SERVERMANIA – Rules of the Game
Object of the Game
To build the most successful web hosting company and end up with the most cash!
Equipment
The equipment consists of 1 game board, 1 die, 1 set of server cards and 4 player pawns. There are also SIGN UPS and CHURN! cards, and SERVERMANIA play money.
Preparation
Place the board on a table and put the SIGN UPS and CHURN! cards face-down on their allotted spaces on the board. Each player chooses one token to represent them on their trip around the board.
Each player is given $50,000 and 2 servers (2 x 1 server cards).
Banker
Select as the banker a player who will be responsible for paying out money and servers from the bank.
The Bank
Besides the Bank’s money, the Bank holds the server cards that players will earn throughout the game. The Bank pays revenues to players earned from PAYDAY squares and SIGN UPS cards. The Bank also hands out server cards as they are earned.
How to Play SERVERMANIA
Each player starts with $50,000 and 2 servers. Note – a player cannot be made to drop below $0 and 1 server throughout the game.
Players roll the die to determine who goes first. The player with the highest roll goes first and then each player takes their turn in a clockwise direction.
At the beginning of the game all players start at the ‘START UP’ square. On their turn each player rolls the die and moves the corresponding number of squares according to the roll.
PAYDAY!
Each time a player passes a ‘PAYDAY!’ square they receive $10,000 for each server owned. If a player lands exactly on the PAYDAY! square, then that player collects DOUBLE the normal amount.
Customer Service Review
Landing on the ‘CUSTOMER SERVICE’ square is a big deal. When a player gets within 6 spaces of a CUSTOMER SERVICE square – they have a decision to make. The player must decide whether to maintain their servers by paying a $50,000 maintenance fee, or simply forego the maintenance to save the money.
If the player pays their maintenance fees of $50,000 PRIOR to their roll – and then lands exactly on the CUSTOMER SERVICE square – then that player DOUBLES the number of servers they own. If the player does not pay the maintenance fees and lands on the CUSTOMER SERVICE square, then the number of servers they own is cut in half. That is, they divide the number of servers they own by 2 and place this number of servers back in the bank. If an odd number of servers is owned, round up.
Also, you can never drop below one server. So if you have one server and land on CUSTOMER SERVICE without paying your maintenance fees – you remain with one server. Note – you must land exactly on CUSTOMER SERVICE to take these actions. Also note – you must pay your maintenance fees directly before your roll which lands you on the CUSTOMER SERVICE square. This may mean paying $50,000 several times in a row as you approach the CUSTOMER SERVICE square – but fall short of landing on it. If a player does not have enough cash to pay their maintenance fees, then they may not borrow this money. They must simply risk losing half of their servers.
All monies paid for maintenance fees go into the CEO BONUS pot.
TechPad Agency
Landing on the ‘TechPad Agency’ space rocks! (That’s because we made up the game.) Land here and you roll the dice one additional time. Whatever you roll – add that number of servers to your hosting company!
STUCK
When a player lands exactly on ‘STUCK’, that player either pays $50,000 to get out and go on – or stays on the STUCK square until they roll a 1, 2, or 3. After rolling a 1, 2, or 3 the player then rolls again and moves that number of spaces to continue their turn. If a player does not have $50,000 – they must remain on the STUCK square until they roll a 1, 2, or 3.
CEO BONUS
Each time a penalty or fee is paid (including CUSTOMER SERVICE maintenance fees, or CHURN! fees) – it is put into a separate pile next to the playing board named the CEO BONUS pot. When a player lands exactly on the CEO BONUS square – they collect the entire pot. If the pot is empty due to a lack of paid-in fees, then the player collects nothing.
CHURN! and SIGN UPS Cards
When a player lands on a ‘CHURN!’ or ‘SIGN UPS’ square – the player picks up the corresponding card and does what it says. Remember, you can never drop below one server. So if you have one server and land on CHURN! – you remain with one server. You can also never go below $0. If you don’t have enough to pay the entire CHURN! penalty – then pay all the money you have into the CEO BONUS pile and go to $0.
How You Win
The player with the most money at the conclusion of the game wins. The first player to reach the ‘FINISH’ square receives a bonus of 10 servers. That player then waits while the remaining players complete the game and pass the FINISH square. At the end of the game each server is converted into $20,000 cash and added to your earnings.
