Shop 'N Time
Shop 'N Time Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Get the App
Shop 'N Time is an app-assisted game which is made to work with all kinds of different Android and iOS devices.
The app is included for free with Shop 'N Time, but you will still need to download it onto your device by visiting the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
For links and videos, visit www.mercurygames.com/apps/shopntime
Components
- 104 Item Cards. Each Item Card shows an Item Name, an Item Amount, a Purchase Year, a Product QR Code and a Product Number.
- 3 Coupons. The Coupons are the 10 cent, 25 cent and 50 cent Coupons. Each Coupon shows a Coupon QR Code and a Coupon Number.
- 8 Restock Buttons.
- 8 Player Cards. Each Player Card has a "Play" side and a "Closed" side (shown as "Sorry, we're CLOSED").
Game Setup
- To start a game of Shop 'N Time, have each player select one Player Card of their choice, placing it in front of them with the "Play" side face-up.
- Next, each player should take a Restock Button and place it to their left so that it sits halfway between themselves and the player to their left. If all players have done this correctly, then each player should have a Restock Button to their left and to their right. Players should be able to easily reach the Restock Button on either side, and if not, you should sit a bit closer!
- Shuffle the deck of Item Cards and deal out 7 to each player. Players should not look at their cards until the round begins! It is a good idea, however, for each player to look at the backs of their Item Cards and make sure they're all facing the same way. This will make shopping much easier for them once the game starts.
- Count the number of players. If there are 4 players or more, place all three Coupons in the center of the table so all players can reach them. If playing with 3 players, remove the 50 cent Coupon from the game. If playing with just 2 players remove the 50 cent and the 10 cent Coupons from the game, leaving only the 25 cent Coupon.
Start the App
Start the Shop 'N Time app. You remembered to download it, right?
Hit the "+" button to add players to the game. Assign each player a name and nickname randomly or you can enter a name of your choice. Then select the picture of the Player Card that matches the selection that each player made earlier. For fast checkout, enter each player in the same order that they're sitting around the table.
Once all players are entered you can select the type of game you want to play. For your first game, we recommend a 3 round game of "Price Target". That is the standard game mode and it will give everyone a chance to learn before trying some of the other game modes.
Once you have selected the type of game you want to play and the number of rounds you wish to play, hit "Start Game". Now you will see some basic instructions for the game type you have selected (or that has been selected for you if you chose to play "Random").
Once you have read the instructions for the round and all players are ready, place your device on the table where all players can see and select "Begin Round" to start the action. The game starts right away!
Playing the Game
The small "Price Target" summary card illustrated on this page of the printed rulebook is not reproduced here; its text is too small to transcribe reliably, and the procedure it summarises is set out in the text below.
The rules to Shop 'N Time are easy! For this section, we're going to assume that you're playing the "Price Target" game, and then later we will talk about the differences in the other modes.
As soon as the round of Shop 'N Time begins, players pick up the 7 Item Cards they were dealt earlier. There are no turns in Shop 'N Time—everyone is playing in real-time!
Players should first look at the app screen. There will be a Target Price displayed. The players must try to select enough Item Cards to achieve a Checkout total as close to the Target Price as possible, but must not go over, even by a single penny!
Looking quickly through their Item Cards, each player must select only one Item and place it next to their Player Card. Once they have chosen an Item Card, they quickly place the remaining cards next to the Restock Button on their left. If they are the first player to finish making their selection, they touch the middle of the app screen (but not the "End Round" Button!).
Touching the middle of the app screen will instruct Gus, the friendly checkout clerk, to start a Countdown Timer. This is a limited time sale after all! All other players must quickly make their selection and pass their cards upon hearing the announcer say "Pass and Wait!" Players who fail to pass their cards quickly enough can be assigned a penalty of the group's choosing! But don't forget to select a card first!
Once Gus directs you to "Pass and Wait", no player should have cards in their hands. All the remaining cards should be waiting next to each of the Restock Buttons. Before too long Gus will instruct players to "Pick up and Begin!". This means each player should take the cards sitting near the Restock Button on their right and repeat the process.
