-- DESIGNED BY TOM RUSSELL --

1. Introduction 1 8. Make a Contract 4

2. Components 1 9. Invest 4
3. Currency Pairs 1 10. Divest 4
4. Strengthening and Weakening 11. Resolve 5
Currencies 1 12. Resolving a Contract 5
5. Set-Up 2 13. Resolving a Loan 5
Set-Up Example 3 14. Resolving Dividends 6
6. Flow of Play 4 15. Game End 6
7. Spot Transactions 4 Game Summary 7
Tom Russell
1. INTRODUCTION
For-Ex is the game of currency trading for two to six
players. Players take on the roles of international
financiers, trading (and manipulating) seven of the
world's most heavily-traded currencies. Each currency
only has value relative to another, in currency pairs, with
the overall value of a currency being an aggregate of these
pairs and subject to fluctuation, sometimes subtle and
sometimes drastic. Players trade currencies, either with
other players in spot transactions or via long-term
contracts with the Bank. The terms of these contracts are
set at one point, but the contract will be resolved later in
the game; as the values of that currency pair may have
changed in the interim, this may result in the player
making a profit (or sustaining a loss). Players will actively
manipulate the values of these currencies by investing
and divesting in the related world economies, and will be
paid dividends for these investments.
Winning the game: At the end of the game, all players
will convert all monies to the single strongest currency.
The player with the most money wins.
Because this game deals with dollars, pounds, francs,
and other types of currency, the words "buck" and
"bucks" are used in these rules to denote an amount of
currency in the abstract/generic sense. Generally
speaking, a single buck of each currency is going to
represent several millions of that currency (or in the case
of the JPY and CHF, hundreds of millions); the exact
amounts are abstracted for ease of play and calculation.
2. COMPONENTS
The game is played with a Currency Board, a sheet of
counters, and 205 cards.
Many of the counters are used in conjunction with the
Currency Board to denote the current relationship
between two currencies in a currency pair; there are six
such counters for each currency (as each of the seven
currencies are part of six currency pairs). The remaining
counters represent a half-buck (0.50) or an additional
five (+5) or ten (+10) bucks.
The cards are divided as follows:
126 Notes, representing 1, 2, 3, or 5 bucks of the
stated currency. These are double-sided.
56 Certificates, 8 for each currency, representing the
ability to invest in that currency.
FOR-EX 1
5 Dividend Cards, numbered "0" through "4".
18 Contract Cards, labeled "A" through "F" thrice.
3. CURRENCY PAIRS
Crucial to the game is understanding the concept of a
Currency Pair. Each currency has a value relative to every
other currency, with one currency being stronger than the
other (and, of necessity, the other being weaker).
If, for example, one United States Dollar (USD) is worth
two Japanese Yen (JPY), the USD is stronger than the
JPY, as it would require 2 JPY to buy 1 USD. And,
conversely, the JPY is weaker than the USD, as it only
takes 1 USD to buy 2 JPY. The higher the quantity, the
weaker the currency.
The relative values of each Currency Pair are tracked on
the Currency Board. Each row of the board indicates a
specific Currency; that row is used for tracking Currency
Pairs in which the named currency is the stronger
currency. A double-sided counter is used on the numerical
track, displaying the weaker currency, to demarcate its
value relative to the stronger currency.
There is always a stronger currency and a weaker one in
every Currency Pair, even if the exchange rate is 1:1. If
the JPY marker is on the "1" space of the USD row, the
JPY is weaker than the USD.
4. STRENGTHENING AND WEAKENING
CURRENCIES
Throughout the game, you will need to Strengthen or
Weaken a currency. This results in an adjustment in
every Currency Pair in which that specific currency
plays a part. How this is represented within a given
Currency Pair depends on whether it is the Stronger or
the Weaker Currency in that Pair.
When Strengthening a Currency:
If it is the Stronger Currency in the Pair, move the
counter for the Weaker Currency one space to the
right.
If it is the Weaker Currency in the Pair, move the
counter for the Currency one space to the left. If it is
already on the "1" space, it now becomes the
Stronger Currency. Flip the counter over and place
it on the "1" space of the row for the new Stronger
Tom Russell FOR-EX 2
Currency. For example, if the JPY is Strengthened
