Hard Sell
Sell. Buy. Negotiate.
Hard Sell is a negotiation game for 2-3 players that takes less than 10 minutes to play. It is a standalone game that can also be used as a negotiation or barter mechanic inside a larger game.
To play Hard Sell you will need:
- a device with internet access
- a six-sided die (d6)
- a standard deck of cards shuffled with the jokers removed
How it works:
One player is the SELLER, the other is the BUYER. An optional third player can be the ARBITER. The SELLER attempts to sell a book about a random topic to the BUYER at above market value (the value is determined by drawing cards), while the BUYER tries to negotiate a lower price. Negotiation involves improvisation and rolling dice with the final price being established by eliminating cards.
How you can use this:
You can use Hard Sell in two ways:
- A fun improvisation game where you negotiate with each other
- Mechanics for handling price negotiations and bartering inside a larger tabletop RPG
The game is formatted in a tri-fold pamphlet and is available in A4 and US letter sizes.
You can use these negotiation mechanics as published, or use them as a system reference document (SRD) to create something new. You're welcome to use and adapt Hard Sell in any project of your own, even commercial ones. If you do, please provide attribution to Ten Acre Games and a link back to this page with the following text:
Negotiation rules from Hard Sell by Ten Acre Games, used with permission - tenacregames.com/hard-sell
You can also comment on here with a link to your game and I'll add it to this page as a reference.
Hard Sell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyright © Hugh Lashbrooke and Ten Acre Games. You may use, copy, share, and modify for any use, so long as you provide attribution to Ten Acre Games.
Status | Released |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (4 total ratings) |
Authors | Hugh Lashbrooke, Ten Acre Games |
Tags | kiwirpg, minigames, negotiation, price, srd, system-agnostic, Tabletop role-playing game, Two Player |
Asset license | Creative Commons Attribution v4.0 International |
Average session | A few minutes |
Languages | English |
Accessibility | Color-blind friendly, High-contrast |
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $2 USD. You will get access to the following files:
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Development log
- Free copies of Hard Sell availableJun 01, 2024
- Adaption notes added to pamphletJan 14, 2024
Comments
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I love this format! I’ve got some questions: How do we determine market value? How do we bridge the gap between card value and, say gold piece value in a RPG? What if there’s only 2 players and they don’t want to concede a +2?
Great questions!
The market value is determined by the 6 cards you draw - the average value of those cards is the market value. If you're applying this to an in-game item then it will depend on the item and system you're playing. If you want to translate that to a gold piece value then it might make sense to multiply it by 10 or 100 and then play the game as normal from there.
Alternatively, you could set the value independently of the cards and then use the negotiation result as a modifier for the value. For example, if the outcome of the negotiation is that the remaining two cards total half of the market value determined at the beginning then you can halve the value of the item being sold.
If no one wants to concede the +2 then they need to be more reasonable and admit when someone made a good argument - that's very much up to how you play and how reasonable people can be, which is why having an arbiter is quite useful. If you're playing this in another game then the GM can act as the arbiter.
I'm glad you're enjoying Hard Sell! I'm happy to answer any more questions here :)
I have added these notes (and more!) to the downloadable PDFs.
This is an excellent little game that balances chance, individual creativity, strategy, and improvisational cooperation. It surprised me by featuring the homepage I set all my browsers to in the rules. I recommend this as a stand-alone game for a few minutes of fun, warm-up, or as an ice-breaker.
Where this game may really shine is as a more-engaging barter system for existing ttRPGs. GMs who know the sell or purchase of a major item is on the horizon will appreciate having this tool in their back pocket to use as a mini-game for the exchange.
Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoy this and see the potential in using it as a bartering module.