Short Sale

A game for 2-5 players

Playing time: 90 minutes

Game mechanics: point-to-point movement, economic, negotiating, commodity speculation

OVERVIEW:

A game about investing in and renovating properties.

Players begin with an income of $200k from your current employment. You work 8 hours a day, leaving another 8 hours for investing and renovating. If you can quit your job and live off of rents alone this gives you additional freedoms and advantages when buying, selling, bidding, as well as first shot at short sale situations.

You can borrower money from a bank at a certain rate of interest. When another player borrows money, rates go up. When a player pays off a loan, or when borrowing is slow, rates come down.

Players may invest in:

24 single family residences.
16 2-family properties.
8 4-family properties.

There are 6 different districts of the residential city of Homewood. Each time a person buys a property in a district, the values of the other properties go up. If a property is sold, the value of the properties goes down.

If a player is unable to pay their mortgage from shortage of funds or job loss (event card), the home is under foreclosure and short-sale. While short-sales takes longer to acquire, they can be purchased at a great discount.

Different paths to victory and victory points: players can spend their time buying and selling properties. They can also renovate the properties they own, which adds value to the surrounding properties in the district, as well as increase rents from rental properties.

There is also a General Event deck that happens in phase 4, possibly affecting everyone or only a certain district of properties.

Phases:

1. District ratings
2. Collect rents and income
3. Upkeep
   1. Pay mortgages
   2. Pay taxes
4. General
   1. Put home(s) on market
   2. Buy home(s)
   3. Borrower money
   4. Renovate
   5. Auction
5. Event deck
6. Gain victory points, check for game end condition

Further details:

PHASE 1 – Districts are rated 1-6 (1 being most affluent/successful) according to:

• Number of properties for sale on market
• Most upgraded/renovated

PHASE 2 – COLLECT RENTS AND INCOME

• If a player has a ‘renter’ marker on a property, the player receives income equal to the rent of that district. (see corresponding district chart).
• A player also receives $200k employment income unless he chooses to quit and becomes a property manager.

PHASE 3 – UPKEEP

Players pay any mortgages they’ve taken out, plus real estate taxes (see district chart)

PHASE 4 – GENERAL

• announce homes for sale (for sale marker)
• make offer to purchase homes (from bank if unowned) or from another player if owned
• Borrower money at current market rate
• Visit hardware store to purchase materials
• Renovate current properties
  • Adding a bath/upgrade plumbing
  • Add swimming pool
  • Add bedroom(s)
  • Paint
  • Replace cabinets
  • Etc
• Visit foreclosure property auction Players will spend time to move and visit various places, striving to make efficient use of time and money, while making the best investments and renovations in areas they believe to be ‘up and coming’.

PHASE 5 – EVENT DECK

An event card is drawn which announces something that may affect a player, all players, a district, a particular home, a job, or a market. Some examples:

• Fire
• Mortgage rates increase
• Renters leave
• Zombies attack district 5!
• Etc

PHASE 6 – CHECK FOR GAME WIN CONDITIONS

At the beginning of the game, a pool of victory points is placed next to the game board depending on the number of players. In Phase 5, players acquire victory points based on:

• Most properties owned
• Highest income (including rents)
• Greatest gross assets of properties Once pool of victory points is depleted, the game ends and the player with the most victory points wins the game.

DISTRICT CHART (formatting may be lost in translation)

District number: District1 ----- District2 ----- District3 ----- District4 ----- District5 ----- District6
One family rent: $1550 ------- $1475 ------- $1400 ------- $1325 ------- $1200 ------- $900
Two family rent: $1200 p.u. --- $1150 p.u. --- $1100 p.u. --- $1050 p.u. --- $950 p.u. --- $700 p.u.
Four family rent: $1000 p.u. ---- $900 p.u. ---- $800 p.u. ---- $700 p.u. ---- $600 p.u. ---- $400 p.u.
Real estate tax : $3000 ------- $2500 ------- $2000 -------- $1500 -------- $1000 -------- $1000

Real Estate Madness

Goal

Make the most money by building the best house in the neighborhood.

Setup

Each player receives 3 workers, $20, and a Headquarters and Building card. Each player randomly draws a “Neighborhood Association” card. Place the Day Labor, Rock Quarry, Lumber Yard, Supply Yard cards in the middle. Each player then looks through their building deck, and secretly decides on their set of rooms (their plans). For example, a player may take “Wooden Bedroom,” “Stone Master Bedroom,” “Bathroom,” “Second Bathroom,” “Basic Kitchen,” “Medium Living Room,” “Superior Grass Lawn,” and “Olympic Sized Swimming Pool with Waterfall.” Once this has been done, each player reveals their plans, and players randomly select an early bird player.

