Creative Clash
Creative Clash Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 8 Principal Cards (gray deck)
- 152 Nine To Five Cards (black deck)
- 25 Employees
- 20 Skills
- 36 Projects
- 20 Stuff
- 36 Events
- 10 Persons
- 5 Experts
- 5 Player Boards
- 5 Wooden Ego Tokens
- 5 Wooden Coin Tokens
- 1 Active Player Token
Setting Up the Game
Give 1 player board (10), 1 Ego token (11) and 1 Coin token (12) to each player. Put each player's Ego token on "0" and their Coin token on "3". The player board and surrounding table area becomes each player's Studio for the game.
Shuffle the Principal deck (1) and randomly deal one card to each player. Put the remaining Principal cards back in the box, they are not used for the rest of the game.
Remove the Expert cards from the Nine To Five deck if you wish. They are only used in the "My Hero" variant found on page 8.
Shuffle the Nine To Five deck (2) and randomly deal 8 cards to each player. Place the remaining Nine To Five cards in the middle of the table to form the draw deck. Players must then discard their hand down to 5 cards. Cards are discarded face down next to the draw deck. Form a "messy" discard pile to distinguish it from the draw deck.
You are now ready to begin.
Object of the Game
Creative Clash is a light-hearted game for 2-5 players. Players take on the role of Principal of their own creative agency. They hire Employees, complete Projects, buy great Stuff and sabotage their competitors to win the greatest glory. Each Principal has special abilities and a unique Ego goal. Be the first to achieve your Principal's Ego goal on your turn to win!
Starting the Game
The player who most recently won an award in real life becomes the starting player (or pick someone at random). He takes the Active Player Token and sets it in front of himself. He then takes his turn by following the Turn Order. When his turn is finished, he gives the Active Player Token to the player on his left. It is now that player's turn. Play continues in this cycle until Game End.
If the Nine To Five deck is exhausted, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new draw deck.
Turn Order
1. Collect Income
Determine your income by calculating the sum of all your "Gain Coins Each Turn" icons in play.
2. Draw 2 Cards
3. Play Any Number of Cards
Cards are played in your Studio (near your player board) or in another player's Studio. At any point in this phase you may discard a card from your hand to gain 1 Coin. You may do this as many times as you like.
OR Discard Any Number of Cards, Then Draw Your Hand Up to 5 Cards
You may choose to skip your entire turn to discard any cards from your hand and draw your hand up to 5 cards. DO NOT follow the Turn Order and ignore the effects of all the cards in your Studio. You do not gain Coins for these discards.
How to Use the Cards
Each card is either played face up in your Studio or in another player's Studio. Once played, you or the other players keep the card. The only cards that are played and immediately discarded after resolving their effects are most Event cards and several Person cards. Some Event cards also remain in your Studio and are clearly explained when they do so.
At any time you can count the amount of Ego on all the cards played in your Studio to determine your current Ego level. Sometimes Event cards will cause you to gain or lose Ego. Make sure you're always aware of how much Ego you have in play and recount as necessary.
How to Read the Icons
Ego Calculate the sum of the Ego points on all of your cards in play. The total is your current Ego level.
Gain Coins Once Gain the amount of Coins shown in the symbol only once. You can never have more than 30 Coins.
Lose Coins Once Lose the amount of Coins shown in the symbol only once. You can never have less than 0 Coins.
Gain Coins Each Turn Calculate the sum of the Coins shown in these symbols to determine your income each turn. Count only the ones you have in play.
Play Immediately When you draw a card with this symbol you must play it immediately. After resolving its effects, draw a new card into your hand. If you draw one during the game setup, discard it without effect and draw a new card.
Cancel Play at any time to cancel the effects of a card just played. The text on the card will tell you what it will cancel.
Skills
Skill cards are played on your Employees to help you complete Projects, earn Coins and earn Ego. When a Skill is played on an Employee, it becomes permanently attached to that Employee unless specifically discarded or taken by another player. If an Event card causes an Employee to change Studios, any attached Skill cards go with the Employee as well. Skills are always discarded with an Employee if the Employee is discarded from play.
Each Skill has a cost that you must pay in order to play it.
Each Skill card also has an icon that corresponds to requirements on Project cards. A single Employee can have multiple Skills, but only one type of each Skill may be played on a single Employee.
Principals
Each player is dealt a Principal at the beginning of the game. The Principal has special abilities--several of them have a disability that limits them--and becomes your persona during the game. He or she also defines your Ego goal. You never lose or change your Principal during the game.
