Do you have too many legos to know what to do with? Boomtown is the working title for a real estate investing and city development board game. In general, I've learned that the market is too saturated with wealth building games to take on another one. I'll be editing the post below to explain the game, provide print ups, and to direct you to where you can get the rest of the materials. If you don't all ready have lots and lots or legos, this game can get expensive to acquire everything needed. If the game seems fun, and you get the supplies and do have fun, my only request is that you donate what you feel the intellectual property behind it is worth to you. Thanks!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Boomtown Rulebook and Materials
Printable images of this rulebook are below the text.
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Boomtown 0.2.3
(c) Copyright 2010 by Patrick Mangan
2 to 7 investors
ages 10 and up
MATERIALS
1 Game Board, 1 Building Board, Play Money, Building Bricks, City Blocks, Numbered Tiles, Colored Markers, 1 Die, 1 Game Token, 11 Cycle Cards, 3 Focus Cards, 1 Banker Duties Card, 67 Market Up Cards, 67 Market Down Cards, Record Keeping Paper, Pencils.
GAME PLAY
Investors play Boomtown by following the rules on the cycle cards, market cards, and focus cards when they are in play, and clarifying those rules with the rulebook. Whenever a new market or cycle card becomes in play, the investor closest to that card reads it out loud to the other investors. As investors proceed, cycle cards will activate new concepts and rules that are effective till the end of the game. The object of Boomtown is to be the investor with the highest net worth when the end game cycle card is played.
SETUP
Step 1: Banker and Banker Materials
An investor is elected to also act as the banker, and is given the Banker Duties card which he or she keeps through out the game. The money, numbered tiles, and bank (black) markers all go to the bank.
Step 2: Building and Game Boards
The building board is placed in the middle of the game board.
Step 3: City Blocks
Starting with the banker, all investors take turns placing a city block in any corner made by roads on the building board. This continues till the entire building board is filled up with city blocks.
Step 4: Game Token
The game token is placed on the start space on the game board.
Step 5: Distribute Markers
Each investor selects a different color of markers to use through out the game, which include building markers, land markers, and plaza markers. Building and land markers are distributed to the investors, but not plaza markers. Black markers are for bank use only.
Step 6: Focus Cards Hand
The three focus cards start with the banker, and are passed to whoever is playing their turn during the game. The three focus cards are Developing, Selling, and Property Buying.
Step 7: First Property
Each investor places one of their land markers in the grid on a city block, and places one building brick on the land marker. The building brick can not be larger than the land marker. Investors then place one of their building markers on the building brick, and the banker places numbered tiles on the building brick that represent the buildings property value in the millions. A single building brick on a single land marker has a property value of $20 million (which is $10 million for the land marker and $10 million for the building brick).
Step 8: Record Keeping
Each Investor takes a paper and a pencil for record keeping. On the record keeping paper, there is a Total Property Values column and a Debt column. Investors keep track of these values in the millions. Investors write “$20” in their Total Property Values, which represents $20 million.
Step 9: Cycle Cards Deck
The investors vote on how many cycles around the board they want the game to go on for, from 1 to 10, and make a deck of cycle cards accordingly. The deck of cycle cards is placed face up and in numerical order on the cycle cards deck space on the game board. The deck of cycle cards should start with cycle card 1 on top, and consecutive cycle cards in order after that, up to the last cycle card the investors elected to be included in the deck. At the bottom of the deck, the end game cycle card is placed face up.
Step 10: Market Card Decks
The decks of Market Up and Market Down cards are shuffled separately and placed on the game board.
BANKER DUTIES CARD
The banker keeps the Banker Duties card, which is a list of the five duties the banker must do, in order, at the beginning of each of his or her turns. The banker reads the duties aloud as they are performed. The duties are:
1) Rolling the die
2) Advancing the game token clockwise around the game board the number that is rolled
3) Playing the next Market Card, depending on the color of the space the game token lands on
4) Paying rent to each investor, which is 10% of each of their Total Property Values
5) Providing Mortgage Loans to players who want them, by mortgaging their buildings. An investor can have up to three mortgages at any given time.
FOCUS CARDS
An investor's turn begins when he or she is given the three focus cards. The investor may then play one of the focus cards by placing two focus cards face down, and once face up. The focus card that is face up is the one that is in play, and the investor reads the title of the in play focus card aloud to the other investors. While an investor has a focus card in play, the investor may participate in the actions described on the focus card as many times as they want, and in any order, reading the title of the actions aloud to the other investors as he or she performs them. When the investor has finished with the focus card in play, he or she passes all three focus cards to the next player, and their turn is over.
Developing
The actions that are available while the Developing focus card is in play are titled Land Purchase and Build.
- Land Purchase A land purchase is the purchase of a single square of land that is in the grid on a city block from the bank to the investor. The purchase price is Land Value, and the square is marked with the investor's Land Marker. Land purchases are only available for auction to other investors after the first purchase of a turn. There are no mortgages for a land purchase.
