Description

From the publisher's web site:
The board game Terminated was the brainchild of the experiences of its creator. After more than a decade of employment in different companies and industries, different departments and sectors of the businesses, from agriculture to software production, I realized that at the end of the day, one common factor was evident; the desire for career advancement and the fruits and privileges that accompanied the advancement. To me, everything seemed to revolve around this common factor, Advancement; the economy, lifestyle and life in general all seemed to be a game where the rules were already written and I had to follow them.

With this understanding in mind, I embarked on the arduous task of arranging it all on paper and it wasn’t long before I had a complete and playable game. The circular design of the game was chosen to emphasize the revolving aspect of the game. I had four gas stations to remind us of both the need for gas and the high gas prices. I included childcare; a common denominator in our families and most other successful and complete families. Since we all have to pay taxes, I included a slot for the IRS on the game. It was abundantly clear that since I got paid once every pay period, then one complete revolution around the board was equivalent to one complete pay period. Domestic utilities were also included in the game for this was an everyday necessity.

There were several things I could have included in the game such as food and health insurance but I ran out of room. However, I did include vacation, a common phenomenon at work, whether earned or incidental such as sick time or penalty (suspensions). The Superior Court was included to provide a platform for one to forward his/ her grievances and concerns and to provide a platform for one to mount their best defense whenever the circumstance arose.

For disciplinary purpose and as an instrument of the constant penalty awaiting the lawbreakers, I included the jail slot on the game. I also included the INS slot on the game due to the fact that there are numerous undocumented immigrants who masquerade as legal entities hence the need for consistently proving ones eligibility for employment. As much as I despise paying the high insurance premiums, the state law requires that we maintain auto insurance at all times. In an effort to keep the game fun and entertaining, I included the mailbox and email as tools to deliver messages, promotions, bonus, and even penalties.

The eight departments, Shipping and Receiving, Production, Assembly, Customer Service, Packaging, Maintenance, Quality Assurance and Management were chosen because I had personal experience in them and I felt that they were crucial to any manufacturing enterprise. Other departments such as accounting, advertising and marketing though important to a company were not included because I figured that some companies were able to operate profitably by either doubling or outsourcing these departments.