Whale Street
Whale Street Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 8 Company boards
- 1 Market board
- 1 Stock price board
- 40 Stock cards (8 types x 5)
- 50 Tech cards (5 types x 1-10)
- 9 Reference cards
- 8 Stock markers
- 1 Round marker
- 8 Majority shareholder markers
- 77 Money tokens
Setup
- Place 5 randomly selected company boards.
- The remaining 3 company boards are stacked upside down so that the stock price table on the back side is visible. Set the round marker.
- Place a market board and stock price board on the table. Place the stock price markers of the companies on the stock price board. (= company board settings 5)
- Place the stock cards on each company board and place the majority shareholder marker on them. (= company board settings 6)
- Shuffle the tech cards and place them face down on the table.
- Place the starting tech cards face up and face down on the company boards and the market board. (= company board settings 7)
- Deal 20 money and a reference card to the starting player. The next players in turn (clockwise) receive 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 money and a reference card.
- The rest of the money tokens are placed near the market board. (called 'Bank')
Company Board Settings
- Company name
- Reserves: When the company gains money, place money here.
- Priority: Lower number gives priority in various situations during the game.
- Characteristics: Each company has its own characteristics. (further explanation on back of the rule book)
- Starting stock price: Place the stock price marker of the company on the corresponding number column on the stock price board.
- Stock certificate: Place the 5 stock cards of the company here and place the majority shareholder marker on them.
- Tech card space: Place the starting tech cards on the face-down-card-marked space.
Overview
This game is a stock game played in a short time. Players must understand and manipulate the status of the company and invest wisely to win the game.
Each company's status is represented by a combination of tech cards. The tech cards placed on the company board represent the skill status of each company, therefore are applied only to that company. On the other hand, the tech cards placed on the market board represent the market conditions affecting all companies, and therefore are common to all companies.
Reference card shows superiority and inferiority according to the combination of tech cards. Depending on the ranking of the company status, earnings and stock prices fluctuate. Players have to grow their assets, sometimes manipulating, and sometimes predicting the status.
Playing the Game
The game lasts for a total of 3 rounds, and the player with the most money at the end wins.
The round proceeds through the following 4 phases.
- Stock Trading
- Company Operation
- Earning Call
- Dividend Decision
Phase 1: Stock Trading
Starting with the starting player, the phase continues in a clockwise direction. Players may buy or sell 1 stock card of any company on their turn. Or they can pass. The player who declared the pass will no longer participate in this phase. When all players declare a pass, the [stock trading] phase ends.
1-1. Buy a stock
- Take 1 stock card from the company board or from the space next to the market board and put it in front. (Buy)
- Pay the amount corresponding to the stock price of the company. If you take a stock card from the company board, place the paid money on the company board. If you take a stock card from the near by market board, place the paid money on the bank.
- Move the company's stock marker up 1 space.
- The player who purchases the first share of each company takes the majority shareholder marker of that company. Afterwards, if another player has more stock cards of the company, the majority shareholder marker is passed to that player. (If the number of shares is the same, earlier purchase player becomes the majority shareholder.)
1-2. Sell a stock
- Choose 1 stock card placed in front, and put it back to the space next to the market board. (Sell)
- Receive the money from the bank. The amount is corresponding to the stock price on the stock price board.
- Move the company's stock marker down 1 space.
- After selling shares, if another player has more stock cards of this company, the majority shareholder marker is passed to that player.
If no player owns a stock of the company after the stock sale, return the majority shareholder marker onto the company board.
If a player buys any company's stock on their turn, that player can only buy (cannot sell) that company's stock during this phase. Conversely, if a player sells any company's stock, that player can only sell that company's stock during this phase.
Majority shareholder marker
Players who have majority shareholder marker can see the corresponding company's face down tech cards at any time during the game. And he can also make some important decisions for the company in phases 2 & 4.
Phase 2: Company Operation
Each company has its own turn of operations in this phase. The order proceeds from the highest to the lowest stock price. If the stock prices are the same, follow the priorities.
In a turn, player of company's majority shareholder can perform as many 'Add a tech card' or 'Exchange a tech card' actions as they want in any order. Each action requires a cost from the corporation's reserve, 5 money for the 1st action, and +5 for subsequent actions. (5, 10, 15 ...)
In other words, a total of 5 money for 1 action, a total of 15 money for 2 actions, and a total of 30 money for 3 actions must be paid from the company's reserves.
2-1. Add a tech card
- Draw 1 tech card from the tech card pile and place it on the empty tech card space face down.
- If there is no empty space, this action cannot be done. (Only can exchange)
2-2. Exchange a tech card
- Draw 1 tech card from the tech card pile. After seeing it, (1) move one of the tech cards from the company board to the market board, and (2) put the drawn card on that tech card space face down. Or move the drawn card directly to the market board.
- Place the tech card moved to the market board face up in the rightmost empty space of the market board. If there is no empty space, the existing tech cards are moved one space to the left, and the leftmost tech card is removed from the market board. Removed tech cards are placed face up next to the tech card pile.
- When the actions of one company are complete, the majority shareholder player chooses which of the tech cards on the company board will be used for this round. Tech cards to be used are placed face up, and tech cards not to be used are placed face down. Then the turn passes to the next company.
