Envelopes of Cash Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Which Version Is Right For You?
• Symbol & Terminology Glossary
• Object of the Game
• Overview of the Game
• Game Components
• Understanding a Card in Envelopes of Cash
• How to Set Up a Game of Envelopes of Cash
• How to Play Each Month
  • Drafting Cards
  • Drafting Dice
  • Before You Start: First-Game Tips
  • Playing Out the Month
• What Happens in Vegas ...
• End of the Month
• End of the Game
  • End of Game Cards
  • Run One Final Marketing Campaign
  • Positional Scoring
  • Regional Scoring
  • Determining the Winner (and Breaking Ties)
• Optional Variant Rules: Bidding for the Starting Player Chain
• Credits
• Envelopes of Cash Rules Summary

Which Version Is Right For You?

Welcome to Envelopes of Cash. Before you get overwhelmed by a rather lengthy rulebook, let's figure out if this is the right place for you to start. If you have never played a complex adult game designed for people age 14 and up, we would recommend you consider starting with the Newbie Campaign, which is available online at www.envelopesofcash.com/newbierules.pdf. This is a 2-scenario campaign designed to teach you the game in two, more easily digested halves. After that you can come back here and play the full game to tie it all together.

On the other hand, if you are planning to play with children, or with people who are unlikely to want a complex, strategic game and might be looking for something a little lighter, we recommend you put this rulebook down and grab the Family Rulebook instead. Those rules are similar to the full game but where the Standard game will often force you to make a tough either/or choice, the family game will typically let you have a both/and instead. This might also serve well as a way for experienced players to introduce a friend who is new to Euro-style board games for a first game with slightly more gentle systems, but then when you switch over you will need to reteach a few of the rules to transition to the full game.

If you're still here, then we're going to assume you're ready to learn the full Standard version of Envelopes of Cash. As a final "which game version do you want?" decision, though, is that along the way, you will see little side-bars for "Cut-Throat Mode." We do not recommend this for your first few plays of the game, when you are going to just be assimilating the rules, but if you play the game enough and find you're running out of Recruits before the game comes to an end, or if you simply like your games to be more confrontational, we recommend you start mixing in some or all of the "Cut-Throat Mode" options. If you add them all in, you'll be playing the full Expert-level game designed to be a really challenging experience. For some people this will be the most fun way to play. But for most people, and especially for your first few Standard plays, we recommend not mixing in any "Cut-Throat" options – the game is great in Standard Mode and most players may happily stay there for their entire careers as EoC Head Coaches. Ok, so now, let's get on with learning the game!

What follows is also nicely explained in a video prepared by the folks at boardgamegeek.com. If you like to learn that way, check it out on the game's BoardGameGeek page.

On the other hand, if you are a pro who is used to being the person who explains games to everyone else, you might want to check out the Quick Start Guide and dive right in. Then you can refer back to these full rules for reference as you go, rather than reading them cover-to-cover before you start.

Also note that throughout the rules there are opportunities to add in "cut-throat" mode options -- these should not be used on your first play but once you're familiar with the rules, if you want to play again in a more challenging mode, adding in some/all of these options will make things more difficult/competitive.

Symbol & Terminology Glossary

Booster Buck — the basic above-the-table currency in the game, used to run marketing campaigns and to pay for Runners to transport Envelopes of Cash to Recruits.

Envelopes of Cash (ECs) — these are the under-the-table currency of the game, used to pay recruits to join your program, to put cards into play which is how you upgrade your personnel & facilities, improve your program's culture, and/or augment your fundraising, as well as to fuel your recruiting bus as you move across the country. The "Any EC" symbol lets you pick the color. The others represent the EC of a specific color. When you see a number inside an EC symbol, it represents that many of that color of ECs — for example, a "4" inside a magenta EC is the same as 4 individual magenta ECs.

Recruiting Point / "Star Point" — the basic victory point of the game. You earn star points by putting cards into play, by recruiting athletes, through clever card combos, etc. The goal of the game is to get the most stars.

Recruiting Bus — when shown in gray on a card, this refers to your recruiting bus, no matter the color.

State Value Token — conveys the Value of the Recruit in that state in Stars, and the Cost of that Recruit, in ECs. A Recruit in this State has a base value of 5 Stars and will cost 4 magenta ECs, for example.

Border State Value Token — also conveys the Value of the Recruit from that State in Stars, but Border State Recruits always cost 4 ECs, spread across two different colors of ECs. An example costs 2 green ECs and 2 yellow ECs.

Culture ("Cult") Card Type Symbol — represents the attitudes or approaches that help you create a winning program and attract the best recruits.

Personnel and Facilities ("P&F") Card Type Symbol — represents the people or buildings you hire or build to attract the best recruits.

Fundraising ("Fund") Card Type Symbol — represents the efforts to get boosters to donate to the program. Fund cards are referred to generically with the first symbol or specifically by region with one of the six colored symbols.

Card Usage Symbol: Once per Month — represents a card that can be used Once per Month. You may want to turn the card sideways once you've used it to help you remember it's already been used this turn.

Card Usage Symbol: End of the Game — represents a card that only triggers at the End of the Game. Typically these are cards which give you a slug of points but have no impact on gameplay until final scoring.

Card Usage Symbol: Program Upgrade — represents a card that is a Program Upgrade. Program Upgrades are active all the time and can be used as often as you want, assuming you meet the conditions on the card. So a card may kick in whenever you sign a recruit or run a marketing campaign, etc.

Object of the Game

Players take on the roles of Head Coaches at major college football programs, earning high salaries to exploit unpaid labor. To do so they must marshal all of the tools available to them, including donations from boosters ("booster bucks") and envelopes full of cash and other impermissible payments (ECs, these come in six different colors to pay for different regional recruits) and marketing campaigns, all to maximize their Recruiting Points (also called "star points"). The winner is the Head Coach with the most star points at the end of the game. The reward is victory, as well as a $1 million "retention bonus."

