Startup Fever Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Overview and Goal
• Employees
• Products
• Strategy
• Setting Up the Game
• Resources
• Game Play
• Product Turns
  • 1. New User Adoption
  • 2. Earn Product Revenue
  • 3. Manage Employees
  • 4. User Loss
• Year End
  • 1. Compete for Users
  • 2. Vest Employees
  • 3. Reassign Nerds and Suits
  • 4. Discard Played Event Cards and Marketing Money Tokens
  • 5. Replenish Event Cards
  • 6. Allocate Marketing Money for Next Year
  • 7. Determine Product Turn Order for Next Year
• Event Cards
• Background
• End of Game
  • Conditions
  • Determining the Winner
• Appendix - Event Card Rules

Components

• 1 Rules Book
• 1 Game Board
• 1 Die
• 6 Quick Reference Cards
• 84 Event Cards
• 24 Product Chips
• 24 User/Turn Order Markers
• 100 Money Tokens
• 50 Nerds
• 50 Suits
• 6 Big Nerds
• 6 Big Suits

Overview and Goal

Each player owns a Web company with multiple Products. Players manage money and employees and allocate them to the right Products. Hiring Nerds (engineers) creates better Products, which attract more users, who in turn generate more money. Hiring Suits (sales people) generates more money which can be used to hire more engineers. At the end of every year the best Products steal users from the other Products during a Product showdown. To win, players must build the largest user base.

Employees

The blue and green pieces represent employees. Suits (blue) are sales people and increase your revenue. Nerds (green) are engineers and increase user adoption. Workers (cubes) only impact the one Product they work on, while Executives (meeples) impact all Products of a company.

Workers

• Nerd (green cube): Increases users for one Product. Cost: 1 money.
• Suit (blue cube): Increases money from one Product. Cost: 1 money.

Executives

• Big Nerd (green meeple): Increases users for all Products. Cost: 6 money.
• Big Suit (blue meeple): Increases money from all Products. Cost: 6 money.

The easiest way to acquire employees is to hire from the pile of unallocated workers. Workers cost 1 money token and Executives cost 6 money tokens. New hires go on the field marked with 4 of the Vesting Track (fields labeled 4 to 0 below the Product Chip).

At the end of every year, all employees move up one field on the Vesting Track until they reach the fully vested field (marked with 0) where they remain.

Players can also poach employees from another company. The cost of poaching is equal to the hiring cost plus the number of their field. Like new hires, newly poached employees go on the field marked with 4 of the new Product.

To protect their workers, players can retain an employee by paying money in exchange for moving the employee back towards the field marked with 4. Cost is one money token per field.

Products

The 12 sections around the middle labeled A to L represent Products. Each player controls 2-4 Products, depending on the number of players. Each Product has dedicated Workers (cubes) that are placed on its Vesting Track (fields labeled 4 to 0 below the Product Chip). Executives (meeples) influence all Products of a company and can be placed on any of the vesting tracks of their company.

The Product Category of each Product is determined by the Product Chip on the round field. The Product area (and its chip) is chosen by the player at the beginning of the game and initially put face down on the field. During game play, the Product area may be revealed by a Leak Event Card, or upon reaching "Launch".

Note: Product Chips match Player color, not the color of the Product Track.

Each Product has users who are represented by an associated User Marker labeled A to L. User Markers start on the "X" field of the User Track around the board and move forward when the Product adopts users. Products can also lose users, in which case a User Marker moves backwards. The User Marker also indicates whether the Product is launched or not depending on which side of the marker is up. The large numbers on the User Track indicate annual base revenue for that number of users and the smaller numbers indicate victory points, relevant only at the end of the game. Each Product is played once a year.

Every Product has a Turn Order Marker on the Turn Order Track (clock) in the middle of the board. Turn Order is random in the first year, and determined for every following year based on the current Product standings: The Product with the fewest users gets to choose its position first.

