Cube Farm Variants

by Erin Doerffer
B.Eng Mechanical, Carleton University

Cube Farm is the favourite game in my house right now (actually it's just my mother-in-law and I who are addicted; everyone else is afraid to play us) so we've come up with some variants.

First, a simple extension of the suggestion to play multiple hands. We play our second hand building onto the layout from the first hand, and count up the scores at the very end. We use different coloured counters for each hand, so we know who won each hand, but the overall score determines the winner. We tend to play several of these multiple hands in a row.

Second...
Cube Farm Solitaire: The Contractor

This is played essentially like the normal version, with the same goal of scoring the most points possible. The main differences are new rules for a random starting layout, and VP's and receptionists are treated as employees.

1. Place the elevator as usual.
2. Take 6 cards off the top of the deck and without looking at them, place them face-down but legally (touching the elevator or each other) on the board.
3. Turn each one over in its spot.
4. If VPs or receptionists occur in the starting layout, you MUST move their card to a legal position. VPs need elevator access just like normal employees, and receptionists must be 1 step away from the elevator (so they can cheerfully greet visitors to your office). In Fig. 1 of the rulebook, A, E, and D are legal placements for receptionists. B and C are legal only for VPs. If this was the opening layout, you would have to move the card with the VP on it to allow elevator access.
5. Place up to 2 employees in legal cubicles, if they exist.
6. Draw 6 cards and play normally. You MUST place an employee after each card you play. (The boss insists employees return to work even before construction is finished on the office.) If you can't, the hand is over.

Scoring:

Score employees as normal.

Score VPs and receptionists. They, not surprisingly, have a base value of -3 and -2, respectively, instead of the base 1 point for an employee cubicle.

In Fig. 1, if player A was actually a VP, the score would be:
-3 for being a VP.
+1 for extra cubicle space.
+4 for the photocopier.
Total: 2 points.

Negative points for being too close to receptionists and other VPs also count (they try to micromanage each other and wind up not getting anything done), so don't cram them all into one end of the office.

Variants for the variant:
If this is not challenging enough, try making your life more difficult by:

• Using more cards in the starting layout, or fewer cards in your hand.
• Making rules about placement for the starting layout: all cards must touch the elevator. Or, only one card can touch the elevator. Or no open floor space is allowed.
• Picking some VPs and receptionists out of the deck and including them (randomly) in the 12 cards you play each hand with.
• Removing 4-point cards.
• Building subsequent hands onto the results of the first