(Legal disclaimer: $1 million retention bonus sold separately)

Overview of the Game

After setting up the board and getting some initial cards, players play exactly twelve turns corresponding to the months of the year, starting in March and ending on National Signing Day in February. Each of the twelve months runs as follows:

• Players draft cards they hope to be able to put into play and use.
• This month's Starting Player rolls 6 different colored dice, and players use the dice to dole out Envelopes of Cash. Players can also win Booster Bucks and Envelopes of Cash in "Vegas."
• Players use the Envelopes of Cash from the current month (as well as their stash of Booster Bucks) to put previously selected cards into play, to pay Runners to influence Recruits, to move their Recruiting Bus around the country, to launch a new marketing campaign, and/or to sign up Recruits to their teams. These actions can earn them Envelopes of Cash, Booster Bucks, and most importantly star points. Players can also wager any unused Envelopes of Cash in Vegas, to win Booster Bucks and Envelopes of Cash for the following month.

Game Components

• 120 Cards divided into three categories: 48 Culture Cards, 48 Personnel & Facilities Cards, and 24 Fundraising Cards (4 per region)
• 1 game board, a map of the United States and Pacific Islands
• 4 Recruiting Calendars, one in the color of each player
• 4 Player Mats, one in the color of each player
• 1 Value Modifier twelve-sided die ("VMD")
• 36 Player Tokens (9 of each symbol), each with one of the players' symbols on it. When referring to a player token for any player, these rules use the symbol generically.
• 24 Single State Recruit Ranking pieces, called "States," 4 in each of six colors (with envelope values 1–4), and 16 Border State Recruit Ranking pieces called "Border States," 2 for each combination of two colors
• 40 Recruit tokens, 5 recruits for 8 positions
• 240 Envelopes of Cash: 40 of each of six colors in a variety of denominations 1 through 6. When referring generically to Envelopes of Cash of any color, these rules use the generic open envelope symbol.
• 48 "Booster Buck" tokens
• 4 Recruiting Bus tokens and 4 Coach's Whistles, one in each of the 4 player colors
• 6 colored dice and 1 Starting Player Chain

Note: the Envelopes of Cash, Booster Bucks, and star point tokens are not intended to be limited to the tokens supplied with the game. If you need more, use home-made chits or coins as necessary.

These rules may seem a little daunting if you are new to modern board games. But don't despair. Honestly, it's really not that complicated a game, it just takes one or two plays to understand how all the elements of the game fit together. If this all seems overwhelming, you may find it easier to start with the newbie "Learn by Playing" Campaign, which teaches you half of the game at a time. That is provided online at www.envelopesofcash.com/newbierules.pdf

Understanding a Card in Envelopes of Cash

Envelopes of Cash is a game driven by cards, so understanding how to read a card will be crucial to your enjoyment of the game. Cards are quite varied, but they all follow the same general format. Consider the Hundred-Dollar Handshake as an example of a typical card.

Card Type. Cards come in three types, Culture (represented by the Culture symbol), Personnel and Facility (represented by the P&F symbol), and Fundraising, which collectively are represented by the generic Fundraising symbol, but which come in six different colors, one for each region — so on Northeastern cards, which are magenta, you will see the symbol in magenta, and on Texas cards, which are yellow, it will appear in yellow.

Card Name. Seems pretty obvious.

Card Star Point Value. When you put a card into play, you will immediately score points equal to its star point value. You may trigger other effects as well, depending on your program upgrades (from other cards). But this tells you the base value of this card to your score if you manage to pay its cost and put it into play.

Card Cost. Every card costs between 1 and 4 Envelopes of Cash to put into play. You get the card for free during the card draft but it is useless to you until you pay to put it into play. The Hundred-Dollar Handshake costs 1 Blue, 1 Magenta, and 1 Orange Envelope to put into play.

Card Illustration. Pretty, right?

Card Usage Symbol. Cards can be used in three different ways. Some cards score points at the end of the game; these are indicated with the End of Game symbol. Other cards can be used as often as you want, assuming you meet the conditions indicated on the card — these are called "program upgrades" and they are indicated with the Program Upgrade symbol. Finally some cards, such as the Hundred-Dollar Handshake, are cards that can be used just once per turn — these are indicated by the Once per Month symbol, though the color of the symbol can vary based on the artwork of the card.

Cards that have the End of Game symbol in the bottom left corner of the card CANNOT be used during monthly play; they only trigger when the game ends. Cards that have the Program Upgrade symbol can be used as often as they are eligible to be used.

Card Benefit. This is what the card does for you, once it is put into play. If it is an end-of-game scoring card, this will be where you learn how many points the card is worth and how you earn those points. If it is a program upgrade, that upgrade will be explained. For once-per-turn cards, you'll learn the monthly benefit, such as with the Hundred-Dollar Handshake, which gives you a free Envelope of Cash of any color (your choice, every turn), once you put it into play.

Card Number. This is just an administrative feature for people who like to keep logs of their games. If that's not you, don't sweat it.

How to Set Up a Game of Envelopes of Cash

Place the game board in the middle of the table. It shows a map of the United States and islands in the Pacific.

In total, there are 6 regions with distinct colors. Each region is split into several sub-regions called "States" (these do not all conform to exact U.S. state boundaries). Recruits in these regions are paid for using Envelopes of Cash of the specific color associated with each region (for example, orange for the Northwest, etc.).

Some States on the border of two regions are considered to be split-regional spaces; these are called Border States that span two regions. Border States have distinct colors from the regions they border, but are generally a mix of the two colors. These count as being in either region (your choice) for any tally that requires a certain number of States from a given region. You pay for Recruits in these States with two colors of Envelopes of Cash rather than just one.

Take the 8 pairs of Border State tokens and place each pair on the corresponding Border State. For example, the Colorado/New Mexico Border State is a blend of the Southwest and Texas, and so both of the Gray/Yellow Border State tokens should be placed on the appropriate space on the map. Repeat this for all eight Border States (two tokens per Border State). Note that the two tokens from a given Border State are not identical, but you can place either one of them in either space on the map.

