Contents
Learn the Rules of Acquire
I want to talk to you about the game “Acquire.” Have you heard of it before? It’s a fun and exciting game that you can play with your friends and family. The objective of the game is to buy and sell hotel chains, and the player who has the most money at the end of the game is the winner. It’s a game of strategy and planning, and it can be a lot of fun.
So, let’s talk about the rules of the game. The first thing you need to know is that the game board represents a city, and it is divided into squares. Each square represents a hotel chain. At the beginning of the game, the hotels are not owned by anyone, but as the game progresses, players can buy stocks in hotel chains and become the majority shareholder. The more shares you own, the more money you will earn when a hotel chain is acquired by another player or when a merger happens.
During the game, players take turns. On your turn, you have several options. You can either buy stocks, build a new hotel, merge hotel chains, or sell your stocks. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, and you need to carefully consider your moves to maximize your profits.
Buying stocks is an essential part of the game. When you buy stocks, you become a shareholder in a hotel chain. The more stocks you own, the more money you will earn when the hotel chain grows. However, you need to be careful because other players can buy stocks too, and if they acquire a majority of stocks in a hotel chain, they can take over the hotel and you will lose your investment.
Building a new hotel is another important move in the game. When you build a new hotel, you can become the majority shareholder in a new hotel chain. This allows you to earn money every time a hotel is acquired by another player or when a merger happens. However, building a hotel also comes with risks. If another player builds a hotel next to yours, they can merge the hotel chains and you might lose your majority position.
Merging hotel chains is a risky but potentially rewarding move. When two hotel chains merge, the majority shareholder in the merged chain earns a lot of money. However, if you are not the majority shareholder, you might lose your investment. Mergers can change the dynamics of the game and can dramatically increase or decrease your wealth.
Selling your stocks is another option in the game. If you think that a hotel chain will not grow anymore, you can sell your stocks and earn some money. However, you need to be careful and consider the future potential of the hotel chains before you sell your stocks.
As you can see, “Acquire” is a game of strategy and planning. You need to carefully consider your moves and take calculated risks to maximize your profits. It’s a game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and it’s a great way to spend time with your friends and family. So, why not give it a try? I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun playing “Acquire”!
When you first play the game, start by removing the game parts from their plastic bags. Get rid of the bags, and make sure to punch out the information cards with care. Then, follow these steps to set up the game each time you play:
- Place the gameboard on the playing surface and group the gray tiles face-down nearby.
- Choose one player to act as the stock market banker. This person will be in charge of setting up the stock market tray.
- The banker should hand out an information card and $6,000 in cash to each player. The money should be divided into piles based on denomination.
Decide who gets to go first
When we start the game, each of us takes a tile from the pile and places it faceup on the matching letter or number spot on the board. The person whose tile is closest to 1A gets to go first. Remember, 9A is closer than 1B, so keep that in mind.
Now, here’s something interesting. If two or more tiles are right next to each other, we call them unincorporated tiles. But if we add another tile to the mix, they become a corporation. Isn’t that cool?
Okay, now let’s get back to the game. We all draw six tiles and place them standing up so no one else can peek at them. It’s our secret stash!
Here’s where we make an important decision together. Do we want to show everyone the money and stocks we have, or do we keep them hidden? It’s easier for new or inexperienced players if we show everything, but it’s also more challenging if we try to remember how much stock each person has bought.
I want to share with you how the game is played. If you have any questions along the way, just ask! Here’s what you need to do:
First, you’ll need to place a tile on the gameboard. Find the matching space and put the tile there. Easy, right?
Next, you can buy stocks from any active corporations. But remember, you can only buy a maximum of three stocks per turn. So choose wisely!
Finally, you’ll draw a new tile from the pile. This way, you’ll always have a fresh supply of tiles to keep the game going.
Now let’s talk about playing a tile. This is the first step in each turn. Take a look at the gameboard and find the right spot for your tile. Once you’ve found it, place the tile in that space. It’s that simple!
Remember, you can always ask how many stocks are still available for purchase. Just to keep things fair and transparent.
Alright, we’re off to a great start! Next, we’ll discuss buying stocks. Stay tuned!
Hey, did you know that depending on where we play a tile in the game, it can either create a corporation or merge existing ones? It’s really cool because sometimes a tile doesn’t do anything at all.
Creating a corporation
So, when I place a tile next to one that hasn’t been incorporated yet (like right next to it either vertically or horizontally – but not diagonally), I get to found a corporation. It’s like starting a whole new business! First, I grab one of those corporation building markers from the stock market tray and put it on one of the tiles that belong to the corporation. And here’s the super exciting part – I also get a free founder’s bonus stock in that corporation! It’s like a little reward for being the one to start it all.
Oh, but wait! If all the stock cards of that corporation are already taken by other players, then I don’t get any founder’s bonus stock. It’s only fair, right?
When playing the game, it’s crucial to keep in mind that you can’t play a tile that would create an eighth corporation. The game only allows for a maximum of seven corporations. However, there is a possibility of playing such a tile later in the game if a merger takes place and a corporate building marker becomes available again.
Combining corporations
So, when you place a tile that connects two or more corporations in the game, something interesting happens – a merger! In a merger, the bigger corporation, with more tiles, comes out on top and survives, while the smaller corporation falls by the wayside and becomes defunct. The merging tile itself doesn’t increase the size of either corporation, though.
If, by chance, the merging corporations are the same size, then it’s up to the person who placed the tile to decide which corporation gets to stay alive. The chosen corporation absorbs the other one, and the building marker of the defunct company is taken off the gameboard and put back in the tray.
