FAQ
77 answered questions37 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Lucky Duck Games or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Selling part of a house’s order; a house eats only where it can get every item it wants. Ruling · Rule
- Paying salaries only for working employees; those on the beach, busy or just trained are paid too. Ruling · Rule
- Counting a house on your own tile as distance 0 when the only road to it runs over the next tile. Ruling · Rule
- Using two different trainers on one employee in a turn without the “First to Pay $20 or More in Salaries” milestone. Ruling · Rule
- Breaking a tie on effective price with the lower item price; Waitresses played decide, then turn order. Ruling · Rule
- Treating only the first billboard as eternal; after First Billboard Campaign every new campaign is. Ruling · Rule
Showing 77 of 77
Should a first game use the introductory rules? Official
Yes. Play at least a few rounds with the introductory rules to see the mechanisms in action before playing the full game.
Source: BGG thread
Must I do my Working 9–5 actions in the printed order? Official
The order matters in a few places, so follow it. The main one: you hire before you train, so you can train someone you hired this turn. Some milestones give you a new employee after training is over — a cook from the first burger or pizza produced can't be trained that turn.
Source: BGG thread
Does one player do all the Working 9–5 steps before the next player starts?
Yes. The first player in turn order does every step of their turn, then the next player does all of theirs.
Source: BGG thread
Is my cash public?
Yes. Cash, stock and employees (once the work stacks are revealed) are all public information.
Source: BGG thread
Must I play every employee I can fit into my structure?
No. You can send anyone to the beach. Open work slots help you choose earlier in turn order, but you still pay the salaries of employees on the beach.
Source: BGG thread
Why do all my employees go to the beach if I play more than fit in my structure?
Everyone else has revealed their structure by then. Letting you fix the mistake would let you use what you just saw, so you play the round with only your CEO.
Source: BGG thread
If the bank breaks for the first time and my CEO loses a slot, is my current structure illegal? Official
No. Everyone keeps the structure they have this round; the new number of CEO slots applies from the next Restructuring.
Source: BGG thread
How is the number of CEO slots decided if two kinds of reserve card are tied?
The Special Edition rulebook doesn't say. The original rules give it to the card with the higher number of slots, and that is how players resolve it.
Source: BGG thread
Do all the reserve cards add cash to the bank, or only the most common one?
All of them. Add up the cash on every revealed reserve card; the most common card only sets the number of CEO slots.
Source: BGG thread
How is turn order chosen when nobody has an open work slot?
Everyone is tied on zero, so the tie-break applies: players choose in the current turn order. Players with zero open slots always choose after anyone who has some.
Source: BGG thread
If the last player in turn order claims a milestone, can someone claim it the next round?
No. A milestone can be shared only by players who claim it in the same round. At the end of that round everyone else crosses it out.
Source: BGG thread
Where do I count distance from? Official
From the entrance square of the restaurant itself. Every tile border you cross on the way counts 1, even the one you cross straight out of your door.
Source: BGG thread
A house on my restaurant's tile is linked to my entrance only by a road on the next tile. What is the distance? Official
2: you cross the same border out and back. It is 0 only if you have a drive-in and another corner reaches a road on your own tile. Customers always travel by road — nobody walks from the house to the door.
Source: BGG thread
My entrance opens onto a road on the neighbouring tile. Is a house on that tile at distance 0? Official
No, distance 1: you cross one tile border to get there. A house back on your own tile, reached by that road, is distance 2.
Source: BGG thread
Must the entrance be orthogonally next to a road, or is touching one diagonally enough? Official
At least one of the two squares orthogonally next to the printed entrance must be a road. Diagonal contact doesn't count.
Source: BGG thread
Can a garden connect its house to a road the house didn't touch? Official
Yes. The garden is part of the house, so a road along the garden connects the house.
Source: BGG thread
Can a route pass through a house or a garden from one road to another? Official
No. Houses and gardens never connect two roads; the rounded road ends on some expansion tiles are only there to make that clear.
Source: BGG thread
Must a route cross tile borders in the middle, along the dotted lines? Official
No. Since the expansion's new roads, a route may cross a tile border wherever two road squares meet, and this applies to the base game too.
Source: BGG thread
Is my restaurant connected to both roads at an overpass?
Yes, if the entrance touches both. Routes that continue to other tiles must follow the overpass: the two roads don't connect to each other.
Source: BGG thread
Can employees start their route from any corner of a drive-in restaurant? Official
Yes. With a drive-in every corner is an entrance, for customers and for your employees' routes.
Source: BGG thread
Can I place my starting restaurant across two tiles?
Yes. A restaurant may overlap tiles; only its entrance corner may not share a tile with another starting restaurant's entrance. Distance is still counted from the entrance square.
Source: BGG thread
When laying out the map, must the roads join up?
No. Lay the tiles at random in the grid for your player count; roads that lead nowhere are fine.
