Paparazzo

Game invented by Friedmann Friese and Wolfgang Panning.
Copyright 1994, Friedmann Friese and Wolfgang Panning.
Translated by M. Schloth.

For 3 - 5 players.

Game Contents

• 64 Photo Cards consisting of 8 different embarrassing photos of 8 different celebrities.
  • A - the T.V producer
  • B - the wife of a football player
  • C - the fashion designer
  • D - the tennis star
  • E - the master cook
  • F - the opera diva
  • G - the politician
  • H - the best selling author
• 1 STUNK Card - STUNK (Stink, as in to raise a stink) is a sensationalist magazine.
• 1 Offer Card (Angebotskarte) that is used only when playing with Friese's Variant.
• 1 Skandalchronik board
• 1 mediator pawn
• 55 money chips: $1,000 (red) and $5,000 (yellow)
• 1 set of rules

The Goal

The goal is to own the most valuable photos by the end of the game. The more compromising photos of a particular celebrity are in circulation, the more photos of that celebrity are worth. Money is tight, so players may have to sell a photo or two to Stink magazine to get more cash to buy more photos.

Game Preparation (5 players)

• Place the Skandalchronik on the table.

• Place the markers next to the Skandalchronik. The markers show you the current worth of the photos of a particular celebrity.

• You will need a pencil and a piece of paper.

• The Stink Magazine card is place face up next to the Skandalchronik.

• Each player receives money chips worth $15,000. The money is kept hidden throughout the entire game.

• The rest of the money is set to one side as the bank. One player is made Banker.

• The photos are shuffled and each player receives 5.

• 3 more cards are turned face up and placed next to the spaces on the skandalchronik marked 1, 2 and 3. These are photos that start the game already in circulation. The corresponding markers are set onto the skandalchronik according to the number of photos in circulation. EXAMPLE: Two politician photos are in circulation so the politician marker is set on the space marked 2. Politician photos now have a value of $3,000. One tennis star photo is in circulation so the tennis star marker is placed on the space marked 1. Tennis star photos now have a value of $1,000.

• The players take their cards into their hand. Note: The cards in each player's hand represent rumors about the habits of the celebrities. During the course of the game these rumors will become scandalous photos.

• The Hotbed of Rumors: Each player now shows his or her cards to the player to his or her left. This supplies each player with more rumors of possible photos to be taken.

• The rest of the photos are not needed for the current game and are set aside.

• The player to the left of the dealer receives the mediator pawn and starts the game.

Game Outline

1. Sell a photo to the other players (in 4 phases).
2. Sell a photo to Stink Magazine (STUNK card).

Selling a photo to the other players

Phase 1: The Selection

The player with the mediator pawn selects one of the three photos next to the skandalchronik to be put up for sale. This photo is pushed away from the skandalchronik to distinguish it from the other two photos that are not for sale. The selecting player has taken on the role of the mediator between the press agencies of the players' and an unnamed Paparazzo.

Phase 2: Setting the Sale Price

Now each of the remaining players in turn has the chance to drive up the selling price of the selected photo following these rules:

• The player to the left of the mediator makes the first offer.

• The minimum price must be at least equal to the number of face up photos of the celebrity in question times $1,000. EXAMPLE: The minimum price for the politician photo is $2,000.

• The following increases in price (if any) must be made in increments of at least $1,000.

• If a player does not want to increase the current price, he or she says "Pass" and the next player makes an offer.

• This "setting of the price" ends with the player to the right of the mediator. The mediator does not have a say in the setting of the price.

• The highest price is the price of the photo.

• If nobody makes an offer, the mediator takes the photo for free.

Phase 3: The Sale

The photo is now sold for the determined price.

• The mediator has the first option to buy the photo. If the mediator buys the photo, then he or she places the photo face up before him or herself and pays the cost to the bank. He or she will not receive a Commission.

• If the mediator passes on buying the photo, then the other players, moving clockwise, are offered the chance to buy it.

• If a player pays the price, then he or she can prevent the next player from buying the photo.

• If all players pass on buying the photo, then the player who made the highest offer during Phase 2 MUST buy the photo. If this player does not have the money to buy the photo, then that player is punished by having to pay $5,000. The $5,000 is noted on a piece of paper and must be paid at the end of the game. In this case, the photo is not sold and the mediator begins again with Phase 1: the selection.

• The player who buys the photo places it face up before him or herself and then pays the price to the bank.

• If the Photo was bought by a player other than the mediator, then the mediator gets a commission from the bank. The commission is equal to half of what it was sold for.

Phase 4: The New Photo

The player who bought the photo places a new photo on the market.

• He or she takes a photo card from his or her hand and places it next to the skandalchronik to replace the photo he or she just bought. Note: The Paparazzo has struck again and a rumor has become a photo.

• The celebrity in the just placed photo has his or her marker moved up one space on the skandalchronik.

