(Monopoly Revised)

Object The object of BOOM is to take your initial investment of $1.5B ($1,500M) and be the first player to turn it into at least $4B ($4,000M) cash.

Equipment This game comes with a board, 2 dice, tokens to represent the players, 32 green Visionaries, and 12 red Visionary CEOs. There are two decks of 16 cards each, one for Handout and one for News Alert!. There are Controlling Interest cards for each Intellectual Property (IP) on the board, and play money. Additionally, there are Ownership tokens in 6 colors, 4 Boom/Bust cards, Bailout tokens, and Utility tokens. These tokens do not correspond with any pieces in the original Monopoly set. However, you can use any household objects so long as you know what’s what.

Setup Shuffle the Handout and News Alert! card stacks and place them face down on their corresponding locations on the board. Each player chooses a token to represent them on the board placing that token on “GO”, and a set of Ownership tokens that corresponds to their token. Each player is given $1.5B ($1,500M) in play money. Shuffle the four Boom/Bust cards and select one randomly to go in the “Boom” space in the center of the board, and another to go in the “Bust” space. Set the other two cards aside near the bank.

One player is chosen to be banker and auctioneer. Since cheating is against the rules of BOOM, choose a player who is honest to be the banker, e.g. someone who is not actually an investment banker in the real world. The youngest player goes first.

The Bank The banker must keep their personal funds separate from those of the Bank itself. The Bank never runs out of money; if it does run out of paper money, additional money can be issued to players by writing it down on a separate piece of paper. It’s a government bail out. There is no need to feel guilty. You had this coming to you. You earned it.

Play BOOM is played in turns, going clockwise around the board. A player’s turn is divided into the following phases:

1. Purchases and trades. Before a player rolls the dice, any player can purchase Visionaries or Visionary CEOs, or trade properties with other players (see Visionaries and Trading sections of the rules).

2. Roll and move. The active player rolls the dice and moves their token clockwise around the board. If the player lands on or passes “GO” they collect $25M for every Controlling Interest card they own.

3. Resolve. This depends on the nature of the space landed on: o If the player landed on an unowned IP, they may purchase it from the

bank. If they choose not to, the IP is auctioned off to the highest bidding player (see Buying Property section of the rules).

o If the player landed on an IP owned by another player, they must make a payment to that player, or they may optionally purchase partial or complete ownership of the property from that player instead (see Making Payments section of the rules).

o If the player landed on an IP that they own, nothing happens. o If the player landed on any other space, they follow the instructions for

that space (see Non-IP Spaces section of the rules).

If the player rolled doubles, then they immediately take another turn after resolving the space they landed on. However, if this is the third time in a row that the player rolled doubles, they instead end their turn and go immediately to Jail. If the player did not roll doubles, they pass the dice and the next player starts their turn.

Buying Property When a player lands on an unowned IP on the board, they may purchase it from the Bank for the amount listed on the board. The player then takes the Controlling Interest card for that IP. Exception: if the IP is in “boom” then pay double the listed amount; if the IP is in “bust” pay half (see Boom and Bust section of the rules). If the player chooses not to or cannot purchase the IP, it instead immediately goes up for auction. Any player can bid on the IP, including the player who initially declined to buy.

Bidding starts at $1M. Players call out bids in any order, raising the previous bid each time, until no player chooses to go any higher. The highest bidder pays their bid to the Bank, and takes the Controlling Interest card for that IP. In the unlikely event that no player bids on the IP at all, it remains unowned and the current turn ends.

Making Payments If a player lands on a property that is owned by an opponent, they must make a cash payment to that player. However, they have a choice of how to pay:

They can pay “licensing fees” as listed on the Controlling Interest card for that IP. This licensing fee is paid directly to the opponent. If the IP is jointly owned by several opponents, the licensing fee is split evenly between all joint owners. The licensing fee amount may be modified by the following:

o If the IP has any Visionaries or a Visionary CEO, the base licensing fee is increased as listed on the Controlling Interest card.

o If the IP is in “boom” the licensing fee is doubled. If the IP is in “bust” the licensing fee is zero. (See Boom and Bust section of the rules.)

o If any owner of the IP is also an owner or co-owner of all other IPs in the same color group, the licensing fee is doubled. This is cumulative with the doubling from “boom” above.

o The Utility IPs (Comcast and AT&T) work differently from other properties: they cannot go “boom” or “bust” and do not have Visionaries. Instead, “licensing fee” is cumulative over time. When any player lands on an owned Utility, they first place a Utility token on that space. The “licensing fee” is equal to $10M for each Utility token on that space; therefore, this starts small and grows to larger amounts over the course of the game. If a player owns both Utilities, “licensing fee” is equal to $10M for each Utility token on both Utilities whenever either one is landed on.

