CHINATOWN



OBJECTIVE OF CHINATOWN: The objective of Chinatown is to be the player who accumulated the most money throughout the course of the game. 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3 to 5 Players 

MATERIALS: 1 Gameboard, 15 Blank Shop Tiles, 1 Linen Bag, 1 Year Marker, 150 Ownership Markers, 1 First Player Card, 90 Shop Tiles, 80 Money Cards, 85 Buildings Cards, 5 Player Aid Cards, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Negotiation Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 12 and Up 


OVERVIEW OF CHINATOWN 

Throughout Chinatown, players will attempt to build bigger and better businesses than their opponents. During their turn, they will place various blocks and tiles through the city, strategically placing their business where they will boom! Players are able to trade businesses in order to have chains in adjacent locations, allowing them to earn the most money! 

SETUP 

To begin setup, place the board in the middle of the playing area, and allow each player to choose a color to represent them throughout the course of the game. Each player will then collect thirty markers that match their chosen color. The players will also collect a player aid card along with fifty thousand dollars. The rest of the money cards are placed beside the gameboard, organized by amount.  

Shop tiles are then placed into a bag, shook up, and placed beside the board. The building cards will be shuffled and set beside the board. The last player who visited a Chinatown will be the first player, collecting the first player card and placing the year marker on the 1965 space. The game is then ready to begin. 

GAMEPLAY 

The game is played over the course of six rounds, with each round being divided up into six phases. The game will begin in 1965 and end in 1907, covering approximately six years. Each round consists of dealing the building cards, drawing the shop tiles, trading, placing shop tiles, earning income, and moving the year marker one space further along the timeline.  

 The player with the starting player card will deal new cards to the players, depending on how many players there are in the game. The player will discard some cards, allowing them to choose which ones that they want to keep. The cards that are discarded are placed back into the draw pile, so that they can be used for the next rounds. The players will reveal the cards that they chose to keep, and they will place a marker in their color on each of the buildings.  

After everyone has placed their markers, they will then draw a number of shop tiles, with the number varying based on the number of players and the current round number. The players will reveal all of their cards simultaneously, and then they will begin the trading phase. Players all trade and negotiate at the same time. Anything is possible during this phase, and there are few rules that govern the market. Once all players have completed trading, they can move on to the next phase.  

The players will then place the tiles that they received throughout the trading round. They will then earn money depending on which businesses that they own. One player will be chosen to act as the banker, distributing the money to the other players. The year marker progresses one space along the calendar. The game continues in this manner for six rounds.  

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end once six rounds of gameplay have been completed. The players will collect one final income from each of their businesses. They will then total their money. The player with the most money, wins the game! 

Ellie Phillips
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