Welcome to The City. A recent economic downturn has shifted the employment landscape from steady fulltime occupations to short-term, part-time, and contract work. With so many skilled workers searching for a
decent job ... actually, any job ... a new opportunity lies in your path. You have recently opened a new temporary
employment agency to help place struggling workers in contract jobs. Find workers, upgrade their skills, and
Sounds easy in this economy, right?
Unfortunately, you’re not the only entrepreneur in The City to have the exact same idea! It’s a competitive race
for both money and reputation as you manoeuvre your workers to the front of the employment line to claim
Will you dominate The City’s temp agency scene, or join the ranks of the underemployed?
OBJECT OF THE GAME
As a player in the Worker Placement game, you assume the role of a temporary employment agency CEO who is trying to build
your start-up business into a thriving operation. The path to success seems simple enough: hire unemployed temp workers, help
At the end of the game, the company that has earned the most money is declared the winner and becomes the dominant temp
agency in The City!
GAME COMPONENTS
hnson
Miss Jo
The CiTy Game Board
You
dealt a are still
card nexPlayer Order
t round,
automatic
but
Positionally claim
1 on the
Player
Order Tra
ck.
skills:
1
This game board is where all the action happens in Worker Placement.
Within The City are:
• 10 buildings where employees can visit during each round to obtain
Skills, take Jobs, earn reputation Thumbs, play Business cards, or
discard and redraw Business cards
• The Peer Networking Group for bidding on discarded Business cards
• Number/score tracks for game rounds, player order, income (Cash),
and company reputation (Thumbs)
• Area for draw and discard piles for Business cards and Job cards
a
tant to
n
tive assis
The execu large corporatioJ is
a
CEO in
sion, Miss
the reces n to work.
before
retur
eager to
Skill Card
Worker Card
Management Card
Job:
Virtual Gold Farmer
Cash:
Skills:
Sample Cards
Description:
110 Cards
• 63 Business cards (24 Worker, 23 Skill, 16 Management)
• 42 Job cards
• 5 Player Order cards
48 Wooden skill CuBes
• 12 Clerical Skill cubes (red)
• 12 Labour Skill cubes (yellow)
• 12 Tech Skill cubes (black)
• 12 Life Skill cubes (green)
25 Wooden Player Tokens (5 Coloured seTs)
• 15 employee worker tokens (called meeples)
• 5 Cash tokens
• 5 Thumb tokens
1 hourGlass Token (To TraCk rounds)
5
1
Thumbs:
2
Player Order Card
Job Card
Clerical
Labour
Tech
Life
Skill Cubes
Any Skill
The multi-coloured Skill cube with three question marks is a
‘wild’ Skill, and represents any Skill of the player’s choice
Employee Meeples
Cash
Token
Thumbs
Token
Hourglass
Token
PREPARING TO PLAY
Place game board of The City in the centre of the table. Sort the four Skill cubes into their respective piles and place them beside the
playing area. Place the Hourglass token on the round 1 space of the Time Track. Remove from the small deck of Player Order cards
any card number that exceeds the number of players in the game. For example, in a three-player game, remove the cards labelled
4 and 5 (keeping cards 1, 2, and 3).
in front of them for future play. Place the wooden Cash token for each player on the $2 space of the Cash Track. Place the wooden
Thumbs token for each player on the 2 space of the Thumbs Track.
Player 1
Player 2
Cash tokens
Space $2
9
0
Play
Long
Game
-
10 11
7
1
6
5 0
x#
z
-
Cash
Track
DRAW
55 8
6011 12
7 8
Fill A Job
x#
9
8
4 5
-
7 8
x#
4
Standard
Game
55 2 7
3
+
x#
-
-
5 6
2
4
-
x#
5
Short
Game
Discard
& Draw
4
Hourglass token
Round 1
2 3
50 1
x#
Auction
Discarded
Business
Cards
into
2
-
x#
1
Time
Track
Any
Business
Card
THE
CITY
Player Order Track
1
45
Player 4
10
Convert
-
2
3
4
6
7
8
15 15
Any
Business
Card
Any
Business
Card
5
DRAW
20 20
10
153 15
0
40
35
1
DISCARD
Last Bid
2
2
2
3
3
4
5
Skill
cubes
10
15
First Bid
150
10 10
Thumbs
Track
25
30
Thumbs tokens
Space 2
PLAYING THE GAME
20
Player 3
Before gameplay begins, all players collectively decide how many rounds of Worker Placement they will play before the winner is
determined: 5 for a shorter game, 8 for the standard game, and 12 for a longer game. The game proceeds through the following six
Actions each round:
Action 1: Determine Player Order
Action 2: Reveal New Jobs
Action 3: Draft Business Cards
Action 4: Auction Discarded Business Cards
Action 5: Place Workers
Action 6: Reset
ACTION 1: DETERMINE PLAYER ORDER
Deal one random Player Order card to each player. Players add the numbers on their cards to their number positions on the Thumbs
Track and compare the resulting total to those of the other players. The player with the highest sum places one of his or her three
meeples on the Player Order Track in position 1. The player with the second highest total number then places a meeple on position
2. This process continues in descending order until all players have placed one meeple on the track. To break ties, a player with a
higher position on the Thumbs Track is placed before one with a lower position. Note that spaces 6-8 on the track are reserved for
use with the Cash is King expansion pack . Set aside the Player Order cards until they are needed to determine order in the next round.
