▲ Ascend Corp  //  Memo Device

System initialization

Internal portal

Access is restricted to employees present at this meeting.

4–20 employees required. Nine or more plays The Merger.

Confidential · personnel

The eight Secret Identities

Each pays its bonus for every quarter the objective is met, and costs $500 if a colleague names it correctly at the year end.

IdentityQuarterly objectivePer QIf found out
LoyalistEnsure the board vote passes.$2,000−$500
SaboteurEnsure the board vote fails.$2,000−$500
Thought LeaderThe final memo must contain a word of 10 or more letters.$2,000−$500
PoliticianThe final memo must have at least 2 semicolons or dashes.$2,000−$500
AdvisorThe final memo must include 2 adverbs.$2,000−$500
MinimalistThe final memo must be 12 words or less.$2,000−$500
EditorThe final memo must contain 2 misspelled words.$2,000−$500
Yes ManWrite the memo exactly as you received it.$1,500−$500

The Standard Operating Procedure in the box carries the same table.

Headcount confirmed

Deal these badges

This meeting has —. Pull exactly these Employee IDs and shuffle only those.

Employee IDs in play
The memo travels

Set aside the badges you are not using — — and return them to the box.

Strategic alignment phase

Pre-work

Before the Board issues this quarter’s directive.

Associates — conduct your 1:1

Every Associate holding a 1:1 takes it now. A 1:1 is a private conversation, away from the table, with any one colleague except the CEO — trade information, make a deal, or lie about both.

You may hold one 1:1 per token you were paid. Spend them or lose them.

Perk card declaration

Anyone playing a Perk that affects the memo-writing phase must declare it now. Draw 1 Attribute card if you currently hold none.

A Perk played here can buy intel on the memo’s original state — which is also the fastest way to work out who is playing what.

Ready to kick off

Once the above is done, the CEO takes the device back.

Encrypted comm link

Board directive

CEO only. Nobody else should be reading this screen.

Required objectives — integrate all four
    How this quarter is scored
    Each word still in the final memopays the CEO $1,000
    Three of four must surviveor the memo fails
    Your draft15 words maximum

    Q1 directive

    Draft the master directive

    Board directive — include all four

      0 / 15 words

      Corporate objectives may be abstract. Keep the grammar and the tone professional anyway — it is funnier, and it is harder to sabotage.

      Chain of command

      Hand the device to the VP

      Nobody else should be looking at the screen when you tap this.

      VP

      Update terminal

      Your access to the Board directive

        0 of 2 changes used

        Quarterly transmission complete

        —

        Meeting discussion

        Go down the chain of command. Say what you like about the memo, play any Perk, and watch who gets defensive — every employee has a Secret Identity, and this is where it shows.

        05:00

        Board directive — memo passed

        Collect compensation

        Quarterly salaries & attributes
        CEO
        VP
        Director$1,000 + salary + 2 attribute cards
        Manager$1,000 + salary + 3 attribute cards
        Associate$1,000 + salary + 3 attribute cards, replace HR violations, two 1:1s
        Associate retention bonus—

        Board intervention — vote failed

        Corporate coup

        Administrative action

        VP, take the CEO badge from the former CEO. Everyone else, pass your badge down to your direct report. Associates are immune to HR Violations drawn this quarter.

        Former CEO settlement
        Board word payout
        Mismanagement fine−$1,500
        Total settlement
        New structure payouts
        New CEO$1,500 + salary
        New VP$1,500 + salary
        New Director$1,000 + salary
        New Manager$1,000 + salary + 2 attribute cards
        New Associate$500 + salary + 3 attribute cards + a 1:1
        Returning Associates$500 + salary + 3 attribute cards + two 1:1s
        Associate retention bonus—
        Where there are several Associates, the Manager decides which one becomes the new Manager.

        Executive decision hub

        Promote or demote

        Influence the ladder. Your decision is not final — the Board still votes on it. What goes around comes around.

        Meritocracy protocol

        Rank swap

        CEO action

        Choose one employee to promote. They swap badges with whoever is immediately above them.

        Disciplinary protocol

        Demotion

        CEO action

        Choose one employee to demote to Associate. Everyone below them moves up.

        Board decision

        Sealed envelope

        Compensation

        Collect your salary

        All employees

        Collect your quarterly salary at your current rank — the rank you hold now, after any changes this quarter.

        The Global Ledger Vol 1 · No 1

        —

        —

        —

        Separation of service

        Step 1 of 7

        Mark your ending rank

        FY comprehensive audit report

        Every memo, as it was passed down

        Board words are marked. Anything unmarked was somebody’s idea.

        Post-merger integration

        Three devices

        —

        What each one does
        The CEOsets up the game, sees every employee and every department
        Room Oneruns that room’s memo. Sees who is in the room, never their department
        Room Twothe same, for the other room

        Office of the CEO

        Read this code to both VPs

        Both room devices must enter it. It is what makes all three devices deal the same employees into the same departments.

        —

        Anyone entering a different code gets a different game. If a room mistypes it, the departments will not line up — make them read it back.

        Restricted · office of the CEO

        The company

        —

        Room One — files for Department A
        Room Two — files for Department B
        Nobody else may see this screen. It is the only place both departments are written down.
        Your job, in order
        1Write the memo. Show it to both VPs together — 15s to memorise, 30s to write.
        2Type the same memo into both room devices and mark the four key words.
        3Start both clocks. Then walk between rooms and settle arguments.
        4At the end, read each room’s score off its own device.
        Tap anybody to move them. When a room votes somebody across, tap their name and this sheet follows the game.

        Room device

        Enter the CEO’s code

        Five characters, read out by the CEO. Both rooms must enter the same one.