Source: BGG thread
Can I use a Guru or Coach and a Trainer on the same employee in one turn? Official
No, not without the "First to Pay $20 or More in Salaries" milestone. One employee with several Train actions (a Coach or Guru) may train the same person several steps.
Source: BGG thread
Can I hire a Management Trainee when none are left? Official
Yes, if you train them straight away into a card that is available. The cards in between don't have to be in the supply.
Source: BGG thread
Can I own two copies of a 1x employee? Official
No. You may have only one of each 1x employee, counting those on the beach — so two Luxuries Managers can't stack.
Source: BGG thread
Can I hire an employee that has no ▶ symbol, such as the HR Director?
No. Only entry-level employees (▶ in the top-left corner) can be hired; everyone else is trained from them.
Source: BGG thread
If all the Burger Chefs are gone, can I still train a Kitchen Trainee into a Burger Cook?
Yes. Only the card you train into has to be in the supply.
Source: BGG thread
Do the Recruiting Manager's 2 actions and the HR Director's 4 come on top of their salary discounts?
No. Each action is either a hire or a $5 salary discount: an HR Director gives 4 in any mix, such as 1 hire and 3 discounts.
Source: BGG thread
What happens if my Marketing Trainee is played but no billboard is left? Official
They can't place one, so they do nothing this round.
Source: BGG thread
Must an airplane campaign be connected to a road? Official
No. Airplanes go beside the edge of the map, not on it.
Source: BGG thread
May I place an airplane along the middle rows of a tile instead of at its corner? Official
Yes. It must line up with squares along the edge and not stick out past a corner of the map, but you choose which rows or columns it flies over.
Source: BGG thread
Which houses does a mailbox reach? Official
Every house you can trace a path to from the mailbox without crossing a road or a bridge. Diagonal steps are not allowed, so a house past a gap where two road corners meet is out of reach. The mailbox example in the first printing of the Special Edition rulebook was cropped wrongly and has been corrected.
Source: BGG thread
My campaign square is next to a road on a neighbouring tile. How far away is it? Official
Count the route to the road square it touches. A billboard touching a road you reach at distance 1 is in range of a Marketing Trainee.
Source: BGG thread
A campaign of duration 2 is launched in round 2. When does it add demand? Official
In the Marketing phase of rounds 2 and 3. Marketing comes after Dinnertime, so that demand can be served from round 3 at the earliest. The demand stays on the houses after the campaign is gone.
Source: BGG thread
What happens when a campaign runs out? Official
The campaign comes off the map and is available again; its marketeer goes to your beach.
Source: BGG thread
Does an unmet demand counter stay, and does the same campaign keep adding more?
Yes to both. Demand stays until a restaurant serves the whole house, and each campaign keeps adding a counter each Marketing phase until the house is full.
Source: BGG thread
Can I place a campaign where it reaches no house, just to block a spot?
Yes. A campaign may be placed where it reaches nobody.
Source: BGG thread
Which campaign tile may I take, if several of the right kind are free?
Any one you like. Its number decides when it markets, and some tiles are removed at setup with fewer players.
Source: BGG thread
Can I end a campaign early or change what an eternal campaign advertises?
No. A campaign runs until its duration counters are gone, and an eternal campaign never changes or ends.
Source: BGG thread
Can one campaign advertise two different items?
No. One campaign advertises one item. Only the Ketchup "First Brand Manager Used" milestone allows a second item on an airplane.
Source: BGG thread
Must my driver enter a supplier's tile to collect from it? Official
No. Passing along a road square next to the supplier is enough — curbside delivery.
Source: BGG thread
Can a driver collect twice from the same supplier by driving past it again? Official
No. A route may pass the same place again, but each supplier gives drinks only once per driver per round.
Source: BGG thread
Can a "Coming Soon" restaurant be the start of a driver's route?
No. Drinks are collected before new restaurants are placed, and a restaurant opens only at the end of the round.
Source: BGG thread
A new garden touches two houses. Which one gets it? Official
You choose, and turn the garden so it is clear which house it belongs to.
Source: BGG thread
Do I choose the number of a new house?
Yes. Pick any house with a garden still in the supply. The number matters: lower numbers go out to dinner first.
Source: BGG thread
How far can a Local Manager place a new restaurant? Official
Within road range 3 of one of your open restaurants' entrances (any corner with a drive-in), and its entrance must connect to the road the manager used. A restaurant that is "Coming Soon" can't be the starting point.
Source: BGG thread
What does the ∞ symbol on the Regional Manager mean? Official
Unlimited range: the new restaurant can go anywhere on the map with its entrance next to a road.
Source: BGG thread
Do I lose my restaurants if my Regional Manager goes to the beach or is fired?
No. Placed restaurants stay; you only lose the drive-ins and the ability to place more.
Source: BGG thread
If two restaurants are tied on price plus distance, does the cheaper item price win? Official
No. The player with more Waitresses played wins; if that is equal too, turn order decides.
