Shake Up

About this board game

Shake Up is a 2019 reverse deck-building game for 1–2 players that plays in about 25 minutes. Each player takes the role of a business consultant trying to rescue an IT company from high operating costs, low revenue, and mounting debt.

Both players begin with identical decks representing the company’s employees. Each turn, draw four cards and decide how to use their abilities. Employees can support different business strategies, while sales personnel may interfere with a rival’s proposal and purchasing or accounting departments can help protect against unwanted purchases.

The defining challenge in Shake Up is deck destruction. Rather than adding increasingly powerful cards, players begin with fully powered-up decks and work to make them more efficient. A Lay Off action permanently removes an employee from your deck, reducing future salary costs while helping you focus on the strategy you want to develop.

• Manage identical employee decks in different ways.
• Use card abilities to pursue revenue and clear starting debt.
• Lay off employees to streamline your deck and reduce salaries.
• Disrupt rival proposals while defending your own business plans.

When a player’s draw deck is emptied and recycled, that player may call an Audit. The audit totals earned revenue, then subtracts the salaries of all employees still in the deck and any unpaid loans. A positive result means an immediate victory; a failed audit instead adds more debt for wasting the auditors’ time.

Every decision in Shake Up weighs immediate ability against long-term efficiency. Keep experienced higher-ups for their stronger abilities, or remove costly employees to improve the company’s financial position—but decide carefully when to risk calling the audit.