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Wednesday, November 17, 2004

CHANCELLOR'S CHALLENGE!

A Board Game



This board game is essentially a test of your strategy skills. You are an American university chancellor or president, and your object is to be the first such leader in the country to make a million dollars a year. To accomplish this, you must move intelligently around the board, avoiding pitfalls and taking advantage of opportunities, all the while defending yourself against the efforts of various opponents to undermine you.

Like Monopoly, this game awards you money for good moves. The first player to reach one million dollars wins.

Play begins with each player tossing the dice; higher number goes first, and the movement around the board is, again, like that of Monopoly.

Depending on what square you land on, you will be given certain choices (Examples: “Hire/ don’t hire a public relations firm to help you mount a defense of your compensation.” “Threaten/ don’t threaten to return to the for-profit sector.”); awarded certain bonuses (Examples: “You are too important to drive your own car. Here is your chauffeur.” “If you promise not to leave after one year, we’ll triple your salary.”); or, if you are unlucky, presented with certain setbacks (“Your tuition increase of 10% backfires: students, parents, faculty, alumni, demand your resignation. Go back four squares.” “State legislature passes a resolution condemning your ‘unconscionable greed.’ Go back six squares.”).

You might also land on a square that directs you to pick up a card from the Wild Card pile. Here, anything goes. Your card might say, “Congratulations! You’ve just been given a supplemental $10,000 from a car dealer looking for university favors!” It might say, “Too bad! The press is interested in the free season tickets for your city’s football team that the campus food vendor gave you!”

A note on strategy: Chancellor's Challenge rewards risk and boldness. As a general rule, for example, it is a good idea to move quickly from campus to campus as fiscal conditions change. The best overall strategy is to aim for less intellectually demanding institutions which have a strong corporate ethos plus political corruption. Historically, players have found the State of Florida system the most attractive square on which to land.