Strategy

Players should start with hiring a mix of Nerds and Suits as aggressively as funds allows. After a few years, players should hire Executives. As the supply of workers dries up, players will start poaching and retaining existing employees. Competition becomes important only after a few Products launch (or leak). By then, the number of Nerds is an important factor. When poaching, try to poach from your direct competitors first.

Setting Up the Game

1. Hand each player:

• 4 Event Cards
• 4 Product Chips
• 2 Money tokens
• 1 Reference card

Note: Product Chips do not color match Product Tracks. The color of a Product Track shows which User and Turn Order marker to use.

2. Place on the board:

• The User Marker for Product on the User Track.
• The Turn Order Marker for Product on the Turn Order Track.
• Each player's Product Chips facedown (on a separate Product Track). Pick Product Tracks within easy reach of the player.
  • 2-3 players: 4 chips each
  • 4 players: 3 chips each
  • 5-6 players: 2 chips each

Note: All players remove the same chip, i.e. for 4 players, they remove "Media" and there is no media.

3. Prepare the Event Card Pile:

• Shuffle remaining Event Cards, forming a facedown draw pile.

4. Place within easy reach:

• Nerd cubes (50)
• Suit cubes (50)
• Big Nerds (# players minus 1)
• Big Suits (# players minus 1)
• Remaining Money

Resources

• Once all employees have been hired, companies can only hire employees from other companies. This is called poaching - think of it as a tight labor market.
• If the bank runs out of money, companies will have no revenue until someone spends again - think of it as recession.
• If players run out of Event Cards, flip and shuffle the Event Cards pile.

Game Play

The game is played over the course of four to six years. Every year each Product gets one turn. Each year ends with a competition phase, followed by company and game administration. Event Cards can be played by any player at any time - unless indicated differently on the card.

Product Turns

Every year players get one turn for each of their Products in Turn Order. Each Product turn consists of the actions below. Not all actions are possible on each turn.

1. New User Adoption

More users begin to use this Product.

• Roll the die for base user growth.
• Add 1 for every Nerd working on this Product.
• Add 2, if the company has a Big Nerd.
• Move the Product's User Marker.

Example: The player rolls a 4. His company has 3 Nerds and 3 Suits working on the Product, and there is a Big Nerd. The User Marker would move 4+3+2 or 9 fields forward on the User Track.

Important: When "Launch" is reached, the player must immediately launch this Product. Flip the Product Chip over. The User Marker can't go beyond the last field on the User Track.

2. Earn Product Revenue

This Product is earning revenue based on the number of users and Suits.

• The large number under the player's User Marker on the User Track indicates this Product's base revenue.
• Add 1 for every Suit working on the Product.
• Add 2 if the company has a Big Suit.
• Get money tokens from the bank.

Example: The User Marker is now on a field with the number 4. In the above example the revenue would be 4+3 or 7 money tokens.

3. Manage Employees

The following actions can be performed in any order and as often as the current player wants, within the limits described with each action and available funds.

Hire Employees (up to two hires per turn)

New employees can be hired for this Product. Player pays the money tokens below to the bank.

• Nerds (green cubes) - price: 1 money token. Player can have as many Nerds as desired.
• Suits (blue cubes) - price: 1 money token. Player can have as many Suits as desired.
• Big Nerds (green meeples) - price: 6 money tokens. Player can have only one Big Nerd per company, the CTO.
• Big Suits (blue meeples) - price: 6 money tokens. Player can have only one Big Suit per company, the CEO.

New employees start on the field marked with 4 of this Product's vesting track.

Poach Employees (up to two offers per target Product)

Player can try to hire employees from other companies. Player can try to poach up to two employees per target Product per Product turn.

• Identify an employee to poach. The minimum offer in money tokens is:

  employee cost + years vesting left (number under cube/meeple)

  Player can offer the minimum or any larger amount.

• The current company can counter the offer by paying one more money token than the offer.

• If there is a counter offer, employees always take it. The current company then moves the employee back on the vesting track equivalent to the amount of money tokens paid - but not beyond the field marked with 4. Player cannot poach this employee again during this Product turn.

