The Rich and the Good

About this board game

The Rich and the Good is a strategy game for 3–5 players, with games lasting about 45 minutes. Set during the second Industrial Revolution, it casts players as stock brokers seeking financial success while striving to appear as good citizens.

During the game, players buy and sell shares of stock, then influence stock prices using cards shared with their two neighbors. This creates a system of shared information: everyone learns something about what may happen in the markets, but each player holds different pieces of information.

Charity is central to the contest. Players donate stock to charities, and those donations are sold at the end of each round to determine the charitable contribution. The goal is not simply to accumulate the greatest personal fortune; players must also manage their public generosity.

• Buy and sell shares of stock.
• Manipulate market prices with cards shared between neighbors.
• Use incomplete, unevenly distributed information to guide decisions.
• Donate stock to charities during the game.

The game’s final condition makes charitable giving especially important. Whoever has donated the least to charity by the end of the game automatically loses, regardless of how much wealth they have built. This rule ensures that personal profit alone cannot guarantee success.

In The Rich and the Good, the winner is the player who makes the most money at the end of the game, provided they are not the player who donated the least to charity. Balancing market opportunities, neighboring information, and charitable donations is the key to turning financial ambition into a winning performance.