The overall objective is to rate a lofty position within the office (See Pecking Order, below). This is done by retaining as much of your credibility and soul as you can.

Each session should begin with a staff meeting (the person hosting the play session gets to decide who the first manager will be. They may choose themselves if they like).

The game plays out in scenes, which can be of any length and end in a conflict. Once the conflict is resolved, a new scene begins. There are different ways of determining when the concluding staff meeting is convened, which will end the play session. A set number of scenes may be played, but perhaps more convenient is to set a length of time and begin the concluding staff meeting a half hour or so before ending the session.

Use last sheet of paper? Re-fill tray. Out of toner? See William. DO NOT FORCE!!!!!

SWITCHING ROLES

There can only be one manager at any given time unless a manager's meeting is called. At any time between conflicts, a player playing an employee may elect to call in sick and switch to their manager. The player they are replacing as manager then picks up their own employee. An employee who calls in sick gets to restore a point of soul. If you call in sick too often, expect the manager on duty to initiate a conflict take that point away.

MEETINGS

A meeting may be called by the manager at the conclusion of a scene - the meeting is the new scene. A meeting can be one-on-one (getting called into the office) or with a select few (team meeting) or with the entire group (all-hands meeting). A staff meeting is a special version of the all-hands meeting that occurs at the end of every play session.

A meeting should be roleplayed. The nature of any conflict should be clear, and the initiating party should put the appropriate dice on the table. If there is any doubt, by all means spell out which aptitude is at play, but it is much more fun if the performance is uninterrupted by explanations. If anybody is lending support, they should do it in character and hand their die to their comrade.

MANAGER'S MEETINGS

Any manager can call a manager's meeting, but there can only be one per session - total. When called, everyone will play their manager character.

LUNCH

Each employee, once per session when a new scene is to begin, can declare that it is lunch time. During a lunch time scene, every player will play their employee and no managers will be present. When the scene is over, the pre-lunch manager must pick another player assume managerial duties.

STAFF MEETINGS

Each play session should begin and end with a staff meeting, which involves everyone. Anyone is free to initiate conflicts during staff meetings, which will probably devolve into incestuous bloodlettings with alarming speed.

CONSULTANTS AND SENIOR MANAGEMENT

It is very fun to have "efficiency experts" and other consultants, or a member of senior management, arrive as a plot thread during a session. These individuals should be played by the player who was highest on the pecking order in the previous session.

Consultants get 8-12 dice, but can put up to 5 in any one aptitude. They should be largely immune to social challenges.

Senior management get 10-16 dice depending on seniority and can also put up to 5 in any one aptitude. Unlike consultants, they may be vulnerable to social challenges.

PECKING ORDER

At the end of each session, after the closing staff meeting, compare credibility (among managers) and soul (among employees) to establish the pecking order. This should be a definitive ranking within the hierarchy of the office. In the event of ties, immediately initiate a conflict to settle matters. For employees, actual rank (scut or drone) does not matter when establishing the pecking order.

Temps, consultants, and senior management do not participate in this re-ordering.

To protect the safety of other employees and to better serve our customers, every employee must be fully alert. Therefore, we cannot tolerate sleeping on the job.

PROBLEM INITIATOR

When in doubt, tell a bald lie about a co-worker. Or steal from them, or take credit for their work.

Or make up your own office disaster! Invent your own, or pick from this list. Pick two! When in doubt, you can always roll dice to randomize a good predicament to get the ball rolling.

Stuff
  STUFF PROBLEMS WITH STUFF
1 Office supplies or furniture Vandalized or defaced
2 Telephone system or computer network Broken, jammed, malfunctioning
3 Computer hardware or software Unauthorized use
4 Copier, printer, FAX machine Lost or stolen
5 Files or storage Behaving suspiciously
6 Company vehicle or heavy equipment Incorrect item delivered

People
  PEOPLE PROBLEMS WITH PEOPLE
1 Salesman Won't show up
2 Contractor (painting, electrical) Won't leave
3 Building services engineer (cleaning, maintenance) Crazy or destructive
4 Security guard Incompetent or lazy
5 "Take your kid to work" orphan or work-release inmate Wants a (better) job (with your company)
6 Consultant/senior management Angry / has a chip on his shoulder

Places
  PLACES PROBLEMS WITH PLACES
1 Manager's office Environmental (mold, heat cranked up)
2 Cube farm Services (power out, email down)
3 Break room Abuse (stains, overflows)
4 Bathroom Social (stinky, noisy)
5 Meeting room Organizational (overcrowded, "modern" work-pods)
6 Reception Hazardous (fire trap, industrial paper cutters)