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Troyes
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Startup Fever
2012
Rules assistance for Startup Fever
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with saved question history.
Rules assistant for Startup Fever
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Startup Fever is a board game released in 2012 for 2–6 players, 120 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Louis Perrochon and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling and Area Majority / Influence.
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About the game
In Startup Fever, the players are company founders in Silicon Valley and manage money and employees. Hiring Nerds (engineers) creates better products, which attract more users, who in turn generate money. Hiring Suits (Sales) generates more money, which can be used to hire more nerds. At the end of every year the best products steals users from the other products during showdown. Employees initially are very eager to stay with a company, but over time are more likely to move to competing companies, unless they get further (monetary) incentives. Each player starts with 2-4 products (depending on how many players there are) and four event cards. The game is played over several years. Every year each product gets one turn, i.e. every player gets to play 2-4 times per year. Players adopts users, based on the number of engineers and a die roll. Then they earn revenue, based on the number of users and the number of suits. Third, the player can use money to hire more employees. Soon, no more new hires are available, and players must steal (or "poach") employees from other players. The other players try to spend their money to prevent "poaching" from happening. During the product show down at year's end users shift towards products that invested wisely. Outside the regular turn order, event cards can be played by any player at any time, both to further their own objectives as well as to hinder other players. To win, a players needs to obtain the largest number of users. Players need a good mix of nerds and suits, and make smart decisions throughout the game. The constant back and forth over limited resources (employees) is different from many other resource based games and adds a lot of fun. The winning strategy depends to a large extend on guessing/reacting to other player's strategy.
Editions
- Startup FeverenMeetpoint LLC2012
- Startup FeverenMeetpoint LLC2011
Designers
Publishers
- Meetpoint LLC
Questions and answers
Startup Fever supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Startup Fever is 120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Startup Fever for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Startup Fever has a complexity rating of 2.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Startup Fever belongs to these categories: Economic and Dice. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling and Area Majority / Influence. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Startup Fever are: Louis Perrochon. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Startup Fever as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.