy* new departments** or additions to their theatre (from their current money). Most of the time, upgrading (in a smart way) is necessary to your survival. Similarly, you can ***sell* departments for money**. The reward will always be lower than the original price, but it's still a lot of money, and it reduces space and complexity. ## Objective In general, the objective is to *earn enough money* without *getting a terrible reputation.* The specific objective, however, depends on the mission you are playing. - Early missions will start with almost *no* departments in the theatre, allowing you to learn the game (and build a theatre from the ground up). - Later missions already have more systems in place and are more about fixing/maintaining an existing theatre (that might be in big trouble). As such, *every mission* uses the *management department*, which keeps track of money and reputation. So ... you're done reading rules now! Go to the first mission, do the setup, and start playing. ## Tutorial I want to try a game with *no tutorial*. - Each mission, only the bare minimum of (new) departments is added. - Each department has a "tutorial card" that can be placed on top of it, which tells you exactly what to do. - Leave the card on there during the first few missions. Afterwards, remove the card to reveal *a new/extra slot you can now use*. **IDEA:** If I end up creating action slots *that are only used on specific player counts*, I should create "tokens" to *close them off*. So you don't get confused. ## Acting Well It's easy to (accidentally or not) cheat in these types of games. Some things can happen easily in the heat of the moment, and might feel like a "better" way to do things, but actually break the game and reduce the fun. These things are definitely not allowed: - Picking up a sand timer when the sand hasn't *definitely* run out. - Touching someone else's sand timer. - Placing a sand timer and *not* taking its action (immediately). - Placing a sand timer *for someone else* and saying: "hey, you can take that action now!" - Knocking over sand timers (or other things) *and not correcting the mistake yourself, as fast as possible.* # Cards ## Shows Each show card can have the following properties: - **Ticket Price =** how much money you earn per guest. If not present, defaults to 1. - **Desired Guests =** which guests can visit this show - **Technicians =** how many technicians you need to assign. - **Props =** whether certain stuff needs to be added by yourself. - **Costumes/Changing rooms =** either this is a separate need, or this number must simply be equal to the number of *actors*. - **Time delay =** how far ahead you need to plan the show. (If not present, can be immediately planned.) - **Stage size =** only a stage that fits the requirements can play this show - **Insurance =** an upfront payment is needed, or the show will only play if it has a guaranteed minimum audience - **Necessary ingredients:** - A certain truck needs to be unloaded - Actors need to arrive/be picked up - A certain décor is needed. - A lightshow ## Guests Each guest is simply a small *token* with the icon of the guest. In early missions, these do nothing special by themselves. In later missions, each guest type has certain (dis)advantages that need to be taken into account: - **?? = needs facilities** - **?? = will eat/drink a lot? (Or not at all?)** - **?? = requires quality seats? Or enough space?** - **?? = will (somehow) pay more? (Or will sneak in and not pay at all?)** ## Staff In general, the *players* are the staff and do everything. However, for certain actions specific staff members are necessary (or give bonuses). These staff need to be hired (or fired) and paid salary. All staff types are: - **Director/Boss = ??** - **Entertainer = ??** - **Marketeer = ??** - **Programmer = ??** - **Technician = ??** - **General Assistant = ??** # Departments ## #0: Management Has a tracker for **score** and **reputation**. **IDEA:** This can do some other stuff. Maybe you can *hire* a "directory/boss/manager". Each of them gives different bonuses/rules/restrictions. (And subsequently, you can also *fire* them.) ## #1: Entrance Place 6 people tokens face-down before the entrance in a queue. (So there is a clear order to them.) **Action (arriving):** let as many people in **as your reputation**. Do so in the correct order. **Action (leaving):** let as many people **out of the building** as you want. Shuffle those people and place them face-down at the back of any queue. **IDEA:** You can have *multiple* entrances! This allows for multiple queues (better for space and management), is a realistic addition **IDEA:** You *can* do market research if you want, which allows you to flip the next X theatre-goers. (Looking ahead what you're going to receive soon.) ## #2: Makeshift Stage **Action:** grab a new show from