• When a player buys a photo but has no photos in his or hand to replace the one just bought, then the next mediator must choose from the remaining photos. Note: The markers always indicate the current number of photos of each celebrity lying face up on the table whether next to the skandalchronik or next to the "Stunk" card or in front of each player. The current value of a given celebrity's photos is found by finding that celebrity's marker on the skandalchronik and reading the value printed on the right. This value does not change even if a photo is sold to "Stunk".

• The mediator pawn is passed to the next player clockwise. That player becomes the next mediator.

Sell a Photo to Stink Magazine

• The current value of the photo is read off of the skandalchronik.

• The photo is placed face up next to the STUNK card.

• The player takes the current value of the photo from the bank.

• ATTENTION! Stink Magazine only buys one photo per celebrity.

• Photo cards in your hand may not be sold!

• The mediator pawn is then handed to the next player clockwise. This player is the new mediator.

Game End

The game ends when one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

1. Only one player still has cards in his or her hand.
2. There are no more photos next to the skandalchronik.

The Reckoning

The players now resell the photos they have bought to the more glamorous magazines and the popular press. The value of each photo is indicated by the location of the photographed celebrity's marker on the skandalchronik. Each player adds up the total for all of the photos lying face up before themselves. Any photo cards still in a player's hand do not count. Everybody takes the final value of their photos in chips.

Bonus for Exclusive Photos

If all face up photos of a celebrity are the property of one player only, then that player is awarded a cash bonus. The bonus is $5,000 per photo. The bonus is void if an unsold photo of the celebrity lies next to the skandalchronik or if a photo of the celebrity has been sold to Stink Magazine (Stunk). Notice: The bonus is paid out with money from the bank.

Any players that owe $5,000 punishments pay them now.

Particulars for the 3 or 4 Player Game

• Remove one of the eight sets of photos.

• With 3 players, each player is dealt 6 cards instead of 5. Also, during the "hotbed of rumors" each player selects only 3 cards to show to his or her neighbor to the left.

Playing the Game Over Three Rounds

Once players become familiar with the game, they should play three rounds one right after the other. If this is agreed to, then there are four additional rules to be followed:

Start Player

The winner of the previous hand starts the next hand.

Start Money

Each player returns his or her winnings to the bank at the end rounds 1 and 2 and receives again a starting capital of $15,000.

Ruining Careers

At the end of each hand one of the celebrities will have his or her career ruined by the publication of the compromising photos. This celebrity who had the most photos in circulation (their marker is highest on the skandalchronik). If there is a tie for this distinction, then all those tied have had their careers ruined. All face up photos of these celebrities are removed from the game. Each celebrity with a ruined career has his or her marker turned over to note this fact. (NOTE: you'll have to mark one side of each of the celebrity markers before the game. A magic marker or a sticker of some kind will do.). Example: The politician is now an ex-politician.

At the beginning of each new hand the skandalchronik is cleared of celebrity markers. The markers are placed next to the skandalchronik and the remaining photo cards are shuffled.

Note: The probability that the photos of ex-celebrities will be worth much is slight but the probability that a player will own exclusive photos of an ex-celebrity is good.

The Reckoning

At the end of each round, each player's total worth is recorded. The winner is the player with the highest combined total after three rounds.

Variant for the Game In One Round

You don't need to play three rounds to use ex-celebrities. If you like, play one round but make any four celebrities ex-celebrities. Remove 4 photos of each of these four celebrities from the game. You must also turn the markers of these celebrities to their ex-celebrity side.

Optional Rules for Setting the Price of the Photos (Phase 2)

Panning's Variant

The minimum offer still starts at the number of face up photos of the celebrity in question times $1000, but the increase is no longer necessarily just $1000. The next increase must be at least equal to the difference between the last two offers.

Example: The photo selected by the mediator is worth $3,000. Player A must say at least $3000 but says $5000 instead. The difference between the last two offers (the minimum offer is considered to be the first offer) is $2000. Player B would now have to offer at least $7000 or pass. Say that Player B offers $9000 instead. The difference between the last two offers is now $9000 - $5000 or $4000. Player C therefore must offer $13,000 or pass.

Friese's Variant

Use the Offer Card (See the Angebotskarte). Once the minimum offer has been determined, the successive offers must be at least this same amount. In this variant all of the players keep their money out in the open. Players may only make offers which they can afford to pay.

Tactical Hints

1. Consider always the relationship between the price offered for a photo and its money value expected at the end of the game.

2. Do not sell to Stink Magazine (Stunk) too early and only if the sale will bring more money than a commission. On the other hand the sale of a quite valuable photo can lead to a very favorable position for the purchase of further pictures.

3. Sometimes you can win by purchasing the fewest photos, saving your money as the others spend theirs.

4. When you play a new photo from your hand, consider how the next player will respond.

5. Never offer a valuable photo if you think the other players will take it too cheaply.
6. Photos of ex-celebrities appear rarely as a rule. However, they usually will be easier to buy as exclusive photos. This can make for some interesting tactics especially if you play the game over three rounds.

The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Ken Tidwell