2
ACTION 2: REVEAL NEW JOBS
Job:
Card
Skills
:
Flop
per
Cash
5
1
Deal Job cards to
:
Leave top Job card
face up on the deck
Thum
bs:
one card for each player (but always a minimum of four cards) face up at
the top edge of the game board at the orange triangles at the Job Centre
building. (The blue triangle positions are reserved for use with the Cash is
King expansion pack.) These revealed cards are the Jobs the workers can
Descr
iption
for wo
:
rld cha
mpion
ship
tourna
ment
card of the remaining deck face up, giving a sneak peek of one of the Jobs
Job:
Job:
Cash:
Skills:
In subsequent game rounds, one or more Job cards may have gone
Job:
Cash:
Skills:
5
1
4
~
Thumbs:
These existing Jobs are not replaced by new Jobs, and so fewer new Job
Description:
Skills:
Thumbs:
Description:
Cooler
Job:
Cash:
Cash:
Skills:
6
2
7
2
Thumbs:
Description:
Thumbs:
Description:
and bizarre seeks hard worker with
and other unbelievable attractions.
If the Job deck is ever depleted, no further new Jobs are available.
Play continues until the game is over, but this Action is skipped in
each remaining round.
55 8
must remain celibate and miserable.
9
6011 12
7 8
Play
Long
Game
-
10 11
7
x#
z
ACTION 3: DRAFT BUSINESS CARDS
Deal three Business cards to every player, beginning with the player in
position 1 on the Player Order Track. Each player simultaneously selects
one of the three cards to add to his or her hand, passes one of the cards
Peer Networking Group building on the game board. If at any time all the
Place 1 card at the
Peer Networking Group
Pass 1 card to
player on left
those discarded cards as the Business card draw deck.
In a two-player game, deal one additional Business card directly to the
Peer Networking Group, ensuring there are always a minimum of three
cards located at the building at the end of this action.
ACTION 4: AUCTION DISCARDED
BUSINESS CARDS
Add 1 card to hand
Randomly select three cards from all the Business cards placed on the
Peer Networking Group building during Action 3, and move the remaining
cards to the Business card discard pile. Place the three cards face up at the
building so all players can see which cards are now up for auction.
For variety, consider alternating the passing
direction each round (left, then right, then left, etc.)
10
The Peer Networking Group building has eight bidding spaces for the
Discarded
Business
3, 3, 4, 5. The spaces represent the amount of Cash the player is willing to
exchange for any one of the three cards, with the higher-bidding players
selecting a card before the lower-bidding players.
Bidding begins with the player in position 1 on the Player Order Track
and proceeds in ascending order until the player in the last position. Each
player may pass or bid. To bid on one of the cards, the player places one of
his or her meeples on any of the unoccupied bidding spaces.
If only one or two players placed meeples to bid and everyone else passed,
only those one or two bidders have the option of each placing a second bid
with another meeple in ascending player order once again. No players are
allowed to bid for a third time.
Once bidding is complete, the player who placed a bid in the space closest
to the right (one of the highest bid amounts) selects one of the three
Business cards at the Peer Networking Group to add to his or her hand and
reduces his or her position on the Cash Track by a number of spaces equal
to the bid amount.
Any
Business
Card
1
Last Bid
2
Any
Business
Card
2
2
3
Any
Business
Card
3
4
5
10
15
First Bid
0
Place 3 discarded
Thumbs
Track
Business Cards in
auction spaces...
...and place your bid
with your meeple
3
The player who bid in the second closest space to the right (the second highest bid amount) then does the same with the two
bids were made, the extra Business cards that were not selected during the auction are moved to the Business card discard pile.
At the end of the auction, players return their bidding meeples to their respective Reserve Areas.
