If you're looking for a fun activity for your next outside the office get-together with your co-workers, consider spending an evening playing Dilbert the Board Game. This hilarious board game for adults is likely to keep you and your office mates entertained all evening long.
The Dilbert Principle in a Box
If you enjoy reading the popular Dilbert comic strip or the related books by Scott Adams, you'll probably love the experience of playing Dilbert the Board Game. The game is based on the tongue-in-cheek premise infused throughout the Dilbert series that the most ineffective corporate employees tend to be promoted to management positions because they can do less harm in such roles. This premise is referred to as the Dilbert Principle.
Playing Dilbert the Board Game
Intended for players age 14 and over, this game can be played by groups of three to six individuals. You can play with any of your friends and family members, but it can be particularly enjoyable to experience the Dilbert Principle in action with the people you work with every day. It takes approximately 90 minutes to play one game, making it an excellent choice for an after work gathering.The humor of the game is very specific to the Dilbert comic strip and the accompanying series of books. It is based on entertaining exaggerations of life in the corporate world, poking fun at cubicles and the roles of employees at all levels of the organizational chart. Those who are familiar with corporate culture are likely to really enjoy the game, but others may not find it particularly amusing.
Characters and Setting
In the game, each player assumes the role of one of six of the regular characters from the Dilbert series. The players have special gifts and personality traits that impact their roles in the game. Player pieces imprinted with each character's image move around the game board, which is designed to look like an office.
Object of the Dilbert Game
The object of the Dilbert game is to end up with more happiness points than the boss. The boss starts out with 27 happiness points, but loses points as the game goes on. Players start with no happiness points, and they engage in activities, directed by instructions on memo cards, that help them earn or lose happiness points. It is possible for players to have negative quantities of happiness points, with possible scores ranging from -27 to 27. In addition to memo cards, players draw consultant cards and are able to earn both work and happiness tokens as they advance around the game board.
Throughout the game, players are both hindered and helped by their assigned personality traits, which include things like motivation, incompetence, apathy, offensiveness, and other characteristics. Player traits and happiness points are tracked on charts during each round of the game. The first player to amass more happiness points than the boss is named the winner.
Playing the Game
Humor from the Dilbert series is infused throughout the game. Players who enjoy the humor of Dilbert cartoons will likely greatly enjoy this game. Each player is assigned his or her own project at the beginning of the game. Each character is on a mission to get his or her project killed, and earns happiness points when getting approval from various management characters. During the course of the action, players may have to act out silly suggestions mandated by outside consultants.
Plan A Dilbert the Board Game Party
The next time you find yourself getting a little stressed out at the office, set aside some time to play this humorous game. It's a terrific tool for helping you and your co-workers put the occasional wackiness of corporate culture into perspective.
Playing this game is a great way to blow off some steam and relieve your office-related stress without resorting to gossiping about the other members of your company's staff. By the time you're through with playing a round or two of this board game, you'll probably come to appreciate your own workplace even more!
