Pay Day

Gameplay

Pay Day is a board game with the objective of being the richest player at the end of the game—after paying bills of course. The board is a month-long calendar with a different activity or instruction on each day. Once you decide how many months you’ll play (how many rounds through the board you’ll complete) begin the game with each player choosing a token and places it on the start space. Using a six-sided die, players navigate through the month. Each day, you’ll have the opportunity to earn, win, or bargain for money, or you’ll be faced with a bill, fee, or financial obligation.

Bills come in the mail—which is why you want to avoid the 8 mail spaces interspersed throughout the board. If you do land on a Mail space, you must take the number of letters indicated. You could get lucky and receive an advertisement or a postcard, but there’s also the chance you’ll receive a bill or a moneygram. If you receive a bill, you must keep it until the end of the month and pay it in full on Pay Day (the last day of the month). If you get a moneygram, though, you must pay the amount specified immediately, placing the cash on the Jackpot spot. Players can win the jackpot by rolling a six.

The spaces you’ll want to aim for are the Deal spaces. When you land on one of these spaces, pick a deal card from the deck—you have the option to purchase the deal for the price listed or discard. If you wish to purchase the deal, you must pay the bank immediately. If you don’t have the funds, you can take out a loan. Loans must be taken out in increments of $1,000 and must be paid back by the end of the game. You only have the opportunity to pay back your loan (in full or in part) when you reach Pay Day. Once you have a deal in your hand, you must land on a Found a Buyer space. When you do so, you earn the payout from the bank. You can only sell one deal at a time, and if it’s still in your hand at the end of the game, it’s not worth anything.

Other spaces:

• Sweepstakes
  • When you land on sweepstakes, roll the die again. You immediately win $1,000 x the number on the die
• Lottery
  • When you land on the lottery, the bank puts in $1,000 and each player has the opportunity to put in $100. All players who choose to play the lottery pick a number 1-6 and then the player who landed on the spaces rolls the die. Whoever’s number is rolled earns all the dough. If a number that no one picked is rolled, roll again. Keep rolling until someone wins!
• Radio Contest
  • Beginning with the player who landed on the space, each player rolls the die. Whoever has the highest roll wins $1,000 from the bank. In case of a tie, the tying players roll again!
• Yard Sale
  • When you land on yard sale, draw the top card from the deal deck and roll the die again. The deal is yours for $100 x the number on the die!

When you reach Pay Day, stop! Even if you rolled a number that would take you past the space. In this order, here’s what you do next:

1. Earn $3,500 (your monthly salary) from the bank
2. If you’ve taken out a loan, you must pay 10% interest to the bank
3. If you’d like, you can pay part or all of your loan. Payments must be in $1,000 increments
4. Pay off all the bills you received this month. If you don’t have the funds, take out a loan!
5. Move your token back to the start space and wait for all players to finish their month before starting anew

At the end of the game, whoever has the highest net worth wins!

History

Paul J. Gruen invented Pay Day in 1974. Paul was from Newbury, Massachusetts and is widely known as one of the era’s top board game designers. Pay Day was Paul’s most successful game. Originally made by Parker Brothers, it’s currently marketed by Winning Moves Games USA.

Reception & Awards

Pay Day was so successful in its first year that it outsold Monopoly!