Welcome to Life As A Black Man the Game™ You are an 18-year-old African American entering society. You must travail the treacherous Districts of Hollywood (The Entertainment Industry), The University, Military, Neighborhood, Corporate America, and PRISON as a BLACKMAN and reach FREEDOM first! But beware the Police lurk everywhere, Crime runs rampant, and Life throws many unexpected curves. RACISM is prevalent, but yet you must try to use your talents to find a good Career and hit the big Payday! Don’t fret CHURCH is always available to strengthen you.

RULES OF THE GAME

OBJECT:

The object of the game is to be the first player to reach the Space FREEDOM.

EQUIPMENT:

The equipment consists of a game board, (1) 4-sided die, (1) 6-sided die, (9) game pawns, 12 decks of Action Cards (Hollywood, University, Military, Neighborhood, Corporate America, Church, Prison, Life, Career, Racism, Crime, and Police), and a pack of BlackMan money.

PREPARATION:

Unfold the board and place on a flat surface; place the Action Cards face down around the board. The Prison District will also be used in the game.

BEGINNING THE GAME

THE GOVERNMENT:

One player must be the Government. The Government pays all salaries, handles all automobile and legal transactions, and reads the cards for Prison.

Begin by placing your game pawn on the Life As A Black Man the Game™ logo on the game board. Players must roll the 6-sided die to first determine what their Character Type will be. Your Character Type simply defines what your special talent will be during the game.

Character Type:

There are 3 different Character Types: Creative, Intellectual, and Athletic. Players must roll the 6-sided die to determine their Character Type as follows:

• If you roll a I or 2 you are Creative
• If you roll a 3 or 4 you are Intellectual
• If you roll a 5 or 6 you are Athletic

The Government will hand players a card with their Character Type on it.

Districts:

Now roll the 6-sided die to determine which District you will start the game (Hollywood, University, Military or Neighborhood), Corporate America, Church, Prison are also Districts in the game?

• If you roll a I or 2 you will start on the word Neighborhood
• If you roll a 3 you will start on the word Military
• If you roll a 4 or 5 you will start on the word University
• If you roll a 6 you will start on the word Hollywood

THE PLAY:

Roll the 4-sided die and move your game pawn the number of spaces forward indicated on the top of the 4-sided die, at this time you must chose a column. A player cannot move side to side when in any Districts (i.e., Hollywood, University, Military, Neighborhood, Corporate America, Prison or Church). A player may only move from side to side Downtown. No player can enter into any District from the side, only from the bottom. After you have completed your play, the tum passes to the left. Two or more game pawns may rest on the same space at the same time. According to the space your game pawn reaches, you will be required to pull an Action Card, Crime cards are the only optional pull anytime a game pawn rests on the Crime space. Follow the instructions on the Action Card and return it to the bottom of the deck face up, unless otherwise instructed on the card. Hold all cards requiring missed turns until all turns have been missed. Each missed tum must be called out loud or it will not be counted. Only reshuffle the deck after the entire deck has been used. A Transportation Card is required to move once the game pawn has exited a District.

Downtown is considered all areas outside the District. Players may move their game pawns up and side to side Downtown, players may never move their game pawn down or backwards on the game board unless instructed to do so by an Action Card.

Transportation Cards:

The Government must issue each player a No Car card once their game pawn enters Downtown. NO CAR Card…A player can only move 1/4 their 4-sided die roll. Therefore, the player must roll a 4 to move 1 space. Players must count aloud each roll in which they are not able to move. The count must be restarted each time after a 4 is rolled, allowing them to move. On the 4th roll they are allowed to move the full value of the die.

Cars may be purchased from, or traded to the Government at any time during the game, however, they can only be used Downtown. Example: Players cannot double their 4-sided die roll because they have a SUV in Black University.