and it was previously on the "1" space of the USD
row, the counter is flipped to its USD side and
placed on the "1" space of the JPY row.
When Weakening a Currency:
If it is the Stronger Currency in the Pair, move the
counter for the Weaker Currency one space to the left.
If that Weaker Currency is already on the "1" space, it
now becomes the Stronger Currency (as above).
If it is the Weaker Currency in the Pair, move the Example: the USD is strengthened. The USD is the
counter for the currency one space to the right. weaker part of the USD-EUR currency pair, so its
counter is moved to the left. The JPY is the weaker part
If a Currency is already on the right-most ("8") space of
of the USD-JPY currency pair, so its counter is moved
its row, it does not Weaken any further. Note that a
to the right; the strengthening of the USD is
Currency on the "8" space does not pay Dividends for
implemented by weakening that specific JPY counter.
Certificates.
Note that the JPY counter for the JPY-EUR pair is not
5. SET-UP moved at all; only the counters that depict a
relationship with the USD are moved.
Place the Currency Board at the center of the table.
Place the counters for each Currency Pair into the
spaces printed on the Currency Board, with the
indicated side face-up. For example, in the USD row,
there is a "JPY" printed on the "1.50" space, and so the
USD-JPY counter will be placed, JPY side face-up, on
the 1.50 space of the USD row.
Sort the Notes for the seven currencies into easy-to-reach
piles. Place the half-buck counters near these piles. Give
each player a 2 buck Note in each Currency. Players may
"make change" at any time. If players gain monies in any
Example: the USD is weakened. The USD is the weaker
half-buck increments, they should place those half-bucks
part of the USD-EUR currency pair; its counter is
next to or on top of the Notes for the relevant Currency.
moved to the right. The USD is the stronger part of the
Shuffle together the Certificates for all seven currencies. USD-JPY currency pair; the weakening of the USD is
Randomly draw 6 cards off the top, placing them back in implemented by strengthening that specific JPY
the box. Sort the remaining 50 Certificates so that each of counter.
the seven currencies has its own pile. Place these within
easy reach of each player, fanning them slightly so that it is
clear how many Certificates there are for each currency.
Sort the Contract Cards by letter, forming six piles.
Reserve space for one more stack of cards on both sides
of each pile. This forms the Contract Display.
Reserve a space for seven cards; this is the Contract
Queue. In the first space of this Queue, place the five
Dividend Cards in a single stack, with the "0" card on
top and the "4" card on the bottom. Example: the USD is strengthened. It is the weaker
currency in the USD-EUR currency pair, but the
counter is already on the 1 space and cannot move
left. The USD now becomes the stronger currency in the
pair; the marker is flipped to its EUR side, and placed
on the 1 space of the USD track.
Tom Russell FOR-EX 3
Tom Russell
6. FLOW OF PLAY
The game is played over the course of several Turns. The
player who usually wins at opaque stock-holding games
takes the first Turn, and play passes to the left. On a
player's Turn, they will do one, and only one, of the
following actions.
They may
Make a Contract with the Bank;
Invest in one or two Certificates;
Divest Certificates belonging to a single economy;
Resolve a Contract, Loan, or Dividend.
Before taking their single action, they may on their
Turn make one Spot Transaction with another player.
The game ends when the final Dividend has been
Resolved, or when a player is unable to pay off a Loan.
7. SPOT TRANSACTIONS
A Spot Transaction involves one player trading one
buck (exactly) of one Currency to another player for the
associated amount of another Currency, as defined by
the current value of those two Currencies within their
Currency Pair.
For example, if 1 USD is worth 2 JPY, the acting player
can trade 1 USD to another player in exchange for 2
JPY, or can trade 2 JPY to another player in exchange
for 1 USD.
A Spot Transaction is always between two players (the
acting player and one other player) and is always at the
lowest but simplest possible rate of exchange. You cannot,
for example, exchange 2 USD for 4 JPY in a Spot
Transaction. Neither can you trade 1 JPY for 0.50 USD.
A Player may, but is not required to, perform 1 Spot
Transaction before taking any turn. Other players may
freely suggest a Transaction that they feel will be beneficial
to one or both parties. No player is required to accept a
Transaction proposed by the acting player, or vice-versa.
8. MAKE A CONTRACT
To make a Contract with the Bank, the Player takes the
next available set of Contract Cards ("A" if it is not in
use, then "B", then "C", etc.). They place one card in
front of themselves, and they place one card behind the
last card in the Contract Queue. The third Card remains
in place in the Contract Display.
To the immediate left of the third Contract Card, the
player places from the Bank any amount of any
Currency, which they are promising to pay. They do not
necessarily have to have that amount of that Currency
on hand at the time the Contract is made.
To the immediate right of the third Contract Card, the
player places from the Bank the equivalent amount of
another Currency.
FOR-EX 4
Note that in both cases, the money comes from the
Bank, and not from the player's holdings.
For example, if 1 USD is currently worth 2 JPY, a
player may propose to pay 6 USD (placing it to the left
of the third Contract Card) in exchange for 12 JPY
(placing it to the right of the third Contract Card). When
the Contract is Resolved, that player will be required to
pay 6 USD (if able) and will receive 12 JPY, even (and
especially!) if the exchange rate has changed in the
interim. For more on this, see the Resolve action.
Don't be obnoxious rule: When making a Contract, the
amount of the stronger Currency must be a whole
number amount; if 1 USD is worth 1.5 JPY, you cannot
trade 1 JPY for two-thirds of 1 USD; that's obnoxious.
Only six Contracts may be in use at a given time; if there
are no Contract Cards available, a new Contract cannot
be formed at this time.
9. INVEST
To Invest, a Player pays to the bank 2 bucks of a given
Currency, taking in exchange one Certificate for that
Currency. For example, by paying 2 USD, a Player may
take one USD Certificate. There are limits to this action:
A single Player cannot hold more than 4 Certificates
for a given Currency.
A Player may Invest in two Certificates in a single
action, but both Certificates must be for different
Currencies. For example, you could Invest in USD
and JPY in a single action, but cannot Invest twice
in USD in a single action.
Whenever you Invest in a Currency, it is Strengthened.
10. DIVEST
To Divest, a Player sells one or more Certificates of a
single Currency type: the Certificate is put back into the
box (not in play) and the Player receives 2 bucks of the
appropriate Currency from the Bank. When a Player
takes a Divest action, they announce the Currency for
which they wish to Divest Certificates, and the number
of Certificates; then, the other players, in clockwise
fashion, each have the opportunity to likewise sell one or
more Certificates of that type.
Tom Russell
For example, if Bob has 4 USD Certificates and decides to
Divest himself of two, he announces his intention, returns
two Certificates to the box, and takes 4 bucks of USD from
the Bank. Cynthia then has an opportunity to sell USD
Certificates as part of Bob's Turn; she sells one, taking 2
bucks USD from the Bank. David decides not to sell his
USD; Agnes decides to sell two Certificates, taking 4 bucks
USD. All of this happens on Bob's Turn.
For each Certificate sold by each Player, the Divested
Currency is Weakened once. And so, in the above
example, when Bob sells his two Certificates, he would
Weaken the USD twice; Cynthia would then Weaken
the USD once; David would not Weaken the USD;
Agnes would Weaken the USD twice: the USD would be
Weakened a total of five times.
11. RESOLVE
The Resolve Action resolves the single item at the front of
the Contract Queue. Upon its resolution, the item at the
front of the Queue is removed, and the item that was
behind it - second in the Queue - is moved up to the front.
Contract B is at the front of the Contract Queue. When a
player next takes the Resolve action, that Contract is
Resolved and, assuming it does not cause Bankruptcy,
the other items are moved forward in the Queue:
The Dividends stack is now at the front of the Queue.
When resolved, the other items are moved forward, the
top-most card of the Dividends stack is removed, and
the remaining stack is moved to the back of the Queue:
FOR-EX 5
How an item is Resolved depends on what that item is: a
Contract, a Loan, or a Dividend.
12. RESOLVING A CONTRACT
When a Player Resolves a Contract, the Player who is
party to that Contract (has a copy of that Contract Card
in front of them) must pay to the Bank the amount that
they promised, and in return, they receive the amount
from the Bank that was promised to them. A Player
does not necessarily need to be the party to the Contract
in order to Resolve it, and it might be to the resolving
Player's advantage to force such a resolution.
Recall that the amount the Player promises to pay is
placed to the left of the Contract Card on the Contract
Display; this is the amount he or she is required to
match of the same Currency. The amount that the
Player receives is that which was placed to the right of
the Contract Card on the Contract Display.
When this transaction has been successfully completed, the
money to the left of the Card on the Contract Display is
placed back in the bank, and all three Contract Cards for
that letter ("A", "B", "C", etc.) are placed in a single stack,
making them available for later use.
It is possible that a Player may not have sufficient
monies of the required type to pay to the Bank the
amount that they owe. If this happens, the Contract is
converted to a Loan instead:
The Player takes the money from the Bank (from
the right side of the Contract Card).
The money to the left of the Contract Card remains
in place, and the Player adds one buck of that
Currency to the stack from the Bank (interest!).
The Player moves the Resolved Contract Card from
the front of the Contract Queue to the back, effectively
creating a new Contract, in which he will pay the
indicated amount and receive nothing in return.
The Player cannot pay some of the amount owed
before making the Loan; it's all or nothing.
It may be that a Player already has a Loan out due to
prior malfeasance. In this case, instead of taking out a
second Loan, the amount that would be owed for the
new loan (the amount plus one buck) is added to the
Contract for the existing Loan, even if it is a different
currency, and must all be paid off at the same time.
13. RESOLVING A LOAN
When a Loan is Resolved, the Player who is party to
that Contract must pay all the money owed to the
Bank. Upon doing so, the Contract Cards are returned
to the Contract Display, just as they would be with
resolving a normal Contract.
If they are unable to pay off their Loan, they go
bankrupt, immediately ending the game. A Player who
goes bankrupt cannot win the game.
Tom Russell
14. RESOLVING DIVIDENDS
When a Dividends Card is Resolved, each Player earns
money for Certificates in their holdings:
The "0" Dividends Card pays no monies.
The "1", "2", and "3" Dividends Cards pay 2 bucks
per Certificate.
The "4"Dividends Card pays 3 bucks per Certificate.
There exists an exception to this: if any Currency, for
any Currency Pair, is on the "8" space, it pays no
Dividends whatsoever. For example, if even one USD
marker is on the "8" space, then USD Certificates pay no
Dividends.
Upon resolving Dividends, remove the top-most
Dividends Card from the stack, and then move the
remainder to the end of the Contract Queue. Before
moving on, the Players must determine which Currency
has the most Certificates in Player hands; that Currency
is Strengthened. If there is a tie, the Player who
Resolved the Dividends chooses which one of the tied
Currencies gets Strengthened.
When the fifth Dividends Card (number 4) is resolved,
there are no more actions or Turns; instead, all remaining
items in the Contract Queue are Resolved one after the
other before ending the game.
FOR-EX 6
15. GAME END
The game ends when one of the following occurs:
Any player goes Bankrupt.
There are no items left in the Contract Queue.
Note that if a player goes Bankrupt, any remaining items
in the Contract Queue do not get resolved!
At the end of the game, players will determine which of
the seven Currencies is the Strongest, checking the
following priorities, in order:
For each Currency, count the number of Currency
Pairs for which it is the Strongest Currency. If any
Currency's total is higher than all other Currencies,
it is the Strongest.
If there is a tie for this first case, determine which
of the tied Currencies has the most Certificates in
player hands. That Currency is the Strongest.
If there is still a tie, the Player who took the last
Action in the game chooses which of the remaining
tied Currencies is the Strongest.
All Players convert all of their monies directly to the
Strongest Currency (pencil and paper may be helpful at
this stage). Do this one currency at a time, and round any
fractions resulting from each conversion down. The Player
with the most money wins. If there is a tie, the tied player
with the most Certificates for that Strongest Currency is
the winner.

