Illustration by Standard Design, Design by Mark Roessler

The Bourgeois Town Game Board. Click on the gallery below to see more pictures. Click on the left- and right-hand sides of the images to move backwards and forwards through the images.

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1 Rule Book, 2 dice, 8 player pieces, Character cards—1 deck, Event cards—1 deck, Revenue cards—1 deck, game board.

Players choose to represent one of twelve towns in Western Massachusetts’s Pioneer Valley and compete for grants, tax increase legislation, and other revenue, while trying their best to avoid expenses. One turn around the board represents one year. At the start of each year, players return unused money to the bank and calculate the new budget to be spent for the next trip around the board. If at any time a player runs up short before reaching January 1, he/she must survive a tax override roll of the dice.

Players choose a banker. This player will hold on to the money, and dole out the event, revenue and character cards. Watch him carefully.

Each player receives:

-    1 town card (used for tracking number of long-term grants, happiness index, and tax rate)

-    $10,000,000 starting funds

-    5 Character Cards. Cards should be placed face-up underneath the town card in front of each player.

-    5 Revenue Cards. Players should review Revenue cards first in private. Bonu$ cards can be kept confidential and used when necessary. All other grant cards must be placed to the right of each town card. When a grant is won, it can be moved to the player’s left; until that time, the grant is available to ANY player who has the right staff combination.

Players choose the color of their playing pieces, and then roll two 6-sided dice. Highest roll starts the game.

Players roll the dice each turn and starting on the January 1 space, move their pieces the number of spaces rolled, counter-clockwise around the board. They complete the action stated on the space they land on: either they pick a card, move their piece, pay a fee, or some combination.

These cards occasionally are useful, granting players special powers or protections, but more often than not, they cost a city cash. Some must be played immediately, and some may be held in reserve until needed. Event cards remain hidden until played.

Grants and taxes are the main source of revenue to towns/cities. When first drawn, a revenue card is placed to the right of a player, and it is not active or making money for anyone. Any player with the required character cards can claim it. If they hold their claim for one year (one trip around the board) it becomes theirs, and they can begin drawing revenue from it.

Short-term grants will only pay for one year unless otherwise specified.

Long-term grants pay over multiple years at the rate stated on the card.

Revenue Bonu$ Cards can be claimed instantly by the player drawing them. Otherwise they remain confidential (face down) until the player chooses to use them.

These cards represent special characters in local government who have a special influence on the game. Players need certain character cards to win grants and provide protection from certain game events. Other character cards can hobble a city. Their assets and limitations are explained on each card.

Players may share a space with another player without consequence.

A player’s turn should be played in this order:
 
1. Roll dice, move accordingly.
2. Follow instructions on space. Payments are made to the bank.
3. If required, draw card, play it according to its instructions, or hold on to it.
4. Thwart grant claims or other players, if possible.
5. Stake claim grants, if possible.
6. Declare turn over and encourage next player to begin.

Business Improvement District (B.I.D.)

Players who land on the B.I.D. space instantly become members, and they should place a counter on their Town Card to indicate the condition. (There are some character cards that can protect a city from B.I.D.s forming.) B.I.D. membership can take the place of any long-term achievement (infrastructure, construction, transportation, or energy), but unlike a typical revenue grant or tax-hike, the city needs to pay an annual fee.

Control Board

“Skip a year” means that the player subjected to a control board must sit out one year’s worth of play as the other players circumnavigate the board.

January 1 and Tax Revenue

All players, regardless of dice roll, must stop on the January 1 space. There they must wait for their opponents to all reach the space before beginning again to move around the board.

All towns/cities start with $10,000,000 each year. Each point of tax revenue adds or subtracts $1 million from this amount.

Budget is determined by claimed grant cards and tax revenue added together.

Once a player has accumulated enough character cards to meet the requirements of a grant, they may claim the grant. The player places the required character cards over the grant in question, and those character cards are effectively taken out of play until the grant is either won or thwarted.

The grant is won if no player challenges it successfully for one year. It can be claimed at any point prior to landing on January 1, and it is won after moving off January 1 and beginning a new year. This means, however, that it can take two years for the funds to be claimed.

Some event and Bonu$ cards can automatically thwart a grant once they are played.

Players can also thwart a grant card—that has been claimed but not yet won—by having the required character cards available to lay a counter-claim on the grant. Who ever has the most stars between their grant claiming characters is able to keep the claim. Once a claim is lost, a player cannot renew until a game year has passed.

When a player believes they have what it takes to be the most Bourgeois Town, they shout, “Bourgeois!”

At this point, players finish the current year, and once everyone has returned to January 1, the player who has accumulated the most long-term grants wins. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest annual revenue wins.