• If there is no counter offer, player moves the employee to the new Product and pays the bank. The new employee goes on the field marked with 4 on this Product's vesting track.

Retain Employees (unlimited)

Identify an employee working on this Product to retain. Pay one money token for every year employee is moved back on the vesting track.

Sidebar: Nerds (green) create better Products and increase user adoption. Suits (blue) excel at taking Products to market and increase revenue.

Sidebar: Big Suits/Nerds are super-Suits/Nerds with some extra powers. They generate twice the user adoption/twice the revenue of a Suit/Nerd and they generate it for all the Products of their company, not just one. In addition, Big Nerds are worth four Nerds in competition.

Sidebar: Player can try to poach from as many companies as desired. But player cannot poach more than 2 employees from a single target Product during a Product turn.

Sidebar: Player can poach Executives if player does not have the same kind. E.g. if player has a Big Nerd, player can poach a Big Suit, but not a second Big Nerd (unless an Executive Power Event Card is held).

Sidebar: When poaching, the money tokens go back to the pile - not to the originating company.

Sidebar: Vesting left is the number under the employee on the vesting track. For fully vested employees, the number is 0. They are very easy to poach.

4. User Loss

At the end of each Product turn the number of users of any launched Product with more than 100 users can be reduced. If this Product is launched, player may roll the die and split the points rolled across any launched Products player's choice, but not more than two points per Product. Then player may move these Products back one field per point, but not below the "100 USER" mark.

Example: With a 4, player can move two Products back two each, or one Product back two and two Products back one.

Year End

After each Product had its turn, it is time to see how they compare. Year End consists of the competition phase, and some administrative activities.

1. Compete for Users

At the end of each year, a showdown takes place between launched Products. The strongest and biggest marketing blitz will have stolen users from the other companies. Competition happens separately across each of the four Product categories. Products that have not launched yet do not participate in the competition. These Products have not been revealed.

If there is more than one Product in any Product area:

a. Compute the current Product strength of each Product according to the Table 1. Big Nerds count for each Product of a company. b. Add the results of one die roll. c. Rank Products based on Product strength. On a tie the Product with more Nerds, and then a higher die roll wins. d. Move the User Marker for each Product based on Table 2.

Sidebar: Competition is where investment in Nerds - and marketing - pays off.

Example: A Product with 10 Nerds and 1 Big Nerd has a Product strength of 14.

Example: With 3 competitors in one Product area: The winner adds 8 on the User Track, the second moves 3 back, third moves 5 back.

Table 1. Product Strength Contributions

Employee	Product Strength
Nerd (each)	+1 (each)
Big Nerd	+4
Marketing Money	+1 (each)

Table 2. User Adjustments

Number of Competing Products (columns: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6); rows are the Product's rank in the competition.

Rank	2	3	4	5	6
1	+5	+8	+9	+12	+12
2	-5	-3	+1	+3	+3
3		-5	-4	-3	-1
4			-6	-5	-2
5

2. Vest Employees

All Employees who are not fully vested (i.e. on a field marked with 1, 2, 3 or 4) vest one more year. Move them up one field on the vesting track. Fully vested employees (i.e. on the field marked with 0) remain where they are.

Sidebar: Because Executives' power applies to all Products, it does not matter which Product Track they are on - put them where there is room.

3. Reassign Nerds and Suits

Players can shift workers from one Product to another Product - without changing their vesting level. This allows players to re-assign employees based on the competitive situation.

4. Discard Played Event Cards and Marketing Money Tokens

All played Event Cards expire. Move them to the discard pile. Marketing money tokens go to the bank.

Sidebar: Player can play old Event Cards now even if they have no impact on the target company (unless indicated differently), so player can replenish right away.

5. Replenish Event Cards

Players can hold up to four Event Cards in their hand. Players holding less than four cards can replenish their hand. Players cannot play any of the newly picked cards this year and replenish again.