Next, separate the 24 State tokens into their six distinct color sets of 4 tokens each. For a standard game (where the value of a recruit from each state is pre-determined), match the star number on the State token to the small number on the empty State space on the map with the same color. If instead you prefer a little variety in each set up, randomly assign the four tokens within each region.

Now grab the 40 Recruit tokens. These represent the best 40 soon-to-graduate high school athletes in the country, 5 in each of 8 position groups. Take the 40 Recruit Tokens and randomly assign them to the States, placing 1 adjacent to each single-color State and 2 in each Border State. There is a rectangular space on the map designed to hold each Recruit token.

Next, sort the Envelopes of Cash by color and place them next to the game board. These are the various under-the-table payments you can make. While they are referred to generically as "Envelopes of Cash" ("ECs"), these are actually different types of sub rosa payments you will be making on the down-low — the classic Envelope of Cash, bling, fancy clothes, high-end whiskey, a sports car with a scrubbed title, paying relatives' overdue bills (oddly, this act of charity is against the rules in the world of college sports). If you have some clear Pyrex dishes or plastic containers, you may find it handy to use to keep these separated by color. You can also call these "bag money" because in real life not everyone uses an envelope, especially as inflation makes a duffel bag more convenient. These are the same colors as the regions and while there is no direct connection, the colors sometimes are doing double duty as regions and types of Envelopes of Cash. This is not to say that in real life, fancy clothes actually work better as an inducement in Texas than in the South, but that's how the game will play out.

The player who most recently was the victim of wage theft gets to be the Starting Player and takes the Starting Player Chain. Otherwise determine the Starting Player randomly. Each player chooses a Head Coach (either randomly or in reverse turn order) and a color, takes all of the tokens of that color, and places one of them onto the star point track at zero. Starting at zero represents the fact that each recruiting season starts from scratch, but you will gain star points as the game progresses.

Statements about State Tokens. For each State, you will see a star rating and a strip of one or two colors, which represents the cost in Envelopes of Cash. The strip represents the cost to recruit the athlete from this state, and the star rating represents the base number of points you'll earn from recruiting him. For regular States, the EC cost is always one lower than the number of stars (and always in the color of that region); for Border States, the total cost is always 4 ECs — two in each color of the regions it borders, and the value varies but is centered around 3 stars. These provide points during the game as you recruit.

Players place their Recruiting Bus tokens on the HQ spot corresponding to their Player Symbol. For example, if you are playing as the yellow player, you start just south of the (yellow) Texas region on the starting spot marked with the yellow symbol.

Each player takes a Player Mat and a Calendar, in the correct color of their player symbol, and places them next to each other on the side of the board closest to the colored square for that player's starting spot. These Mats and Calendars will be filled with cards and Envelopes of Cash as the game progresses. Players put the Coach's Whistle in their color onto their Calendar in the month of March. Players take 12 Envelopes of Cash of their regional color marked with a 1 on one side and a 2 on the other and place one with the 1 facing up in the envelope space of each of the 12 months on their Calendars.

All About the Booster Bucks. These are Booster Bucks, which represent above-the-table money you can spend on everything other than paying for recruits. This initial stash of Booster Bucks represents the Booster Bucks you have accumulated from last season, which can be spent whenever you wish. You will accumulate more over the course of the game, but this will give you a start. Unlike Envelopes of Cash, Booster Bucks may be kept from month to month. Unless you are playing with the Cut-throat set-up, players will place 1 free EC of their region's color on every month of their calendars. This represents recurring "bag money" pre-arranged with boosters in your local recruiting area.

The Secret Stash. If it is your first time playing Envelopes of Cash, you might feel overwhelmed with choices and rules. If so, you can skip this part of the set up — ignore any rules that mention your "Secret Stash" of cards. Otherwise, deal six cards to each player. Each player chooses the four they wish to have access to as the game proceeds and discards the two they do not want, face up into a pool of rejected cards to the side of the board. These cards will be available for players to choose during the monthly card draft if they prefer them over the cards they are dealt.

Secrets about the Stash. Your four initial cards (called your Secret Stash) will be available to you as substitute cards in up to four of the 12 card drafts during the game. If you don't like the cards you're dealt or those publicly available, you can draw from your Secret Stash if you wish up to four times per game.

The first time you play the game, choosing the four cards to keep for your Secret Stash can be a challenge because you don't yet have a sense of what's a good card. One option to solve this is to simply not use a Secret Stash in the first game. It limits your options in the first game, but reducing your choices when you're assimilating a lot of new rules can be a blessing. Just remember to add the Stash next time you play because it is there to help you avoid having no good cards on one of your 12 turns.

Once everyone in your game group gets good, you can really limit the luck of the draw by starting with a full-on card draft for your stash, though it won't be so "secret" anymore. Deal out six cards to everyone, and each player chooses one, then passes the deck counterclockwise (opposite the turn order). Take one from the deck you get passed and pass it counterclockwise as well. Once you've chosen four cards, throw the remaining two, face up, into the discard pool, and everyone will have four not-so-secretly chosen cards, a little less randomly distributed.

If you have your 7 Envelopes of Cash, selected your Head Coach and your 4 secret cards, placed your Calendar and Player Mat on your side of the board (with a Coach's Whistle on March and a single Envelope of Cash in every month), discarded 2 cards each into the common pool, the map has all of the State Value tokens and Recruits on it, and your Bus is sitting at your starting space on the map and all players have a player symbol token on the zero spot on the score track, you are (finally!) ready to begin the game. Wow, that took a long time.

Cut-Throat Mode for Set-up. Want a real challenge? Instead of players placing 1 of their region's color in every month, skip this step of the set up (or only put a 1 in a few of the early months). The fewer months you seed with an Envelope of Cash, the harder the game will be because players will have to sacrifice long-term plans for early action.

