Public Assistance Game Rules Page 01

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE®
Why Bother Working for a Living?

RULES
2 to 4 Adults

WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF THIS GREAT WELFARE GAME?
A game board, 4 pawns to represent each player, 4 pawns to represent each player's live-in or spouse, 30 out-of-wedlock children, a black pawn to keep track of the number of months played, 3 dice, 50 Welfare BENEFIT cards, 50 Working Person's BURDEN cards, more than half-a-million dollars in play money that includes bank notes to keep track of money borrowed.

HOW DOES A PLAYER WIN THIS GREAT WELFARE GAME?
The winner is the player who accumulates the most money (after taxes if you end up in the Working Person's Rut) in the number of months (times around the board) played.

HOW MANY MONTHS (TIMES AROUND THE BOARD) MAKE A COMPLETE GAME?
Twelve times around the board makes a good game, but the players may agree on any number of months to be played beforehand. The game is then over when the player who went first passes the First of the Month, on either the Able-Bodied Welfare Recipient's Promenade or the Working Person's Rut, for the 12th time.

HOW DOES THE GAME BEGIN?
High roll of the dice determines which player goes first. Each player begins on the larger block marked First of the Month, and receives his first welfare allowance of $1,000. Roll 2 dice to determine the number of blocks advanced each turn.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING OUT AND TAKING IN MONEY?
You must designate one of the players as the Custodian of the Taxpayers' Hard-earned Dollars. It is then that player's responsibility to pay out and receive money as directed by the rules, blocks, and cards drawn.

HOW DO PLAYERS ON THE ABLE-BODIED WELFARE RECIPIENT'S PROMENADE CONTINUE TO COLLECT THEIR MONTHLY GRANTS?
Each time a player makes it to the First of the Month or passes it, he or she receives the basic monthly grant of $1,000, plus $300 for each out-of-wedlock child acquired (this figure includes a cash equivalent for food stamps and medical expenses), plus the amount specified by any Welfare Benefit cards drawn.

IS THERE A LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF OUT-OF-WEDLOCK CHILDREN AN ABLE-BODIED WELFARE RECIPIENT MAY HAVE?
No. It is possible, though improbable, to land on 16 Have Out-of-Wedlock Child blocks in 2 trips around the Able-Bodied Welfare Recipient's Promendade. Sixteen illegitimate children may be uncommon but not unheard of. A welfare recipient in Baltimore, for example, is on record as having 22 out-of-wedlock children, all by the age of 32. And in turn, some of her out-of-wedlock children now have out-of-wedlock children of their own.

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