Overview:
As a recent college graduate you and your 3 friends have banded together in hopes of finding an apartment to share for the upcoming year. While this might sound like a difficult task already, each character has an allotted number of special features or “motive cards” he or she hopes to find in the apartment. Each secret Motive Card has a designated point value that signifies its importance to the player.
There are two steps to actually winning the game. First, all players must collectively locate an apartment to rent for the upcoming year. Second, if you and your friends are able to complete this task, whomever has the greatest number of combined Motive Card points wins the overall game.
Character Selection:
Players first select their trait-character from the four available options. Trustworthiness, Responsibility, Motivation, and Cooperation. These trait-characters mimic important qualities needed when apartment hunting in the real world.
To begin, the player who has most recently moved homes chooses their trait-character first, then distributes the remaining trait-characters among the players.
Setting your Budget:
Players have two options for selecting their budget. They can either roll two D6, add the numbers together, then add two zero’s to that number. This is “easy” mode.
Hard more is where players roll a single D10 then add two zero’s to the end of the number.
Realistically, players can decide upon any budget if that is how they would like to play the game. This game is not focused on affording the apartment but rather agreeing upon a single living space.
Motive Cards: Overview
Motive Cardsare various needs that your trait-character wants be present in the apartment. Each card has an allotted point value indicating its important and/or rarity. At the end of the game, if players are able to collectively agree on an apartment, players will add up the amount of Motive Cards that are met by the apartment. The player with the highest combined point amount of Motive Cards met wins the game.
Motive Cards: Game Play
Not all of a trait-character’s Motive Cards must be met in order to agree on an apartment. Trait-characters will absolutely have to make compromises within the game in order to take steps towards collectively deciding on an apartment. This requires a large amount of strategy. Trait-characters ought to think, “How can I achieve a select few motives, possibly the more reasonable or higher valued motives, without giving up my agenda”
In many cases, only one (and even possibly none) of a trait-character’s Motive Cards may be met by the chosen apartment. It is in the best interest of trait-characters to let go of low valued Motive Cards and strive to have their higher valued Motive Cards met.
Motive Cards:How to Eliminate Your Opponent’s
This feature only applies to hidden motive cards*
Once per rounda single playercan try to guess one hidden Motive Card belonging to another trait-character. This can happen at any point during the round and, and any one character can attempt to identify another player’s Motive Card, so long as only one player does so per round.
If the player guesses correct, the trait-character must remove the correctly identifiedMotive Card from their possession and discard it. If the player guesses wrong, the opposing character can choose any Motive Card, hidden or visible, and discard it from the player’s hand.
This does not interfere with Trustworthiness’ Market Ability to uncover two hidden motives, then remove one visible motive per round.
It would be good strategy here to either remove a visible high-valued visible Motive Card or a Motive card or Life Card that opposes a high-valued Motive Card or Life Card of your own.
Another Strategy could be to remove a hidden Motive Card as you have the possibility of removing their highest valued Motive Card.
Motive Cards: Strategy
It is good strategy to begin by placing yourMotive Cards with the highest points face down, however you may not want to play every single high valued card down as you might look suspicious to your friends.
Because Motive Cards can also be eliminated through guessing, having a specificLife Card, or by Trustworthiness’ Market Power, trait-characters might find it helpful to place “bombs” orlow valued Motive Cardsamong their face down Motive Cards so that opposing trait-characters hesitate in
It is also good strategy to try group these cards together. Say you urge other players to live in Santa Monica or Brentwood, as you have a visible West side Motive Card, however, one of your Motive Cards gives you +10 points if Santa Monica is the location of the apartment.
Finding an Apartment: Overview
There are total of 30 apartments available to you and your friends. These apartments vary from one another in every way possible. Gameplay begins by drawing three of these apartments and placing them face up in the center of the table. These apartments are currently “On the Market” or apartments available to you and your friends.
The round then continues by players discussing among each other,trying to convince their fellow roommates to decide on a certain listing (probably a listing that features several of their Motive Cards).