How to Play Each Month

Drafting Cards

The Starting Player deals two cards to every player and then takes a third card for her/himself. If the new month is May, August or November, the players empty the discard pool of all previously discarded cards, and the Starting Player deals one new card face-up into the discard pool, so that the discard pool starts fresh, with just one card in it every 3 months. In a 4-player game, after November, shuffle all previously discarded cards to make a new deck, which you will need when the original deck runs out.

Starting with the Starting Player and going clockwise, each player decides whether to (a) take a card from his/her hand and play it face-up to the Calendar in the current month, (b) take a card from the pool of rejected cards and play it to the Calendar (face up), (c) play a card from the pile of secret cards received at the beginning of the game to the Calendar (face-up), or (d) delay choosing a card by discarding one of the cards in his/her hand face up to the pool of rejected cards and passing to the next player. If you choose (a), (b), or (c), add all the unplayed cards from your hand (but not from your Secret Stash) face-up to the discard pool. Either way, the choice passes to the next player, clockwise.

Each of the next players makes one of these same choices in turn order, that is they either:

• Play a card from their hand to the Calendar in the current month (discarding the remainder of the cards in their hand face up to the discard pool)
• Take a card from the rejected card pool and put it face up on the Calendar in the current month (also discarding the cards in their hand face up into the pool of discarded cards)
• Play a card from their Secret Stash face up onto the Calendar in the current month (also discarding the cards in their hand face up into the discard pool)
• Put a single card (from their hand) face up into the discard pool and pass

If a player has only one card in hand, he/she cannot pass, but must choose a card, either the one in hand, one of the cards in the discard pool, or a card from that player's Secret Stash (if one is still available). This process continues until all players have placed a card face up onto their Calendar in the current month. This card is not yet "in play" and so to use it you will need to pay the required Envelopes of Cash (later in your turn) to move it to your Player Mat.

To repeat for emphasis: when you first draft a card, it will go onto your Calendar in the month you acquired it. When you place it on the Calendar, it is not yet in play. On your turn, all you can do with a card that is not yet put into play is to pay the cost to put it into play; as long as it remains on your Calendar it is useless.

As will be explained in more detail below, on your turn you will be able to put cards into play. Once you do, you will move the card to your Player Mat and now it becomes useful. This may allow you to use the card once per turn to gain resources or score points. In some cases, the card provides a permanent benefit for the rest of the game. Sometimes it just provides additional points at the end of the game.

Drafting Dice

The Starting Player should roll all 6 of the dice. Blowing on the dice for luck is optional, but recommended as long as you are not in the middle of an airborne pandemic. After rolling the dice (except March, the first month), you should check to see whether anyone who placed bets in Vegas won any of those bets. There's no need to check in March because Vegas bets are placed during the previous turn and in March there hasn't yet been a previous turn. (See "What Happens in Vegas" below for how bets are placed.) Players whose bets match the number/color combination on one or more of the dice get 1 star point and 2 Envelopes of Cash of the matching color for each matching die roll. You can get this benefit for as many of your Player Tokens as match the die of the corresponding color. If you bet on at least one die this turn but did not win anything, then you have "Crapped out in Vegas."

All Bets Are On! In this example, the yellow player has bet that the green die will come up as a 2 and the blue die as a 1, and the orange player has bet on 4 purple. If the green die roll next turn is a 2, the yellow player gets 2 Envelopes of Cash and 1 star point. The same applies for the bets on blue or purple.

Next, each player will choose the benefit of two of the dice. Multiple players are allowed to use the same dice, so there's no worry about turn order — you might as well all work this out at the same time unless you prefer to check each other's math. Every die roll conveys 3 pieces of information: the quantity of Envelopes of Cash, the EC color, and the month. Quantity is easy – the number of pips on each die determines the quantity of Envelopes of Cash you will receive. Color is easy too – the die color represents the EC color. For Month, you will need to do a little bit of counting. If the die shows 1 pip, that represents the current month. If it's a 2, that means next month. If it's a 3, that's two months from now, etc. In this game, Month 3 or Month 6, etc., means the 3rd or 6th month from now COUNTING THE CURRENT MONTH AS 1. So, for example, if it is May, and you roll a 6, the month this represents is 5 months from now: October. A 3 would be 2 months from now, or July.

To reiterate: every die roll connotes 3 pieces of info — the number of Envelopes of Cash, the specific color of the Envelopes of Cash, and the month when you get the Envelopes of Cash, where 1 = current month, 2 = next month, 3 = month after next, etc.

For example, say you choose a Green 5 die in the month of June. That means you get 5 green Envelopes of Cash in Month 5, which in this case is October.

In each month, you also have the option, if you choose, to accept half the number of Envelopes of Cash (rounded down, but never below 1) in any of the next six months (where the current month counts as Month 1). So if you choose a Green 5, but you don't want them in month 5 (October in the example above) you could also accept 2 Green (5/2 = 2.5, rounded down to 2) in any of the other available months.

Thus, in the second half of the game, it's ok if you choose a 5 or 6 even if there aren't five or six months left in the game, because you can always choose to divide the value by two (again, dividing down, never below 1) and then you can place it in any of the remaining months.

Once everyone has placed Envelopes of Cash in the appropriate months, players now move Envelopes of Cash from the current month on the Calendar to their Player Mats, as they will also be available to spend these this turn.

Cut-Throat Mode for Dice Drafting. Want a real challenge? Instead of everyone drafting the dice at the same time, with duplicates allowed, draft the dice in turn order, with no repeat use of a die allowed (for 2-3 players) or only 1 repeat use (for 4 players, or for easier drafting with 2-3). If you think recruiting is a dirty game, just wait until someone snipes that green 6 die you absolutely need.

Once drafted, dice still are used the same way as in the standard game – either take the number of ECs rolled in the color of the chosen die on the month corresponding to the number rolled, or take half (rounded down, no less than 1) in any of the other available months.

Before You Start: First-Game Tips

In Envelopes of Cash, you're going to be trying to score more points than your opponents by balancing a variety of scoring mechanisms. During the game itself, you can score points by paying for the cards you draft each turn (drafting is free, but to actually use the cards, you have to pay their cost, in Envelopes of Cash, and when you pay for them you immediately score their point value, which can range from 1 to 6 star points. With the potential to score 12 cards over the course of a game, that could be 12-30 star points (or possibly more) by the end of the game. Some cards also will earn you end-of-game points as well, which might add another 10-20 points, depending on your focus.

