The Free Market Game by Cavalier973
Each player has the opportunity to meet the needs of themselves and, potentially, that of other players. There are eight products/services that players can produce to either consume themselves, or provide to other players. The goal is to have the most happiness points at the end of the game. Happiness points are acquired through consumption of goods and services.
Goods:
Food
Clothes
Luxuries
Capital Good: Tools
Services:
Health Care
Shelter
Entertainment
Capital Service: Education
Each player rates, from 1 to 3 the importance of each (non-capital) good, and then of each (non-capital) service, with 3 being the best (he derives the most happiness from having this need or want fulfilled).
Each player gets 10 action points each turn. To produce any one good or service requires 4 action points. To make the next unit of that good or service only takes 3 action points; a third unit 2 action points, and the fourth unit only takes 1 action point. This represents the player’s ability to “get in the groove” of production; that is, the longer the player engages in that good’s production, the better he is in producing it. When a player switches to producing a different good or service during a turn, then he must use 4 action points to produce it. Any action points not used are lost. However, a player may sell, lend, or give action points to other players. Each player’s action points reset at the beginning of the next round. He must start over with the number of action points required for production of any good or service.
The Trading: after production, players may trade goods to each other as they see fit.
Happy points: after all trades have been made, the players consume what they have in order to buy happy points. Multiply the number of goods and services of each type by the rank the player gave it at the beginning of the game. If any good or service need is not met, then the player must subtract the number of points equal to the rank he assigned the good or service from his next turn’s allowance of action points. Players do not have to use all goods or services they have produced or obtained through trade.
Capital Goods and Services: These goods/services do not directly provide happy points. They rather are conduits to production of the other goods. The Capital Goods/Services also require greater resources to produce: each tool or education level costs 10 action points x the level the player wants to attain. For example, a player who has no tools can spend all 10 action points to buy a tool. The next turn, he will has 11 action points to spend. If he wanted to buy a second tool, then he would have to spend 20 action points. Each new tool he buys adds to the production capacity of the player. The same goes for education. If tools and education are used in tandem, then the production capacity grows even greater. Add the tools and education level together, then square the result. Thus, two tools and a level 1 education would actually result in 9 action points. 3 tools and a level 3 education would bring the player 36 action points, in addition to his original 10, bringing his total to 46 action points.
Winning after a pre-determined number of rounds, the player with the most happiness points wins the game.