How to Play the Hollywood Hustle

a board game in which you are a producer putting together a big-budget movie

Preparations

(Read "Instructions on Assembling Game" [opposite page] before proceeding.)

To play, you will need one Die, a Token (we suggest coins) for each player (two to four can play, four is ideal) and $2,000,000 per player in investment capital. Since each player assumes the role of a Hollywood producer and since producers deal in huge sums of imaginary capital, no actual play money is required--each player acts as his own accountant and keeps a tally of his financial status. Give each player a pen and some paper and instruct him to put the figure $2,000,000 at the top. As you gain or lose money, add or subtract the amounts on the paper. Each player's finances must be open to the other players at all times.

Sort out the Option/Contract cards (directors, actors, scripts) by symbol (yellow megaphones are directors, red stars are actors, blue books are scripts). One player acts as Agent (this is like the banker in Monopoly) and distributes the cards as they are bought. As you can see, they correspond to Option/Contract squares on the board. One side of each card is the Option, the other is the Contract. Lay them aside, option side up.

Shuffle the Variety Reports cards and stack them on the specified space on the board beside the game track.

Object of the Game

You are all Hollywood producers, trying to put together a big-budget movie package in time for the Christmas season, so the object of the game is to be the first producer to own Five Contracts. To win, you'll need to own contracts of One Director, One Screen Property (script or best seller) and Three Actors (any combination of actors and/or actresses). Or one megaphone, one blue book and three stars. You must own the contracts on all five properties to win.

Playing the Game

To start, each player rolls one die and the highest roller goes first. All tokens start at Start square. Roll only one die to move. Follow the arrows. If you come to the end of the S, just return to start and continue along.

Buying options and contracts: If you land on an Option/Contract square, you may buy either the option or the contract outright. (Prices are printed on both cards and squares.) If you land on an Option/Contract square and do not wish to buy either the option or the contract, one of the other players may buy it. (If more than one player wants to buy it, they must bid and highest bid wins.) In either case, remember, options are cheaper than contracts; and since you're starting with only $2,000,000, it's wiser to buy as many options as possible and then "exercise your options" (turn them into contracts) later, when you can afford it. When you buy an option, simply deduct the price from your tally and take the corresponding Option/Contract card, which you display option side up, so the other players can tell what you own at all times. If you wish to buy the contract right away, just deduct the contract price from your tally and display the card contract side up.

Exercising your options: If you own an option, you may exercise that option at any time when it is your turn (before rolling die), but you may exercise only one option per turn. For example, if you have held an option on Red Ford for several turns and you have amassed a lot of money, you say, "I want to buy Ford's contract." Ford's option price was $300,000 and his contract price is $3,000,000; so, since you've already paid the option price, his contract will cost you $2,700,000 ($3,000,000 less $300,000). Subtract that amount from your tally and turn your Ford card contract side up. But remember, you may do this only once per turn.

(concluded on page 169)

How to Play the Hollywood Hustle(continued from page 160)

Selling properties: You may buy as many options or contracts as you want. If you have a surplus and are in need of money, when it is your turn, you may auction off any excess options or contracts you own. Sell to the highest bidder. You may not sell any options or contracts back to the agent.

Loans: If you desperately need money, you can, on your turn, go directly to Loan square. Each turn you forfeit to remain on Loan square you get $100,000. You may stay there as long as you want. If you have no money and are in debt to another player and if you can't get rid of any options or contracts, you must go to Loan square on your next turn and stay there until you have paid your debt. But, while you are on Loan square, all your options and contracts are thrown in jeopardy. This means that, during your stay on Loan square, if another player lands on one of your options, he may buy the contract on that option for half the contract list price and all that money goes to the agent. If another player lands on a contract you own, he may buy the contract for half price also but the amount goes to you. When you are ready to leave Loan square, wait till your turn, move your token directly to start and roll die.

Forcing a player to exercise an option: If you land on an Option/Contract square on which another player owns only the option, you may force him to exercise his option. To do this, you must have enough money to pay the contract price on the property in question, because you will have to buy the contract if the player you are attempting to force cannot or refuses to exercise his option. Here's how this play works: Let's say you have $4,000,000 and you need a star contract desperately. You land on Missy Spacedout square and discover that Player B owns the option on Missy Spacedout. You say, "I'm forcing Player B to exercise his option on Missy Spacedout." If player B has enough money and wants Missy Spacedout's contract, he can exercise the option, but he must do it right away. But, if Player B does not have sufficient capital to do this or simply doesn't want to, you must buy the contract on Missy Spacedout, subtracting the entire contract price from your tally and Player B returning the option price to his tally. The force is used by players who may need a contract when there is none available and also as a tool to deplete other player's finances.

There are no penalties for landing on an Option/Contract square held by another player. However, if you land on an Option/ Contract square and you already own that option or contract, you may take another turn.

Guide to Squares

Variety Reports: If you land here, pick a Variety Reports card, read it aloud and follow its instruction, then put it back at the bottom of the deck, unless otherwise instructed.

Money: Roll die again and multiply roll by $100,000. Add that amount to your finances.

