Risk: Office Politics Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• The First Time You Play
• Setup
• Let's Get Down to Business
  • 1. Cause Office Drama!
  • 2. Recruit
  • 3. Advance
  • 4. Dispute
  • Disputing with Donut Pawns, Office Supplies, and Office Drama Cards
• Office Drama Cards
• Office Supplies
• The Win
• Another Way to Play: Total Office Domination

Object of the Game

The player who controls 4 out of 6 departments by having a Manager and an Intern in each department wins!

The First Time You Play

• Punch out all of the tokens.
• Place the labels on the two dice supplied. Each die should have (1) 0 label, (2) 1 labels, (2) 2 labels, and (1) 4 label, in any arrangement.

Setup

1. Place the gameboard in the center of the table. Remove the Department cards from the card deck and deal them out, face up, based on the number of players. These represent the departments you control at the start of the game.
   • Two players: 1 card each
   • Three players: 2 cards each
   • Four players: 1 card each
2. Shuffle the remaining Office Drama cards and deal 3 cards, face up, to each player.
3. Each player chooses their color and assembles their workforce. Your workforce should include:
   • 12 Manager pawns
   • 20 Intern pawns
   • 8 Donut pawns
4. You each place one Manager pawn and one Intern pawn on the Start space for each of your designated departments. (You'll get to use the Donuts later.) Keep the rest of your workforce in front of you for now, off the gameboard.
5. Take 30 Office Supply tokens out of the box, including 4 Donut tokens. Place a token face down onto each workspace. Don't place a token on Human Resources, any Break Room, or any Start space with Manager and Intern pawns. Place the remaining tokens face up to the side of the board. This is the Supply Closet.

Figure (printed as "Here is an example of a board set up for two players"). Labelled parts: Workspaces, Supply Closet, Department cards, Office Drama cards, Office Supplies, Start Space, Intern, Manager, Donut.

Let's Get Down to Business

The player who was last hired goes first.

On your turn, you'll (1) play Office Drama cards to sabotage your opponents, (2) recruit new employees for your workforce, and (3) advance to workspaces in departments you want to control. When you advance into workspaces occupied by opponents, you'll (4) dispute to occupy those workspaces. You can use Office Supplies to gain advantages during one or more phases of your turn. (See OFFICE SUPPLIES for more information.)

1. Cause Office Drama!

• Play one or more of the Office Drama cards in front of you if you can. Place any used cards at the bottom of the deck, then draw from the top of the deck until you have 3 cards. (See OFFICE DRAMA CARDS for more information.)

2. Recruit

On each turn, you can recruit new employees and add them to your workforce.

• You can recruit one new Intern for each workspace you currently occupy. A workspace is occupied when it has at least one Manager or Intern (not counting Break Rooms or Human Resources).
• If you have a group of 3 Interns anywhere on the board, you can use the Recruit phase to promote them, or replace them with one Manager, instead of recruiting a new Intern.
  • 1 Manager = 3 Interns
• All newly recruited employees must start in Human Resources. You'll be able to move employees their allowed number of workspaces during the Advance phase of your turn. (See Advance for more information.)

3. Advance

During the Advance phase of your turn, move your workforce pawns through the office (including out of Human Resources) the number of workspaces they are allowed. Remember, your goal is to establish a Manager and an Intern in 4 departments.

• Manager pawns can move 2 workspaces per turn, but can't jump over a workspace occupied by an opponent.
• Intern pawns can move one workspace per turn and can move in groups, but can't jump over a workspace occupied by an opponent.
• Donut pawns can only move with a Manager or Intern. If you enter into a dispute following the Advance phase, and you have a Donut pawn, you can use it to entice an opponent's employee over to your side. (See Dispute for more information.)
• If you land on a workspace occupied by an Office Supply token, claim that token and place it face up in front of you, off the gameboard. Managers can claim the tokens from the workspace they move over and the workspace they land on. (See OFFICE SUPPLIES for more information.)
• If you advance into at least one workspace occupied by an opponent's workforce, you must then engage in the Dispute phase of your turn. (See Dispute for more information.)