You'll also be moving your bus around the country, recruiting athletes. Thematically, this is the heart of the game and every time you recruit an athlete you potentially score points three ways. When you sign a Recruit, you'll immediately score points based on the quality of the athlete, measured in stars. If you get, say, 10 athletes over the course of the game, you might expect to earn another 30 star points to your score. Each Recruit you land will also contribute to the two major end-of-game scoring mechanisms. First you will score more points for each unique position you recruit at least one of, and the values escalate as you approach the maximum of 32 points for having all 8 positions. Second, you will score more points for each Recruit you get from whatever region of the country you've recruited from the most. (Note that Border States count for either region, at your choice). If you manage to max out a region, with 10 recruits, you can score 32 points this way too.

There are a few other miscellaneous ways to get points, but that's the heart of the game and that's how you'll be trying to win: taking the cards you draft and putting them into play for points, but also so you can use the benefits those cards provide, and then moving around the country to recruit athletes, to score points in multiple ways. How best to do that is part of the fun of learning the game, but to give you some initial tips, the game is designed to be played differently from game to game, and often your best strategy will be to adjust your strategy to what the cards and dice give you. Above all, do not be afraid to take several short turns (especially early on) if those turns are tactically sound ways to set up a strong turn midway through the game. A strong turn, where your strategy comes together and lets you create a powerful engine that can power you through the rest of the game, can be very satisfying.

As for what, specifically, to do on your first turn, there are basically two schools of thought: you can either think long-term or try to jump out to a quick start. In the long-term play, you'll take full value dice in the first half of the game, clustering your Envelopes of Cash in July or August for a blowout month where you will put a lot of cards in play, and then, if possible, also move your Bus and do a lot of recruiting. In this case, turn one is simple - draft your first card assuming it won't be in play until, say, September, take 5s and 6s for dice (at full value), and then on your turn, use your free Bus movement, spend 1 Booster Buck on marketing, and declare your turn done. (If you're using the 1 Envelope of Cash per turn rule, either use that Envelope of Cash to recruit, send it by Runner, or start using Vegas as a way to push Envelopes of Cash into the future).

In a quick-start play, you'll want to draft cheap cards with benefits you can use during the game (or perhaps simply assume you'll let your cards expire unplayed in six months), draft large-value dice but take them at half-value in March, and focus your Envelopes of Cash on getting that first card if you can (so you can start getting its benefits right away), or on recruiting the athlete you can reach using your free movement, augmented if necessary with extra Envelopes of Cash. Instead of spending Booster Bucks on marketing, assume you use Envelopes of Cash to send leftover Envelopes of Cash by Runner, or else use Vegas strategically by betting on low values of the colors you really need for next turn. In either strategy, if possible, always try to mix in some large full-value dice as you go along so that you don't run out of steam in Q3 or Q4.

Playing Out the Month

You play out your turn doing the following nine actions, in any order you want. Generally speaking, during your turn, you're allowed to undo your move and go back to the beginning, etc., though if you roll the 12-sided VMD, you can't undo your turn to any point before that die roll. Unless indicated, you can repeat an action as many times as you want. When you are finished with the month, you'll trigger the ninth possible action, which is to declare your turn over, passing to the next player. Once you do this, your turn is locked in. No redos of past months.

Players perform their turns in player order, starting with the Starting Player. However, you can often speed up play quite a bit, especially at the start of the game, by taking turns simultaneously. This is fine and can make for a more enjoyable game. However, as players get close to each other and may be vying for the same Recruit(s), players should revert to strict turn order to ensure fairness.

1) Put a card (or cards) into play.

For any card you have placed on your Calendar that you have not yet put into play (by paying for it and moving it onto your Player Mat), you can pay (discard) the required number of Envelopes of Cash indicated on the top of the card and put it into play by moving it from your Calendar to your Player Mat. Note that the colors of the Envelopes of Cash you play must match the card's cost exactly unless you have already put a card in play that allows you to change the cost or use substitute forms of payment. For example, the Airport Hub card lets you reduce the cost of all Fundraising cards by 1 Envelope of Cash. In a single month, you can put into play as many unplayed cards from your Calendar as you want, as long as you can continue to pay the Envelope of Cash cost. And you can perform other actions in between each card you put into play, if you wish. Some cards help lower the cost of putting a card into play (e.g., "Extra Envelopes" lets you reduce the cost of all cards by one Envelope of Cash of your choice). If you are given a discount on Envelopes of Cash, you may choose which Envelope of Cash you don't need to pay, which may make it easier to put a card in play.

When you put a card into play, immediately score the value indicated by the number on the card, like the 2 star points on this card which shows it is worth 2 points when put into play. Note that some cards indicate that they score additional points at the end of the game with an End of Game symbol. Do NOT score these points when you put the card into play, just score the star value of the card. You will add points for any "End of Game" values at the end of the game. For example the Analytics Nerd scores 2 points when put into play, and then will also score additional points at the end of the game based on its Border State recruiting.

Envelopes of Cash is one of those games that can sometimes start off a little bit slowly. Depending on how the dice roll, games can take until June or even August to really get rolling. Especially on your first turn, you may find you do not have a lot of activities you can perform. That's totally okay and you should not get discouraged. Recruiting, like revenge, is a dish best served cold. If you find your first few moves end rather quickly, that may just be a sign that you're gearing up for an awesome finish and a really high score. Part of the fun of this game is choosing between value now and more value later and you'll have to figure out for yourself which works best for you.

2) Use a card that is already in play.

