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Shakespeare: The Bard Game box art
2004 Ranked #20,271

Shakespeare: The Bard Game

This theatrical management game has players buy scripts, gather props, actors, and patrons, stage plays, and collect the most acclaim. Performances, questions, and busking generate money, so a manager must fund each production before it can earn recognition.

Trivia Renaissance Acting Roll / Spin and Move

Players

2-5

Play time

Not listed

Age

12+

Complexity

1.79/5

Rating

5.70

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.3/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.0/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.8/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

This is a game where each player is a play manager who must put on plays at various theaters. The game lasts the span of time agreed upon before the game starts by the other players.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

This is a game where each player is a play manager who must put on plays at various theaters. The game lasts the span of time agreed upon before the game starts by the other players. The object of the game is to collect acclaim points by putting on a play. To put on a play, you must buy a script from Shakespeare and collect the correct number of props, actors, and patrons for that script. Everything has a price... You begin with 40 shillings. You must pay for each prop at five shillings each, an actor is five shillings, and a patron is requested without cost at a great house. You may gain a second patron or ten shillings at a great house by answering an easy question correctly. Each script must be bought from Shakespeare if he is not busy. So, how do you make money in this game? This is the heart of the game. 1. You may recite a speech where your audience decides how much you gain (1-10 shillings) based on your performance. 2. You may show your knowledge by answering an easy, medium, and difficult question about Shakespeare and gain 10, 15, or 20 shillings. These questions can be multiple choice or true/false. 3. You can Busk. Busking is an impromptu performance where you gain five shillings and a fate card. If you like Shakespeare, and you like boardgames, then this is the game for you! Microbadge Buy It

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Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

No files imported yet.

Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2–5
Best with
3–5
Play time
60 min
Age
12+
Complexity
1.8/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

2
Richard Heffer Mike Siggins

Publishers

2
Sophisticated Games Überplay

Linked items

No published linked games yet.