Smoke Stacks is a board game for 4 to 8 players in which you play the part of a tobacco company advertising executive. Each player aims to gain the highest profit using savvy advertising campaigns. The game embeds anti-smoking lessons within an engaging and quick-paced multiplayer game.
TOPIC OUTLINE
The game was developed to shift player attitudes about the tobacco industry and behavioral intent to engage in tobacco use. Smoke Stacks simulates the experience of running the advertising division of a tobacco company.
HOW TO PLAY
Each player aims to accumulate the highest profit using savvy advertising campaigns. You receive operational funds and three types of cards to build an initial tobacco campaign: product cards (e.g., cigarette, cigar, or hookah), advertisement medium cards (e.g. television, direct mail, or internet) and customer value cards (e.g., cool, sophisticated, or American). Players roll a die to determine how many customers their advertising campaign has reached and receive the profit indicated on their product card. With their profits, players can build more complex advertising campaigns. At the end of the second round, another die roll, “the health die,” comes into effect. With this roll, each player learns how many of their customers suffer the negative health consequences of tobacco use. These customers are then placed on a special board, where the increasing number of morbidities and mortalities activates additional game rules corresponding to historical tobacco legislation. The game ends once the legislation is up to date. The player with the most money is the “winner.”