Buy The Rights
Buy The Rights Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Playing the Game
Buy the Rights™ is a movie pitching party game for 4-10 players. Each round, one player is the Producer, and the other players are the screenwriters. The screenwriters create their own movie by playing one card from each of the four decks: Genre, Hero Descriptor, Hero, and Plot.
To start the game, deal three cards from each deck to the players and decide which player gets to be Producer first. Once the game starts, screenwriters create a movie by picking one card from each deck, in order, and creating a pitch based on that story.
Pitching Your Movie
Your movie starts with the cards, but the pitch is your chance to be as creative as you want. For example, you can pitch your movie simply by reading your cards:
"Mine is a post-apocalyptic movie about a time-traveling lumberjack helping Santa save Christmas."
Screenwriters are encouraged to add as much as they want to their pitches. Adding details about characters, the movie title, and one-liners all make pitches more fun, but aren't required. The goal of the game is to have fun and make each other laugh!
The Producer
After the screenwriters pitch their movies, it's time for the Producer to Buy the Rights to the movie(s) they like best. Each round, the Producer has a budget of $20 Million to spend. Using the included $5 Million, $10 Million, and $20 Million dollar bills, the Producer decides how to distribute the budget among the players. After a round, all screenwriters draw one new card from each deck.
Discarding Cards
We've found that the best way to discard your movies is to keep them stacked in front of you, adding new movies to the pile each round. This gives you the option of going through all your movie ideas when you are finished, and keeps the table organized.
(The rules sheet includes an illustration of a table layout with the four card decks and played cards; it is not transcribed.)
Winning the Game
At the end of the game, the player with the most money wins. Games can last as long as players want, but a good rule of thumb is to play long enough so every player can be the Producer twice.
In the event of a tie, players who are tied must play one more round, using audience applause to determine the winner.
Optional Dice Mode
If you want to add variation to your rounds of Buy The Rights, roll a standard six-sided die once every few rounds, and modify the play of the game based on these outcomes:
1 or 6 - Genre Showdown
A Genre Showdown is the same as a basic round, except the Producer draws a Genre card from the stack and the screenwriters all must come up with their own movie using that Genre.
2 - Producer Bonus
The Producer has a vested interest in the movies this round and gets a $5 Million kickback.
3 or 5 - Hero Showdown
A Hero Showdown is the same thing as a Genre Showdown, only with the Producer drawing a Hero Card and the screenwriters all using the same hero for their movies.
4 - Blockbuster Round
In a Blockbuster Round, the Producer's budget increases to $40 Million instead of $20 Million.