4. Dispute

For each occupied workspace you advance into on your turn, you must dispute. In a dispute, your workforce attacks and your opponent's workforce must defend its workspace. You must dispute as many times as you have employees in an occupied workspace.

• In every dispute, you and your opponent will each roll one die; the higher roller wins the dispute. A tie goes to the defending workforce.
• When a Manager or Intern is defeated in a dispute, they are fired and removed from the board.
• The player who successfully gets their opponent's workforce fired from a workspace will then occupy that workspace.

Disputing with Donut Pawns, Office Supplies, and Office Drama Cards

Donut pawns and certain Office Supply tokens and Office Drama cards can help you during disputes; play as many of these as you need, whenever you need them.

• A Donut pawn entices an opponent's Manager or Intern of your choosing onto your workforce's side for the duration of the dispute. Only attackers can use Donut pawns.
• Once a Donut pawn has been used in a dispute, it must be moved off the gameboard.
• If you only have one Manager or Intern in a workspace and an opponent with a Donut engages you in a dispute, you must forfeit the dispute, and your workforce pawn is fired.
• Stapler, Sticky Note, and Donut tokens can be used during a dispute. (See OFFICE SUPPLIES for more information.)
  • Each Donut token adds one Donut pawn to your workforce.
  • Each Stapler token adds 1 to your dice roll.
  • Each Sticky Note token can save one employee from being fired.
• Certain Office Drama cards can be used with Staplers, Sticky Notes, and other Office Supplies during a dispute; play as many of these cards as you need, whenever you need them. (See OFFICE DRAMA CARDS for more information.)
• Backstabbing: You can help an opponent while they're in a dispute with another player by giving them one of your Office Drama cards or Office Supplies. The enemy of your enemy is your friend!

Office Drama Cards

Office Drama Cards offer different types of drama, just to keep your work life interesting. Each time you play an Office Drama card, you must read it out loud. If a card features the phrase [YOUR COWORKER'S NAME HERE], you must insert the name of one of your coworkers.

• Some cards will give you a bonus if you have certain numbers of Office Supplies or employees.
  • These cards can only be played during the Office Drama phase of your turn OR during a dispute.
  • Once you've accumulated the right number of Office Supplies or employees to achieve your Office Drama bonus, you must place those Supplies face up in the Supply Closet.
• Some cards will direct you to give them to an opponent or to engage in certain behaviors yourself—stealing Office Supplies from opponents, grabbing Office Supplies from the Supply Closet, giving away your Office Supplies, adding Donuts to your workforce, and losing turns. These cards can only be played during the Office Drama phase of your turn OR during a dispute.
• Not Today cards can be played any time an opponent attempts to use a card against you or steal a card or Office Supply from you.
  • Not Today cards can't be used during advances, disputes, or firings.
  • If an opponent plays a Not Today card against you, your Office Drama card goes into the discard pile and the Office Drama phase of your turn is automatically over. You can still continue to recruit, advance, and dispute.
• Place used Office Drama cards at the bottom of the deck.

Office Supplies

Each Office Supply has a special power. Some can only be used during the Advance and Dispute phases of the game. Keep your Office Supplies face up in front of you until you've used them, then return them to the Supply Closet.

• Toner: Discard 2 Toners and place 2 Interns anywhere on the board (at any time during your turn).
• Sticky Note: When you are about to be fired, discard 1 Sticky Note (during the Dispute phase or in response to certain Office Drama).
• Coffee: Advance 2 extra workspaces (during the Advance phase).
• Donut: Use this token to add a Donut pawn anywhere you have an employee on the board (at any time during your turn).
• Stapler: Add 1 to your roll (during the Dispute phase).

The Win

If you control 4 out of 6 departments by having a Manager and an Intern in each of those departments, you rule the office! Congratulations—you can take the rest of the day off.

Don't worry if you can't remember all of the rules the first time you play. Just have fun, keep playing, and enjoy the game! You'll understand it very quickly, and every time you play, you'll be a little bit better. Before you know it, you'll be enjoying the view from the corner office!

Another Way to Play: Total Office Domination

In this version of the game, the goal is to control all 6 departments. The first player to have a Manager and an Intern in every department wins. This'll take longer, so be prepared to stay late at work!