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(More customer reviews)While I'm familiar with the pedigree of this game - a re-release of an German award-winning Sid Sackson game with new artwork - I can't say that really meant a lot to me. Even the fact that it won the award for Games Magazine 2004 Best Family Game didn't sell me completely. I'd read reviews about how this game played, and it certainly piqued my interest, though both `Power Grid' and `Settlers of Catan' remained higher on my want list. Alas, I found it deeply discounted at a bookstore, and the $17.50 price tag was just too hard to resist.
Hence, "I'm the Boss" from Face 2 Face games made an earlier-than expected arrival at our home. And even though the game was quite high on our list, on the way home I wondered whether the low price baited me into buying a game that would not even be worth the discounted price - a fear that was fueled further upon reading through the simple rules of the game. The first night of play, however, proved my fears to be unwarranted, and can only be described by one word - FUN.
The game is built for three to six players, although the manual contains rule modifications for a two-player game. Though we had only three players the first night (and had a blast), it was evident that the fun would multiply with each additional player. This proved to be the case as we've grown to 4- and 5- player games.
The first time someone plays, the game seems to start out a bit tepid, but once a couple of deals are made and people are more comfortable with the dealing process, the action can really heat up. What tends to throw some people off at first is the fact that once a deal begins, the game switches from being to turn-based to being opportunity-based, where the negotiations can be chaotic and don't follow a specific pattern. This makes for a lively and sometime hilarious game.
The game is nicely put together. The board is simply wonderful to look at, featuring great artwork and large movement spaces, although some of the print on it is a bit small to read from across the table. The investors are drawn beautifully and humorously, and are less caricature-like than in the original German game. The influence cards are also well done, as is the dollar sign "board marker" (which really should be green instead of blue). The Deal cards are of a very thick cardboard stock and should stand up well over time. Instead of paper money, there is a separate card deck with denominations of one-, two-, five-, and ten-million dollars. They are much sturdier than paper money, and can be stacked without giving your opponents any idea how much money you have.
The game mechanics are very simple. It actually plays more like a card game than a board game. There are six investors (divvied up among the players) that must try to complete ten to fifteen deals and split the profits of those deals in a manner agreeable to all parties. Each deal lists how many investors are required, and which investors MUST be a part of the deal. Each deal is worth somewhere between $6 million and $30 million. The person with the most money at the end (a undetermined point between the 10th and 15th deal) wins the game.
Ah, but there is a catch. Each player has a hand of "influence cards" which can be played. You start out with five, but can pick up three cards on any turn where you choose not to attempt to make a deal. The rule book gives sound advice to try to build up your hand a bit toward the beginning of the game before trying to make a deal. Once a deal has been proposed, any player (in any order) can interrupt the negotiations by playing (an) influence card(s). These cards fall into one of the following categories:
-Clan cards: These are relatives of the investors who can be used in place of one of the main investors to make a deal. Unlike the investors, though, each clan member can be used to finalize only one deal and is then discarded. A travel card can take them right out of the game.
-Travel cards: Allow you to break up a deal by sending an investor or clan member on vacation.
-I'm the Boss cards: These cards allow you to take over the negotiations that are in progress. You can use your power to re-negotiate the deal to benefit yourself or just flush the whole deal right down the toilet.
-Recruitment cards: Must be played in groups of three, and allow you to steal (er, I mean `recruit') an investor from another player. (Other clan members cannot be recruited).
-Stop card: Can be played directly after a travel card, Boss Card, or Recruitment cards to negate the effects of that card.
Once the negotiations have opened, since any player may lay down a card at any point, you must decide when you feel it's the right time to jump in. Jump in too early and your best influence cards can be wasted. Jump in too late and the deal will close before you know what hit you.
Despite having a single die to roll, the biggest luck element in the game is the luck of the draw for the influence cards. While everyone would love to stock up on recruitment and Boss cards, you never know what you'll draw. The strategy comes in how you play the hand you're dealt. If you hastily react to every deal that happens, you may find yourself ill-prepared to negotiate when the bigger deals start to come along. Likewise, you may pass up a pretty good payday if you're too timid to get into a deal that you could win with little effort. Timing is everything!
But the dominant element of this game is player interaction. With hardly any guidelines for negotiations, the negotiation process is a lively give-and-take session filled with straightforward wheeling and dealing, unprovoked backstabbing, outright greed, last-minute desperation, and even some unexpected camaraderie, all in good fun.
In summary, I can't say that this is my favorite game, but few other games can match the amount of fun generated by this game. It is unique in its' design and its' mechanics. It can be taught and learned very quickly, and is fairly quick to play through. But best of all is how little downtime there is - once the deal making begins, everyone is on their toes and ready to jump in when the right opportunity presents itself. I'll give it a very solid five-star rating.
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Im The BossI'm the Boss is a game of deal making and negotiation, where you are an investor just trying to make a deal. Through intelligent negotiations, temporary alliances, and cutthroat bargaining you will rake in millions. But watch out for the other investors at your bargaining table who meddle in your affairs and try to take over your deals. As the boss, you stand to gain the most, but you can find yourself quickly cut out of a deal. In the end, the winner is the investor with the most money.
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