The Turn

The turn starts with worker placement. The early bird player (the person who was to the left of last turn’s early bird) may place a single worker on any of the 6 possible areas. Next the player to her left does the same, and so on. Once each player has placed all 3 workers, players are given the option of hiring temporary workers at the price of $10. Play continues in a circle, with each player allowed to hire as many temporary workers as she likes (one at a time). Temporary workers act just like regular workers, except are returned to the labor pool at the end of your turn. Work things out in the following order:

Headquarters

If you have a worker in headquarters, you may change you plans. You may place a new room card or remove a card at the cost of $2 per card. If you remove a room that you have already begun room, half of the resources return to your hand (rounded down), and half return to the bank. Additionally, for every room that you have begun building which you do not change, you must pay $2 and 1 worker for alterations (alternatively, you can have a “quick fix,” by paying $6 and 1 worker for 2 rooms).

Building

Each room has a certain cost, a timing of resource costs, and a certain amount of time on it. For example, building a Delux Kitchen requires 3 time, and 2 wood, 3 stone, 2 copper, and 2 money (order: 2s-1w, 1s-1c, 1w-1c-2$). This means the first time a worker begins working on the Deluxe Kitchen, you must pay 2 stone and 1 wood. The second worker must pay 1 stone and 1 copper, and so on. You can have multiple workers working on the same room at the same time (so, if you had 3 workers and all the required resources, you could build a Delux Kitchen in 1 turn).

Day Labor

For each worker you have as a day laborer, collect $5.

Rock Quarry, Lumber Yard, and Supply Yard

At the beginning of each turn, draw two cards for each area. Cards will name some number of resources, and a minimum bid (for example, “3 Lumber: Min. Bid $2”). Starting with the first player who placed in that area, that player is able to bid on one of the cards (if she has 2 workers, each may bid on different cards). The next player may then bid on one of the cards. Play proceeds in the order in which workers arrived. A player must increase the current bid by at least $1, bid on the other card, or leave. When everyone has had a chance to bid, the player who bid the highest for each card pays that money to the bank, and takes that resource tokens. Players buy wood from the lumber yard, stone from the rock quarry, and copper piping (for the plumbing) from the supply yard.

Trading

At the end of the turn, players are allowed to trade resources, money, or worker. If a player trades a worker, then that player loses one worker during the next turn, and the other player receives a “free” temporary worker. Resources do not need to be traded for the amount on the card (e.g. if you bought a “5 Wood” card this turn, you can trade each wood token individually).

Endgame

The game ends on turn 10. At the end of the game, each player may sell wood for $1, stone for $2, and copper for $3. Each room has a “Selling value.” Each player collects that much money if the room is complete. Rooms also have an “Unfinished penalty.” If the room is not completed, the player loses that much money. Neighborhood association cards give several bonuses (such as “If you have 4 small bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, +$20”), and penalties (“If you don’t have a finished bathroom, -$20”). Whoever has the most money at the end wins. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest value house wins.

Lowball Battle

The house renovation business is booming, and construction companies are eager to win remodeling contracts and become the most respectable company in town. Company owners try to bid lower than others to win contracts, but if they can't fulfill their end of the deal, they won't get fully paid and will lose the respect of the townspeople.

Components

• One deck of property cards. Each card shows a picture of the property and indicates the number of renovations required (1,2, or 3) and the value of Respect Points that can be earned (1, 3, or 5).
• One deck of renovation cards. Each card names a type of renovation (e.g., new addition, new shower, etc.), lists a permit fee, the quantity and type of subcontractors needed for the job, and the cost for various materials options (using higher quality produces additional Respect Points).
• One draw bag and 36 Subcontractor “Meeples”: 5 plumber meeples (blue), 6 mason meeples (brown), 7 finishing work meeples (green), 8 electrician meeples (red), 10 framer meeples (yellow)
• Respect Point chits (in values of -3, -1, +1 and +3)
• Currency in $50's, $100's, $500's, and $1000's denominations
• 16 plastic bid tokens, four dry erase markers, four player shields, four erasers, and one starting player token

The game board contains the following sections: - Coffee shop, with four tables, numbered 2, 3, 4, 5 (where subcontractors are recruited for jobs) - Office, a place for property and renovation cards (each property card space has three spaces beneath it for renovation cards to be placed) - Bank, a place for the money to be stored - Newspaper office, a place for the Respect Point chits to be stored

Setup

• Each player receives a player shield, a dry erase marker, an eraser, four bid tokens, and $5000.
• Shuffle the two decks of cards and place them on their respective draw piles.
• Place all the meeples in the draw bag and mix.
• Give one player the starting player token

Game Summary

The game is played over a series of rounds with five steps until one player reveals a total of 10 Respect Points: - Reveal contracts and subcontractors - Bid and award contracts - Recruit subcontractors - Pay contract costs, receive earnings and points - Check for win and cleanup

Reveal Contracts and Subcontractors

• Draw up to four property cards to be placed in the office, keeping those left over from previous rounds
• Draw and place the number of renovation cards as indicated by the property cards
• Draw and place meeples in the coffee shop (two at table #2, three at table #3, etc.), keeping ones left over from previous rounds

Bid and Award Contracts

Players bid blindly and simultaneously on one or more projects by writing on the bid tokens. A bid must include the property number and an amount rounded to the nearest $50. Players should consider all the costs of the project (fees, wages, materials) before making their bids. When players are finished, bids are revealed starting with the first property. The lowest bidder wins the contract. In case of a tie, the player with the most respect points wins. If still tied, the two players rebid, using lower amounts. Continue with the other three properties. Any property not receiving a bid remains in the office for the next turn and receives a +1 point chit.

