Kickstarter

Please check out the amazing video review by Tom Vasel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1_TYvQf3uQ

We were certainly glad to hear his game day friends actually preferred Lemonade Stand to some of the hottest games of 2011!  Check it out!

Update:  Just added an incredible support level at $150, double the $85 level and only 15 of them available.  Plus you can get it shipped WORLDWIDE!  It's coming down to crunch time here folks, help this reach its goal and get a killer deal at the same time!

Mayday Games is a small board game company with only a handful of board games to date.  This game has been in the making for several years and I really want to bring it to the world!  We have the know how to make this game a success, but not the money.  We are turning to Kickstarter to ask you to help us get this to production and launch it in 2012.  If we can meet our goal of just $4,000 then we can finish up the artwork and rules and get the game made!  Please give the game introduction and explanation a listen and consider supporting this project.

Video of "white dummy" copy of the game:

Introducing Lemonade Stand by Mayday Games!  

Did you ever play the old computer game “Lemonade Stand” on the Apple IIe computer?  Well we did and we loved it!  It was a simple, fun, educational game that really influenced a lot of people growing up in the early 80s.  We have been trying for a couple of years to recreate the simplicity yet realistic feel of this classic game.  We wanted to recreate this experience in a card game, yet keep the supply and demand calculations and complex math to a minimum.    Designer Trevor Cram was able to create what we hope you will agree is a simple, unique game that allows young and old alike to participate in their own business of setting prices, stocking inventory and making advertising decisions.  Each of these decisions will affect the profits or losses each player realizes, coupled with external forces like the weather and other players special action cards. 

In the end the player with the most money after seven turns will win and become the envy of the other would-be entrepreneurs.  This game plays 2-4 players in about 20 minutes and no two games are alike.  Will you suffer bad luck from poor weather or will you play too aggressively or conservatively?  Find out as you venture back to your wonder years gone by and compete with the other kids on the block to build the best Lemonade Stand.

You can check some higher-resolution pictures and the rules HERE: 

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/104655/lemonade-stand

Once we had the game mechanics ironed out we knew we had to have a child-like style of artwork to really capture the theme of the game.  We enlisted a bonified CARTOONIST who makes his living illustrating kids books.  Val Bagley has been a nationally syndicated and works full-time practicing his art.  We hope you will agree that his style really meshes well with the game.  Here is a short video of Val Chadwick Bagley starting the project:

We are so happy Val agreed to do this project with us!

The game consists of 88 cards and the rule book in a handsome box.  The cards are:

- 20 of each of three types of currency cards, 5 cents, 10 cents and 25 cents, for 60 cards.

-12 unique “dollar” cards which are worth one dollar but may be played once in each game as a special action card. 

-4 sets each of Lemonade Stand Character Cards at three price points, 5, 10 or 15 cents. 

-12 Weather report cards which forecast the weather for each day.  Each subsequent forecast card will also determine the weather for the previous day through a unique weather mechanic. 

The game is set in a simpler, more innocent time and you are one of four characters, each of whom start off with just 25 cents and a single dollar your mom gave you to start up your business.  The game begins with each player drawing one card into his/her hand ("A" Below) from the Special Action/Dollar card pile (B below) and keeping its action hidden from the other players.  

Each player chooses one set of three cards from the four available characters (C) and draws 25 cents in starting money from any combination of money cards (D) from the common money draw piles in the middle of the table (E).  Finally, the weather cards are shuffled and placed face down into the forecast deck (F).  The top weather card is turned over to reveal the forecast for the first day. (G).  Now you are ready to play!

Players play simultaneously by placing cards face down in front of them.  First players choose what price they will set for their lemonade for the day, by placing either in a 5, 10 or 15 cent stand face down in front of them.  The price card for each player will go face down in front of them.  Players want to set the highest price possible but don’t want to try to sell at a price higher than the actual weather will allow, as setting a price higher than the actual demand will result in less customers.  

Next players will decide how much of their hard-earned money to invest in either lemonade inventory or signs by putting up to three money cards face down in front of them.  Players must have enough inventory to sell to the customers each day or they will lose sales.  Signs will bring more customers in, but they are expensive and may not be worth it if the weather doesn’t cooperate.    

The front of all money cards will have a container of lemonade on it oriented so that if a player is buying lemonade the card should be facing so the lemonade is UP and inside the glass, while if a player turns the card around to represent signs the container on the front will be face DOWN indicating the lemonade is running out of the glass.  This helps players remember what they have invested in and gives other players indications of what the other players may be doing each turn.

Finally players may put down one of their special action cards which effectively break the rules of the game.  Each player starts the game with a single special action card (the one dollar card) and can play it only once per game.  Special action cards played in the same turn will be resolved starting with the youngest player and then clockwise from him or her.   Additional special action cards can be acquired by trading in one dollar’s worth of other cards.  Played special action cards remain with the player and still count as one dollar toward the player’s final loot.

Now that each player has all Price, Inventory/Sign and any special action cards face down in front of them, the next day’s weather forecast card is revealed.  This new card is placed to the right of the old forecast card and the yellow arrow on the new card will point to the old card, determining what the ACTUAL weather was for the day.  

Based on the actual weather, players will see what the demand price actually was for the first round of play and how many customers came to each.  Each player now turns over the face down cards in front of them.  Any special action cards are resolved starting with the youngest player and resolving in clockwise order from there.  Players now compare the sales price they set to the actual demand price and will always sell at the lower of the two.  Players now check the number of customers they had (based on the weather card) and adjust it 1) Down for setting their price too high or 2) Up for any signs that had effect.    Players will then compare the adjusted number of customers to the number of glasses of lemonade they invested in and determine the number of glasses sold as the lower of “customers” or “glasses”. 

All 5, 10 and 15 cent coins played are returned to their respective piles and the money earned is taken from the piles.   In the example above the player had just 5 cents left in his/her hand and returns all cards played to the common piles.  The player may then take 60 cents from the common area and begin the next round with 65 cents.

The next round begins based on the 2nd round card showing and the game ends after the 7th round.  The player with the most money wins!

Here is a sample of what a 4-player game would look like to start, keeping in mind that all cards in a player's hand are hidden in a real game:

Now on to the REWARDS!

Most levels include exclusive offers like signed copies of the game, numbered limited edition advanced release copies and promo cards.  The promo cards are two more special dollar cards.  These two rewards cards are:

Toy soldiers; (the little green plastic guys with their feet connected to a base)  -Effect; play as a reaction to another card to protect yourself against it.

Hired Bully;  -Effect; force someone to trade you their dollar card.

We will post pictures and additional details, plus we will have stretch rewards if you help us meet our goal!