PornStar
PornStar Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What You Need To Play
- The Porn Star game cards
- A healthy endowment... of good attitude!
- A big wad...of cash! (use play money from other board games or just keep track on paper)
- Some markers
- A bunch of 6-sided dice
The Cards
There are three types of cards in Porn Star: Stars, Films, and Play Cards.
Stars represent the "performers" in your "stable." They are the talent that the adoring public is buying your films to see. Each Star card lists the gender of the performer and whatever special talents that performer may have (known as a Specialty). Gather more Stars with varied talents and abilities to increase your chances of having a hit Film. Each Star also has a Maintenance cost and a Filming cost. The Maintenance cost must be paid each round or you lose the Star; the Filming cost must be paid whenever you make a Film with that Star. If you pay a Star's Filming cost you do not also have to pay Maintenance that turn.
Films are what you produce. A Film card will list the title of the film, what combination of Stars is required to produce this Film, and what it will cost you to produce this Film. For example, "You've Got Male" requires at least 3 Males, and has a Specialty of "Shaved". To produce this film, you obviously need at least three Males in your stable, and if one of them has the Shaved Specialty you get a bonus of +1 to your die roll when you produce the Film. You can produce more than one Film on any given turn, but the same Stars cannot work on more than one Film on any given turn.
Play Cards (Events, Enhancements, and Specials) are what make the business interesting. They represent random events, unpredictable market forces, and the sheer ruthlessness of other competing studios. If a Play card ever contradicts the basic rules, go with what the Play card says.
The Setup
Steal the play money from any board game that comes equipped with it and deal out $300 to each player. This will actually represent three hundred thousand dollars (each dollar actually represents one thousand dollars, since most board games don't come with several million dollars of play money), the capital your studios start off with for developing your first fine work of cinematography. Not bad for merchants of evil, eh?
Shuffle all cards together and deal a hand of five cards to each player. If you do not get at least one Star in your opening hand you may discard and draw five new cards. All players may immediately put face-up on the table any Stars they have drawn in their opening hand, then re-draw to fill their hands to five cards (do not repeat this placing of Stars after you refill your hand - the first time was a freebie).
The youngest player goes first and play proceeds to the left (clockwise).
Playing the Game
On your turn, you begin by gathering the Residuals from each Film you have already produced. Residuals are the cash generated by follow-up sales and rentals, and while they are never as much as the cash you get immediately upon the release of a film, it's nice to have a little income on the side. For each Film that you already have produced, roll one die, add or subtract any modifiers, and consult the Residual Rolls Table to determine how much you get paid.
If a Film generated $0, it has Wanked. Turn the card sideways (in game lingo, "Wank your card") as a reminder. If the Film generates $0 for a second consecutive turn, turn the card over; it has "Wanked Out". The Film has gone out of favor and will generate no further Residuals. But keep it nearby - you never know when it may come back into favor!
Your Turn
Once you have generated your Residuals and added them to your big wad (of cash), draw one card from the pile. You may draw extra cards by paying $10 for each card past the first, to a maximum of three (for $30 total). You may then put into play any Stars you have in your hand by placing them face-up on the table in front of you. You must play at least one Star if you are able to do so! You do not need to pay Maintenance costs for a Star on the turn you bring them into play but you can use them in Films immediately. New Films are played face-up for all to see and verify that you have the proper arrangement of Stars. When a Film is successfully produced, you put it off to the side so you can deal with the residual income from the Film on following turns.
At the end of your turn, pay Maintenance fees for any Stars not used in Films this turn, and then play passes on to your left (clockwise).
There is no limit to the size of your hand at any time, but similarly you cannot discard cards just to get them out of your hand.
Play Cards
Play Cards are played in a number of different ways depending on what the card does; some of them affect your opponent's Stars or Films and some affect your own! Also, some may generally affect the conditions of play. Leave any cards with lasting effects (such as Enhancements or "Nostalgia Fetish" cards) face up with the targeted Star or Film (when appropriate) to indicate that they are still active and may affect play.