For any card already in play (even cards you put in play this same turn) you can use the effect listed on that card. If a card has the Once per Month symbol, then you may use that card one time only in each month, unless you have put a card in play that allows you to do a double card-use. Some cards require you to have certain resources (like a Booster Buck or an Envelope of Cash) and if you do not, you may not use the card this turn. Once you've used a Once-per-Month card you should turn it sideways or mark it with one of your tokens to remind you it has already been used (gamers call this "tapping" the card). Don't forget to "untap" the cards (turn the cards back up) when you finish your turn so the cards are clearly available for the next turn.

Cards that have the End of Game symbol in the bottom left corner of the card CANNOT be used during monthly play; they only trigger when the game ends. Cards that have the Program Upgrade symbol can be used as often as they are eligible to be used.

3) Trade Envelopes of Cash.

Sometimes you will find yourself with the wrong color Envelopes of Cash in a given turn. You can trade in your Envelopes of Cash at a base cost of 3 to 1, but to do so you must also pay 1 Booster Buck. That is, if you have Envelopes of Cash you don't want, but what you really need is a different color, you can simply turn in the 3 Envelopes of Cash you don't want. Discard one Booster Buck and take the Envelope of Cash you need. You can do this as many times as you would like each turn, with any combination of Envelopes of Cash traded in, at a cost of one Booster Buck per trade. You can perform other actions in between your trade-ins. Also, there are a few cards that let you lower that cost by 1 Booster Buck for all colors, or avoid the one Booster Buck cost, or get other benefits when trading in Envelopes of Cash. This will make trading in envelopes a more affordable/viable tactic.

Cut-Throat Mode for Trading. Want a real challenge? Pay 2 Envelopes of Cash instead of a Booster Buck to trade in envelopes. Painful!

4) Travel in your Recruiting Bus.

On each turn from March until November, you will get free movement points. You get 3 free movement points in Q1 (March–May), 2 free movement points in Q2 (June–August), and 1 free movement point in Q3 (September–November). The amount is also indicated on each Calendar, in case you forget.

Cut-Throat Mode for Travel. Want a real challenge? No free movement allowed. You will start out slower but the game will then involve more of a tradeoff between (a) players working for a massive "big bang" turn later in the game vs. (b) trying to beat other players quickly to the best recruits.

In addition to the free movement, you may also move additional spaces by spending 1 Envelope of Cash for each additional space along the Recruiting Trail you wish to move your Recruiting Bus. You may do this action as many times as you want during your turn, as long as you have 1 Envelope of Cash to pay for each space you wish to move on the map. The color of the Envelope of Cash does not matter for moving the Bus. You may also do this before and after other actions (such as if you want to sign up a Recruit in the middle of making recruiting contacts). Your Bus can share a space with another player's Bus. When moving, every State space (square) and Border State (large rectangle) counts as one space, as does every small circle on the map between States.

5) Pay a Runner.

If you have Envelopes of Cash that you want to use to pay a Recruit, but you are not able to reach the Recruit's space this turn (or don't have the full cost yet), you can send him a payment through a Runner. To do this, pay the Runner 1 Booster Buck (i.e., discard it) and place the number of Envelopes of Cash you are sending next to the Recruit's token with one of your Player Symbols on top. So if you are playing as the yellow player, and want to send Envelopes of Cash to a Recruit in Wisconsin, you would discard 1 Booster Buck in the general supply and then place the Envelopes of Cash plus a Player token next to the Wisconsin space and the Recruit. If you get to Wisconsin before anyone has signed the Recruit in Wisconsin, you can include those Envelopes of Cash as part of your payment of the full price of recruiting him. However, be careful; if another player signs the recruit before you do, your Envelopes of Cash are lost.

If you send Envelopes of Cash via a Runner to a Border State and there are still two Recruits available, you will need to indicate which of the two Recruits you are recruiting. Do this by placing your player token abutting the Recruit you're recruiting.

You can use Runners to send Envelopes of Cash to as many Recruits as you want. Runners charge by the delivery, so each time you use a Runner (even if it's for a Recruit you've paid previously), you will need to make a separate payment of 1 Booster Buck. However, you can send as many envelopes (even of two colors) to a single Recruit in a single Month for just 1 Booster Buck.

6) Sign Recruits.

If your Recruiting Bus reaches a State that still has a Recruit available, and you can afford to pay the cost in Envelopes of Cash (including any Envelopes of Cash you already sent by Runner), you may sign that Recruit to your program. Pay the price, take the State token for that State (or one of the two if in a Border State) and the Recruit token and put them on your Player Mat. Roll the Value Modifier Die (VMD) to determine the Value Modifier (VM), and apply the VM to the number of stars on the State token (e.g., if you roll a VM of -1, you deduct one star from the value of the State token you've just picked up). Never deduct so much from a Recruit that his value becomes zero. The lowest he can be worth is 1 star point. If you have cards that you have put into play that modify a Recruit's value, be sure to apply them after you apply the impact of the VMD. For example the "Quarterback Meeting Room" card lets you double the star value whenever you recruit a Quarterback (QB), so you would first modify the value of the QB, up or down according to the VMD roll, and then multiply by 2 for the Quarterback Meeting Room's effect. Apply the VMD impact and adjust based on any card modifiers that apply, then advance your Player token on the star track by that number of star points.

If you are recruiting in a Border State where no one else has recruited yet, you have your choice of which Recruit you want. If you can afford both Recruits, you may take them both in the same month or different months.

Some cards allow you to earn a bonus Booster Buck or an Envelope of Cash or a star point when scoring a Recruit, and so be sure to trigger those cards if applicable (once per signed recruit) but apply it after the impact of the VMD. For example the "National Pregame Show on Campus" card gives you an extra star point every time you sign up a Recruit. Score these card-driven bonuses right away by advancing your Player token along the star point track.

Note that sometimes you will sign a Recruit who has received recruiting packages via Runners from other players earlier in the game. When you sign this Recruit, the previously sent Envelopes of Cash from the other player are wasted. Give the players back their Player Symbol tokens and discard any Envelopes of Cash that were sent through Runners to the Recruit. They snoozed, they lose. But the same applies for you, so don't sleep on your partially committed Recruits.

7) Run a Marketing Campaign.