The following describes all car types, cost, use, and value:

• Car Type: The type of the car
• Price: The cost of the car
• Roll Element: The effect the car has on players 4-sided die rolls while Downtown. i.e. a SUV will allow players to move 2 times (2x) the value of their die roll. A roll of 3 will allow players to move 6 spaces Downtown.
• Trade-In Value: The Trade-in value of the car if you decide to trade the car in to the Government.

The Government will provide the players with the appropriate Car Cards when a player purchases a car. A player may only own one car at a time.

Car Type                  Price        Roll Element                                    Trade/Sell Value
* Bucket                  $2,000       moves 1/2 4-sided die roll Downtown            $500
* Used Mid-Size       $5,000       moves 4-sided die roll Downtown                   $1,200
New Sub-Compact   $8,000       moves 4-sided die roll Downtown                   $4,000
New SUV                   $18,000     moves 2x 4-sided die roll Downtown            $9,000

*These cars are older and will break down if an applicable Action Card is pulled. The New cars will not break down!

ACTION CARDS:
The following is a list of the Action Cards and a brief description:

Hollywood:
These spaces relate to the Entertainment Industry. They are located in Hollywood District.

University:
These spaces relate to University. They are located in the University District.

Military:
These spaces relate to life in the Military. They are located in the Military District.

Hood:
These spaces relate to living life in the Neighborhood. They are located in the Neighborhood District.

Corporate America:
These spaces relate to working as a Minority in the Corporate Arena. They are located in the Corporate America District.

Career:
These spaces represent job opportunities, to those that qualify. They are located throughout the entire game board. A player may only hold one Career card at a time. Players may exchange their Career’s anytime they land on the Career space. Some Career cards may require players to be in specific Districts.

Prison:
These spaces relate to living life as an inmate in a correctional facility. They are located in the Prison District.

Life:
These spaces relate to events that may happen in everyday life. They are located throughout the entire game board.

Church:
These spaces relate to events associated with Church. They are located in the Church District.

Racism:
These spaces relate to the discrimination that minorities endure in everyday life. They are located throughout the entire game board.

Crime:
These spaces relate to crimes that are committed. They are located everywhere on the board except for the Church District. Pulling a Crime card is Optional.

Police:
These spaces relate to events involving the Police. They are located throughout the game board.

PAYDAY:
When a players’ game pawn reaches a PAYDAY space they will receive their salary as designated by their Career. If the player does not have a Career they will not receive any money, but they may have to pay rent or child expenses.

Paying Rent on PAYDAY:
All players are required to pay rent, even if they have no income or career. The rents are as follows:

• Hollywood   $2,000 each PAYDAY
• University  NO RENT
• Military NO RENT
• Neighborhood $500 each PAYDAY
• Corporate America $1,300 each PAYDAY
• Downtown $1,000 each PAYDAY

Baby Cards:
A player has a baby once they pull a Baby Card. Each player is required to pay the Government $1,000 per child every payday, even if the result of the child expenses takes a player into a negative income (Debt). If a player pulls a Baby Card with two babies, they are required to pay $2,000 each Payday.

Marriage Cards:
Players are considered married once they have pulled a Marriage Card. The player must pull a Career card for their wife. A player’s wife enters the game with Some College. If a player pulls an Action Card stating their wife graduates from college, their wife is eligible for all College Degree required Careers. A player can only hold one marriage card at a time. On Payday a married player will collect the salary from their Career as well as their wife’s salary.

Debt:
Players are considered to be in Debt if they have less than $0 at the end of their tum, at which time the Government gives them a Debt Card. The players then have 5 rolls to pay their Debt. After the 5th roll the player’s game pawn is moved to the Word Neighborhood, where they will restart. A missed tum is not considered a roll, a player in Debt must call out the number of each roll they are in Debt. For example, a player making their 3rd roll in Debt must call out 3 prior to rolling the die, letting other players know how many rolls they have been in Debt. This of course does not apply if the player is already in the Neighborhood, however the player again will only have 5 rolls to get out of Debt upon exiting the Neighborhood District.