Go to Option/Contract square of your choice: Move in any direction to any Option/Contract square.

Options Times 2: Add up the price of your options (do not count options if you own the contracts) and multiply the sum by two. Add the amount to your finances.

Venture Capital: Add up the prices of all the contracts you own, divide by two and add that amount to your finances.

Steal a Contract: When you land here, you may attempt to steal a contract owned by another player. First, choose a contract that you need held by another player. Let's say you want Red Ford. You say, "I wish to challenge Player B for his Red Ford contract." Player B must throw the contract into the center of the board. First you, the challenger, roll the die, then Player B rolls. If you, the challenger, roll higher, you get Player B's contract for free. However, if Player B rolls higher, he keeps the contract and gets a penalty payment from you equivalent to the price of the contract in question--$3,000,000 in this case. (This is an optional play and is best used to stop a player from winning if he appears to be on the verge of completing his five-contract requirement.)

The components of The Hollywood Hustle board game are on this three-page foldout, on the preceding page and on the following page. The foldout contains the actual playing track (in the shape of a dollar sign) and a set of playing cards called Option/Contract cards. The following page contains another set of playing cards called Variety Reports cards. The instructions on how to play the game are on the page at left and there's a short piece on strategy on the back of the playing board.

Strategy

In The Hollywood Hustle, as in Hollywood itself, money begets money. Players who pay big bucks for contracts and options get big bucks in return. Although it may seem foolish to spend your capital on expensive properties at the outset, you'll see later on in the game that paying big pays off.

How will big money spent yield big-money rewards? First of all, let's say Player A holds options on three properties that cost him $100,000 each--his total option worth is $300,000. If Player A lands on an Options Times 2 square, he collects only $600,000. On the other hand, if Player B has bought three options at $300,000 each, his total option worth is $900,000 and if he lands on Options Times 2, he collects $1,800,000. Similarly, players with high-priced contracts who land on Venture Capital squares will get bigger rewards than those who were frugal.

Moreover, high-priced contracts are safer buys, because other players have to risk more to steal them. A player who tries to Steal a Contract has to gamble. If he wins the gamble, he gets the contract in question for free, but if he loses, he has to pay the contract owner a penalty equivalent to the price of the contract in question. In other words, to steal a $3,000,000 contract, the stealer has to have at least $3,000,000 to risk in case he loses the challenge; whereas to steal a $1,000,000 contract, he won't be risking nearly so much.

So, in effect, the big-money contracts and options are more desirable.

Gathering capital is not difficult, though it may seem so at first. The majority of Variety Reports cards will yield windfalls of considerable amounts, Money squares yield smaller amounts, and Options Times 2 squares and Venture Capital squares will increase your financial lot considerably.

Throughout the game, it's essential that players keep track of one another's finances and holdings. If a player looks like he's about to exercise his last option into a contract and win the game, the other players should be aware of his status and do everything within their power to prevent him from winning. This is where the Steal a Contract ploy comes in; of all the strategies in the game, Steal a Contract is the most effective for preventing a player from winning and for changing the tide of the game. Make sure you understand the rules for stealing a contract.

If the steal tactic fails, another strategy is forcing a player to exercise an option. This can be used as a delaying tactic and for depleting a player's funds at a critical time. If Player A has purchased four contracts and holds an expensive option but does not have sufficient capital to exercise it, a competing player with sizable capital can attempt to take it away from Player A by landing on Player A's property square and forcing him to exercise it. (See directions on Forcing a Player to Exercise an Option.) If done successfully (i.e., if Player A loses the property because he can't afford to exercise), Player A will have encountered a major setback--he will have to search for another open property to win, a crucial delay that could change the tide. (Note: Both of the above strategies may be used any time throughout the game--they are simply more potent when utilized at critical points.)

When starting play, it's wise to accumulate as many options as you need, with a few extras to be safe, and then, when you've accumulated a sizable bank roll, to exercise those options quickly, before anyone can steal them. The longer you own a contract, the more likely the chance of having it stolen.

Instructions for Assembling Game

1. With a razor blade or scissors, separate the foldout page in its entirety from the binding of the magazine.

2. With scissors, cut along dotted line that separates the sheet of Option/Contract cards from playing board. (Note: The Option/Contract cards are all printed on one sheet of paper--they have stars, megaphones or books on both sides and they correspond to certain squares on the board.)

3. Cut out the individual Option/Contract cards and set them aside.

4. With a razor blade or scissors, separate the sheet of Variety Reports cards from the binding of the magazine.

5. Glue the entire sheet of Variety Reports cards to a piece of thin cardboard (put glue on side that says "Variety Reports"). After glue is dry, cut out the individual cards along dotted lines and write Variety Reports with pen or felt marker on cardboard side.

6. Familiarize yourself with the squares on the board.

7. Carefully read directions printed on page preceding foldout.

8. Once you've familiarized yourself with the directions and the game board itself, read the page of strategy printed on back of board.

9. You're ready to play The Hollywood Hustle. Keep instructions handy for easy reference.