Health

$20

Money

Food

Essential Workers

Rules Credits Quit

Good morning! Here's what happened yesterday:

Week

Day

Current Population:

Room Code:

2 players online

Room:
AAAA

Players in Room:

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Game Over. You lost all your Money!

Looks like you weren’t successful this time. No sweat! This is just a simulation after all. Feel to try again under the same circumstances, or tweak the parameters this time to try out different scenarios.

Or now that you know the basic mechanics of the game, hop into a multiplayer lobby to experience the full version of Essential Workers. This is a game about cooperation and community behavior, so it’s best played with other people.

Choose Your Character

The Grocery Store Worker helps keep the community fed. If this character gets sick, other players may have longer wait times at the Grocery Store.

The Nurse helps keep the community healthy. If this character gets sick, other players may have longer wait times at the Hospital.

The Grocery Shopper picks up online grocery orders. This character has an autoimmune condition and earns a variable amount of money ever day.

The Truck Driver makes sure essential goods are stocked. If this character can’t make deliveries, food may not be available at the Grocery Store.

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Game Setup

Essential Workers takes place over three weeks at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start of the game, you will be assigned one of four roles: Grocery Store Worker, Nurse, Grocery Shopper, or Truck Driver. Your persona determines your weekly needs and special abilities.

Game Play

Order of Play: Essential Workers is a game of educated guesswork and social deduction. Each day, players submit what action they would like to take from the dropdown menu. In a multiplayer game, all players submit their actions simultaneously and everyone moves at the same time.

Actions: Deciding whether to stay at home or risk going out is a choice you’ll be asked to make every day. At the beginning of each day, fill out your itinerary by selecting options from the dropdown menu such as going to Work or buying Sheltering in Place.

Locations: Society cannot grind to a halt, even in times of emergency. People still need food, medicine, and other essential services to survive. That’s why you’re classed as an Essential Worker after all. Vital resources and actions are available at each of the game’s locations:

Grocery Store: Buy Food
Hospital: Restore Health
Shelter in Place: Avoid infection and Order Food (more expensive than groceries)

Stats: You have three main stats:

Health: This determines your physical well-being. It can fall when you are sick or are out of Food. You can regain Health at the hospital. If it drops to 0%, the game is over. Everyone loses.
Money: This represents your general economic well-being. It falls when you buy goods and services. Each player pays 30 Money in Rent at the end of the week. You gain Money each day that you go to Work. If Money drops below 0, the game is over. Everyone loses.
Food: This represents your provisions and general supplies. One unit of Food is consumed at the end of day. Players with no Food at the end of a day will instead lose Health.

Essential Workers

A cooperative game about working together to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tutorial

Full Game

Play a challenging story mode that requires you to carefully split your resources between yourself and others.

20 - 30 minutes

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Essential Workers takes place over three weeks at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. On each of the game’s 21 days, players must fill out their day planner. You might choose to Work and earn an income. You can head out to the Grocery Store and pay for essential supplies. At the Hospital, you can purchase medical services. And if you Stay Home, you can reduce your chances of getting Infected. When you do Go Out, your chance of infection increases for every other player at the same location, so remember: social distancing will be key to your success. If you get Infected, you might find yourself losing Health day after day. In that case, you’ll want to prioritize Staying Home. Be careful about missing too many shifts though. At the end of each day, players must pay 1 Food token. If you cannot, you lose 10 Health. And if your Health or Money ever fall to zero, the game is over and everyone loses. The only way to win is by helping each member of your community survive to the end of the pandemic.