How to Play Bidness
In this tutorial we will show you how to play the game Bidness.
Bidness is an engaging tabletop and online strategy game that simulates the founding and growing of a tech startup. Between two and six people can play.
Your Goal
Your goal is to be the first player to pay off all your debts. Achieving this will require smart financial decisions, strategic planning, and sometimes, a bit of luck.
Ready to test your entrepreneurial skills? Gather your friends, and let's play Bidness!
The rules for the tabletop and online versions of Bidness are exactly the same. The online version automatically handles much of the game mechanics including dealing cards, borrowing money, collecting earnings, and so on.
Equipment
Bidness contains the following components:
Choose one player to be the banker and another to be the dealer. Separate the cards into two decks: the Payback deck and the Event deck.
Starting Assets
Each player starts the game with:
- One Engineer and one Marketer card - these are your starting employees.
- Three $100 IOUs - this is your starting debt.
- $100 in cash - this is your working capital.
- Twenty tech points - these represent your company's technical innovations.
Each player places these items face up on the table in front of them. This area is the player's workplace.
You are now ready to start the first round.
When cards are placed in your workplace, they represent your company's assets and are public knowledge to all players. The cards in your hand represent potential actions that you can take during the game. Only you get to know what event cards you are holding.
You are the founder of a tech startup trying to pay off your debts. Your debts are in the form of $100 IOUs.
Object of the Game
The first player to pay back all of their IOUs wins.
Always remember the object of the game.
Borrowing Money
At any time, you can borrow money from the bank in increments of $100. For each $100 you borrow, you also take a corresponding $100 IOU and add it to your workplace.
The maximum amount of debt you can have is $600.
You may find it helpful to borrow money in order to grow your company or to recover from an unexpected setback. Be careful, however, not to fall too far into debt or you may not have time to pay it back.
Paying Off Debt
When it is your turn to play a card, you can return one IOU to the bank by playing a Payback card and paying $100. Alternatively, you can pay $300 and return two IOUs.
When you pay off your last IOU, you win and the game ends immediately.
Prepare to play a new round.
- Roll for the First Player - Each player rolls one die for each IOU they have. The player with the highest total becomes the new First Player for the round. In the event of a tie, the tying players roll again.
- Add Payback Cards - Starting in the second round, the dealer gives each player a Payback card which they add to their hand.
- Shuffle and Deal - The dealer returns all event cards played or discarded in the previous round to the deck, shuffles, and deals out cards until each player has a total of six cards in their hand.
- Discard One Card - Each player selects one card from their hand and, without revealing it, discards it.
Proceed to the Card Play Phase.
This is the strategic heart of the game. Starting with the First Player, players take turns in clockwise order. On your turn, you can do one of the following:
- Play a card - play a card from your hand.
- Sell a card - sell a card from your hand. Discard it and collect $10 from the bank.
- Pass - skip your turn.
You must pass if your hand has two or fewer cards.
Card Play ends when all players have passed consecutively.
Card Play typically concludes when all players are left with two cards in their hands, requiring them to pass. However, it's possible for Card Play to end while some players still hold more than two cards, should everyone choose to pass consecutively.
Any cards you retain at the end of Card Play will carry over into your hand for the start of the next round. Remember, the only ways to remove a card from your hand are by playing it or selling it to the bank.
Playing a Card
When you play a card, you take the action described on the card.
- For Auction cards, you hold an auction for the card. The winner takes the card and places it in their workplace. If there are no bidders, discard the card. It will get shuffled back into the deck at the start of the next round.
- For all other cards, pay the bank the amount listed on the card and take the described action.
- If you play a bonus card, place it in your workplace for the remainder of the round.
You cannot play any Lawsuit or Headhunting cards in the first round. These cards display a first round restriction icon on their top center.
Bidness includes different types of cards. Refer to the
Bidness Rule Book for a complete description of all the cards.
Employee Cards
These cards represent the various employees you can add to your team.
- Marketers give you marketing points — marketing points determine how many products you will sell.
- Engineers create tech points — tech points determine the price you charge for your products. The amount you will earn each round is basically your marketing points multiplied by your tech points.
- Lawyers improve your odds of winning cases in court.
When you hire an employee, as a result of winning an auction, you place the card in your workplace.
Contract Cards
Government Contract cards provide you with a guaranteed series of payments. During the Business Phase, you collect $25 for each contract you possess.
When you acquire a contract, by winning an auction, you place the card in your workplace.
There are twelve Contract cards in the deck. A game typically lasts about five or six rounds. This information is useful when determining how much you may want to bid for a contract.
Payback Cards
When you play a Payback card, you can pay $100 and return one of your $100 IOUs to the bank or you can pay $300 and return two IOUs.
The backs of these cards are a different color so that everyone can easily tell how many Payback cards their opponents are holding.
If you pay back your last IOU, you win and the game ends immediately.
You cannot win without playing Payback cards, making them very valuable. Pay attention to how many of these cards you, and your opponents, have.
Lawsuit Cards
Use these cards to sue an opponent for damages. There are three types of lawsuit:
- Negligence - sue an opponent for cash. You can sue for any amount up to the amount of cash they have on hand. You cannot, however, sue another player for more money than you can pay if you lose.
- Libel - depending on the card, you can sue an opponent for one, two, or three of their marketers.
- Patent Infringement - depending on the card, you can sue an opponent for eight, ten, or twelve of their tech points.