        Room One

        Who is in this room

        Everyone seated here, and the rank on their badge. Not which department they belong to — this device will never show you that.

        —
        Keep this list honest as people are voted across. At the end of the year your VP names their department from whoever is sitting here.
        The only department this device states out loud is your VP’s, and everybody knows that already.

        2.1 · The VP’s 1:1

        Take one colleague aside

        —

        For the VP alone

        Step away from the room with them. When you are somewhere private, tap below.

        Confidential · for the VP only

        —

        —

        —

        Nobody else is told this. You are under no obligation to report it honestly — and everybody already knows which department you work for.

        Hand the device to

        —

        —

        —

        Room One — onboarding

        Collect your badge

        Pass the device around this room. Tap your seat, read it alone, and hand it on. Nobody else sees your screen.

        —

        Confidential — for one employee only

        —

        Your assignment
        Employee ID—
        Position—
        Department—
        Room—

        Executive meeting

        The VPs are wanted outside

        Host — do this away from both rooms

        Take both VPs somewhere neither room can see. Show them the memo on your own phone for 15 seconds, then take it away.

        Each VP has 30 seconds to write down what they remember. They keep nothing else.

        Then, back in this room

        The VP hands their note to an Associate, who types it in. From there it climbs the chain of command.

        Chain of command

        Hand the device up

        —

        Transcribe the memo

        As it reached you

        0 words

        Restricted — office of the CEO

        File the official memo

        Nobody in this room may look at this screen. The app stores this for grading and will never display it again.

        0 words

        Restricted — office of the CEO

        Select four key words

        Tap four words the Board considers essential. These carry the score; the rest are the tiebreaker.

        0 of 4 selected

          Ready to work

          Hand the device back to the room

          Host

          Do the same on the other room’s device before starting either clock. Both departments must begin together.

          This department
          Room—
          Employees—
          Fiscal year—
          Memo length—

          Q1

          00:00

          —

          Standing
          Last filingnot yet submitted
          Best so farnothing filed yet
          Submissions used0 of 4

          Action-item

          —

          Effective immediately

          —

          Guidance from the Board

          A clarification

          Regarding the memo

          —

          Q1 — memo review submission

          What did the memo say?

          —

          0 words

          Board response

          —

          —

          Your submission, marked
          Legend
          key wordone of the Board’s four, in the right place — this scores
          key wordone of the Board’s four, but not where you put it
          green textright word, right place — counts as a tiebreaker
          yellow textright word, wrong place
          unmarkednot in the memo at all

          Document history

          Audit trail

          Every version of this memo, in order, and every submission the Board has marked. The official text is not shown.

          Separation of service · the tie-break

          Name your department

          —

          —
          Only counts if the two departments finish level on memo points — but name them anyway, so the room can see how close you were.

          Separation of service

          The fiscal year is closed

          The official memo, at last
          This department
          Key words—
          Other words in place—
          Memo total—
          VP named correctly—
          Filings made—
          Read your memo total to the CEO and compare with the other room. Higher total takes the company. If the totals are level, the VP naming points break it. Then reveal every badge and settle who was working for whom.
          Who was actually in this room

          New employee onboarding

          Before the year begins

          —

          The orientation reel
          Runs about—
          Narratedwith sound — turn the volume up
          Everybody watchesit explains what each of you is playing for
          Worth watching in full the first time. If everybody at this table has played before, skip it — nothing in the reel is needed again later.

          System initialization

          Which year are we running?

          —

          The standard year
          Everyone for themselvessalaries, perks, fines, promotions
          You win byhaving the most money at the final audit
          The Small Merger
          Two employees came with an acquisitionnobody knows which two
          The company wins bynaming both of them
          They win byclimbing the ladder without being named

          Onboarding · confidential

          Collect your badge

          Pass the device around. Tap your seat, read it alone, and hand it on. Nobody else sees your screen.

          —

          Confidential — for one employee only

          —

          Employee ID—
          Position—
          —

          —

          Q1 · encrypted comm link

          Board directive

          CEO only. Nobody else should be reading this screen.

          Required objectives — use all four
            How this quarter moves the Index
            All four survive+2 to the company
            Three survive+1 — the memo passes
            Two survive−1 — the memo fails
            One or none−2 — the memo fails badly

            CEO

            Draft the master directive

            Board directive — include all four

              0 / 15 words

              —

              Update terminal

              The Board directive is sealed

              —

              0 of 2 changes

              Two changes are compulsory, for everybody. Nobody has to say why they chose the two they chose.

              Quarterly transmission complete

              —

              The Compliance Index
              This quarter—
              Now standing at—
              Meeting discussion

              Five minutes. Two of you came with the acquisition. Everybody else is trying to work out which two.

              05:00

              Executive decision

              Promote or demote

              The memo passed. The CEO moves one employee.

              —

              Choose an employee

              —

              The company, as it stands

              The ladder

              The company has been restructured

              —

              Everybody’s position now
              The Global LedgerQ1

              —

              —

              —

              Document history

              What happened to the memo

              Every version, by the rank that held it — not by name. Remembering who held which rank is your problem.

              Mid-year performance review

              One accusation

              The company may name one employee now. If they came with the acquisition, it is announced to everybody. If they did not, the accuser is demoted to Associate.

              Name somebody, or decline

              Review outcome

              —

              —

              —

              Separation of service

              Name both of them

              Two employees came with the acquisition. The company must name both to win. Naming one is not enough.

              —

              0 of 2 named

              FY comprehensive audit report

              —

              —

              —

              How it was decided
              Compliance Index—
              Named correctly—
              Merger position—
              Everybody, revealed
              Ascend Corp ▲ Success is mandatory Ascending together, one redaction at a time
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