6. Allocate Marketing Money for Next Year

Players may allocate a budget to their Products for the next year by putting money tokens on the Product Chip.

Sidebar: Marketing Money impacts competition at the end of the next year. Players can allocate Marketing Money at the same time - or use Turn Order if a player insists on strict order. Players can allocate to an unlaunched Product, but unless it launches in the coming year, the money will not help.

7. Determine Product Turn Order for Next Year

The Product with the fewest users selects its position in the order first; then, the one with the second fewest users, and so forth. On a tie, use any random mechanism to decide who selects first.

Event Cards

Event Cards follow these common rules:

• Player can have up to four cards in player's hand at any time. Player's hand is replenished during the Year End. Player cannot discard an Event Card but player can play cards even if they have no impact.
• Event Cards can be played anytime during the year, unless indicated on the Event Card or in the rules as stated on the following pages. As many cards impact only a specific event, they are typically played just before that event happens in order not to give away the event.
• Event Cards can be played on any company or Product, unless indicated on the card. Typically players play good events on their company and bad events on other companies. But sometimes playing a good event on a competitor has long term benefits.
• Events do not apply retroactively. E.g. if a player says "I hire two Nerds" they are hired, even if the actual transaction on the board has not yet taken place yet. Playing the Hiring Failure event at this point has no impact on these hires. The only exception to this rule is the Defense Event Card. When rounding, always round in favor of the target company.
• All played Event Cards expire at end of the year, unless otherwise indicated.

Background

In many high-tech companies, employees receive stock options. These option grants vest over several years, which means employees only receive their stock if they continue to work for the company for these years. This creates a long-term incentive to stay with the company (golden handcuffs). However, as time passes, the incentives get smaller and smaller. Employees can be retained by further grants of stock options. In the game, this is reflected on the vesting track, where all employees start at four, and move up one line until they are fully vested. The more they have vested, the easier it becomes for other companies to hire the employees away in the Poach Employees action. Employees are retained by paying money and moving them towards the number 4 again on the track in the Retain Employee action.

Many companies develop a Product first in stealth mode. Nobody knows what the Product is, except a few, hand-picked users. The Product is launched only after it has been thoroughly tested by many users. Unfortunately, sometimes Products leak early, which happens in the game if someone plays a Leak Event Card.

End of Game

Conditions

The game ends at the end of the year the last Product is launched - or leaked.

Experienced players can agree beforehand to continue another year or two after all Products are launched.

Determining the Winner

Players add up the victory point (smaller number) under the User Markers of their Products. The player with the highest number wins.

On a tie: The player with more money tokens wins.

Appendix - Event Card Rules

• Antitrust (2 cards): Played on a Product. The EU or US are starting an antitrust investigation. If the Product has over 100M users, the management is distracted, and cannot Manage Employees this year. The Product still gains users, earns revenue and player can roll for user loss.

• Attrition (3): Played on a Product. Morale plummets and 25% of workers (round down) resign and move on to other companies. Player decides which workers resign and which company they go to. Those workers start on the 4 field. Player can move maximum one employee to each of the Products of the competing companies. If more workers resign than there are competing Products, workers go back to the pile.

• Audit (5): Played on a company. The government (or in one case, Uncle Frank) performs an audit and detects discrepancies. Return half or one third of company's money tokens (depending on the card) to the bank (round down). Marketing Money allocated is not impacted.

• Defense (4): Played in defense of player's company. A competent Legal or Public Relations team - or both - is the only line of defense when things get nasty. If defending company has at least one Suit (legal or PR person) and if anybody plays any card on company, immediately play this card, and neutralize the other card. Nothing happens. Player cannot use Defense to neutralize a card played on a different player.

• Executive Power (2): Played on a company. The Board of Directors of the company approved additional Executives so the company can hire or poach a second CEO or CTO. If one of the two is poached later, the company is back to a single CEO or CTO respectively. The second Executive has the same cost and power as the first.