Die Börse
Die Börse Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 24 shares
- 4 credit cards
- 38 risk cards
- 24 playing stones (6 each in red, yellow, green and blue)
- 6 black marker stones that show share prices
- Play money: 9 x 5000 DM, 15 x 1000 DM, 21 x 200 DM, 30 x 100 DM, 15 x 50 DM
- 1 game board
- 1 die
- 1 rulebook
Setup
- Appoint a banker. The banker may also play. The banker handles the payment of money and shares, pays out dividends and speculation profits, and takes care of the other banking matters.
- Each player receives 5 playing stones of the same colour and 700 DM starting capital.
- Each player places one playing stone on the start field. The remaining 4 playing stones are used to mark ownership of shares, which are bought later in the game, in the matching spaces on the board.
- The six black marker stones of the six share packages are placed on the 500 space of the price track. This is the starting price of each share. During the game, the marker stones show the prices on the board after each action.
- Before the risk cards are shuffled, set aside the card "Börsenschluss" (closing of the exchange). After shuffling the risk cards, take the bottom third of the cards and shuffle the "Börsenschluss" card in among them. Place the complete stack face down on the designated space of the board.
- The exchange is now open. Players move their stones forward on the board by the number of spaces shown on the die. The space where a player stops indicates which action must be carried out. After each action, the next player takes a turn: they roll the die and carry out the indicated action, and so on. Play proceeds clockwise, and the youngest player begins.
The Action Spaces on the Board
Grey spaces with a green arrow
The price of a share package rises by the amount shown. The player may freely choose which of the 6 share packages rises.
Grey spaces with a red arrow
The price of a share package falls by the amount shown. The player may freely choose which share package falls.
Yellow risk spaces
When a player lands on such a space, they take the top risk card from the stack and carry out the action indicated on it. After the action, the card is placed back under the stack.
Once the "Börseschluss" card is turned over, 2 more rounds are played. (The source spells this card name both "Börseschluss" and "Börsenschluss"; they refer to the same card.) In these 2 rounds, the instructions of the spaces are still carried out. However, buying and selling shares is no longer permitted. After these 2 rounds, the game ends and a settlement is made to determine the winner.
Some risk cards also let "Vadertje Staat" (Daddy State) taste your fortune. The taxes demanded are paid to the tax office (the "Fiscus" field on the board). When a player lands on the "Steuererstattung" (tax refund) field, they may take all the money from the tax field and keep it.
Wine-red event spaces
An event occurs that may affect all players. When a player is on such a space, they carry out the indicated action. As stated, this can affect all players. (The source refers here to "speculation or rise in share prices"; no section with that exact heading is printed. The closest rules are under Share Price Changes below.)
Investment domain spaces
The price of the relevant investment domain is adjusted by the amount shown.
Start space
Players move their stones clockwise from the start space by the number of spaces rolled on the die.
When a player passes the start space during the game, their action ends. The sum of the share prices of all share packages is then added up. Only at this point is the dividend calculated, using the DAX table (see the last page of the rules). The bank pays this dividend to the player, provided the player owns at least one share of any share package.
No share, no dividend.
Transcriber's note: the DAX dividend table referred to here is printed on the last page of the original rules. It is not included in the Dutch copy this text was transcribed from, so the dividend amounts cannot be determined from this document.
Buying and Selling Shares
Important: shares of one or more share packages may be bought or sold during the game, but only before the player rolls the die, never after, and only by the player whose turn it is.
Shares can only be bought from or sold to the bank. Trading between two players is forbidden. A player may own at most 4 shares. When an action card offers a new share, that card lapses.
Buying
A share of a share package can be bought at its current share price (the price shown by the marker stone). The buyer places one of their playing stones on the share package in the ownership field, to mark them as the owner of the share. The price of the share is paid to the bank, and the bank gives the share to the buyer. A player may buy several shares of a share package at the same time.
After buying one or more shares of a share package, the price of that share package rises by 100 DM.
General: if all 4 spaces of a company are occupied by playing stones, those shares are sold out. Now only shares of other share packages may be bought.
Selling
To sell one or more shares, the player gives their share to the bank and takes back the playing stone that marked them as its owner from the board. The bank pays out the current value of the share.
After selling one or more shares of a share package, the price of that share package falls by 100 DM.
Share Price Changes
When the price of a share rises above 1500 DM, the share package is bought by the bank. The holders of these shares receive 1500 DM per share from the bank. The players return their shares to the bank. The price is then set back to 500.
For example, if a player has handed in 3 shares of one share package, they receive 4500 DM for them.
When the price of a share falls below 100 DM, the share package goes bankrupt. The holders of these shares must return their shares to the bank without any compensation.
The playing stone that marked the owner is also removed from the board and returned to the player concerned. The price of the share package is then set back to 500 DM. In this way, these shares are offered on the market again.
Winning the Game
The goal of the game is to collect as much money as possible, as quickly as possible, before the "Börseschluss" card is drawn from the stack of risk cards and the 2 further rounds have been played. The game then ends, and all players count their money.
The game also ends if, during play, the bank is no longer solvent.
Any profit that the bank can no longer pay out is settled at the last share price of that shareholder's shares. If a player has not yet repaid their credit at the end of the game, double the amount is charged to them.
The player with the highest amount of money is the winner of the game.
Credit
If a player needs more money than they currently have, they may borrow from the bank. They must repay it to the bank later.
The bank never pays out the full amount a player wishes to borrow. The interest is deducted from it, and only the remaining amount is paid out.
The credit a player takes out is indicated by a playing stone placed on the player's credit card, which is held by the bank. A player may, on their turn, repay their debts in full or in part, in amounts of 500 DM.
A credit line may run from 500 DM, 1000 DM, 1500 DM up to 2000 DM. The limit of a player's credit line is 2000 DM; a player cannot borrow more than that.
Bankruptcy of a Fellow Player
A player is insolvent when they have fully used up their credit line with the bank, i.e. the 2000 DM, and they also no longer own any share that they could sell to the bank.
If such a player must pay an amount of money and their money is insufficient, they are bankrupt.
This player may no longer play.
Strategy
The share game calls for the following tactic:
Buy shares at as low a price as possible, in the hope of achieving a higher share price later.
If you buy shares of only one company, you are playing with fire. If you buy shares of different companies, you can compensate for possible losses.