Instead of paying a “licensing fee”, the player can perform a Hostile Takeover of the property. To do this, they pay double the current purchase price of the property (including boom/bust modifiers), plus double the cost of all Visionaries. This money is paid to the owner of the IP (or split evenly among all joint owners if applicable) and the player then takes the Controlling Interest card. They now own this IP, along with any Visionaries on the card. All Ownership tokens previously on the card are removed, and handed back to their respective players. For Utilities, the Hostile Takeover cost is double the current purchase price of the property on the board, plus $20M for each Utility token on that space only.

If the player landing on the IP owns at least one other IP in the same color group, they may instead perform a Merger. They do not pay a “licensing fee” but instead place one of their Ownership tokens on the Controlling Interest card. They are now a joint owner of the property. In exchange, the Controlling Interest owner places their own Ownership tokens on all IPs in the same color group owned by the active player. Utilities may be merged in this way as well.

o Example: Bob owns Exxon/Mobil. Cindy owns Shell and BP. On her turn, Cindy lands on Exxon/Mobil and performs a merger. Cindy does not pay Bob any money. Instead, Cindy places one of her Ownership tokens on Exxon/Mobil, and Bob places one of his Ownership tokens on both Shell and BP.

Jail If a player starts their turn in Jail, they have four options:

They can pay $50M to the bank, exit Jail, and take their turn immediately. Another player can pay $5M to the bank and the active player will exit Jail and

take their turn immediately. It is up to the active player to convince someone else to do this on their behalf.

The player can use a card that allows them to leave Jail, following the instructions on the card.

The player can roll the dice. If they roll doubles, they move forward that many spaces and take a normal turn. Otherwise the player stays in Jail and their turn ends. If a player has done this unsuccessfully three turns in a row, they must use one of the other options available on their next turn.

Non-IP Spaces The following spaces do not represent IP and cannot be owned by any player. When a player lands on them, they are resolved as follows: “GO” When this space landed on or passed over, a player collects $25M from the bank for each Controlling Interest card they currently own. If landed on directly the player gets no additional bonus and nothing else happens. News Alert! and Handouts When one of these spaces is landed on, the active player draws the top card from the respective deck, turns it over and reads it out loud. Some cards have instructions that must be followed immediately; others are kept until needed or sold. If the deck is empty, shuffle all discards together to form a new deck. Income Tax Corporations don’t pay income tax. When this space is landed on, nothing further happens. Luxury Tax Unless the player has secured an investment shelter, they forfeit ⅓ of their cash on hand. Angel Investment If the player lands on Angel Investment, they receive a surprise influx of $50M into their company. Go To Jail When landing on this space, the player has a choice. They can go directly to Jail, or they can pay a $100M bribe to the bank to remain on the space and end the current turn. Engines of the Economy

Each of the four Engine spaces corresponds to one of the four Boom/Bust cards. When a player lands on an Engine space, they may take the Boom/Bust card matching that space and place it on either the Boom or Bust space on the board, removing the card that is there already. If the card was already on the board, the player may move it to the other space, or remove it from the board entirely. The player may also choose to do nothing with the card and leave it where it is. (See Boom and Bust section of the rules.)

Boom and Bust At any given time, two color groups on the board may be in “boom” and two may be in “bust” based on the Boom/Bust cards that are placed on the board. These cards may change places when a player lands on an Engine space on the board, or from the effects of certain News Alert! or Handout cards. When a new Boom/Bust card is placed on the “boom” space, all players who own affected properties (either as Controlling Interest owner, or as joint owners) collect money from the Bank equal to the original printed purchase price of the IP on the board (without applying any boom or bust multipliers). Joint owners split the money evenly for the jointly-owned IP. When a new Boom/Bust card is placed on the “bust” space, all players who own affected properties must pay money to the Bank equal to the original printed purchase price of the IP on the board. Joint owners split the penalty evenly for the jointly-owned IP. As long as a Boom/Bust card remains on the board in “boom” the following modifiers are given to all properties of the two affected color groups:

Purchase price is double the listed value on the board. This makes the IP more expensive to purchase from the Bank if unowned, and more expensive to perform a Hostile Takeover if owned.

The “licensing fee” is doubled when the owned IP is landed on. If the player owns all IP in the same color group, it is doubled again, making it 4x the base “licensing fee”.

Boom/Bust cards in “bust” grant the following modifiers to all properties in the affected color groups:

Purchase price is half the listed value on the board. This makes the IP cheaper to purchase from the Bank if unowned, and cheaper to perform a Hostile Takeover if owned.

The “licensing fee” is zero. IP of the affected color groups give nothing when an opponent lands on them.

Visionaries IP can be made more valuable if the companies hire the right people. When a player owns (uniquely or jointly) all the IP of a color group, they may hire Visionaries from the Bank and place them on their solely or jointly owned IP. Visionaries must be hired evenly among a color group: a player cannot hire a Visionary into a specific IP unless all other IP in that group have an equal or greater number of Visionaries already. The price paid

for a Visionary is listed on the Controlling Interest card. Each individual IP can only have up to four Visionaries. When all properties of a color group have four Visionaries on them, the player can then hire one Visionary CEO for any or all of the IP. The price paid for the CEO is the same as a Visionary. Utilities (Comcast and AT&T) cannot hire Visionaries or Visionary CEOs. If an IP is jointly owned, any of the owners may hire a Visionary or CEO into the IP, or they may pool their resources with each player paying some portion of the total cost that they each agree to. If an IP changes hands due to a Hostile Takeover, all Visionaries on that IP remain there (and must be paid for as part of the acquisition price). If this would break up a “monopoly” where a player no longer owns all properties of a color group, no further Visionaries or CEOs may be hired until the properties are reunited again.

Once hired, Visionaries and CEOs cannot be sold or moved, except for effects of News Alert! and Handout cards. Labor shortage: when the last Visionaries and/or CEOs are hired onto the board, no more can be hired unless some are returned to the Bank from the effect of a News Alert! or Handout card. If there are a limited number of Visionaries or CEOs available, and two or more players want to buy the remaining ones, they are sold at auction to the highest bidder.

Trading Before a player rolls the dice on their turn, any player may trade assets under their control. Here is a list of things that players may agree to exchange:

Cash Controlling Interest card for an IP. If the IP has Visionaries or a Visionary CEO,

they remain with the IP and transfer to the new owner. However, if the new owner does not have joint or controlling ownership in all other IP of the same color group, they will be unable to hire additional Visionaries. When Utilities (Comcast and AT&T) are traded, all Utility tokens remain on the space.

New Joint Ownership of an IP. For any Controlling Interest cards owned by a player, that player may allow one or more other players to place one of their Ownership tokens on the card. Only the player who owns the Controlling Interest card may do this; other joint owners cannot grant joint ownership to third parties.

Transfer of Joint Ownership of an IP. For any Ownership tokens a player owns on other players’ IP, that player may transfer that token to another player (that is, they will remove their Ownership token and another player will place their own Ownership token on the IP).

Removal of Joint Ownership from an IP. For any Ownership tokens a player owns on other players’ IP, that player may voluntarily remove their Ownership token.

Handout or News Alert! cards. Some cards may be kept by a player until needed. These cards may be sold or traded to other players.

Promises of future favors. All deals made for exchange of property as part of an immediate deal must be honored. Promises of future actions (such as waiving

or reducing the “licensing fee” in the future, or buying a Visionary on a future turn) can be made, but are non-binding and may be kept or broken at a player’s discretion.

Joint Ownership Players can become joint owners in an IP either through a Merger or a deal made with another player. Being joint owner on an IP grants the following benefits:

You no longer need to pay a “licensing fee” when landing on an IP that you jointly own.

When another player pays a “licensing fee” or performs a Hostile Takeover, all joint owners and the Controlling Interest owner each split the proceeds evenly.

When the property enters “boom” the proceeds are split evenly among all joint owners and the Controlling Interest owner. The penalty for entering “bust” is also split evenly among these players.

Any owner (joint owner or Controlling Interest owner) can hire a Visionary or Visionary CEO to the jointly-owned IP, as long as that player is a joint or Controlling Interest owner in all properties of the same color group. If multiple players are eligible to hire a Visionary or Visionary CEO into a jointly-owned IP, they may agree to split the cost among them, evenly or unevenly, at any rate they all agree to.

Being joint owner of an IP does not give a player extra money when passing “GO”; only the Controlling Interest player receives $25 for that property in this case.

Bankruptcy If a player must pay more cash than they currently have on hand to any source, either another player or the Bank, that player is bankrupt. The player is not eliminated from the game. Instead, that player pays out whatever they currently have, and all other money that they owed is not collected (due to bankruptcy, their debts are forgiven). The player then takes $1.5B ($1,500M) from the Bank, along with a Bailout token. Each Bailout token counts as negative $500M to that player’s future score, thus requiring them to collect an additional $500M per token (in addition to the normal $4B) in order to win the game. A player may not spend more cash than they have on hand, as part of a voluntary purchase, optional payment, or auction bid, in order to go bankrupt on purpose. In these situations the player is simply not allowed to make the purchase. Bankruptcy can only be declared when the player is paying an involuntary debt and they do not have the cash on hand to afford the payment.

Winning the Game When any player reaches or exceeds a total of $4B ($4,000M) cash on hand (plus an extra $500M per Bailout token that player has acquired), that player immediately wins the game. If several players achieve this condition at the same time (due to the effect of a News Alert! or Handout card, or cash received from a jointly-owned property), all such players share the victory.