Any time before picking up cards from the Restock Button on their right, a player may decide that they are close enough to the Price Target without going over, and end their round. To do this, they flip their Player Card over to the "Closed" side.
Once a player has flipped their Player Card to the Closed Side, they should grab the highest Coupon that is still available. Each player may only grab one Coupon so try to be quick! Don't forget though, you cannot take a Coupon until you have ended your round by flipping your Player Card to the Closed side.
From now on any player that has passed may not start the Countdown Timer. Their only job for the rest of the round is to take cards from the Restock Button on their right and move them to the Restock Button on their left without looking at or selecting any more Item Cards.
All players keep passing cards until everyone has passed. It is possible that the last player to pass may keep selecting cards from each deck as it is passed. If any single deck runs out of cards, just keep passing any remaining cards until that player chooses to pass. In an extremely rare circumstance where all 7-card starting decks are depleted, any player still selecting cards draws one at a time from the main deck until they decide to stop selecting cards or they reach a maximum of 12 cards.
Warning: Players must always select at least 3 Item Cards before checking out. Any player who takes less than 3 Item Cards will "bust" and not receive any points. Don't make this mistake or it is very hard to catch up! Also, remember that if you pick up the cards from the Restock Button to look at them and are not "Closed" then you must select and keep one card.
Helpful Hint
Items in Shop 'N Time are available for purchase from all over the 20th and 21st centuries. This store is a special store though, because items are still being sold at the original price from the year listed on each item! So, if an Item was $1.35 in 1962 it's still the same price now!
Be sure to note how much of the item there is by looking at the weight/amount. But also consider the year it is from too. For a quick summary of the age of an item, you can also use the background color. We have grouped each item in to eras, and the color of the background will help you choose your item even faster.
Items in Shop N Time are valued at between $0.95 and $6 and are based on actual researched prices from their respective eras! But it's not a trivia game, and so you don't need to worry about "being right". You just have to use your shopping instincts!
Round Checkout
Once all players have passed, any player can press the "End Round" Button on the app screen to proceed to the Round Checkout screen. There you'll meet Gus the friendly checkout clerk.
At this time, all players should ensure their selected Item Cards are face-up and spread them out so that all players can see what they've purchased.
In order to help with the checkout process we have made the back of the game box into a little checkout counter. Place your device onto the checkout counter with the camera pointing down. Different devices have different cameras, and so you may find that your camera works best on top of just the box bottom, or you can double-stack the bottom lid onto the top lid for a little more height. Still others may find that their device works best when held in their hand and pointed at their Item Cards. Experiment to see what works best for you!
Helpful Hint: To checkout your Item Cards, place your device onto something stable with the camera pointed directly down at the table. Try to avoid places with excessive light or shadow or glare. This will help the scanning process. If you choose to hold your device in your hand, hold it steady to help the camera find its focus.
Gus will ask each player to checkout in the same order they were entered during game setup. You can tell which player is being called to the checkout counter by the background color but also by the name of the player being displayed and the icon of the Player Card. To scan your Item Cards into the app, simply slide them one at a time into the view of the camera. If you have done this correctly, a tone will be played and the Item Card icon will appear on the checkout table. Don't forget to scan your Coupon if you managed to grab one!
Alternatively you can choose to scan all of your Item Cards and Coupon at the same time. This method isn't quite as fun as the single card checkout, but it is faster. Simply group all your Item Cards and Coupon together and put them in view of the camera. You should see all of your Item Cards pop-up on the Checkout counter.
Be careful not to scan other player's cards by mistake! If you make a mistake it is no problem. Simply tap the Checkout counter and a pop-up will help you to remove the Item Cards which don't belong. You can even use the Back Button to return to a previous player if you make a major mistake!
Coupons work in a special way. If a player scans a Coupon, the app will automatically apply the Coupon for between 0 cents and the maximum value of the Coupon. But even better, the Coupon can be added or subtracted from the overall total! This means that Coupons can be quite useful, but of course, they're only available to the players that grab them first.
