PENNY PRESS

Hey there! Welcome to Penny Press, a game that takes you back to the exciting era of “yellow journalism.” In this game, you get to be a newspaper magnate, competing with others to make your story the most read in the city of New York. Grab your pen and let’s get started!

SETUP

First things first, let’s set up the game. Place the circulation track in the center of the playing area. This track will show how well your newspaper is doing in terms of circulation. Each player will put their scoring disc at the start of the track.

Next, we need to place the bonus markers. You’ll find five of them, and they go on spot number two. These markers will come in handy later in the game.

Now, it’s time to pick your color. Each player will receive a player mat in the color they choose. Along with that, you’ll also get five reporters who match your chosen color. These reporters will be your eyes and ears, allowing you to cover the biggest and best stories throughout the game!

The first thing I do is gather all the supplies: pennies and advertisements, placing them next to the board. I stack the stories and arrange them under the news beats that match, with the lowest star on top and the highest stars at the bottom. Then, each player draws a headline card and moves their bonus markers accordingly.

We place the arrow markers above the stories and choose a starting player. If no one has read a newspaper recently, the last player to do so can go first. Now, we’re ready to start the game.

During my turn, I have four actions to choose from. I need to complete at least one of them and can’t pass. After completing my action, I must check the arrows and see if they need to be moved. This is what we call adjusting the news beats.

If you’re playing this game, you have a few choices when it comes to what you can do with your reporters. You can assign them to stories, move them from one story to another, or bring them back to your mat. It’s up to you! When you assign reporters, you need to put them on a news beat. And here’s the cool part – your reporters don’t have to be free! So, you can grab one that’s already working on a story and move them to a different beat. If you want to bring your reporters back, just pull them from the stories they’re working on and place them on your mat. And if you feel like shaking things up, you can reassign a reporter by moving them from one story to another. It’s all about finding the best strategy for you!

Finally, when I decide to go to press, I lay claim to all of the stories that I have sent my reporters to. This is how I score points on the circulation track. I start by claiming the stories that I want, making sure I have more reporters on those stories than any other player. Then, I award points to the other players who had reporters on the same story. After that, I build my front page on my player mat, collect a penny, and draw a new headline.

Once I finish all my actions, it’s time to adjust the news beats. Then, the next player takes their turn, and we keep going in clockwise order. This continues until the final edition starts.

END OF GAME

When I go to press for the third time, something big happens. It’s like the final countdown to the end of the game. All of a sudden, the arrow markers change direction and stop moving. It’s a signal that the game is wrapping up.

But it’s not over for me just yet. I still have some steps left to take. I have to be careful not to draw a headline card, though. My game is almost complete, but the other players get one last chance to make their move. They can only change one reporter if they want to, and there won’t be any more headline cards drawn.

Hey there, I’m Ellie! I live in beautiful Northeast Tennessee. I adore animals, from big to small, and I’m a huge fan of fantasy novels. You’ll often find me exploring the great outdoors. I’m lucky to have a loving husband who cares for me almost as much as our two adorable fur babies. Being a part of this amazing community brings me so much joy.

Hey there, I’m Ellie! I live in beautiful Northeast Tennessee. I adore animals, from big to small, and I’m a huge fan of fantasy novels. You’ll often find me exploring the great outdoors. I’m lucky to have a loving husband who cares for me almost as much as our two adorable fur babies. Being a part of this amazing community brings me so much joy.