Employees
Employees are played in your Studio to help you complete Projects. Employees may also be upgraded with Skill cards to help you complete the best Projects. Each Employee has a cost that you must pay in order to play it.
Each Employee card also has an icon that corresponds to requirements on Project cards. Calculate the sum of these symbols you have in play when determining whether or not you can complete a Project.
NOTE: Employees are not considered Person cards.
Experts
Experts are a special kind of Employee that are used in the "My Hero" variant found on page 8. Unless otherwise stated, play an Expert card just like an Employee card.
Projects
Projects represent the bread and butter of your Studio. Some can be easily completed by 1 Employee, but many require the right combination of skilled Employees to complete the biggest ones. Projects earn you a mix of Coins and Ego.
You can only play a Project if you're able to meet its requirements, which is typically a mix of Skills and a number of Employees. You simply need to have the required number of Employees and Skills in your Studio to play the Project.
FOR EXAMPLE: The Children's Book Project requires the Copywriting and Illustration Skills as well as 5 Employees. You could have 4 Employees with no Skills and 1 Employee with both Copywriting and Illustration to complete it (or any combination you like).
You always keep a Project card once played in your Studio, even if at some point you lose the Employees and/or Skills that were necessary to complete it.
Stuff
Plain and simple, Stuff is all about Ego. Spend your Coins on Stuff to quickly reach your Ego goal. Each Stuff card has a cost that you must pay in order to play it.
Persons
Person cards offer special bonuses to your Studio or suddenly appear to cause mayhem on an unsuspecting player. Some Person cards are immediately put into play while others are free to play but cost Coins each time you want to use them. Read the directions on the cards carefully to understand how each one works.
NOTE: Persons are not considered Employee cards.
Events
Event cards represent the odd and often bizarre things that occur in the typical creative studio. Read the directions on the cards carefully to understand how each one works.
Events are played and immediately discarded after resolving their effects, unless the card specifically states otherwise.
Game End
The first player to reach their Ego goal at any point during their turn is the winner! You cannot win the game if it's not your turn.
Additional Rules and Clarifications
Play Immediately Cards
If a Play Immediately card is drawn and doesn't affect any Studio, discard it without effect and draw a new card. When playing with The Idea Man Principal, always put a Play Immediately card into play and draw a new card, even if your new draw is the card you will discard.
Assistant, Jack of All Trades and Freelancer
These cards are free to play in your Studio. You must pay their costs each time you want to use their abilities.
Just Got Published
This is a special Event card that acts in a similar way to a Skill card. Play it on any Employee in play. It is now attached to that Employee and moves with the Employee if he or she changes Studios. Discard it if the Employee it's attached to is discarded.
Retainer, Markup and Bragging Rights
These special Event cards are played in a Studio and remain in play unless specifically discarded by another Event card.
Cocktails, Vacation and Round of Golf
These cards are used to cancel out the effects of any Event card just played. It's possible for one "cancel" card to cancel out another "cancel" card. FOR EXAMPLE: Matt gleefully plays Creative Coup, hoping to win the game in one fell swoop. Katie hates this idea so she plays Vacation to cancel the effects of Creative Coup. Matt really wants it to happen so he plays Cocktails to cancel out Vacation to keep the Creative Coup on. James is in agreement with Katie's point of view, so he plays Round of Golf to cancel Matt's Cocktails, which means Katie's Vacation is active again and Creative Coup is canceled. Discard all Event cards when this madness is over!
Counter Offer and Scapegoat
You may only play these cards to cancel an Event played against your Studio only. They also can form a "cancel chain" (see above).
Hangover and Worker's Comp
Play on any Employee in play. These cards make an Employee unable to function. The Employee earns no Coins and cannot help the Studio meet Project requirements. They become attached to that Employee (like Skill cards) and move with the Employee if he or she changes Studios. Discard them if the Employee they are attached to is discarded.
NOTE: These cards do not void the Ego points on any cards attached to the affected Employee.
My Hero Variant
There are 5 Expert cards in the game. These Experts function just like Employees. The only difference is that each Expert permanently has a Skill that they already know. This Skill cannot be removed from them. There are two ways you can play this variant:
- Shuffle the Experts into the Nine To Five deck during setup. Play an Expert just like a normal Employee.
- Randomly deal one Expert to each player during setup. Place each player's Coin token on "0". The players begin the game with the Expert in their Studio, just like the Principal. The Expert cannot be taken or removed from the Studio, even if an Event card is played that affects Employees.
Even the Field Variant
Don't deal out Principal cards. Instead, choose an Ego goal for all players and proceed to play the game as normal. The higher the Ego goal, the longer your game will take.