Note: If your device does not have a camera, or if you do not wish to use the scanning feature, you can use the manual checkout option. Press the keypad on the wall of the Checkout counter. Each Item Card and Coupon has a three-digit code that you can enter and the Item will be checked-out just as if you had scanned it!
Round End
At the end of each round, each player will receive a certain number of points. The winner of the round (the player who came the closest without going over) receives as many points as there are players in the game. For example, first place in a 6-player game would mean 6 points.
Each other player that did not go over receives one less point than the player above them. If there is a tie, both players are awarded full points for the higher position. If a player went over the Price Target ("Busting") they receive just one point. This means that it is very risky to try to hit the price target exactly!
There is only one thing worse that Busting and that is if you ignored the rule requiring the purchase of at least 3 Item Cards. In this case a player receives 0 points and should be teased relentlessly!
If you are very accurate and hit the Price Target exactly, you will also receive a bonus point! Coupons are a good way to hit the Price Target exactly.
If you've chosen to play more than one round, now is the time to repeat the procedure and deal each player 7 Cards after discarding any Item Cards from the previous round. The next round is played the same way unless you've selected the Random game mode option in which case there will be some small changes to the rules. If you run out of Item Cards, shuffle any Item Cards from previous rounds to form a new deck.
Once you have completed the selected number of rounds the game will end and a winner will be declared. You can celebrate your victory however you wish!
Other Game Modes
Stretch Your Dollar
This game mode also gives a Price Target, but instead of getting as close to the price target as possible, players try to purchase as many items as possible while still staying under the price target. So, one player can purchase 8 items, that will be worth more points than someone who could only purchase 6 items, no matter how close each player was to the price target. Of course, going over the price target will still result in a "bust" and just one point being awarded, so be careful!
In this mode, coupons don't count for any money value, but they do break ties, so grab the best one you can!
Pick a Bundle
This game mode will display a certain number of Item cards from the deck. That bundle's value is the Price Target for the round, but the exact amount of the Price Target is up to the player's to estimate. Select Item cards that are as close to the same value of the displayed bundle without going over to win! This is one of the more challenging modes.
It is acceptable to select Item Cards which appear in the Target Bundle. If your opponents should be so foolish as to let you collect the entire Target Bundle exactly, you'll be certain to hit the Target Price!
Bulls-Eye
This game mode will show two random items from the Item Card deck. Each player selects Items which fall between the value of the two displayed Items. If a selected Item Card falls between the two Items in value, the player scores a point. If it does not fall between the two Items in value, the player loses a point. After checkout the number of points acquired are compared, and then Round Points are given to each player as per the normal process.
Note that if you select an item from the Item Deck that is the same item displayed on the App, this will be considered incorrect since it does not fall between the Items in value.
In this mode, coupons don't count for any money value, but they do break ties, so grab the best one you can!
Note: This is the one game mode in which players do not need to select a minimum of 3 cards. In fact, a player could select no cards at all if they wished!
Other Options
Betting
During game setup an option called "Betting" is available. This adds an additional screen for each player during their Round Checkout. This screen will ask each player to pick another player who they feel may win the round. Once all players have turned their Item Cards face-up at the end of a round, each player will want to note which other player stands a good chance of winning. Players may never bet on themselves, but will receive one bonus point if they select another player who ultimately comes closest to the Price Target.
Strategy Mode
Selecting the Strategy Mode changes Shop N Time into a highly strategic but slower game. In this game mode, instead of dealing 7 cards to each player, deal out a grid of 7 cards in the center of the table.
Each player will receive their own turn to select an Item Card. Once selected, the player first replaces the card in the grid with a new Item Card from the deck, and then that player should press the "Continue" button if they intend to select another card, or the "Pass" button if that is their final selection. Be sure to note that the 3-card rule still applies to most of the game modes!
At the end of the round, Gus will assign each player a Coupon based upon the speed at which they made their selections.
All other rules remain the same.