To fill the blank page of a newspaper with the combined highest value stories and advertisements.
Suitability
- Ideal for adults and children over 7.
- Great for grandparents to play with their grandchildren.
- Ideally, 3 to 5 players, although it can be played by 2 players.
- One of the players schedules a game.
- They choose the start time for the game.
- They provide their email address.
- For each additional player they provide a name and an email address.
- They can use the built-in address book to remember the details of players who they have played with previously.
- When they have entered the details of all players, they click the 'SUBMIT' button.
- They are shown the 'line-up' for the game. They have the option to make corrections if they notice a mistake. Otherwise, they confirm the game to generate emails to the players hosting the game.
- Near the appointed time of the game, each host clicks the link to enter the game.
- Each player chooses a newspaper from the menu provided.
- If two or more players choose the same newspaper, the player who selected it first gets the title, the unsuccessful players rechoose from the list of unassigned newspapers.
- When all players have selected their newspaper, the game will start.
- The screen is divided into three sections.
- On the left there is a dashboard that shows your resources and through which you indicate your actions.
- The centre section shows the current state of your paper, it becomes populated as you place stories and advertisements on it.
- On the right there is a dashboard that tells you about the state of the game and the cards of your opponents that are vulnerable to being scooped.
- This dashboard contains 5 sections:
- The value of the cheques the player currently has and a visual representation of those cheques. At the start of the game, each player has 25 £100 cheques.
- Place holders for the three scoop cards that the player can hold in their hand. These become populated when a player holds cards. This information is not shared with opponents.
- Place holders for four scoop cards that the player can hold in obeyance, these cards are seen by opponents and are vulnerable to being scooped.
- A set of buttons which show the actions open to the player. These are only displayed when it is the players go, except for the BLOCK action. This special action is available when an opposing player is making a telephone call.
- A textual section through which instructions are given to help a player complete the action they have selected.
- The newspaper has place holders for stories and advertisements, these become populated as stories and advertisements are placed.
- Each place holder indicates the type of story that can occupy that space and the cards required to be exchanged for that story or advert.
- When a story or advert is placed the value of the story is shown in red in the bottom right corner of the copy.
- This dashboard also 5 sections:
- The first row is divided in two. The left part indicates the time that the game has been running, the right part gives the number of the turn and the name of the person whose turn it is. The right-hand part is displayed green when it is your turn, otherwise red.
- The second row displays the total value of your paper and your cash resources.
- The third row contains a commentary on the game, it gives the outcome of the last persons action.
- The fourth section shows the pile of unused cards and pile of discarded cards, The number of cards in each pile is displayed below the pile.
- The final section shows the cards that each player holds in obeyance.
- The player to go first is determined randomly by the computer.
- On a players go the actions available to a player are determined by the resources the player currently has. The possible actions are:
- EXCHANGE. Change a card in your hand with the top card of the unused pile.
- BUY 1 CARD. Purchase a single card from the unused pile. This card can be placed in either your hand or with your obeyance cards.
- BUY 2 CARDs. Purchase two cards from the unused pile. These cards can be placed in either your hand or with your obeyance cards.
- CLAIM STORY. This option is displayed when you have the requisite cards to exchange for a story.
- CLAIM ADVERT. This option is displayed when you have the requisite cards to exchange for an advert.
- SCOOP. This option is displayed when you possess a special 'SCOOP' card and your cards combined with a single players obeyance cards have the requisite cards to exchange for a story or an advert.
- GO TO PRESS. This option is displayed when you have replaced all the templates in your newspaper or when you were given the permission 'PRESS' via a telephone call to your editor.
- RAISE CASH BY SELLING. This option is displayed when you are in debt (value of cheques is negative) or have insufficient playing cards to advance towards a story or advert.
- When a player goes to press the player with the highest value paper (including unused cheques) is declared the winner. A bonus of £2,500 is awarded to the player which issues GO TO PRESS.
- To claim a story, you need: A telephone card, a photographer card and a story type card.
- If you have more than one different telephone cards or story type cards you are displayed options to make a choice which card to use.
- Once the three cards to exchange for the story are determined you make a call to the editor by the telephone provided. The telephone number is automatically dialled. There are several possible outcomes to the call:
- ***. Congratulations - Your story given three-star status.
- EXTRA. Your story is excellent - warrants special edition - Receive £200 from each player.
- PRESS. At your discretion, you can instruct every player to go to press.
- SYND. Your story is syndicated - Receive a bonus of £500 from each newspaper.
- OK. Your story has been passed for publication.
- SCRAP IT. Editor does not like your story and has not passed it for publication.
- X. Story libellous - Cannot use it.
- !!!. No good - Editor wants to see you.
- When an opponent is making a phone call, and you have three cards in your hand you can block the call by clicking the BLOCK button.
- If more than one player attempts to block the call, the first block received is accepted.
- If you successfully block a call you forfeit the three cards in your hand.
- The player making the call loses the cards used to make the call and does not place a story.
- Star, Crime and General stories are of varying price. If a player has already placed the full quota of either of these stories they can try for another story of the same type. If they are successful and the new story is of a higher value than an existing story of the same type, it replaces the lower value story.