Source: BGG thread
Do Waitresses on the beach count for the tie-break?
No. Only Waitresses played in your structure count.
Source: BGG thread
Can my item price drop to $0 or below? Official
Yes. With a negative price you pay the bank for each item you deliver.
Source: BGG thread
Does distance change what the customer pays?
No. Distance only decides which restaurant gets the sale. You are paid your item price, doubled for a garden, plus any bonuses.
Source: BGG thread
Do Waitresses earn cash when I sell nothing?
Yes. The Waitress bonus is paid at the end of every Dinnertime.
Source: BGG thread
Does the "First Burger Marketed" bonus pay once, or for every burger?
For every burger you sell, for the rest of the game.
Source: BGG thread
How is the CFO bonus rounded with Waitress cash?
Add up everything you earned this Dinnertime, Waitresses included, then add half of that total once, rounded up.
Source: BGG thread
When the bank breaks for the first time mid-payment, do I get the rest of what I'm owed?
Yes. The bank is refilled from the reserve cards, then you take the rest.
Source: BGG thread
Do I pay employees on the beach, and those I hired or trained this round? Official
Yes. Every employee with a salary is paid, wherever they are and however recently they joined.
Source: BGG thread
If I fire my Recruiting Manager at Payday, do I still get its salary discounts? Official
No. You fire before paying, so a fired employee gives no discount.
Source: BGG thread
Do I pay the employees I fire this Payday?
No. You fire before paying salaries, so fired employees cost nothing this round.
Source: BGG thread
Do I pay a salary for my CEO once it acts as a CFO?
No. The CEO card has no salary symbol.
Source: BGG thread
Where do salaries go?
Back to the bank, never to the box, so that cash has to be earned again before the bank breaks.
Source: BGG thread
Do I get "First to Lower Prices" if I sell nothing that round? Official
Yes. Playing a Pricing or Discount Manager lowers your price, whether or not you sell or have anything to sell.
Source: BGG thread
Do I get "First to Lower Prices" if I also played a Luxuries Manager? Official
Yes. Playing a Pricing or Discount Manager earns it, whatever else you played.
Source: BGG thread
With "First Billboard Campaign", is it only that billboard that is eternal?
No. That billboard and every campaign you launch afterwards are eternal, with no choice. Your Campaign Managers, Brand Managers and Brand Director also stop drawing a salary, wherever they are.
Source: BGG thread
Does "First Burger Produced" give me a Burger Cook every round?
No, once, when you claim it. You must pay that cook (or fire them) at Payday.
Source: BGG thread
Does the free cook from "First Burger Produced" count as a hire for "First to Hire 3 Employees in 1 Turn"?
No. You received it, you didn't hire it — and it arrives after the Hire step.
Source: BGG thread
Can the two Management Trainees from "First to Hire 3 Employees" be trained that turn?
Yes. They arrive during the Hire step, before Train.
Source: BGG thread
Does "First Radio Campaign" let a radio market two different items?
No. It adds two counters of the radio's one item.
Source: BGG thread
Does the game end if the bank reaches exactly $0? Official
Under the original rulebook, no: the bank breaks only when it can't pay what it owes, so play goes on. The designer added that the idea came from 18xx games, where an empty bank ends the game. The Special Edition rulebook now says the bank breaks as soon as it has $0 left, so with that edition an exactly empty bank breaks.
Source: BGG thread
Can the game end outside Dinnertime?
No. It ends only at the end of a Dinnertime in which the bank broke for the second time. Salaries are not paid that round.
Source: BGG thread
With two CFO bonuses breaking the bank, who is paid first?
It doesn't matter: once the bank breaks the second time, everyone still takes all they earned that Dinnertime.
Source: BGG thread
How many copies of each 1x employee are used with 6 players? Official
Three of each, as in a 5-player game. The second printing of the expansion rulebook added this line.
Source: BGG thread
If the bank breaks during Marketing because of "First Marketeer Used", do the reserve cards apply at once? Official
Yes, the bank is refilled and the slots change. A new base price from Reserve Prices applies from the next Dinnertime, and the game can still end only at a Dinnertime.
Source: BGG thread
With "First Discount Manager Used", is $100 removed if I also played a Luxuries Manager? Official
Yes. You used a Discount Manager, so you discounted by $3, and $100 leaves the bank.
Source: BGG thread
Can a moved coffee shop's old spot be the start of a route? Official
No. Only shops and restaurants where they stand now count.
Source: BGG thread
Can a house reach a coffee shop through its garden?
No. Coffee shops, like restaurants, are reached only by road.
Source: BGG thread
Where do the radio from "First Pizza Sold" and the mailbox from "First New Restaurant" go?
Anywhere legal: the radio on the house's tile, the mailbox within mailbox reach of the new restaurant. They belong to no marketeer, so they never pay the "First Marketeer Used" $5.
Source: BGG thread