Ground Floor

Run a start-up from the ground floor up, balancing time, money and staff in a heavy worker-placement economy.

Designer: David Short
Published by: Tasty Minstrel Games

You have just opened your own company, the business cards are printed and the corner office is a distant dream. Ground Floor, from 2012, is a heavy economic worker-placement game about being a fresh entrepreneur who has too little of everything: time, money and staff. Every round you decide where your workers go, who to hire, whether to expand your office, collect information or schedule your next product shipment, and which tasks really come first. You can also barter with your fellow founders, because nobody can build it alone. Plan for a long session with a real brain-burning feel, best with four players.

Balance scarce time, money and staffWorker placement, hiring and shipment planningBarter with rivals to close gaps

Who it's for

You enjoy heavy economic games and want a long, tough optimization puzzle with some bargaining on top.

Not for you if…

You want a light evening or a quick game. This is a long, demanding economic puzzle for experienced players.

Vibe's take

Crunchy and demanding. Every worker, every coin and every hour is spoken for twice, and the pleasure is in squeezing one more point of efficiency out of a tight round.