Once per turn, you may run a Marketing Campaign. This is a way to turn Booster Bucks into star points, but unlike most other actions, you may only perform this action once per turn. You can spend between 1 and 8 Booster Bucks, and you'll receive more star points the more you spend, but as you buy more points, the cost of each point (per month) tends to get higher.

So 1 star point costs just 1 Booster Buck, but if you want 2 star points in a single month, it will cost 3 Booster Bucks, and 3 star points cost 5 Booster Bucks, etc. (If you have already put the "Development Office" card into play, you score an extra star point each turn you pay for at least 1 star point through a marketing campaign.) To be clear, prices reset each month: 1 star point will cost 1 Booster Buck in April, even if you bought 1 star point for 1 Booster Buck in March. The Marketing action can only be performed once per month, though you can undo your marketing campaign if you did it earlier in the month and want to revise the plan.

If you spend 3 Booster Bucks, you will get 2 star points.

Generally speaking, during your turn, you're allowed to undo your move and go back to the beginning, etc. Once you declare your turn done and pass control to the next player, though, you're locked in.

8) Place Wagers in Vegas.

If you have leftover Envelopes of Cash and you do not want to travel any further this month, and you don't want/can't afford to sign any Recruits or pay any Runners, you can spend your leftover Envelopes of Cash to place bets on the "Vegas" Table. Pay as many Envelopes of Cash as you want and for each Envelope of Cash you pay, place one of your Player tokens on any number/color combination you want. This is like placing a craps bet or placing a bet on a roulette wheel.

On the next die roll (in the following month), if any of your Player tokens match the number/color combination of one or more of the dice that are rolled, you win 1 star point plus 2 Envelopes of Cash tokens for each matching Player Symbol token. You receive the Envelopes of Cash for use in the month in which the dice are rolled.

All Bets Are On! It does not matter what color of Envelope of Cash you spent to get a token to gamble in Vegas. You may bet on any color you wish. When you win, you will win 2 Envelopes of Cash in the color of the die you bet on, not the color you spent.

Note: if you place a wager in February (the last month), it would be a total waste of a move, because there won't be another die roll or another turn to use any winnings. So don't be a chump.

In this example the yellow player paid 2 Envelopes of Cash (of any color) to place two bets and the orange player paid 1 Envelope of Cash (of any color) for a single bet. Yellow bet on 2 Green and 1 Blue. Orange bet on 4 Magenta.

9) Declare your turn over.

The final action of each month is to announce your turn is over. You usually won't have any leftover Envelopes of Cash when you finish a month (except maybe in February), since you can always move your Bus another space, use Runners to send Envelopes of Cash to Recruits (if you can/want to spend 1 Booster Buck) or place Wagers in Vegas, but if you do have leftover Envelopes of Cash, discard them now. Your turn is over for the month and the next player takes his/her turn. At this point, your decisions for the turn get locked in, so make sure you're content with your actions for the month. If you are the last player for the month, then the End of the Month process begins.

What Happens in Vegas ...

There is a card called "Bookie with Ties to the Program" that lets you temporarily alter the pips on one die each month. If you have this card, you may use it to alter the die (just when checking the Vegas results) and thus potentially change the outcome of your bet (e.g., changing from a losing roll to a winning roll). Also the "Playing the Angles" card rewards you for having bad luck, and so if you "crap out" don't forget to use this card if you have put it into play.

End of the Month

At the end of the month, you will pass the Starting Player Chain token clockwise so that there will be a new Starting Player (or if you are using the optional bidding rules below, the next player will become the Auctioneer as explained below). In May, August, or November, remove all of the cards from the discard pool and remove them from the game, and then deal a single, fresh card to the discard pool to replace the cards that just got removed. In a four-player game, after November, shuffle all previously discarded cards to make a new deck, which you will need when the original deck runs out. Advance all players' Coach's Whistles to the next month. In February, remove all of the cards from the face-up pool and remove them from the game, but don't deal out any new cards to the discard pool.

If the new month is September or later, you will also remove from the game any unplayed cards (on Players' Calendars) from five months earlier. Thus, at the end of August as you advance to September, any Player with an unplayed card in March removes the card from the game. Similarly, at the end of September as you advance to October, any Player with an unplayed card in April removes the card from the game, etc. There is no penalty, but you lose the chance to earn the point value of the card, and you won't be able to get the benefit of its abilities. This ensures that the space above September is empty for you to put a new card into during the September card draft, above October for the October card draft, etc., because you will be reusing the same six Calendar spaces for September through February as you did for March through August. This process happens at the end of every month, August through January. At the end of February, you remove all unplayed cards from the game, just prior to going into the End of Game process.

As September becomes October, you will remove any unplayed April cards from the game.

End of the Game

After you play the last turn (February), it is time for National Signing Day. At this point, each recruiting class is set in stone and you, as the Head Coach, will be judged against your peers for who had the best recruiting class, represented by who gained the largest star point total.

End of Game Cards

In addition to any star points you have earned during the game, you should check to see if you have any "End of Game" cards. These have the End of Game symbol on them. Score any points you have earned from these by moving yourself further along the star point track. Some of these cards are just flat points, others require a little math.

The Blue Blood Program is simple: it gives you 7 points at the end of the game.

The Campus Master Plan is more complex: it gives you 1 point for every Culture card (as indicated by the Culture symbol) you put into play (including the Campus Master Plan itself!).

Run One Final Marketing Campaign

Players who have any Booster Bucks left over may conduct one additional marketing campaign using the Marketing Table on the board. If they have any leftover Booster Bucks after this, save them to serve as a tiebreaker.

Positional Scoring

Now count up how many unique positions you recruited. You get points equal to the corresponding value on the Positional Scoring Table. So if you have recruited 3 distinct positions, you would score 4 points. If you have recruited at least one of all 8 positions, you would get the maximum possible score for this element of the game, 32 points.

At the end of the game, if a player has recruited recruits who play 3 different positions, that player will score 4 star points. If they have recruited 7 different positions, they will get 24 star points.