Bids that were not one of the top three are unsuccessful and the players who made those bids do not gain any cards nor lose any
Cash. Note that players may not place bids if they do not have the Cash to pay for the card(s) should their bids be successful.
Job:
Skills:
Job:
Cash:
Cash:
Skills:
4
~
Thumbs:
6
2
Thumbs:
Description:
Description:
55 8
Place a worker
meeple from your
Reserve Area onto
a building
9
1
6011 2
7 8
10 11
7
10
5 6
Beginning with the player in position 1 on the Player
Order Track and proceeding in ascending order, players
take turns placing their workers on the game board.
Players take one meeple from their Reserve Areas and
place it on any of the game board buildings except the
Peer Networking Group. The player immediately must
reduce his or her Cash Track position by a number of
spaces equal to the number of meeples already at the
Long
Game
at the building each round, or for placements at the Call
Centre, Casino, or Job Centre buildings since they can
z
x#
-
provided by the buildings are outlined later in the rules
(see pages 6-7).
9
8
4 5
A player may only place one meeple at a time, and
must wait until play comes back to him or her before
placing another meeple. All players continue the worker
placement until all three of their meeples have been placed
7 8
4
Standard
Game
Reduce your Cash
Track position if
necessary
ACTION 5: PLACE WORKERS
55 2 7
3
-
x#
5 6
2
4
were taken from the Reserve Area while the third and
5
Short
Game
the third meeple is the last worker placement, the meeple
is no longer needed to mark the play order).
Job:
Skills:
Job:
Cash:
Cash:
Skills:
4
~
Thumbs:
6
2
A meeple cannot select and occupy a building space
without the player paying the Cash cost above and taking
Thumbs:
Description:
Description:
Special rules apply when placing meeples at the Job
Centre. See the section on Filling Jobs (page 5).
55 8
9
6011 12
Return meeples
back to Reserve
Area for next round
ACTION 6: RESET
7 8
10 11
7
1
6
5 0
Long
Game
z
-
x#
9
8
4 5
Advance Hourglass
1 space
Advance the Hourglass token one space on the Time
7 8
(in which case the game is now over; see page 8).
4
Standard
Game
55 2 7
3
The game round is now over. Players return their meeple
tokens currently on the game board buildings back to
their respective Reserve Areas and repeat Actions 1-6 in
the next round.
-
x#
5 6
2
4
5
Short
Game
Note About Cash and Thumbs Tracks
A player can never initiate any action that would reduce his or her position on either the Cash or Thumbs Tracks below 0 (such as sending a
meeple to the Call Centre while currently on position 0 of the Thumbs Track). An opponent may initiate such an action – for example, playing
a Management card that steals 4 Cash from a target player who is only at position 3 on the Cash Track – but the token stops at position 0 and
cannot go into negatives (the remaining Track penalty/effect is simply ignored).
4
FILLING JOBS
Filling Jobs currently available at the Job Centre building with Workers and Skills is at the heart of the game. A player can only
the player must be able to match or exceed the Skills required on the Job card using any combination of: Skills listed on the one
a Job. A player with multiple Worker cards in his or her hand may place more than one meeple on the Job Centre building in a
requirements. Unlike most other building spaces, players are not penalised with Cash reductions for placing the second, or third,
or fourth, etc. meeple at the Job Centre in a single round.
Finally, the Cash and Thumbs that the Job provides are awarded to the player before the game continues with the next player. If
number at the end of the game.
Clerical Skill, and one Labour Skill. Oliver has a Worker card in his hand (Gunther Klaus) that provides one Clerical and one Life Skill. He
also has one Labour Skill card in his hand. When combined with the two Tech Skill cubes Oliver has in his Reserve Area, Oliver ensures
to the supply. He moves the Board Game Designer Job card from the Job Centre to his Reserve Area, and increases his position along
Thumbs Track by one space. His turn now complete, play continues with the person in the next Player Order Track position.
Klaus Worker card (with one Clerical and one Life Skill) in his hand but instead had the Jaques Mondieux Worker card (with two
completely unrelated to their base knowledge set....
THE JOB...
PLAYER HAS...
Requires 2 of
these Skills
A Worker Card with 1 of
the required Job Skills
Gunther Klaus
Job:
Tech Skills
Skills:
...plus 1 Labour
Skill card
Cash:
5
1
Clerical Skill
*required
skills:
Thumbs:
...and 1 each of
these Skills
Description:
the internet for fan reaction upon
experience a plus. Best job ever.
Clerical
Skill
Life Skill
*not required
Recently ejected from a once-peaceful
dinosaur dig deep within the heart
of the Canadian Prairies, Gunther hopes
to revisit the field soon.
