Venture (1968)

About this game

Card game in which players purchase companies using sets that have various monetary denominations (the resource cards). Turning in a set with matching symbols is worth more than the face value of the cards, so set collecting becomes a key strategy. Purchased companies (the corporation cards) are placed in front of the player according to a matching letter system. The top company of each stack is vulnerable to proxy take-overs by other players, so they usually attempt to order their holdings such that the most valuable ones are covered by less valuable companies. Scoring occurs whenever a player draws a profit card from the deck. The game ends when the corporation deck is exhausted. Originally published by 3M (3M Gamette Series), re-published by Avalon Hill in its "gamette line" (gamette no. 205) when they took over 3M's line. Schmidt published the German edition DIE BOSSE in 1991.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 6.
• Rules load. At 2.0/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.