Startups

Startups is a fun card game about investing in stocks for small companies looking to make it big. There’s also a healthy dose of push-your-luck going on, as well as hand management and bluffing your opponents. Between 3-7 players can join in, and games last about 20-30 minutes. The box art not only looks funky in lime-green, but it’s also pocket-size. It’s tailor-made for fitting in a quick game during a lunch break!

In Startups, players battle to invest and collect six different companies. Rewards pay out to the majority shareholders of these six at the end. Like real-life stocks and shares, the player with the most money at the end, wins. But, also like real-life stocks and shares, sometimes you have to gamble…

Players start with a hand of three company cards. On your turn, first you draw a card. Then you either discard one to a public draw pile, or keep one in your own tableau, in a set collection fashion. When drawing, you either draw a previously discarded card, or blind from the deck. If you draw blind, you have to pay a coin onto each discarded card. Sometimes its worth picking a discarded card to claim the coins on it!

Once the deck runs out, the majority shareholders earn money. And they earn money off their opponents, who are the minority shareholders! So you’d better be sure that when you do decide to keep a card in your tableau, you’re going to be the leading shareholder…

Designed by Jun Sasaki, Startups comes from popular publisher Oink Games. These two are such a perfect match for each other. Oink Games produce simple board games that pack a big punch into their small boxes. (Each one is about the size of a Ribena carton!) Sasaki is the mastermind behind titles such as Deep Sea Adventure and A Fake Artist Goes To New York. So rest assured, Startups sits among superb company!

Player count: 3-7 players
Time: 20 minutes
Age: 10+