MARK
MARK Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 8 recyclable materials in each of 5 colours (see the description at the end of the rules)
- 1 game board
- 2 special dice, each with 5 differently coloured faces and 1 black face
- Play money in $1, $5 and $10 notes
- 2 stickers (1 hammer and 1 star)
Preparation
Before playing for the first time, stick the hammer sticker on the black face of one of the dice, and the star sticker on the black face of the other die.
The Game Board
The game board is placed in the centre of the table and shows a numbered sector (of five rows) representing the market where recycled materials are sold. Along each of the four sides there are two rows of four squares each, which together form the processing area of one of four companies. The first row of squares of a company is the white row; the second row consists of hatched squares (the factory roofs). During the game, players move recyclable materials from the bank to the first and then the second row of their company, and finally introduce them onto the market.
Setup
Place the game board in the centre of the table. Each player receives $30 (five $5 notes and five $1 notes) and runs the company in front of them. Place the recyclable materials and the money in an accessible place, which will serve as the bank. Choose a first player (translator's note: for example, the player who pollutes the least).
Turn
On his turn, a player rolls both dice. He chooses the colour shown on either die and may carry out one action of his choice using only the recyclable material of that colour:
- Take a recyclable material from the bank and place it on any empty square in the first row of his company.
- Move a recyclable material from the first row to an empty square in the second row of his company. This action represents converting the recyclable material into a finished product that can be sold. A recyclable material may only be moved straight ahead to an adjacent square, or diagonally to a square that touches it at a corner.
- Move a recyclable material from the second row of his company to an empty square in one of the five numbered rows of the market, and earn the amount of money shown on that square. Materials of the same colour must be placed following the arrows on the market board, in the same row. The first recyclable material of a colour placed on the market must be placed on the first empty square in any row the player chooses. For the rest of the game, all recyclable materials of the same colour must be placed on the next empty square (counting from the arrow) of the same row. During the game, five rows are used in this way, one per type of material.
A player must always carry out an action, if he is able to. He then passes the dice and the turn to the next player clockwise.
Special Dice Results
- Double colour: the player carries out two actions of his choice, one after the other, using the material of the indicated colour.
- Multicoloured star: it acts as a joker and lets the player choose a colour of his choice. However, the star cannot be considered part of a double.
- Hammer: when the die shows a hammer, a recyclable material of the colour of the other die is put up for auction. Players prepare, in secret in their hand, the amount of money they wish to bid. When all players are ready, they reveal their bids simultaneously. The highest bidder pays the amount he has in his hand to the bank and places the purchased material on the first row of his company. In case of a tie, the player who rolled the dice, or the first of the tied players after him, has priority. A player with no empty square in the first row of his company may still bid. If he wins the auction, he pays normally to the bank, but cannot take the material. The player who rolled a hammer on the dice continues his turn by rolling the dice again once the auction is over.
Storage Fees
When any row of a player's company is more than half full (it contains 3 or 4 materials) at the start of his turn, the player must pay $5 to the bank as storage fees. When both rows contain more than two materials each, the fees amount to $10. If a player does not have sufficient funds, he must reduce his stock to 2 or fewer per row by returning the excess materials to the bank.
End of the Game
When a row of one colour on the market is complete, the remaining materials of that colour have no value any more and are removed from the game. All players remove these materials from their companies and continue the game with the remaining colours. From this point on, a player who rolls only the colours that have been removed loses his turn. The game ends when the five rows of the market are full. The player with the most money at that point is the winner.
Recyclable Materials
There are five recyclable materials:
| Recyclable material | Colour |
|---|---|
| Glass | White |
| Cardboard | Blue |
| Metal | Gold |
| Cork | Green |
| Plastic | Red |
Variant
The game ends when four of the five rows are complete.