Action!

This board game is designed to be used by the student after class discussions of the Video Production Process. Up to four students can play the game between classes as a fun way to learn the steps in the video production process as well as see examples of unexpected events that may occur during the process. The board is divided into three parts - Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production - to mirror the actual process as closely as possible.

Rules The goal of Action! is to finish the game with the most money left. The decisions the players have to make and the event cards they have to draw during the game will affect their budget.

1. Each player receives a game piece and a Decisions-sheet. The various card stacks (Script and Event cards) are put face-down on the corresponding fields on the game board.

2. To determine which player goes first, each player rolls the die. The player with the highest number goes first.

3. The first player becomes bank manager.

4. The first player also rolls the die to determine the scenario (see section Scenarios). The scenario describes the type of video that the players will be "producing" during the game.

5. Each player rolls the die to determine his/her budget (see section Budget) and receives the corresponding amount of money from the bank.

6. Based on the scenario and the rates on the Decisions-sheet (page 1), each player hires staff and rents equipment.

The players mark their choices on their Decision-sheets and pay the total fees to the bank.

7. The players put their game pieces on the "Start" field. The player who goes first rolls the die and advances the corresponding number of spaces in the direction of the arrows. The player performs the Action! specified on the space to which s/he moved:

   On "Draw a card" spaces (indicated by ), the player draws a card from the corresponding pile and performs the Action! specified on the card. The player puts the card back in its pile.

   On passing a "Make a decision" space (indicated by ), the player marks his/her choice on the Decisions-sheet (page 2).

   On "Draw a card and mark the outcome on the Decisions-sheet" spaces (indicated by ), the player draws a card and marks the outcome on his/her Decisions-sheet (page 2).

8. The next player is the player to the first player's left.

9. If a player runs out of money during the game, s/he receives a loan of $ 10,000 from the bank. However, that player loses a day for negotiations with the bank manager (thus receives a "Lose a day" card from the bank which, at the end of the game, will cost the player $ 5,000). If, at the end of the game, the player is able to pay the full amount of the loan back (i.e. by selling the Oscar to the bank), s/he wins a day.

10. The game is over when the first player reaches the space "The Oscar."

The player in second place receives one "Lose a day" card, the player in third place receives two "Lose a day" cards, and the player in fourth place receives three "Lose a day" cards.

11. The Oscar is awarded to the player who spent the most money on staff/equipment. The Oscar is worth $ 10,000. If more than one player spent the most on staff/equipment, the Oscar prize money is split equally.

12. At the end of the game, each player counts his/her remaining money. Each player also calculates his/her "Lose a day"

(- $ 5,000) and "Win a day" (+ $ 5,000) cards.

The player with the most money left wins the game. If all players end the game without any money left, the player closest to his/her budget wins the game.