- Build A build is when the investor creates a building out of building bricks, and places it on land that he or she owns. The price is building value, which the investor pays the bank. The investor then marks the building with a building marker, and writes the buildings property value into his or her record keeping, and the bank places numbered tiles on the building that represent the buildings property value. There are no mortgages or auctions to build a building.
Selling
The actions that are available while the Selling focus card is in play are titled Property Sale and Empty Land Sale.
- Property Sale A property sale is when an investor sells a property he or she owns to the bank for the property's Market Value (minus mortgage if applicable). Investors may also sell out, which is selling all of his or her properties.
- Empty Land Sale An empty land sale is when an investor sells one or more squares of empty land he or she owns to the bank for Land Value.
Property Buying
The actions that are available while the Property Buying focus card is in play are titled Single Property and Plaza Purchase. All purchases after the first purchase of a turn are up for auction to all other investors.
- Single Property This is the action of purchasing a single property from the bank for the property's Market Value. A mortgage to purchase is available for the property's Property Value.
- Plaza Purchase This action is activated by cycle card 5, and is the purchase of a plaza from the bank for the Market Value of all the properties in the plaza. Mortgages for plazas are the same as mortgages for single property purchases, but are not activated till cycle 8.
CYCLE CARDS
The cycle card that is on top of the Cycle Card Deck is in play, and it's rules are activated for the rest of the game, unless another cycle card changes those rules. The top cycle card is discarded when the game token lands on or passes the start space, but investors may inspect cycle cards that are in play or have been discarded at any time to see what concepts and rules those cards activated.
Cycle Card 1: Turns
Cycle Card 1 activates Turns for the rest of the game, starting with the banker. At the beginning of each of the bankers turns, the banker performs all the bank duties listed on the Banker Duties Card in order. An investors turn starts when he or she is given the three focus cards. The investor can then play one focus card by placing two cards face down and one card face up. The investor can participate on the actions described on the focus card that is face up as many times as they want, and in any order. After that, the investor hands all three focus cards to the next player, and their turn is over.
Cycle Card 2: Height Limits
Cycle Card 2 activates Height Limits for the rest of the game. Investors can not build buildings taller than the height limit, but the height limits raise with each cycle card, and will be shown on the cycle card. Height limits might be different depending on the color of the space that the game token is on, and will all ways be different depending on if the building is being built on a square or rectangular city block.
Cycle Card 3: Demolishing
Cycle Card 3 activates Demolishing for the rest of the game. Investors can now demolish buildings that they own that do not have a bank marker on them at any time during the game. The price to demolish is 10% of the Property Value. Investors own the land underneath a building they demolish.
Cycle Card 4: Equity
Cycle Card 4 activates Equity for the rest of the game, which investors now keep track of on their record keeping paper in a third column. Equity is the investors Total Property Values minus their Debt. Rent is now 10% of a investors Equity.
Cycle Card 5: Plazas
Cycle Card 5 activates Plazas for the rest of the game, which are city blocks that have no empty land, and all the buildings on it are owned by the bank or by a singe investor. Plaza markers are distributed to the investors. Investors may purchase individual properties from a bank owned plaza (which will make is cease to be a plaza), or may purchase the plaza in its entirety as a single purchase. Plaza purchases are marked with a single Plaza Marker instead of building markers. There are no mortgages for plazas.
Cycle Card 6: All Ways Auction
Cycle Card 6 activates All Ways Auction. Investors may now bid on any purchase regardless if it is the first purchase of a turn or not. A build, however, can never be up for auction.
Cycle Card 7: Bank Tower
Cycle Card 7 activates the Bank Tower, at which point, the banker builds a building on a square city block that is not on the building board. The building must be exactly 22 bricks tall, and must fill the entire city block at the bottom. The building on the city block is then placed on the game board where there is an empty space. The banker marks Bank Tower with numbered tiles that show that it has a property value of $920 million. Bank Tower is bank owned, but is available for purchase. The banker then proceeds to play his or her turn.
Cycle Card 8: Plaza Mortgages
Cycle Card 8 activates Plaza Mortgages. An entire plaza can now be purchased with a single mortgage, or may be put on a single mortgage for its owner to get a loan.
Cycle Cards 9 and 10 do not activate new concepts, but they do raise building height limit.
Cycle Card: End Game
The End Game Cycle Card stops the game. At that point, each investor calculates their Net Worth, which is their Equity, plus the Land Value of any empty land they own, plus the cash the investor has. Equity is now activated if it has not been activated yet (rules on cycle card 4). The investor with the highest Net Worth wins the game.
GLOSSARY
5% More Spaces
5% More Spaces are two spaces on the game board, one says “+5% more,” and the other says “-5% more.” 5% is added to or subtracted from the percentage on the market card that is in play, depending on which space the game token is on.
