Mid-Life Crisis
Mid-Life Crisis Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
To get through your middle years with more money, less stress, and fewer divorce points than your opponents. Or to declare a MID-LIFE CRISIS. (see rules) In which case you must go broke, get divorced, and crack up before anyone else reaches the end of the game.
To Start
Give each player a Score Card. Choose a pawn and place it on START. Choose a career from the Score Card. (Do not duplicate.) Each player starts with $25,000 and 500 Stress Points. Each player is married at the start of play and has no Divorce Points.
To Play
Decide by some amicable means who shall go first. The play proceeds counter-clockwise. The first player rolls the die and moves their pawn the number of spaces indicated by the die. The player then follows the directions given in that space.
Crisis Cards
Read cards aloud as they will instruct you to suffer or benefit from circumstances beyond your control. You receive them by landing on a Crisis Card space, or on a space marked simply with the word Crisis. Once you have read and followed the card's instructions it is returned to the bottom of the deck.
Zap Cards
These cards will enable to to take a shot at your opponents. You receive them by landing on a ZAP card space, or space markes simply as ZAP. They may be used against any player ahead of you but only in your age group. A SUPER ZAP CARD (marked on the card) may be used against any player anywhere on the board. As you accumulate ZAP CARDS you need not show them to your opponents. When a player gives you a ZAP CARD you must accept it, read it aloud, and benefit or suffer from it's consequences. When you have done so return it to the bottom of the ZAP DECK. Your accumulated ZAP CARDS count as MINUS -$1,000 each in the final tally. You may give a player one ZAP CARD whenever it is your turn but if you do you may not advance your pawn.
Career Spaces
If you land on a career space, (Doctor, Attorney, ect.) you must pay the indicated amount to the player holding that career. If you land on your own career you neither gain nor lose. If no one holds that career you must deduct the amount from your score.
Retreats
These are found at the very center of the board and are the places you go should you lose your money, your mind or your spouse.
Crack-up Ranch
If you accumulate 1,500 Stress Points you are obligated to go to Crack-up Ranch where, with the aid of intensive therapy, you can shed -500 Stress Points for each turn you choose to miss down to a minimum of 500 Stress Points. You re-enter the board on the first space of the age group you were in when your cracked-up.
Divorce Gulch
If you accumulate three Divorce Points you must go to Divorce Gulch in the center of the board. Due to reconciliation attempts you may discard one Divorce Point per turn spent there. You re-enter the board on the first space of the age group you were in when you left.
Bankrupt City
If you go bankrupt you must go to Bankrupt City in the cneter of the baord while there you parlay loose change into a small fortune and earn +5,000 per turn spent there up to 5 turns. You re-enter the board on the first space of the age group you were in when you went bankrupt.
Passage Spaces
A player may not continue past a Passage Space without stopping on it. For example: If you roll a six and the Passage Space is only one away, you must stop on the Passage Space. A life crisis can be forced on a player in a Passage Space when the following conditions exist:
- The Crisis candidate must have more then 500 Stress Points.
- The Crisis giver must be behind the candidate and in the same age group.
If you choose to give a crisis to a player you may not advance your pwan until your next turn. You may impose a life crisis on a player in the Passage Space and ZAP that player at the same time.
Passage Spaces. (contunied)
Choose One of the Following Crises:
- Have the candidate add one Divorce Point.
- Have the candidate add 200 stress Points.
- Require the candidate to lose 10% of thier money.
- Hypnosis - Note this can only be given as a crises if the crisis giver has the Psychiatrist career. For the rest of the game whenever the crisis candidate reads a card aloud. Right after they finish reading a card they must also say a phraze chosen by the crisis giver. If the crisis candidate fails to say the phraze assinged to them then ADD +100 Stress Points to their score for each violation. Limit 1 violation per card they read aloud.
Only one player may impose a crisis on the player in the Passage Space. When the player leaves the Passage Space they may take advantage of one of the following:
- Subtract -200 Stress Points.
- Subtract one Divorce Point.
- Add +$2,000.
Declaration of MID-LIFE CRISIS
A player who has attained 3 Divorce Points, or 1,500 Stress Points, or has lost all of their money, may at that time declare a MID-LIFE CRISIS. In which case they must succeed in going broke, getting divorced, and cracking up before anyone else gets to the finish line. If they succeed in doing so they are automaticly declared the winner of the game. To declare a MID-LIFE CRISIS the declaration of Mid-Life Crisis statement on the certificite must be read aloud. (See certificite.) Once you have made your declaration, you may then use Stress Points in excess of 1,500, and Divorce Points in excess of 3 as deductions to your money supply in the same amounts as described in "Determining the Winner."
Ending the game.
The game ends in one of the following two ways:
-
A player declaring a Mid-Life Crisis succeeds in going broke, getting divorced, and cracking up before another player reaches the Finish Line.
-
A player reaches the Finish Line. That player need not reach the Finish Line exactly on the number rolled on the die.
Determining the Winner
At the end of the game...
For each ZAP CARD in your possession deduct -$1,000. For every 100 Stress Points. Deduct -$1,000. For each Divorce Point deduct -$1,000.
The person with the most money left after deducting Divorce Points, ZAP CARDS, and Stress Points wins the game.
GOOD LUCK!
Score Card
(Heading added by the transcriber; the scorecard page is untitled.)
The printed Score Card has a checkbox for each career: Psychiatrist, Attorney, Pro Athlete, Doctor, Accountant, and Realtor. It has columns for Money (+, −, Total), Stress Pts. (+, −, Total) and Divorce Pts. (+, −, T.). The pre-filled starting line reads 25,000 under Money, 500 under Stress Pts. and 0 under Divorce Pts.
The Score Card prints the following reference notes beside the columns:
Stress Points:
- 500 Points = Normal aggravation needed to sustain life.
- 800 Points = Occasional heart palpitations.
- 1200 Points = You snap at friends, shortness of breath, problems relating to others.
- 1500 Points = Crying jags. Memory lapses — go to CRACK-UP RANCH.
Divorce Points:
- 1 Point = Normal disharmony.
- 2 Points = Seek Counseling or brain surgery.
- 3 Points = Time to go to DIVORCE GULCH.
Money column:
- 0 Points = Go to BANKRUPT CITY.