the deck and add it. (If there's already a show, it replaces the old one.) **Action:** bring X people to the show The small stage only supports "festival shows". It has a max capacity of 4 people. As soon as you replace the old show, earn as much income as there are guests *that match the show type*. Then, all guests must leave the show. You can *always* ignore a certain restriction. However, for each restriction/requirement ignored, your reputation lowers by 1. (For example, playing a show with one *missing prop*, will work just fine, but simply decrease your reputation by -1.) ## #3: Small Stage **Action:** execute the show => once this sand timer runs out, it is done, and you can clear out both the show and the guests. **IDEA:** "Programming" actually *means* programming. During a round, you need to research new shows, and *plan* some of them in future rounds. Once planned, you cannot change them. (Well, you *can*, but it has huge downsides.) **IDEA:** With the exception of "festival shows" or "small shows", which can be held the very same round. # Mission #1: A New Start **Setup:** - Money = X - Reputation = Y - Departments = Entrance & Makeshift Stage - Shows = only include shows with a "FESTIVAL ICON" - Staff = none - Guests = include all, shuffle (As you will learn later, you need bigger stages or other departments for any other type of show.) ***Blurb:** This is your new theatre! I know, it's not much, and it only has a small entrance and even smaller stage. But still, if you program the right shows, you should be able to attract an audience and earn some money. From there, you could upgrade!* **IDEA:** When playing a show, use several timer spaces *next to each other* (labeled 1, 2, 3, ...). A timer starts at space 1. Whenever it ends, you *flip it over onto the next space.* The show is over once that timer reaches the final position. > Of course, the duration of a show can depend on the show itself. Either it shows a number on the card, or the actual timer space are on the card. > > The only "boring" thing, would be if one player is just locked into making this show progress. So perhaps this should be a general timer. Or an exception: whatever timer is here, can be used by everyone. **IDEAS:** - Department: Garderobe - Department: Costumes & Changing Rooms - Department: Facilities (toilet, bathroom, etc.) - Department: Cafeteria/Restaurant/Food & Drinks - Department: Marketing & Research - Department: Electricity & Stuff?? - Department: Talent Programme. (Here you can actually produce new talent and then produce your own shows or draft staff/actors from that pool.) - Department: The Outside World (can have events, government grants, societal preferences, etc.) - Department: Parking Lot **MINI-GAMES** - **IDEA:** "Light show" => shows have a certain pattern of lights, you must "program" these before the show starts. (By placing colored tokens down in certain slots?) - **IDEA:** "Ticket checking" => there are fake tickets, but you can only find them by looking closely and finding *something* that's off. (Maybe it even changes per round.) For every fake ticket you DIDN'T check (correctly), the visitor apparently didn't pay for it, so remove X money from your supply. - **IDEA:** Something about "mime" or those "tableaus" (from drama lessons). Maybe you have some fiches, or some pieces of rope, or something to *imitate* a specific pose on a card. (Or, more uniquely, actually *communicate* some word to another player, *all in realtime*.) **IDEA:** It's also your responsibility to put theatre-goers into a certain show. This adds an extra difficulty: what's the *best way* to distribute the clients we have over our current shows? (And then you have to figure that out *with time pressure* and stuff.) **IDEA:** "Décor" => some shows need it. You can only play those shows if you *have* the décor they need (you bought it earlier). Alternatively, you need a special piece of equipment for loading décor. **IDEA:** Some shows require a certain amount of *time* before their players/props/whatever arrive. - Firstly: this might mean you cannot program them next round, but must program them in advance 2 or 3 rounds - Secondly: this might mean *you* need to get those people in time. For example, a card might say "4 actors already here, 4 need to be picked up" - Or there might be a **department** of "loading/unloading/travel". This must be activated to let actors/trucks inside the theatre. **IDEA:** Programming at least X *different* shows (as in: a different genre) gives a reputation bonus *or* a money bonus (a grant from the government for supporting the arts, or something). **IDEA:** Paying the rights to a script? Or writing a new script yourself? > If a script/actor/show came from your *own academy*, not only does this make it *cheaper/quicker*, it also allows you to "shape" those exactly how you want.