Rats. That's what you are. Big, hungry rats. You're all VPs at Rat Financial Incorporated, and you're all working for a slice of The Big Cheese. The President is retiring next month, and whoever can score the most points gets to take his place. And his Big Cheese.
The Big Cheese is a simple bidding game about managing project teams. You bid with people, and the more people you put on a project, the longer it takes to complete. Just like in real life.
You will need the rulebook and the cards, plus a set of polyhedral dice (4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20-sided), and a way to keep score. The rulebook also contains alternate rules in case you are lost in the woods with nothing but a poker deck and a single six-sided die.
The Files for the Original Version: This is the updated original 36-card version, with cute little rats by Carol Monahan.
- The Big Cheese Rules (352 kb)
- The Big Cheese Cards (2.2 MB)
The Brian and John version: The Brian and John edition of The Big Cheese is a 48-card deck that actually replaces the dice rolls with numbers on the cards. Pretty clever, huh? You can print this one yourself, or you can order it from Artscow, here.
- "Brian and John" Big Cheese cards (9.3 MB)
- "Brian and John" Big Cheese Card Backs (413 kb)
Oh yeah, and if you play with this version, we suggest you play to 50 points. The biggest project is a 24.
Remember, if you print this game at Artscow, we don't see any of that money. So be sure to click "donate" as soon as you think we deserve it. And if you've never heard of Brian and John, it's a Web comic by James Ernest and Brian Murphy, at www.brianandjohn.com
Like all of our free games, The Big Cheese is supported by your donations. So if you like this game and you'd like to see more, please click the "donate" button. If you're not sure how much to give, you can see our chart of suggested donations here.
Play Online: The folks at Taebl.com have posted a free online version of The Big Cheese. Taebl games don't actually know any game rules, but they do have all the game components in a handy online gaming room. Check it out!
