Objective of the Game

Welcome to Acquire, investor! In this game, you're not just playing, you're building an empire of hotel chains and making a fortune. Your ultimate goal? To be the player with the most money by the end of the game. You achieve this by strategically buying stock in hotel chains, growing those chains to increase their value, and cleverly merging them to maximize your profits. Get ready to make some serious cash!

Preparation (Setup)

Setting up Acquire is straightforward, getting you into the action quickly:

1. Place the game board in the center of your playing area.
2. Shuffle all the tiles and place them face-down in a draw pile.
3. Each player receives an initial amount of money (the manual doesn't specify, but typically this is a set amount for all players).
4. Each player draws six tiles to form their starting hand. Keep these secret from other players!
5. Set aside the various stacks of stock certificates for each hotel chain, ready to be purchased.

The Game Turn

A turn in Acquire is a crisp, three-step process. Players take turns performing these actions:

1. Play a Tile to the Board: This is where the magic happens! You'll play one of your tiles onto the grid.
   • Found a Hotel Chain: If your played tile is not adjacent to any other tiles, it starts a brand new hotel chain! You'll then choose which type of chain to found (they have different values) and receive a bonus stock certificate for that chain.
   • Grow a Hotel Chain: If your played tile is adjacent to an existing hotel chain, it expands that chain. The more tiles a chain has, the higher its stock value goes – good news for shareholders!
   • Merge Hotel Chains: This is a critical strategic move! If your played tile connects two or more existing hotel chains, a merger occurs.
     • The bigger hotel acquires the smaller hotel. If there's a tie in size, the player who initiated the merger (the "connector") chooses which one acquires the other.
     • Bonuses are paid to the top two shareholders of the smaller (acquired) hotel chain.
     • Stockholders of the acquired hotel chain then choose what to do with their stock, in turn order. They can do any combination of these three choices:
       • Trade the Stock: Exchange 2 shares of the acquired company's stock for 1 share of the larger, acquiring company's stock (if available).
       • Sell the Stock: Sell their shares of the acquired company's stock for its current value, getting cash.
       • Hold the Stock: Keep their shares, hoping the company might be restarted later in the game.
     • Important Note: Hotels with 11 or more tiles are considered "safe" and cannot be acquired. Also, mergers involving more than two hotels are possible; start by resolving the merger between the two largest chains first.
   • No Effect: If a tile is played that is unadjacent to any other tile but doesn't start a new chain (e.g., if all chains are already founded), it simply sits there with no immediate effect.
2. Buy Up to Three Stocks: After playing your tile, you can buy up to three stock certificates from any active hotel chains on the board, paying their current price.
3. Draw a New Tile: Finally, draw a new tile from the face-down pile to refresh your supply back to six tiles.

End of Game and Scoring

The game of Acquire concludes when one of two conditions is met:

• A hotel chain reaches a size of 41 or more tiles.
• All hotel chains on the board are "safe" (meaning they all have 11 or more tiles).

Once an end-game condition is declared, the final scoring begins:

1. Each active hotel chain pays out bonuses to its top two shareholders based on the size of the company.
2. Players can then sell all of their remaining stock certificates at their current market price.
3. After all bonuses are paid and all stock is sold, the player with the most money is declared the winner of Acquire!

Tips for Winning

Ready to dominate the hotel market? Here are a few pointers to get you started:

1. Invest, Then Grow: Don't just buy stock and hope for the best. Actively work to grow those companies you've invested in. More tiles mean higher stock value and bigger payouts!
2. Aim for Acquisitions (Sometimes!): Don't be afraid to be the smaller company in a merger. Getting "acquired" can be a fantastic way to generate a lot of cash in the mid-game, which you can then use to buy more stock in other promising chains.
3. Track Those Bonuses: Keep a close eye on who has what. The top shareholder bonuses are a significant source of income. Strategically positioning yourself to be a top shareholder in a company, especially before a merger or at the end of the game, can make all the difference!

Good luck, and have fun building your hotel empire!