Wheelin' and Dealin'
In addition to playing cards, a player may make deals or trades with other players at any time. These deals can involve swapping or "renting" Stars from the players' stables, exchanging cards from the players' hands, or just about anything else that is agreeable to all consenting parties. For example, Kevin wishes to produce the film "Live from the Rock Hard Café," but finds he only has 2 females and 1 male in his stable. Gail has a male Star who happens to be Pierced (the Specialty for the Film). Kevin asks to borrow Gail's Pierced male Star to make his Film, in return for which he will split all Residuals from the Film 50-50 with her.
Keep in mind that the person who actually produced the Film is the one who is handed the cash from the bank, so Kevin could decide, after making this deal, to just keep the Residuals for himself. But then other players will be less likely to want to enter into deals with him. Plus he got a ride from Gail tonight, and it's a long walk home.
Any Star can only be used once on any player's turn. So if you use a Star in a Film on your turn, the next player could borrow that same Star for one of her Films, but neither of you can use the same Star in more than one Film per turn. It's called "refraction", people!
Maintaining Your Stars
Each turn you do not use a Star in a Film you must pay for the Star's Maintenance - the cost of keeping the Star hanging around your Stable. If you do not or cannot pay this amount, the Star immediately goes up for Auction. The opening bid is the Star's Maintenance cost, and whoever goes the highest gets the Star. Money from the auction goes into the bank, not to the player losing the Star. If no one bids on the Star at all, the Star is shuffled back into what remains of the Play deck.
Cashflow Problems
If at any time you run completely out of money you have two choices: you can either beg your fellow players for a loan, or you can simply give up and accept that you have lost the game. Conditions of the loan can be anything the lender chooses (short of "Five Minutes in the Closet" - that would slow down play). Things like forcing the groveling lendee to surrender a choice Star or two or even to give over a completed film may not be out of the question.
Producing a Film
Films are produced by fulfilling all the requirements listed on the Film card. The first requirement is the cost of the Film, which must be paid to the bank. Then determine which Stars you are going to use in your Film and pay the Filming cost for those Stars as well. Each Film requires a certain combination of genders to produce. You can use any Stars in your Stable and you can produce multiple Films in a single turn, but you must be able to pay all expenses and each Star can appear in only one film on your turn. If another player uses an Event card to make your Film unproduceable at this time, return it to your hand for later use - do not discard the Film card.
When you produce a film, you roll two dice and consult the Production Rolls Table. For each Star in the Film who has Specialty listed on the Film card, add +1 to your die roll. You may also spend up to $30 in Advertising if you wish; each $10 is worth +1 to your die roll. You must decide to spend this money before rolling the dice, of course!
All losses and recoveries in the chart are handled after the main cost of the Film (including paying the Stars but not including any money spent on Advertising) has been paid. So if a Film costs $50 you pay that up front, and if your roll tells you that you lose 2x the cost, you must pay to the bank another $100. Similarly, if your roll resulted in recovering 1.5x the cost of the Film, you would have paid your $50 up front, but then be able to take $75 back from the bank, resulting in $25 of net profit.
If the result from the roll says you get to recruit a Star from another Stable, you may (but are not required to) simply select any Star on the table and steal that Star, adding it to your Stable. If the roll results in your losing a Star, it immediately goes up for open Auction (see above). If no one wants to or is able to bid on the lost Stars, shuffle them back into the play deck.
If the result gives a bonus or penalty to Residual rolls, you get that bonus or penalty every turn. Place a marker on the Film card to remind you of this (we suggest a penny for -1 and a dime for +1).
Victory!
When there are no more cards left to draw, the game is over. Go once more around the table, giving everyone the chance to produce those last Films they have in their hands. Maintenance does not need to be paid during this final round.
Add up how much cash you have. For each Film you have produced that is not presently Wanked, add its production cost (how much it cost to make the Film, not including the Stars and Advertising spent on it) to your cash total. Each Film that won Adult Film of the Year (you put two dimes or other markers on it, right?) awards you double the production cost.
Whoever has the highest total is the winner and should be appropriately recognized as the King or Queen Smutmonger; your mother would be so proud!