(2 Player Gaming)
We hadn’t played Big Boss in a while, and the wife and I were rummaging through our collection when we realised what a monumental error we’d made leaving this game to gather dust on the shelf. We swiftly rectified this oversight, cracked open some snacks (essential gaming fuel, looking at you Doritos), and decided to settle once and for all who truly reigns supreme in this household. With my position as “head of the household” hanging in the balance (let’s be honest, we all know women are the neck and turn us blokes whichever way they fancy), we unboxed this glorious game.
Big Boss is all about launching companies and inflating their stock price. You found companies with a scattergun approach, initially starting with any company you choose, but always keeping a beady eye on the competition. No company is truly yours; anyone can jump in and add to it. You each have a hand of numbered cards representing areas of the board, with which you can add to a company (boosting its value) or found a new company, assuming it’s far enough away from the others. This game is like a lovechild of Lords of Vegas (another cracker of a game) and Monopoly, which, well… let’s just say Monopoly and I have a complicated relationship.
The Nitty Gritty (and I’ll Try to Keep it Brief, I Promise)
There’s a fair bit of strategy to Big Boss, but I’ll attempt to curb my enthusiasm and keep things concise. Each turn, you can buy cards (which give you more options) or play cards from your hand. These played cards let you build up a new company or expand an existing one. The bigger the company, the more it’s worth. You can also, as a “bonus action,” purchase shares in a company. Naturally, bigger companies cost more, so it’s in your best interest to get in early on the little guys rather than splashing the cash on established giants. If two companies ever end up touching on the board, the bigger fish swallows the smaller one, gaining both its buildings and its share value. Those who owned shares in the devoured company get payouts based on its market value, and that company is gone for good, never to be seen again. You can also buy what are essentially “joker” cards, letting you build a section higher (gaining a tidy £2 million in value for that piece) or edge closer to a smaller company, hoping to engineer a takeover. Each player also has 2 radio towers costing £15 million for the first and £30 million for the second, but instantly granting them five shares in that company. You earn money each round based on your actions, so if you add buildings to a company, you get its current market value in return.
Tips and Tricks
· Tip 1: Don’t get emotionally attached to any one company. You never know which one will end up being the biggest and most profitable.
· Tip 2: Don’t be stingy with the joker or build cards. You start with a few basic cards, but the only way to get more is by buying them. There’s no drawing back up, so spend wisely!
· Tip 3: Don’t forget about your radio antennas. They’re a bit pricey, but worth a fortune, as the person with the most money at the end wins, and five shares in a huge company could be a game-changer.
· Tip 4: Don’t be afraid to launch a takeover. You might lose a company you liked, but it’s the fastest way to rake in a mountain of cash.
This game is fantastic. I’ve never had a bad game of it, and I urge everyone to grab a copy. It’s not overly expensive, currently going for a steal at £15.59 on Zatu (though usually £33). It doesn’t take forever to play and has great replay ability.
Here you can see one absolutely HUGE company smugly topped by my radio tower. And one large and one small company. See what I mean about the black blocks by the way? This one huge company things has never really been a thing this was a fun outlier.
Here we can see 3 different companies that can be founded and a radio antenna player card.
Some 10million cash tokens and 5 different cards with the numbers on.
This is the share price board as you can see the purple company is at the top as it was in the end a huge sprawling mega complex.
Scores
Likes:
· The hidden strategy. How no one truly “owns” a company, and everyone is working towards their own goals but cooperatively.
· The price. Even at the full £33, it’s a bargain.
· It’s not a massive, sprawling game that takes up half your dining table.
Dislikes:
· My only niggle is that the company pieces are all black, solid blocks that look a bit like Duplo. I’m not sure how this could be improved, though, so it’s more of a minor grumble than a full-blown dislike. Perhaps I pine for the monocle and top hat of a certain guy from a different game.
Overall rating – 85
Artwork – 3 there isn’t a great deal of artwork in this other than on the cards
Complexity – 3
Re-Playability– 4
Player interaction– 3
Component quality – 4
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