Tipping Point
This was a game designed in 2017 as a way to teach customer service to staff in an industry similar to a fast food restaurant, or a dine-in deli/pizzeria.
Print and Play Rules
Objective:
Receive the most tips through providing excellent customer service!
Components:
1 Game Board
Deck of 45 Customer Cards
Deck of 40 Reaction Cards
6 sets of colored playing pieces (8 pieces per set)
Set-Up:
Place board in middle of table with all players sitting around the table.
Randomly Select a Player One.
Turns will proceed to Player One’s left
Prepare The Customer Deck: Consists of 5 Tipping Point cards and the number of Customer Cards determined by the number of players:
· 3 Players: 16 Customer Cards + 5 Tipping Point = 21 total cards
· 4 Players: 20 Customer Cards + 5 Tipping Point = 25 total cards
· 5 Players: 24 Customer Cards + 5 Tipping Point = 29 total cards
Take the 5 Tipping Point Cards from the deck and randomly add the remaining number of customer cards to reach the total above. Place the remaining Customer Cards back in the box without reviewing them: They will not be used for this game. Shuffle the Tipping Point and Customer Cards together and place it face down on the Customer Card Deck square. Reveal the top three cards and place two on top of the two Customer Card spaces and the third face-up on top of the Customer Card Deck. These three face-up cards form the draw options for the Customer Deck.
Each player takes a set of game pieces.
Shuffle the Response Deck and deal three cards facer down to each player. Place the deck face down on the Reaction Deck space on the board. Players can review their Response Card cards but should not reveal them to other players.
The Customer Deck consists of the 5 Tipping Point Cards and the number of customer cards based on the number of players. All are shuffled together and go face down in the top blue square.
Turn over three cards and place one face up on the deck and the other two face up on the second and third blue squares.
The Response Deck is shuffled and goes face down on the yellow square. Discarded cards are placed in the discard pile. When the draw deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile and place it face down in the yellow square to form a new draw deck.
Red Zone: When a customer slides into here because a fifth customer has entered their column, the player piece is removed and they remain here. They can only be “rescued” by playing a Tipping Point card to challenge for the customer. A successful Tipping Point Challenge moves the customer with the winning players game piece to the top spot of the Wrap up Column..
When a Player moves a customer they control from the Wrap Up column to Complete they are immediately “banked” by that Player and kept in front of them. They are grouped with any additional customers earned through Customer Challenges. How many customers you have earned is public knowledge but you do not have to reveal their tip amount.
The Service Track: The Service Track has 16 spaces: 4 columns and 4 rows, progress proceeds from L to R.
New Customers are placed in the Top Left Square and push any customers in that square down one square. This will cascade to any customers below. If the Welcome Track is full (has 4 customers in it) then adding one will push the bottom customer off to the Red Zone. When a customer advances to the right on the Service Track they always go to the top square of the next column, regardless of where they were in the current column.
Safe Zone: The top row of each column is a Safe Zone and a customer cannot be subject to a Customer Challenge when in that row.
Player Turn:
Each turn consists of a player taking 2 Actions. Players have four options per turn:
1- New Customer: Bring a new customer onto the board
2- Customer Service: move Customer one space to the right
3- Customer Challenge: Challenge another player to provide excellent service to their customer on the Service Track.
4- Tipping Point!: Play a tipping point card to try and save a customer that has fallen into the Red Zone of the Service Track
1. New Customer:
Select one of the three face up cards from the Customer Deck. Place it on the top square of the Service Track under the Welcome path. If you select one of the Tipping Point cards, place this in front off you off of the game board, you can use this on any future action (see Tipping Point! below)
Replenish the three Customer Deck draw options by taking the card on top of the deck and place it in the empty space and revealing the top card from the Customer Deck. If the card selected was from the top of the Customer Deck, reveal the top card and place it face up on the deck.
Placing Customer Cards: Place one of your game pieces on top of the card and place the Customer Card at the top left hand square of the Service Track, under the Welcome Column.
If there is a customer in this square: They move down one square. Any other cards also move downward.
If there were four customers already in the Welcome Column: The fourth customer moves off the track and into the Red Zone. The player marker on this customer is removed and is no longer claimed by that player.
Customers can be “rescued” from the Red Zone by use of the Tipping Point! Cards, which we will cover later.
Note: You can use both Actions to move a customer first onto the Welcome Column and then to the top of the Process column. This will move any customers currently in those columns down one space.
2: Customer Service: Move your customer one column to the right on the Service Track.
When a player moves to the right on the Service Track they are placed in the new column at the top of that column. This will move any customers in that space downward, and impact any customers below.
A customer can be moved two spaces on one turn, thus using both the players actions. Each move is reconciled individually so any cascade of players in a column on the first move are reconciled, and then the next movement is done.
3: Customer Challenge:
With this action you challenge to provide excellent service to a customer controlled by another player on the Service Track. You can select only those customers not in the Safe Zone: The top row of each column on the Service Track.
1- Indicate which Customer you are challenging and read the customer’s issue out loud.
2- The Player to your right is the Judge for this challenge. Note: If the player to your right is also the player controlling the challenged customer, then select the player to their right as the judge.
3- All other players (besides the Judge) can participate in the Customer Challenge.
A- All players select a card from their hand the card they think is the best response for the customer’s issue. They place this card face down. Note: Even if they do not have a good match, the player must play a Response Card from their hand.
B- Once all players have placed their cards faced down around the table, the Judge collects them and shuffles them. The Judge then reads the Customer Issue again and each submitted response.
C- The Judge selects the response that they feel best responds to the customer’s issue.
4- The person who submitted the winning Response Card collects that Customer Card and places it in front of them. You can keep these cards face down but other players can know how many cards you have collected.
That completes the action. If it was the first of the turn the player uses their second action (which can also be another Customer Challenge). All Response cards played are placed in the discard pile. Players draw back up to three Response Cards. In their hand. If the draw deck is empty, shuffle the discard pile and form a new draw deck. If it was the player’s second action then play will go to the next player on the left.
Note: A Player can use their two actions to first move a customer and drop another Customer out of the Safe Zone, and then use their second Action to challenge that same customer.
4. Tipping Point Challenge:
This requires a Player to have previously collected a Tipping Point card. Discard the Tipping Point card to the box and challenge for a customer currently in the Red Zone.
The Player to the left of the player who selected the Tipping Point card is the Judge. All other players participate under the same rules as the Customer Challenge in Action 3.
The winner of the Challenge places the customer card with their playing piece at the top of the Wrap Up column. Any existing customers in that column cascade downward.
Game Ending:
When the last customer card has been placed on the Service Track all players get one more turn, including the player who placed the card. The game ends when the final round has completed.
Scoring:
The players add up the Tip Amount of the Customers they collected. The player with the most Tips wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most customers wins. If still tied both players share in the victory.
Card Decks: