Executive Decision
Executive Decision Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Players decide how many months will constitute a game. Generally a game consists of 12 months; however, beginners may prefer a shorter game until they become familiar with the play.
Each player receives a Tally sheet and the following amount of money:
| Players | Money |
|---|---|
| 2 players | $900 |
| 3 players | $600 |
| 4 players | $450 |
| 5 players | $350 |
| 6 players | $300 |
One player is chosen to be the Broker; throughout the game, he handles the Raw Material Certificates and money and posts the current Market Prices on the Price Level Board (which is easily erased with a tissue or paper towel).
Play
Each month of play consists of: 1) Purchasing Raw Materials which are used in 2) Manufacturing the products of your choice and 3) Selling the Finished Goods in an attempt to make the greatest profits for your corporation.
MONTH 1 (January) consists of the following, in order:
1. Purchasing Raw Material Certificates
After consulting the Price Level Board (Opening Price column and Market Calculator), each player enters his January order for Raw Materials in the Bid columns on his Tally sheet - secretly recording how many units of each grade he wishes to purchase and the price per unit he is willing to pay.
Players' orders may include bids for any or all of the three different grades of Materials, but the total units of all grades ordered by one player may not exceed the following amounts:
| Number of Players | Total Per Player |
|---|---|
| 2 | 18 units* |
| 3 | 12 units |
| 4 | 9 units |
| 5 | 7 units |
| 6 | 6 units |
*When two play, no player may order more than 12 units of one grade of Material.
When all bids have been recorded, each player, in turn, announces how many units of X-FINE Material he has ordered. Broker totals announced units and consults Market Calculator (Raw Materials section) for price change. Amount shown on Calculator is added to or subtracted from Opening Price and resulting Market Price for X-FINE is posted in January column of Price Level Board. Market Prices for FINE and STANDARD Materials are then determined in the same manner.
Example: In January, orders of X-FINE total 12 units. Market Calculator shows +2 which is added to Opening Price of $40. January Market Price of X-FINE is $42. Players also ordered 5 units of FINE and 9 units of STANDARD. Calculator shows -5 for FINE and -10 for STANDARD; January prices for these Materials are $25 and $10 respectively.
Raw Material prices never drop below $1 per unit. If Market Calculator indicates that a particular Raw Material will drop to $0 or below, the Market Price of that Material is stabilized at $1 until demand forces the price up again.
After the current Market Prices have been posted, each player determines which Raw Materials he has been successful in purchasing according to the following chart:
| Player's Bid | Player's Purchase |
|---|---|
| Equal to or higher than Market Price | All Units at Bid Price |
| Lower than Market Price | No Units |
After adjusting his Tally sheet by crossing out any unsuccessful bids, each player totals his purchases, pays the Broker and receives one Raw Material Certificate for each unit purchased. These Certificates are placed face up in front of player so all other players may see them.
If a player does not have sufficient funds to pay the Broker for the total amount of his purchase, he is prohibited from buying any Raw Materials in that month.
Example: In a three-player game, player entered his January order as follows: X-FINE 2 units at $40; FINE 4 units at $35; STD. 6 units at $23. Total units of X-FINE ordered by all players was 11, raising Market Price to $41. Total units of FINE ordered was 15, bringing Market Price to $35. Orders for STANDARD totaled 7, dropping Market Price to $17. Player adjusted his Tally and totaled his purchases: X-FINE bid crossed out (amount paid 0), FINE 4 x $35 = $140, STD. 6 x $23 = $138, total $278.
2. Manufacturing
After consulting the Production Chart on the Price Level Board, each player secretly decides on the amounts and kinds of Finished Goods he intends to manufacture from the Raw Materials he has on hand.
Three units of Raw Materials are required to manufacture one unit of Finished Goods as shown on Production Chart. If a player is unable to supply the Raw Materials specified on the Chart, he may still manufacture his Goods by substituting an equal number of units of another Raw Material. He may either substitute X-FINE for FINE or FINE for STANDARD; these are the only substitutions permitted.
Example: Player wishes to manufacture a unit of "C." Since he has only 1 unit of STANDARD, he substitutes 1 unit of FINE. Thus, his unit of "C" will consist of 2 FINE + 1 STANDARD.
3. Selling the Finished Goods
After consulting the Price Level Board (Opening Price column and Market Calculator), each player enters his January offering of Finished Goods in the Bid columns of his Tally sheet - secretly recording how many units of each of the Finished Goods he wishes to sell and the price per unit he is willing to accept. He may offer as many units of Finished Goods as he is able to manufacture.
After all players have entered their bids, Market Prices for the Finished Goods are determined in same manner as for Purchasing Raw Material Certificates except that Finished Goods section of Market Calculator is used.
Example: In January, offerings of "A" total 7 units. Market Calculator shows -3; since Opening Price of "A" is $140, January Market Price is $137. No units of "B" were offered; Calculator shows +11 which is added to Opening Price of $115 for January Market Price of $126. Offerings of "C" totaled 5 units. Since Calculator shows +1 and Opening Price of "C" is $90, January Market Price is $91.
After Market Prices have been posted, each player determines which Finished Goods he has succeeded in selling according to the following chart:
| Player's Bid | Goods Sold |
|---|---|
| Equal to or lower than Market Price | All Units at Bid Price |
| Higher than Market Price | No Units |
After adjusting their Tally sheets by crossing out any overestimated bids, players total their sales. The Broker pays each player for units sold and collects the Raw Materials Certificates used in manufacturing the sold Goods.
If a player has made an error and cannot deliver the correct Raw Material Certificates for all Finished Goods he has sold, he is prohibited from selling any Finished Goods in that month.
Example: In three-player game, player entered January offering as follows: "A" 2 units at $143; "B" 1 unit at $120; "C" 1 unit at $93. Total units of "A" offered for sale was 4, raising Market Price to $143. Total units of "B" was 1, bringing Market Price to $124. Offerings of "C" totaled 6, dropping Market Price to $89. Player adjusted his Tally and totaled sales: "A" 2 x $143 = $286, "B" 1 x $120 = $120, "C" bid crossed out ($0); total $406. (The player's Tally sheet for the month also shows raw materials purchased: X-FINE 5 at $42 = $210, FINE 4 at $36 = $144, STD. 3 at $15 = $45, total $399.)
All Other Months
Each month players purchase Raw Material Certificates, manufacture and sell the Finished Goods in the same manner as for January. When determining current Market Prices, amounts shown on Market Calculator are added to or subtracted from previous month's Market Price.
Ending the Game
When the number of months agreed upon has been played, players sell any unused Raw Material Certificates to the Broker at the final month's Market Price. Player who has made the most profit for his corporation is the winner.
Strategy Tips
When purchasing Raw Materials, try to estimate the number of units that other players will order and enter your Bids accordingly. Keep in mind that the Market Price for any grade of Material never drops more than $10 per month. Also, that if all players should order the maximum units allowable in one month, and the total is equally divided among the three grades of Raw Material, the average price increase for each grade will be $2. Circumstances naturally can influence players to order more of one grade of Material than another, or to order less than the total amount permitted (as when a player does not have sufficient funds).
When selling Finished Goods, observe opponents' stock piles and attempt to determine their most likely offerings. Use this information in setting your selling prices.
Study the relative prices of Raw Materials and Finished Goods to discover which Finished Goods offers the highest profit margin. At times it may be desirable to temporarily order less Raw Material and sell less Finished Goods until it again becomes possible to make a good profit on the transaction.
Variation
When players become familiar with the basic game, they may wish to try the following variation:
Purchasing Raw Material Certificates (Variation)
If a player's bid is lower than Market Price, he is not successful in purchasing his entire order of that grade. He may, however, purchase some of that order at his bid price. He loses one unit for each dollar his Bid Price is below the Market Price.
Example: Player's July order: X-FINE 8 units at $41; FINE 4 units at $38; STD. 6 units at $14. Market Prices are $37 for X-FINE, $35 for FINE and $17 for STANDARD. Player succeeds in purchasing all units of X-FINE and FINE. However, since he ordered 6 units of STANDARD at $14, he succeeds in purchasing 3 of these units at $14. (As his Bid Price is $3 lower than Market Price, he loses 3 units of order.) He adjusts his Tally: X-FINE 8 x $41 = $328, FINE 4 x $38 = $152, STD. 3 x $14 = $42; total $522.
Selling the Finished Goods (Variation)
A player may sell some of his offering even if his bid is higher than Market Price. He loses sales as follows:
| Bid higher than Market Price | $1-2 | $3-4 | $5-6 | $7-8 | $9-10 | $11-12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of Units lost | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Example: Player's July offering: "A" 6 units at $137; "B" 6 units at $118; "C" 5 units at $112. Market Price for "A" is $131, "B" is $118 and "C" is $114. Player offered 6 units of "A" at $137, but was unsuccessful in selling 3 of these units as his Bid Price was $6 higher than Market Price. He succeeded in selling all units of "B" and "C." His Tally is adjusted: "A" 3 x $137 = $411, "B" 6 x $118 = $708, "C" 5 x $112 = $560; total $1679.
Price Level Board and Market Calculator
(From the companion Price Level Board chart.)
Opening Prices
| Raw Materials | Opening Price |
|---|---|
| X-Fine | $40 |
| Fine | $30 |
| Standard | $20 |
| Finished Goods | Opening Price |
|---|---|
| A | $140 |
| B | $115 |
| C | $90 |
The Price Level Board has a column for each month, January through December, in which the Broker posts Market Prices.
Production Chart
Units of Raw Materials required per unit of Finished Goods:
| Finished Goods | X-Fine | Fine | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | 1 | |
| B | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| C | 1 | 2 |
Market Calculator
Raw Materials (total units ordered by all players, and price movement):
| Units | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Movement | -10 | -9 | -8 |
Finished Goods (total units offered by all players, and price movement):
| Units | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Movement | +11 | +9 | +7 | +5 | +3 | +1 | -1 | -3 | -5 | -7 | -9 | -11 |
Note: in the companion chart's text layer the 12-unit header is garbled as "2"; the sequence gives -13 for it. The rulebook's own examples match this table (7 units = -3, 5 = +1, 1 = +9, 6 = -1, 4 = +3).