We will explain more in the Lawsuit section.
Auctions are a key part of the game. You hold auctions to hire employees or award government contracts.
When you play an auction card, place it in the center of the table and announce that you are holding an auction.
- You may make an opening bid or drop out.
- Bidding proceeds in clockwise order.
- All bids must be in multiples of $5.
- Each player, in turn, makes a higher bid or drops out.
- Once a player drops out, they may no longer participate in the auction.
- You may bid more than the cash you have on hand. If you win, you must immediately pay in full, even if you have to borrow money from the bank.
- You cannot make a bid that would cause you to exceed the debt limit.
- The last remaining bidder wins the auction and pays you (the seller) the amount they bid.
- If you (the seller) win, you must pay the bank.
The winner takes the card and adds it to their workplace. Discard the card if no bids were made.
You need to balance how much you believe an item is worth against what you are willing to spend. Also, keep in mind who will be collecting the proceeds: you, a rival, or the bank.
During the game, players compete for prestigious leadership awards.
Market Leader Award
The player with the most marketing points holds the Market Leader Award. During the Business Phase, this player adds two bonus marketing points.
As soon as you have the most marketing points, take the Market Leader Award token and place it in your workplace. If there is a tie, return the award to the bank.
Tech Leader Award
The player with the most tech points holds the Tech Leader Award. During the Business Phase, this player adds a ten point bonus to their tech point total.
As soon as you have the most tech points, take the Tech Leader Award token and place it in your workplace. If there is a tie, return the award to the bank.
You can sue another player for damages by playing a lawsuit card. There is no cost to play a lawsuit card.
When you (the plaintiff) sue another player (the defendant), you can either negotiate an out-of-court settlement or go to trial.
If a lawsuit goes to trial, then the loser must pay damages. The damages depend on the type of lawsuit card you play.
You do not need lawyers in order to sue someone. However, it is generally a bad idea to sue someone unless you have more lawyers than they do.
Settling Out of Court
You may attempt to settle out of court for a mutually agreed upon sum of cash.
- Propose an amount of cash you are willing to accept.
- The defendant can either:
- accept your offer,
- make a counter-offer, or
- reject the offer.
The two of you continue to make counter-offers until either:
- both sides agree on a settlement, in which case the defendant pays the settlement to you and the case is dropped, or,
- either side rejects the offer and the case goes to trial.
Only cash settlements are allowed. When you play a Negligence card, you must state the amount you are suing for before discussing a settlement.
It is usually better to reach a settlement and avoid the uncertainty of a trial.
Going to Trial
Trials are resolved by rolling dice.
- The plaintiff rolls first.
- Both players roll two dice plus one additional die for each Lawyer or Legal Intern they have.
- The highest total wins.
- In the event of a tie, the defendant wins.
If you win, the defendant must immediately pay the damages to you.
If the defendant wins, then you (the plaintiff) must immediately pay the damages to the bank.
When the Card Play Phase concludes, it is time for the Business Phase, where your strategies begin to pay off.
All players take the following actions, in order:
- Pay Employee Salaries - Players must pay their employee salaries. If they do not have enough cash to pay salaries, they must either borrow additional cash, lay off some employees, or both.
- Collect Earnings - After all players’ salaries have been paid, players collect their earnings from product sales and contract payments.
- Add Tech Points - The banker gives two new tech points to each player for every Engineer they have.
- Return Bonus Cards - The dealer collects all bonus cards from players’ workplaces and returns them to the deck.
Proceed to the
Setup Phase of the next round.
At the start of every Business Phase, you must pay salaries for your employees to the bank.
- Pay $10 for each Marketer
- Pay $10 for each Engineer
- The total salary you pay for Lawyers depends on the number of Lawyers you have.
| Lawyers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|
| Salary | $10 | 40 | 90 | 160 | 250 | 360 | 490 | 640 |
|---|
You must pay salaries before collecting any earnings or gaining tech points.
If you have enough cash to do so, you must pay all your employees.
You do not pay salaries for any Legal Intern or marketing bonus cards you may have.
Layoffs
If you do not have enough cash for salaries, you may lay off any number of employees. Take the laid-off employee cards from your workplace and return them to the deck.
- You may borrow money from the bank to avoid or lessen the layoff.
- You may lay off more employees than you need to.
- A layoff is the only way you can remove employees.
During Card Play, remember that you will need to pay salaries and try to keep enough cash on hand to cover this. Sometimes, however, it may be advantageous for you to purposely be short of cash, thus giving you the opportunity to "restructure" your team.
After paying salaries, players collect their earnings from product sales and contract payments.
To figure out your product sales:
- Find your Unit Price: Count up your tech points. If applicable, add ten points for the Tech Leader Award. Round the total down to the nearest multiple of ten. This is your unit price.
- Find your Units Sold: Count one point for each Marketer you have, then adjust for any marketing bonuses or penalties. If applicable, add two points for the Market Leader Award. This is your units sold.
- Find your Product Sales: Multiply your unit price by your units sold. This is the amount you earn from product sales.
Take your product sales and add $25 for each Government Contract you have. This is your total earnings. Collect this amount from the bank.
Keep in mind that tech points are rounded down to the nearest multiple of ten. This means that there is no difference between having 14 or 16 tech points, but there is a big difference between having 18 or 20.
Now that you've learned the essentials of Bidness, gather your friends, unleash your entrepreneurial spirit, and embark on your journey to build a thriving tech empire.