Labour
Skill
Player Gains 5
and 1
...and 2 Tech Skill cubes
in his Reserve Area
5
RESOURCE BUILDINGS
Game
4
2 3
1
-
-
x#
x#
2
1
Time
Track
THE CITY
COLLEGE
THE
CITY
The player takes one red Clerical Skill
cube from supply and places it in his or
her Reserve Area.
7 8
10 11
7
1
6
5 0
The player takes one green Life Skill cube
from supply and places it in his or her
Reserve Area.
z
-
x#
Convert
into
9
8
4 5
7 8
REC CENTRE
-
TRADE SCHOOL
The player takes one yellow Labour Skill
cube from supply and places it in his or
her Reserve Area.
9
8
4 5
x#
LIFE COACH
The player returns any one Skill cube from
his or her Reserve Area back to the supply
and replaces it with any two Skill cubes of
choice from the supply.
7 8
4
Standard
Game
3
2 7
-
x#
-
5 6
2
4
5
Short
HACKERS CLUB
The player takes one black Tech Skill cube
from supply and places it in his or her
Reserve Area.
6
HEALTH SPA
x#
The player advances two spaces on the
Thumbs Track.
SPECIAL BUILDINGS
+
0
DRAW
Cash
Track
-
Fill A Job
CALL CENTRE
x#
+
JOB CENTRE
located at the top edge of the game board at the
Job Centre building. See the Filling Jobs section
(page 5) for additional details. Unlike most other
building spaces, multiple meeples may be placed
at the Job Centre each round until no more
The player advances two spaces on the
Cash Track, but goes back one space on
the Thumbs Track. Unlike most other
building spaces, any number of meeples
may be placed at the Call Centre each
round (no Cash reduction for any player).
Play
reduction for any player).
-
10
Auction
Discarded
Business
Cards
Any
Business
Card
1
Last Bid
10 10
2
Any
Business
Card
2
2
3
Any
Business
Card
3
4
5
x#
CAREER CONSULTANTS
The player plays one Management card
from his or her hand and follows the
instructions.
10
15
First Bid
0
PEER NETWORKING GROUP
Players bid on Business cards placed at this
building during Action 4: Auction Discarded
Business Cards (see page 3 for details). Meeples
cannot be placed at the Peer Networking Group
during Action 5: Place Workers.
Discard
& Draw
CASINO
The player discards any number of
Business cards from his or her hand and
replaces them with an equal number of
new ones from the Business card draw
pile. Unlike most other building spaces,
any number of meeples may be placed at
the Casino each round (no Cash reduction
for any player).
7
END OF THE GAME
Once all rounds of the game are complete (5, 8, or 12 — as determined before play began), the player (or players) furthest along
the Thumbs Track gains bonus Cash equal to the number of players in the game. Additionally, each player is awarded one Cash
The player with the most amount of Cash is the winner and becomes the dominant temp agency CEO in The City! Use the position
necessary (lower is better).
WORKER PLACEMENT
ROUND SUMMARY
aCTion 1: deTermine Player order
Player Order card + Thumbs Track position = position on the Player Order Track.
aCTion 2: reveal neW JoBs
Deal one Job card for each player (minimum four cards) face up at the game board
edge at the Job Centre building.
aCTion 3: drafT Business Cards
Deal three Business cards to each player who then each selects one card to add to
face down on the Peer Networking Group building.
aCTion 4: auCTion disCarded Business Cards
Place face up three randomly select Business cards from those at the Peer
continuing along the Player Order Track, each player may pass or bid. Players with
the top three bids select, in order, one of the Business cards up for auction and
adds it to their hands, reducing their positions on the Cash Track equal to their bids.
Discard unselected cards.
aCTion 5: PlaCe Workers
Following the Player Order Track, players take turns placing one meeple at a time
aCTion 6: reseT
Players reclaim placed meeples. Advance the Hourglass token one space on the Time
their hands.
Game desiGner:
Mark MacKinnon
GraPhiC desiGn and illusTraTions:
© 2014 Dyskami Publishing Company.
WORKER PLACEMENT is a trademark of Dyskami
Publishing Company. All Rights Reserved.
Version 1.0. First printing – August 2014
Steve Mills
PlayTesTers:
Penn Davies, John Elliott, Valerie Elliott, Michael Evans,
Sean D. Evans, Kara Kime, Oliver Kutnik, Andrew Lafterty,
Alisha Leeking, Paul Leeking, Karen McLarney,
PuBlishinG ParTners:
H. Tyrone Boyd
8
PO Box 27005
7 Clair Road W.
Guelph, ON, Canada, N1L 0A6
www.dyskami.ca
[email protected]