If there is no player with the majority shareholder marker of a company, that company automatically pass this phase. When all companies have completed [company operation], this phase ends.
Phase 3: Earning Call
For each company, check the combination of the face-up tech cards on the company board and the common tech cards on the market board. (Refer to the table on the reference card.) Accordingly, the companies are ranked from 1st to 5th.
Combinations (weak to strong)
- Single card
- 2 Numbers in order
- 2 Same color
- 2 Same number
- 3 Numbers in order
- 3 Same color
- 3 Same number
- (the table continues with larger combinations of 4 or more cards)
Order of strength between combination kinds: Consecutive numbers (weakest), then Same colors, then Same numbers (strongest).
The more cards, the better combination. The number of cards is the number of only the cards that make up the combination.
Example: Company board: 5, 7 / Market board: 1, 3, 6. If a company's tech cards are 5 cards of 1,3,5,6,7 with different types, only 3 cards of 5,6,7 constituting the combination are recognized as the number of cards.
At least one of the card combinations must be a card on the company board. In other words, combinations consisting solely of the cards on the market board are not accepted.
Example: Company board: 1, 3 / Market board: 2, 2, 2. If the cards on the company board are 1,3, and cards on the market board are 2,2,2, then the best card combination for the company is 1,2,3. (not 2,2,2)
The active cards on the company board are the 3 solid line in the center. The dotted line on the right is a reserve space, the cards here are not used.
If the card combinations are equal, compare the numbers on the highest card in each combination. Higher number wins. If they are same again, compare the priorities of companies.
Example (market board: 3, 5, 8):
| Company | Company board | Combination | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netopus | 2, 4, 5 | 2, 3, 4, 5 | 2nd |
| Shell Motors | 3, 5 | 5, 5 | 5th |
| Jelly Food | 4 | 3, 4, 5 | 3rd |
| Whale Bank | 5, 9 | 3, 5, 8, 9 | 1st |
| Turtle Coffee | 8 | 8, 8 | 4th |
Once the ranking is determined, check the current round's stock price table (written on the backside company board). The stock price table lists the amount of the money to receive and changes in stock price for each company by rank. Depending on it, take money from the bank and place it on each company board, and move each company's markers on the stock price board up or down. When all companies have completed [Earning call], this phase ends.
Stock price table (round 1 example shown in the rulebook)
| Rank | Stock price change | Money to company |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | up 3 | +10 |
| 2nd | up 2 | +5 |
| 3rd | up 1 | +5 |
| 4th | no change | +5 |
| 5th | down 1 | +5 |
Phase 4: Dividend Decision
Dividend means that players who own stocks of each company share the money placed on the company board. Like Phase 3, the order proceeds from the highest to the lowest stock price of the company. If the stock prices the same, follow the priorities. The player with the majority shareholder marker decides how much to pay dividends.
The maximum dividends are as follows according to the current holdings of the company.
| Reserves | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-19 | 20-24 | 25-29 | 30-34 | 35-39 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max. dividend | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
When the dividend is set, players with stock cards for that company receive the money from the corresponding company board.
Example: NETOPUS (company) currently owns 22 money on the company board. In this case, the dividend can be determined to be equal to or less than 4 (0~4). Player A, who has a majority shareholder marker, decided to pay 2 money as a dividend. Players who have the stock cards of NETOPUS receives 2 money per each stock card from the money placed on the company board of NETOPUS.
Round End & Setup a New Round
The round ends when Phase 4 is completed.
At the end of rounds 1 and 2:
- Remove the used tech cards (face-up tech cards) of each company. Then a new tech card is drawn for each company and placed face up on the empty tech card space.
- Remove the topmost board from the face-down pile of company boards. The newly released share price table will be applied to the next round. Set the round marker to the next round. (2R or 3R)
- Deal 5 money to each player.
- A majority shareholder player of the company with the superior priority becomes the starting player and move to the next round.
At the end of round 3, the game ends without above steps.
End of the Game
Each player adds up the total amount of money he owns and the amount of his stock cards converted to the current stock price. Example: 52 + 21 = 73.
The player with the most money wins.
If the amounts the same, the player with more stock cards wins. If the numbers of stock cards are also the same, they share the glory.
Characteristics by Company
- Netopus: none
- Play Shark: At the phase 3, if you are in the first place, move the stock price marker up by 1 space, and if you are in the fifth place, move the stock price marker down by 1 space.
- Air Shrimp: At the phase 3, if there are 2 or more tech cards of the same number on the market board, this company gets 7 money.
- Shell Motors: At the phase 3, if the sum of the tech cards on the market board is 12 or less, this company gets 8 money.
- Crab Soft: At the phase 3, if the sum of the tech cards on the market board is 21 or higher, this company gets 8 money.
- Jelly Food: At the phase 3, if the sum of the tech cards on the market board is 13 or more and 20 or less, this company gets 7 money.
- Whale Bank: At the phase 3, if the number of tech cards on the market board is 2 consecutive, this company gets 5 money, and if 3 consecutive, gets 10 money.
- Turtle Coffee: At the phase 4, if the dividend is 1 money or more, the stock price marker is moved up by 1 space.