CREDITS
DESIGN: TOM RUSSELL
DEVELOPMENT: TOM RUSSELL & MARY HOLLAND-RUSSELL
GAME ART: COLE WEHRLE
EFFICIENCY CONSULTANT: BRIAN (NOT JEFF)
RULEBOOK LAYOUT & EDITING: MARY HOLLAND-RUSSELL
PLAYTESTERS: MARY HOLLAND-RUSSELL, STEAMPUNK LEGEND JAKE HILDEBRANDT,
PETER JURICH, JAMIE MAURER, ADRIENNE PATTERSON, STEPHANIE PIESTRAK, JD
PROCTOR, DAVID SCHONSCHECK, CHAS THRELKELD, COLE WEHRLE, DREW WEHRLE.
Copyright 2017 Tom Russell under license to Hollandspiele
Tom Russell FOR-EX 7
FOR-EX GAME SUMMARY
SPOT TRANSACTION
Before taking your action for your turn, you may, but are not required to, perform one Spot Transaction with
another player, trading 1 buck of any currency for its equivalent in another, or vice-versa.

MAKE A CONTRACT
Take the next available set of Contract cards, placing one in front of yourself, one at the back of the Contract Queue,
and leaving the last in the Contract Display. To the left of this last card, place the amount (taken from the Bank) that
you wish to pay. To its right, place the equivalent amount in the other currency.

INVEST
Buy one or two certificates for 2 bucks each of the relevant currencies. You cannot buy two certificates for the same
currency in a single action, nor can you have more than four certificates in a single currency at one time. Any
currencies that are invested in are strengthened.

DIVEST
Sell one or more certificates of a single type, removing those certificates from the game and receiving 2 bucks of that
currency for each certificate divested. As part of your turn, clockwise around the table, each other player has the
opportunity to divest certificates of the same type, likewise receiving 2 bucks of that currency and removing the
certificate from the game. The divested currency is weakened once for each certificate that is divested.

RESOLVE
Resolve the front item in the Contract Queue.
If it is a Contract, the player who is party to that Contract must pay the amount to the left of the Contract, and
receives the amount to its right. If unable to do so, it is converted to a Loan.
If it is a Loan, the player who is party to that Loan must pay the amount owed. If unable to do so, the player is
Bankrupt and the game ends immediately.
If it is a Dividend, players earn 0, 2, or 3 bucks of a given currency for each Certificate they hold in that currency,
unless that Currency has any counters on the "8" space, in which case those Certificates pay nothing. After making
payouts, determine which Currency has the most Certificates currently in player hands: that Currency is
Strengthened. If multiple Currencies qualify, the acting player chooses one Currency from among the tied Currencies.
When the final Dividend is Resolved, there are no more player turns; instead, the remaining items in the Contract
Queue are Resolved in order.

STRENGTHENING/WEAKENING
Currencies are Strengthened:
each time it is Invested in.
when, after Resolving a Dividend, it has the most Certificates in player hands.
Currencies are Weakened:
each time it is Divested in.

GAME END
Determine which Currency is Strongest (the stronger half of the most Currency Pairs); if there is a tie, the tied
Currency with the most Certificates in player hands is the Strongest; if a tie persists, the player who last took a turn
decides which of those tied Currencies is Strongest. All players convert all monies to that Currency, rounding any
fractions down. The player with the most money wins.