ACQUIRE

OBJECTIVE OF ACQUIRE: The objective of Acquire is to be the player with the most money by the time the game comes to an end.  

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 6 Players 

MATERIALS: 1 Gameboard, 6 Information Cards, 1 Stock Market Tray, 7 Sets of Stock Certificates, 108 Corporate Tiles, 7 Plastic Buildings, Paper Money, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Hand Management Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 12 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF ACQUIRE 

In Acquire, players act as investors, who make smart decisions to earn them the highest possible income! As players invest in businesses, they will grow, eventually merging together, allowing potential bonuses to be earned. Through buying, trading, and selling stocks, the players can build their bank, increasing their chances of becoming the winner! 

SETUP 

If the game is new, all of the parts will need to be removed from their packaging. The information cards should be carefully punched out. Once everything is removed, the board can be placed in the middle of the playing area with the gray tiles clustered beside it.  

One player will be chosen to act as the stock marker banker. They will be in charge of arranging the stock market tray. The stock market banker will give each player six thousand dollars, which includes five $100 bills, three $500 bills, and four $1000 bills, and an information card. The remaining money can be placed into four separate piles, depending on its denomination.   

The players will decide who the first player is by determining who is closer to the 1A tile. To do so, the players will draw a tile from the cluster, placing it on the matching space found on the board. The tiles should stay in their place. The players will then draw six tiles, standing them up so that they are hidden from the other players.  

Once everyone has collected their assets, they will decide as a group if they will show or hide these assets from each other. The game becomes more challenging when materials are hidden. The game is ready to begin! 

GAMEPLAY 

Acquire consists of each player completing three steps during their turn. The player will play a tile onto the board, buy a maximum of three stocks if they choose, and draw a new tile from the cluster. Once a player has completed all three steps, the next player will do the same.  

When a player plays a tile, they may form a corporation or merge corporations, depending on where the tile is placed. If the tile is placed beside an unincorporated tile, then a corporation is founded. The player will then choose a building marker from the tray to place on any of the tiles in the corporation. They will also receive a bonus founder’s stock from the tray! On the other hand, if a player places a tile between two corporation, the larger one will take over the smaller one, merging the two.  

If a merger occurs, the players have to show all of the stocks that they own for the smaller company that was lost. The player with the most stocks will become the majority stockholder, and the player with the second most stocks will become the minority stockholder. The banker will then pay them their allotted funds, as found on the cards. Stocks may be held, sold, or traded throughout the course of the game.  

Once a player has placed their tile, they may purchase stocks if they wish. Players are limited to purchasing a maximum of three stocks per turn. They may purchase stocks for any active corporation. If players are broke, they are unable to purchase stocks. After the player has purchased as many stocks as they want, they will then draw a tile from the cluster, replacing the one that they played.  

The players are only allowed to draw one tile per turn. Their turn will then come to an end. The next player will begin their turn. The game will continue in this manner until the game comes to an end.  

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end when a player announces to the group that all of the corporations are safe or that one of them has at least forty-one tiles. Players are not required to do this, but if they decide to, they have to do it during their turn. The players will receive their bonuses for any shares that they have, and then the money is counted.  

The players will tally their money individually. The player with the most money will win the game!  

Ellie Phillips
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