Church:
A player can go to Church at any time during the game. They must clearly state they are going to church and move their game pawn to the space titled ‘’To Church Start Here” on the game board. The only time you may not go to Church is after you rolled for your Probation/ Sentence in the Court System. Once you begin on the column to Church you may not tum around. The player must follow the column all the way up to Church and make only one rotation around Church before returning down the column. Once you have returned from Church, either move to where instructed in Church or return to your previous space. There are many benefits from going to Church. If you are in Debt the Church may take up an offering for you, or if you are going to The Court System, your Pastor may be able to have your Probation/Sentence reduced, or if you are out of work the Church may offer you a Career. Players must report to the Court System at once after returning from Church if they were required to do so prior to going to the Church District, at which time any reduced roll cards can be used.

LAWYERS:
Lawyers may be able to reduce your Probation or Prison Sentence based on their skill level. A player may retain a Lawyer at any time prior to rolling for Probation/Sentence in the Court System. The Lawyer breakdown is also located in Prison, under the Court System. All lawyers must be paid prior to the player rolling for Probation/ Sentence. There are 4 different types of Lawyers:

• Public Defender: Free, There is no charge for the “PD”, however they cannot reduce your Probation/Sentence. Players are automatically assigned a “PD”
• Small Firm Lawyer:$2,500 fee, Reduce Probation/Sentence by 2 rolls.
• Large Firm Attorney: $5,000 fee, Reduce Probation/Sentence by 5 rolls.
• Dream Team Attorney: $10,000 fee, Reduce Probation/Sentence by 10 rolls.

If your Probation/Sentence was reduced lower than the amount of rolls you received consider the charges dropped, and you remain on the same space on the game board. It will count as one offense though. An Offense is counted each time a player goes to court, even if the player was sent to different courts. Lawyers must be retained EACH time a player is sent to court.

PRISON:
If a player is sent to Municipal, District, Superior, or Federal Court they must go to the Prison District for Trial. There are three different types of verdicts: Dismissal, Probation, or Sentence. Players lose their Career when they are sentenced to Prison.
Rolling for verdict:
Look at your applicable court and read the verdict for your offense number, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. (Use the 3rd offense for more than 3 offenses.) Roll the 4-sided die to determine the length of Probation/Sentence. (Ex: If you were sent to Superior Court on your last offense, you see it says on the board: Superior Court 1st offense (3-6) roll sentence, this means roll the 4-sided die to determine the length of the sentence. If you were to roll a 3, your sentence would be 5 rolls.) You factor your Lawyers benefits after you have determined the length of sentence.

Dismissal:
The charges were dropped against you, and you may return to your previous space on the board, however a dismissal does count as one offense.

Probation:
You may return to your previous space on the board, but you must miss the amount of turns that the verdict ordered.

Sentence:
You must move your game pawn to the Start space in Prison. You must roll the 4-sided die to move in Prison. The Government must move your game pawn while you are in the Prison District. You must roll the number of times ordered by your sentence before you may exit the Prison District. You must also pull a Prison card whenever your game pawn lands on a Prison space, the Government will read the card and you must follow the directions on the card. (Ex: You receive a 7 roll Sentence in Superior Court. You must now roll 7 times in Prison, however if you land on a prison space on your 1st roll which instructs you that you must miss 3 turns, you must miss the 3 turns, and then roll 6 more times.) A missed tum in Prison does not constitute a roll, it must be a physical roll in which your game pawn moved in the Prison District. Once you have fulfilled your Prison requirement you must go directly to the word Neighborhood, unless you have been instructed to do otherwise (i.e. by a Church or Prison Card).

This is by far the most important part of the game for it is the GOAL of the game. Players must roll the exact number of spaces to get into Freedom. (Ex. A player rolls a 3 and they are 2 spaces from Freedom, they must move either right or left 3 spaces). Players can never move backward on the board at any time unless specifically instructed to do so by Action Card. The first player to reach Freedom first wins the game. Other players may elect to finish the game out to determine order of finish, but it is not necessary, or you can just “Run it Back”. Visit our website for tips, hints and strategy.