Players may use whatever means they believe is necessary, such as bribing, to convince their fellow roommates to agree upon a specific apartment, but, should be observant of the player in the role of the Responsibility trait-character. If Responsibility feels that the argumentation is getting out of hand, Responsibility can end the disagreement. Responsibility doesn’t need state a reason or receive approval to do this.
After Responsibility has ended an argument, Cooperation can decide to punish one, both, or all participants who engaged by taking away a single hidden or visible Motive Card or Life Card from each trait-character participated.
It might be advantageous for players to bribe Responsibility or Cooperation to use their Market Powers on another trait-character or to prevent them from using their powers on you.
Finding an Apartment: Drawing and Discarding “On the Market”
After the initial three apartments are laid out and the first round has come to an end, three new apartments are placed into the center of the table and the previous three are discarded into a separate pile.
Finding an Apartment: Motivation and its Contribution
The Motivation trait-character has Market Powers that effect what apartments are available on the market. At the end of each round, Motivation can prevent one “on the market” listing from being discarded, leaving it in play until round.If Motivation opts to leave a listing on the market, only two new apartment cards are drawn from the deck. If Motivation doesn’t decide on leaving a past apartment on the market, three new apartment cards are drawn. Motivation may do this once every round of the game and is free to leave the same apartment on the market every time if they so desire.
Starting after the first round, and only at the beginning of a round before new apartment cards are laid down (Note that the apartment card Motivation has chosen to remain on the market from the previous round will still be in play however) Motivation may peer through the discarded apartmentsand bring onelisting “back to the market”. Motivation may use this Market Power once a round as well, so long as it is the first action that takes place during the round. Opposing trait-character could deny Motivation of its power by placing new apartment cards on the market before Motivation has the chance to look through the apartment discard pile.
This should produce a maximum of four listing that are “on the market” at any time after the first around is completed however the number can fluctuate down to three of Motivation opts to not use all of its Market Powers.
Life Card: An Overview
Starting the second round of the game, and continuing for every round thereafter, players draw Life Card that can be played at any time during the game. The number of Life Cardseach trait-character draws per round is the number of the round being played multiplied by two. Example: during the second round of the game trait-characters draw four cards, the third round players draw six cards, etc.
Life Cards: Abilities and Actions
Life Card have many different abilities and forms. Some mimic and Motive Cards, some alter budgets, and some change the dynamic of the group altogether. Some positively effect players and others create new challenges for the trait-characters. Most Life Cardsare self explanatory and indicate what actions should be taken on the physical game piece. Life Card however will both contradict each other as well as Motive Cards.
If a newer Life Card is drawn that contradicts an older Life Card the newer Life Card overpowers the older.
In the event a Life Card requests that the trait-character draw a new Motive Card, this Motive Card is simply added to the player’s hand as an option for them to achieve.
Life Cards: Lifestyle Change
Life Cardscan and will conflict with Motive Cards. Life Cards, however, always overpower Motive Cards. Example: If a Motive Card you are trying to achieve requires that you live in Brentwood, and you draw a Life Card telling you that you now need to live Downtown, you must now search for a listing that is Downtown and abandon your Motive Card to live in Brentwood. This is an example of a Concrete Objective Life Card. Concrete Objectives will state that they are Concrete Objectives, in addition to displaying an allotted point amount that the player will receive if their Concrete Objective is met.
Concrete Objectives force the player to re-strategize and re-access what is important to them. They will have to focus on achieving new Motive Cards that correspond with their new objective.
Concrete Objectives are so finite that the trait-character cannot agree to any apartment that does not include their Concrete Objective, halting game play.
The only way Concrete Objectives may be reversed is if the trait-character draws a new Life Card that conflicts with the previously drawn Life Card, again switching the player’s objectives.
Fellow trait-characters may also remove Concrete Objectives from players by working together collectively. Some trait-character’s Market Powers allow them to remove Concrete Objectives.
Life Cards: Remaining Types
The remainder of possible Life Cardsare very straightforward.
Some cards alter the character’s budget
Some cards alter the price of the listings
And some cards allow character’s to actually alter the listing.
If the card states that it alters a card “On the market” then it can only be added to a card on the market
If it does not take “on the market” it can be added to any listing at any time.