Oh, and one more thing: if a single tile manages to merge more than two corporations, then you’ll want to check out the Multiple Mergers section below for all the juicy details.
Safe corporations
In the game, there’s something called a “safe” corporation. This means that a corporation has at least 11 tiles and can’t be taken over by another corporation for the whole game. If a safe corporation is smaller than another corporation, it can be absorbed by that corporation. But two safe corporations can’t merge. If a tile would merge two safe corporations, it can’t be played and can be replaced later in the turn.
Bonuses for Majority and Minority Stockholders
When a merger happens, all players have to say how many stocks they have in the company that’s getting absorbed. The players with the most stocks are called the majority stockholders, and the ones with the second-most stocks are called the minority stockholders. The banker gives them bonuses, as I explain next.
If only one person owns stock in the defunct company, that person receives both bonuses. If there is a tie for the majority stockholder, the majority and minority bonuses are added together, divided evenly, and rounded up to the nearest dollar. (The minority shareholder does not receive a bonus). If there is a tie for the minority stockholder, the minority bonus is divided among the tied players. The resulting bonuses are rounded up to the nearest $100 if necessary.
To determine the bonus, find the name of the defunct company on any information card. Then, find the number of tiles in the defunct company. Finally, look across the card to find the majority and minority bonus amounts. These bonuses are provided by the bank.
Let’s talk about what happens after bonuses have been paid out. You know, those little extra rewards that a corporation gives to its employees to show appreciation. In this case, stockholders in the surviving corporation don’t get any bonuses themselves, but the value of their stock might go up. Why? Well, because the corporation has grown larger, and that usually means good things for stock prices.
So, now that we have that covered, let’s move on to what happens with the defunct stock. Each stockholder, starting with the person who made the merger happen, gets a turn to decide what to do with their defunct stock. And they have three options: they can hold, sell, or trade their stock cards.
Hold
When you hold stock, you’re basically keeping it for later, hoping to start another corporation with the same name. It’s like saving it for a future project. Some people like to hold stock because they believe that it will be valuable again in the future. It’s kind of like holding onto a valuable treasure.
Sell
Now, if you’re not interested in keeping the stock, you can sell it back to the stock market. The price you get for your stock will depend on how many tiles were in the defunct corporation before it merged. More tiles usually mean a higher selling price. It’s like getting some money back for something you no longer need.
Trade
Lastly, there’s the option to trade your stock cards. This means you can exchange them with other players if they want to make a deal. Maybe you have some stock that someone else really wants, and in return, they have something you’re interested in. It’s like a barter system, where each person can offer something they have in exchange for something they want.
When trading stocks in the game, you have the option to exchange two defunct stock cards for one stock in a surviving corporation. However, keep in mind that there is a limited supply of surviving stock, so you can only acquire what is available.
It’s important to note that you can choose multiple options when trading stocks. For example, you can keep some of the defunct stocks, sell some, and trade some.
Multiple mergers
There may be instances where a single tile leads to the merger of three or four corporations. In these cases, the largest corporation will survive while the smaller ones become defunct. The player who initiated the merger breaks any ties that occur.
The defunct corporations are handled one by one, starting with the largest and moving to the smallest. Bonuses for majority and minority stockholders are paid out as explained earlier, and then the defunct stock can be held, sold, or traded. As always, the player who initiated the merger goes first.
#image.jpg
2. How to Buy Stocks
Once I’ve placed a tile, I have the option to buy stock in any of the active corporations. It’s up to me how many stocks I want to buy – I can choose not to buy any or buy up to three stock cards on my turn.
Let’s say I decide to buy stocks. I can buy one stock card in three different corporations, or I can buy one stock card in one corporation and two stock cards in another. Another option is to buy three stock cards in one corporation.
How much does it cost?
The cost per share is determined by looking at the corporation’s name on any information card. Then, I look down the card to find the number of tiles in that corporation, and finally, I look across the card to find the stock price. I need to pay the money into the stock market tray. Keep in mind that each corporation only has 25 stocks, so once all 25 are sold, no more can be bought.
What if I run out of money?
Competing aggressively to become the majority stockholder in a company can be risky business. It’s important to choose wisely when investing in smaller companies that are closely tied to bigger ones.
If you run out of money, you won’t be able to buy any more stock. Even if you don’t have any money left, you still need to place a tile on each of your turns, if possible. However, you’ll have to wait for one of the companies you own stock in to go bankrupt in order to get some money. Keep in mind that you can only sell a company’s stock after it has gone bankrupt, and only at the end of the game. And remember, you can’t borrow money from other players or the stock market bank.
3. Getting a Tile
When I play, I can choose a tile from the pile of facedown tiles to replace the one I just played. However, I have to wait until the end of my turn to do this. If I have any tiles that I can’t play (because they merge two safe corporations), I put them to the side and draw an equal number of replacement tiles.
I can only do this once per turn. If I draw more unplayable tiles, I have to wait until my next turn to get rid of them. I can’t trade in tiles to form an eighth corporation.
Ending the Game
The game is over when a player, during their turn, announces that either all active corporations are safe or that one corporation has 41 or more tiles on the gameboard.
If I’m winning a game, I don’t need to tell anyone that it’s over. I can keep playing and take full advantage of my position. Only after I announce that the game is over, can I wrap up my turn.
When it comes to bonuses for majority and minority shareholders, they’re given out to all active corporations. And whatever stocks are left with the players, they’re sold back to the stock market bank at current prices, which are shown on the information cards.
It’s important to note that any stock in a corporation that’s not on the board is completely worthless. In the end, the player with the most money is declared the winner of the game.