Big League Hockey Manager Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Part One: Basic Principles
  • Getting Ready to Play
  • Some Important Basic Rules
  • Look for Angles
• Space-by-Space Guide
• Part Two: The Details
  • 1. The Trading Rules
  • 2. A Player Retires
  • 3. When a Debt Cannot Be Paid
• Conclusion

Part One: Basic Principles

Object of the game: be the first general manager (GM) to win 5 games. (You may change the number of games required to win as you wish.)

How a game is played: games are played when a general manager lands on the "Play a Game" space. That GM's starting lineup is measured against the starting lineup of another GM. The details of the game are explained in the Space-by-Space Guide.

The starting lineup: it consists of one goalie, two defencemen and three forwards. Write the six starting players of your team on the starting-lineup sheet provided for this purpose.

Components: game pawns, white protection tokens, blue victory tokens, white paper clips for injured players, blue paper clips for cards, two blue game dice, two white game dice, money, player cards, League Book cards, 6 starting-lineup sheets and a dry-erase marker.

Getting Ready to Play

1. Distribute the money: designate one player as the banker. Each player receives:

   • 1 × $1 million
   • 2 × $500,000
   • 4 × $100,000
   • 4 × $50,000

2. Draft the first ten players: divide the players into 3 piles by position. Shuffle the cards and place them face down in the middle of the table. Each GM chooses one player in turn until each has ten. It is necessary to have at least one starting lineup (one goalie, two defencemen, three forwards). The 3 extra players form the reserve pool ("la relève") in case you need them. Your player cards must be face up and in full view so that the other GMs can see your entire team.

   Apart from position, each player has 3 important characteristics. Of these, Power is the most important.

   • Power: the higher the number, the more likely you are to win games. The range of player powers is shown on your starting-lineup sheet.
   • Salary: from $1 million to $9 million. Remember that the salary cap is $50 million (see p. 14).
   • Age: from 19 to 41 years. All else being equal, youth is preferable.

3. The starting-lineup sheet: each GM must use this sheet to identify the starting lineup. During a game you may exchange your players with players from the reserve pool, but exchanges must be made at the start or end of your turn, or after a player exchange with another GM. Use the "game summary" to keep track of games, the total power of your starting lineup and the total salary of the players on your team. When you need them, visit , where you will find starting-lineup sheets that you can download as you wish.

Some Important Basic Rules

1. Money: if you do not have enough money to pay a debt, you will have problems. If you cannot pay a debt in full, follow the rules in the section titled "WHEN A DEBT CANNOT BE PAID" (p. 19).

2. Number of players: your team may have a maximum of 14 players (injured players do not count). You may not exceed this limit. For example, if you are at your limit and land on "Draft a Defenceman", you may not do so, because you have no room. However, you may make room for the player by trading or selling players. The right to draft is tradable but must be exercised immediately.

3. Pay attention to special wording: some rules are optional. In general, if a space says "You May...", you have the choice to do or not do what is indicated. If it says "You Must...", you have no choice.

4. Card and money piles: unless otherwise indicated, money returns to the bank and player cards are placed face down at the bottom of the appropriate pile.

5. Hide your money, keep your players in full view: your players must always be in full view so that the other GMs can see your team. Keep your money hidden, however. For example, when a large sum must be offered to a free-agent player, it is best that no one knows how much you can pay.

6. The injured player: when a player is injured, attach a white paper clip to his card and set it aside. An injured player cannot be part of the starting lineup.

7. During the game: feel free to criticize the decisions of the other GMs. That is part of the game!

Look for Angles

Everything that appears on a blue space can be sold or traded between GMs!

The trading rules

Starting a trade

1. You may only initiate a trade during your own turn. This rule keeps the game from slowing down. However, once a trade offer is in motion, anyone may make an offer.
2. Trades may only be completed at the start and end of your turn. For example, if you land on "Salary Cap", you may not immediately get rid of your best player to avoid the penalty. However, if your pawn is approaching "Salary Cap" and you fear the consequences of landing on it, you may initiate the trade at the start of your turn, before rolling the dice.

Trading the right to obtain a player: remember that when GMs trade for the right to obtain a player (for example, "Draft a Goalie. Pay $200,000"), the $200,000 debt must be paid by the GM who acquires the right.

Now it is time to play a game!

Space-by-Space Guide

As you go around the board, refer to this section.

1. Season Ticket Sales Increase: as mentioned above, managing money plays an important role in a GM's success. If you do not have enough money to pay a debt, you will be penalised (see p. 18). If you have a lot of money, you will come out ahead in free-agent auctions.

2. You may draft a goalie: the word "may" means that you can do this if you wish. You may choose to do nothing or to trade the right. If you trade it, remember that the GM who receives it must pay the money to the League Treasury.

   TIP: keep an eye on the power numbers on the board to estimate your chances of seizing a highly ranked player in the draft.

3. The League Book: there are two kinds of spaces. On the "Take a card" space, only the person who lands there takes the card. On the "Everybody take a card" space, the person who lands there takes the first card, followed by all the other GMs in turn, clockwise.

   THE LEAGUE BOOK contains four kinds of cards:

   • I. Trophy cards: attach the trophy card to the player of your choice with a blue paper clip.

     Remember: a. Some trophies are tied to a position (such as the Vezina) and the one for best rookie has an age limit. b. The trophy increases the player's power and salary. c. The trophy stays with the player forever, even after retirement. d. You may not trade the trophy card on its own.

   • II. Championship rings: follow the same basic rules as for trophy cards. A player may have both a championship ring and a trophy card.

   • III. Event cards: the effect of these cards needs no explanation. Note that some carry the designation "May Be Sold and/or Saved."

We hope this guide has been useful. When you need it, please consult the following rules to better understand certain more complicated topics:

Part Two: The Details

1. The Trading Rules

Trading the right to obtain a future player: trading the right to obtain a future player can be very advantageous and at the same time a huge risk. To limit its complexity, we have established two rules that govern trades:

a. You may not designate the type of player to draft (e.g. goalie, forward, etc.), only the "next" player. b. You may not trade a "trade right" that you obtained in a previous trade.

Use your starting-lineup sheet to record the details of each trade.

Trading an injured player: you may trade an injured player, but he remains injured after the trade.

Trading the right to "Remove a Player From the Injured List": if you land on "Remove a Player From the Injured List", you may trade the right, but it must be exercised immediately. This right is not valid on a future occasion.

Trading a protection token: remember that the (white) protection tokens are not attached to players. They may be traded and placed elsewhere. Naturally, a trade of a player may also include his token.

2. A Player Retires

Retired players are placed in the middle of the table. Certain special cards in the League Book pile allow you to reactivate them.

3. When a Debt Cannot Be Paid

The other GMs and the league will not be very happy. The first thing to do is to try to negotiate a trade in order to find cash. If that is not possible, your most powerful unprotected player becomes a Free Agent Without Compensation. He is then sold at auction (see the rules for the free-agent market). The sum owed to the other GMs must be paid first, followed by the league. If, after the auction, no GM buys him, you may keep him. However, if a GM buys him, you may, at the end of your turn, draft a new player of any position.

Conclusion

We are sure you will enjoy our Hockey General Manager game as much as we do. Here at last is a board game that recreates the spirit of our favourite sport and lets us demonstrate our prowess as business leaders. Each game unfolds differently from the last. We hope you will visit our website, www.bigleaguemanager.com, to send us your comments and suggestions, which will help us improve the game. The best suggestions will win a copy of the next edition.

Good luck and good management!