Regional Scoring

Finally, find the region of the country from which you recruited the most players. (You may count recruits from Border States as being in whichever region you want, but just one, so obviously group them into whichever region scores you the most points). Add up the total number of State tokens you have from that region and look on the Regional Scoring Table to determine the star point value of that effort. Add this to your star point total. Only score one Region!

For example, if a player has recruited 3 athletes from the South, plus one athlete from a border state that borders the South, then that player gets 5 star points for having 4 recruits from the South. If another player got all 4 recruits from the Northwest, plus 2 adjacent border state recruits, that player would get 18 at the end of the game. A player's 4 recruits score 5 star points. The Northwest player's 6 recruits score 18 star points.

Determining the Winner (and Breaking Ties)

The winner is the person who scored the most star points. That person gets a (fake) $1,000,000 retention bonus and wins the game. In the case of a tie, the person who has the most leftover Booster Bucks wins. If there is still a tie, whoever recruited the most unique position groups wins. If it is still a tie, all tied players cut a deck of cards and the highest card wins. Repeat until there is a winner, dang it! We don't have ties in college football anymore.

For the winner, congratulations – you've earned "$1 million" while exploiting unpaid labor! For the losers, at least you're likely to get a generous buyout when it comes time to fire you. You're really all winners, after all, since you got paid millions and didn't even have to risk an on-field injury. Well done!

Optional Variant Rules: Bidding for the Starting Player Chain

If you want to play the game with some added complexity and strategic interaction, you may find this auction mechanic a fun addition. Instead of simply passing the Starting Player Chain after each month to give the next player the right to go first, when you pass the Starting Player Chain, what you have done is simply choose the Auctioneer (i.e., the next player to auction off the Starting Player Chain). The Auctioneer puts the Starting Player Chain up for bid. All other players (clockwise from the Auctioneer) may bid for the Chain using Booster Bucks, bidding at least one more Booster Buck than the prior bidder, until no one wishes to raise the bid any further. Once a player passes out of the bidding, he/she may not re-enter the bidding. Once the bidding ends, the Auctioneer may then choose to sell to the highest bidder or to keep the Chain for him/herself. To keep the Chain, the Auctioneer must pay an amount equal to whatever the highest bidder offered, minus 1 Booster Buck. Otherwise the high bidder wins the Chain and becomes the Starting Player, paying the Auctioneer one Booster Buck more than the second-highest bid (or the exact number of Booster Bucks bid if there was only one bid). If no one bids at all, the Auctioneer becomes the Starting Player and keeps the Chain for free.

Credits

Many thanks also to our initial card adopters: John S, Nicole A, Sarah S, Joel A, David W, Wendell H, Manali K, Ricky V, Melodi D, Nancy S, Keith S, Michael F, Pablo T., Carolyn S., and Reid S.

Even greater thanks to the Kickstarter Backers who Adopted Cards: Doug Zona, Brandon Prince, RJ Young, Joseph Daltoso, Max Thompson, Derek Dodson, Scott Wilson, Martin Duus, Jim Bryan, Zach, Steve Harrington, Kristen Williams, Brock Aldrich, Mojo the Cat, Nick Ortner, Zach Binney, Jacob Prhaska, Craig Norris, Michael Shottey, Ty Shcalter, Clay Carroll, Steve Holler, and Geoffrey Tanner.

Game Design: Andy Schwarz Lead Illustrator: Miah Rose Serdone Assistant Illustrator: Therese Ureta Graphical Consultation: T. Wyeth Rules: Andy Schwarz Rulebook Graphical Design: Sean Kenny Mentorship: Juli B. Proofreading: MojoCat Playtesters include: Astrid, Judy, John, Ben, Brandon, Lance, Enrique, Seth, John, TWB, and MVD.

Inspiration provided by great German game designers, most especially Stefan Feld, Uwe Rosenberg, Karen & Andreas Seyfarth, and Andreas Steding.

This game is dedicated to Melodi, my sine qua non.

Envelopes of Cash Rules Summary

Playing Out Each of the 12 Months (March through February)

1. Draft Cards (Deal 3 Cards to Starting Player, 2 to all others)
2. Draft Dice (all Players Choose 2 Dice, take corresponding Envelopes of Cash)
3. Each Player Plays Out a Full Month of Actions:
   1. Pay for drafted cards to put them into play. Score star points based on the star value of the card.
   2. Use cards already in play, including cards put into play this month, if conditions are met.
   3. Trade in Envelopes of Cash. Trade in any 3 Envelopes of Cash in any color(s) and 1 Booster Buck for 1 Envelope of Cash in any color.
   4. Move the bus. Some movement is free until December. Additional movement costs 1 Envelope of Cash per space.
   5. Sign a Recruit. Be on a Recruit's State space and have the required Envelopes of Cash available in the current month. Roll the VMD, apply any other modifiers, score this modified star point value immediately.
   6. Send Envelopes of Cash via a Runner. Pay 1 Booster Buck and place the chosen Envelopes of Cash next to Recruit with a Player token on top.
   7. Run a Marketing Campaign (Once per turn). Spend Booster Bucks to receive star points, based on the Marketing Table.
   8. Go to Vegas. Pay 1 Envelope of Cash to place a Player token on one color/number combination on the Vegas Table.
   9. Declare your turn over. All leftover Envelopes of Cash must be discarded at this point.

End of the Month (Players prepare for the next month or the end of the game)

• If it is not February, advance the Coach's Whistles one month. Pass Starting Player Chain clockwise.
• If it is the end of May, August, or November, empty the Discard Pool. Deal one new card up to the pool.
• If it is the end of August or later, discard any cards still on players' Calendars from five months earlier. In a 4-player game, after November, shuffle all previously discarded cards and put at bottom of deck.

End of the Game Scoring

• Score for any card marked with an End of Game symbol.
• Perform a final Marketing Campaign using the Marketing Table. Leftover Booster Bucks are the tiebreaker.
• Score from the Position Point Table and the Regional Point Table.