Auction
Any purchase after the first purchase of a investors turn is up for auction, and any investor may bid on it, starting at the market value of the purchase. The bidder must show cash as proof of funds wile bidding, and must show the cash for the difference from the property value if they are going to buy with a mortgage. The highest bidder wins the auction item, pays the bank his or her highest bid, and puts one of their markers on the item. After the auction, it is still the investors turn who has a focus card in play. Cycle Card 6 activates All Ways Auction. A build is never up for auction.
Bailout Space
If the game token lands on the bailout space on the game board, the bank pays each investor a $10 million dollar bill.
Bank Markers
Black markers that are put on properties and plazas that have a mortgage on it.
Build
To create and place a building on a city block on land that the investor owns, touching a road. To build, a investor pays the bank the building value of the building. The banker then marks the building with numbered tiles that represent the property value of the building, and then marks the building with one of his or her building markers. Investors may not build on top of an existing building.
Building
One or more building bricks stacked that is on a city block touching a road. Bricks of a building must be interlocked, cannot overhang lower bricks of the building, and cannot interlock with bricks of another building.
Building Markers
The small circular colored pieces that investors use to mark single properties he or she owns.
Building Value
Building value is the land value of the land the property is on, times the number of bricks the building is tall, also described as base times height.
Debt
The combined property values of each property an investor owns that has a mortgage on it. Mortgaged buildings will have a bank marker on it.
In Play
A cycle card is in play when it is on top of the cycle card deck. When a investor puts a focus card in play, the investor places all three focus cards on the table, two face down, and one of their choice face up. The focus card that is face up is in play. Depending on the color of the space the game token lands on, the top market up or market down card is put in play until the next time the banker rolls the die.
Investors
Players are referred to as investors.
Land & Empty Land
The part of city blocks that are not occupied by roads. Empty land is land that does not have a building on it. Bank owned empty land does not have a land marker on it.
Land Markers
The square colored tiles that buildings can be built on, used to mark land that a investor owns.
Land Value
Land value is $10 million per square of land.
Loan
The fifth bank duty is to provide loans to investors who want to mortgage one or more buildings they own that do not all ready have a mortgage on it. The bank loans the investor the buildings' property value in cash, and the investor adds the loan to their total debt on their record keeping paper. A bank marker is placed on the mortgaged building. Investors may have up to 3 mortgaged buildings at a time.
Market Cards
The cards that show the percentage that the market value of properties are up or down from their property value. Only in play card affects market value, and market cards do not affect net worth. The top market up or down card becomes in play every time the game token is advanced. Weather the next market card is up or down depends on the color of the space the game token lands on; green is up while red is down.
Market Value
The price at which the bank will buy and sell existing properties for. The in play market card shows the percentage that the market value of properties are up or down from their property value.
Mortgage
The bank provides mortgages for investors to buy single existing buildings if they choose. The loan and debt for a mortgage is the property value of the property. The investor pays the bank the difference between the loan and sale price if the sale price is higher, and the bank pays the investor the difference if the loan is higher. The bank can also provide mortgages for investors to get loans on existing buildings (see loans). At the end of any of these transactions, a bank marker is placed on the mortgaged building. A investor can have up to 3 mortgages at a time. Mortgages can be payed back at any time (at which point the bank marker is removed) but must be payed for in full in the amount of the loan (the property value).
Net Worth
A investors net worth is the investors Equity, plus the land value of any empty land they own, plus their cash. When the game ends, investors calculate their net worth, and the investor with the highest net worth wins the game.
Numbered Tiles
Tiles that are placed on each property as buildings are built that represent the property value of the building.
Plaza Markers
Rectangular colored tiles that investors use to mark plazas they own.
Properties
A property includes a building and the land it is on.
Property Value
The building value of a property, plus the land value of the land its on.
Record Keeping
Each investor keeps track of their Total Property Values and Debt in two separate columns on their record keeping paper. Beginning at cycle 4, they also keep track of their equity.
Rent
The fourth bank duty is that the bank pays each investor their rent. Rent is 10% of the investor's Total Property Values until cycle 4, at which point it is 10% of their Equity.
Roads
The flat parts that boarder the building board and city blocks. Buildings must touch roads, and new city blocks must be placed in corners made by two or more roads.
Sell Out
Selling out is how investors can quickly offload all of their buildings. When selling out, the investor removes all building markers from all of his or her properties, and the bank pays the investor market value for all of those properties, minus the investors debt.
Total Property Values (record keeping)
The combined property values of all the properties a investor owns, including those with mortgages. Investors keep track of their Total Property Values on their record keeping paper through out the course of the game. This value does not include the land value of empty land that investors own. Whenever a investor builds a building or buys a property, the investor adds its property value to their total property values, and whenever a investor demolishes a building or sells a property, the investor subtracts its property value from their total property values.
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