How to Play Acquire

Objective

Become the wealthiest player by building hotel chains, buying stock, and profiting from mergers. The player with the most cash at game end wins.

Setup

Each player draws a tile to determine turn order — the player whose tile is closest to space 1A goes first. All drawn tiles stay on the board (Quick-start mode). Each player receives 6 tiles and $6,000 starting cash.

Hotel Chains & Prices

Stock prices rise as chains grow. Prices range from $200 (small cheap chain) to $1,000 (large expensive chain). There are 25 shares per chain.

Your Turn

1. Place a tile. Each turn you must place one tile from your hand onto its matching board space. What happens depends on what's adjacent:

• Nothing adjacent — lone tile, just a marker on the board.

• Adjacent to lone tile(s) only — you found a new chain! Pick a name from inactive chains. You receive 1 free share.

• Adjacent to 1 chain — the chain expands by 1+ tiles.

• Adjacent to 2+ chains — merger! The largest chain survives and absorbs the others.

2. Buy stock. After placing, buy up to 3 shares in any active chains. You don't have to buy anything.

3. Draw a tile. Automatic — refills your hand to 6 tiles.

Founding a Chain

When you place a tile next to lone tile(s) with no existing chain adjacent, choose any inactive chain name. You get 1 free share automatically. There are 7 chains; if all are active you cannot found new ones.

Mergers

The larger chain absorbs the smaller. If tied in size, the player who triggered the merger chooses the survivor.

Bonuses (paid before decisions): The majority shareholder of the defunct chain receives 10× the stock price as a bonus. The minority shareholder receives 5×. Ties split the combined bonus evenly (rounded down to $100).

Decisions: Starting with the player who triggered the merger and going clockwise, each shareholder of the defunct chain chooses:

• Sell — sell shares at current defunct chain price.

• Trade — trade 2 defunct shares for 1 survivor share (limited by survivor availability).

• Hold — keep shares; they're worth nothing unless that chain is re-founded later.

Safe Chains

A chain with 11 or more tiles is "safe" — it cannot be taken over in a merger. Two safe chains can never merge (such tile placements are permanently unplayable).

Game End

The current player may declare the game over if: (a) any chain has 41+ tiles, OR (b) all active chains are safe. When declared, final majority/minority bonuses are paid for all active chains, all stock is sold at current prices, and the richest player wins.

Players may also call a vote to concede — if all but one player agree, the game ends immediately.

Strategy Tips

• Buy stock early in small chains — prices are cheap and bonuses are relative to size later.

• Be the majority shareholder when a chain gets absorbed for maximum bonus payout.

• Trade defunct shares into a large survivor — it's often the best move.

• Safe chains lock up board real estate; found them strategically.