Pass the Buck: A Game of Corporate Responsibility Management
Pass the Buck: A Game of Corporate Responsibility Management Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 50 Task Cards
- 36 standard Task cards plus 14 special Task cards
- 24 Department Cards
- 4 each of 6 departments: I.T., Customer Service, Communications, Sales, Legal, & Marketing
- 11 Business Cards
- 5 Level 1/2, 3 Level 3/4, 1 Level 5
- 5 HR/Delegator Rules cards
Setup
Shuffle the Task cards and the Department cards. Each player is dealt one HR/Delegator Rules Card, one Level 1 Business Card, one Task Card, and one Department Card.
Players display their Business Card but always hide their Department(s) and Tasks. It's very important that players do not reveal their Department cards, so it's best to keep them face-down on the table. Use the Human Resources/Delegator Rules Card as a quick rules reference during play. Randomly select a player to go first as Delegator. Buzz-word banter and corporate roleplaying are encouraged.
Winning
The first person eliminate all their tasks and be promoted to CEO (Level 5) wins.
Delegating and Completing Tasks
Each player takes a turn as the "Delegator," asking each player once, in no required order, to take one Task in their hand based on one of its required Departments.
If the queried player claims to be in the required Department, they must add the Delegator's Task to their hand, and the Delegator continues their turn. If the player claims not to be in the required Department, the Delegator continues their turn.
At any point during the Delegator's turn, they may optionally complete one of their own Tasks as long as it is within their Department, placing the completed Task face-up in the discard pile. They do not need to specify to the other players which of the Task's Departments they are in.
If at any point the task pile is depleted, shuffle and reuse the tasks in the discard pile.
Falsifying Information
A player can bluff about whether they can take a Task. If the player bluffs and gets away with it, the turn moves on as normal. If the Delegator believes a player is bluffing, the Delegator can say "I'm calling HR" to force the player to tell the truth. (The player does not physically reveal their Department card, they only verbally confirm whether or not they lied.)
If the player lied, that player must take all of the Delegator's Tasks pertaining to the Department in question, and add them to their own hand. The Delegator's turn then continues as normal.
If the player told the truth, the Delegator must draw one new Task, and their turn is over even if there are remaining players to be queried, or if they haven't completed a task of their own yet.
NOTE: A Delegator cannot lie to complete one of their own Tasks.
Promotions
Each time a player eliminates all the Tasks in their hand, they are Promoted to the next level Business Card and given new Tasks in the amount of their new level (take two tasks for Level 2, three tasks for Level 3, etc), and one additional Department card, so a Player's total number of Departments will always equal their Level.
A Promotion during a Delegator's turn signifies the end of their turn.
Discarding Unplayable Cards
If a Delegator possesses a Task card that they feel they can't complete or give to another player, they may discard it and draw two new Task cards in lieu of completing a Task within their own Department. This may be done at any point during a Delegator's turn.
Special Cards
Special Cards appear as Tasks, but rather than requiring a Department to eliminate them, they have unique effects on the game. Each card explains its own effects. The special cards are:
- Lateral Movement (6)
- "Out of Office" Reply (2)
- Meeting (2)
- Full Disclosure (2)
- Nepotism (2)
There is no limit to the number of Special Cards that a player can use each turn (within the effects of the card).
Optional: Shorter Games
To shorten play time, play to a lower maximum level (such as Level 3 Director or Level 4 V.P.) and/or enforce time limits on Delegator turns.