Recruit Subcontractors

In player order, players may pass or take all of the meeples from one of the tables in the coffee shop.

Pay Contract Costs, Receive Earnings and Receive Respect Points

In player order, players pay for all of their contract costs:

• Permit fees
• Wages for subcontractors ($250 each and returned to the bag)
• Materials

When players pay for the costs of their project, they are awarded the earnings and Respect Points. Additional Points are awarded for using higher quality materials. If a player fails to pay for the contract costs, the player receives negative Respect Points associated with the property, but still receives half of the earnings (rounded down to the nearest $50).

Check for Win and Cleanup

If any player has 10 or more Respect Points, the game ends, and the player with the most points wins. In case of tie, the player with the most cash wins. If play continues, perform the following cleanup actions:

• Discard property and renovation cards bid upon this turn
• Pay $50 for each subcontractor the player wishes to hold over, return the rest to the bag
• Pass the starting player token one to the left

Archideck (working title)

Summer is fast approaching, and life in the Sun Belt suburbs is all about showing off your money by having massive backyard parties. Utilizing raw materials and developments, you will attempt to make the most impressive deck structure in the neighborhood.

Archideck...the deck-building game about building a deck!

Gameplay

Archideck borrows the primary mechanic from Donald X. Vaccarino's Dominion, where each player has a deck of cards which they build up from the stacks of cards available on the table. However, there are changes to make the game more thematically relevant and give players more tactical control:

• The clean-up phase only occurs when you need to shuffle your deck.
• Treasure is replaced with raw materials (lumber, brick, cement, steel, plastic, land, water).
• Raw Materials act as both purchasing power AND operational cost - they act as both money and workers.

There is more of a focus on optimizing a player's cycle instead of each turn (as in Dominion). Nothing in your deck will go to waste between shuffles UNLESS you decide not to use it. Because the materials must be allocated to structure and development cards (note: like Actions) each cycle, the game plays a little more like Magic: the Gathering, except that your deck runs faster, and multiple times. Most importantly, the rule-bending elements of the game are semi-permanent.

During a Turn

Each player begins with a deck that includes at least one of each raw material and some production structures and draws a hand of 5 cards. When you buy new cards, they go into your discard pile. At the end of each turn, a player may discard any unused cards that they wish from their hand, then draw back up to 5 cards again.

All actions are done simultaneously to cut down on wasted time. The effects of other cards are tailored to fit a game that does not require a turn order.

Cycles

As stated previously, Archideck concerns itself more with each player's cycle, not their turn. When a player needs to draw cards and no longer has any in their deck, they initiate a "clean-up" phase. However, before doing so, they may replenish their hand with ANY cards that they currently have "in-play," giving players nearly complete control over their first hand of a cycle.

After replenishing their hand, all in-play cards are shuffled in with discarded cards, and a new deck is created.

Raw Materials

(Work In Progress) The raw materials are represented by single cards in your deck. On your turn, you may play any materials to your in-play area and either use them to buy other cards, operate the actions on other cards from your hand, or leave them out so that they may be used later in the cycle.

Basic Structures

There are six basic structures, three of which follow the "production" track and three which follow the "scoring" track. The production structures are cheaper to build and use, but score less. Each track has three levels of structure which must be improved (a 1 VP Frame upgrades into a 3 VP Patio, then upgrades into a 6 VP Deck). These six structures are present in every game.

Randomized Structures and Developments

Like Dominion, there are several (probably 7) stacks of cards that are randomly used out of a larger set of cards. All of these cards have rule-bending effects, such as:

• Laborer: Draw two more cards than you would normally.
• Weatherproofing: Unless they have a weatherproofing card in play, all opponents draw up to 4 cards instead of 5.
• Toolkit: For upgrading purposes, any card may be trashed in place of the prescribed card, as long as the trashed card has at least the same VP value.
• Compost: You may trash one card from your hand.
• Building Codes: Unless they have a Building Codes card in play, no player may have more than 8 structures in play.

Unless otherwise noted, all effects are performed or used once per turn.

Endgame

Most basic structures and some randomized structures score Victory Points (VP). When one player has ten Victory Point cards (not VPs) in-play, the game ends on that turn. Each player goes through their deck, counting their VPs. The player with the most VPs in their deck is the winner.

Designer Notes

This game has been an off-and-on work-in-progress for several months, and I felt like it really fit the "home improvement" theme of the GDS this month. I basically tacked-on some of the resources and cards simply because they fit the mold of the contest. Things like building codes, plumbing, and planning have only incidental relationships in Archideck, but the game still fits the theme well. The "deck-building game about building a deck" started as a joke, but after some time I merged several ideas together and kept the deck-building theme, with the mechanics that you see above.