QE

About this board game

QE is a financial strategy game for 3–5 players that takes about 45 minutes. Each player becomes a central bank during a crisis, using unlimited financial resources to bail out sixteen companies from four countries.

In Q.E., you can print as much money as you need. Players bid on companies of different sizes to build victory points, beginning with an open bid from the lead player while the other players submit their bids in secret. Because the central banks control the printing presses, there is no fixed limit on how high a bid can go.

Winning companies is only part of the challenge. After all sixteen companies have been bailed out, players can earn bonus victory points through sets based on nationalization, monopolization, and diversification. These bonuses help determine who appears to lead on the scoring track.

But Q.E. has one final financial reckoning. Once victory points have been calculated, players add up the total amount of money they printed. The player who printed the most money loses all of their victory points, turning every extravagant bid into a potential disaster.

• Players: 3–5
• Playing time: about 45 minutes
• Core tension: bid freely while trying not to become the biggest spender
• Edition update: supports five players out of the box

With secret bidding, collection bonuses, and a dramatic endgame penalty, QE makes every bailout a calculation between immediate gains and long-term consequences.