Clock in.
Learn the job.

01 / Welcome

Object of the game

You run a staffing agency with one simple goal: make a profit.

Your staff may include ghosts, vampires, monsters, strange creatures, and other supernatural hires who are somehow expected to do regular jobs. Some are perfect for the work. Some are barely qualified. Some should probably never have been hired in the first place.

During the game, you will send your Hires out to complete Jobs and earn Profit. The right Qualification can make a Job easier, while the wrong team can turn a normal workday into a complete disaster.

You can also use Mayhem cards to cause problems for your opponents and Fix cards to help clean up your own messes.

Extremely Bad Hires is a competitive card game for 2-4 players. Your goal is to manage your staffing agency, complete Jobs, deal with trouble, and reach the winning Profit total before anyone else.

Choose which game you want to play before setup begins.

Finish resolving the current card, Job, or effect before checking for a winner. See Winning the Game.

02 / Before you begin

What you need to play

Track Profit and Incapacitated Hires

Each player needs a way to keep track of their current Profit and any Incapacitated Hires.

Official Player Trackers make this easy, but they are not required to play. You may use paper, counters, dice, tokens, or any other clear method that works for your group.

If you are using an official Player Tracker, use the reusable markers included with it to record your Profit and Incapacitated Hires.

Keep the rules nearby

This guide teaches setup and core play. The Rules Reference is the destination for detailed timing and unusual situations.

03 / Your staffing toolkit

Know your cards

Hire cards

Flatwoods Monster

Hires are the employees who make up your staffing agency.

Each Hire has a Qualification that shows the kind of work they are best suited for. Once a Hire joins your staff, they can be sent out to help complete Jobs.

Hire cards also show employee information such as the Hire's role, department, status, and other dossier details.

Your Hires will usually stay with your agency until something happens to them.

Job cards

Midnight Freight Run

Jobs are the assignments your staffing agency is trying to complete.

All players use the same shared Job Deck.

Each Job shows:

How much Profit it is worth

How many Hires are required

A Qualification that may change how the Job plays

Mayhem cards

Collection Day

Mayhem cards are used to cause trouble.

They can interfere with Hires, Jobs, opponents, or other parts of the game depending on the effect written on the card.

When you play a Mayhem card, follow its effect and resolve what happens before continuing play.

Fix cards

Case Reopened

Fix cards help you deal with problems when things start falling apart.

They may help your Hires recover, replace lost resources, undo damage, or give you another way to get your agency back on track.

Like Mayhem cards, each Fix card tells you exactly what it does.

04 / Know your staff

Qualification icon legend

Every Hire has a Qualification.

A Qualification shows the kind of work that Hire is best suited for. Jobs also use Qualification icons to show when a certain type of Hire may help - or when not having one may cause trouble.

The same Qualification icon always means the same thing wherever it appears.

• 

  Repair

  For fixing, maintaining, inspecting, or working with equipment and structures.

• 

  Food

  For cooking, serving, preparing, or handling food.

• 

  Transport

  For driving, delivery, moving people, moving goods, and transportation work.

• 

  Medical

  For health care, treatment, medical work, and patient-related Jobs.

• 

  Technical

  For computers, electronics, technology, systems, and technical work.

• 

  Social

  For communication, sales, customer service, public relations, and dealing with people.

• 

  Security

  For guarding, protection, loss prevention, access control, and keeping things secure.

• 

  Academic

  For teaching, research, education, and knowledge-based work.

• 

  Legal

  For contracts, disputes, legal matters, and rules somebody probably should have read first.

• 

  Occult

  For paranormal, ritual, supernatural, and other work HR refuses to explain.

• 

  Survival

  For rescue, wilderness work, emergency response, and dangerous conditions.

• 

  Operations

  For management, records, coordination, supervision, and keeping the workplace running.

You do not need to memorize every Qualification before playing.

Keep this page nearby and check it whenever you need it.

05 / Open your agency

Set up the game

1. Choose your game length

   Before setting up, decide which Profit goal you are playing to:

   Quick Game - 10 Profit

   Standard Game - 20 Profit

   Everyone uses the same Profit goal for that game.

2. Give each player a Company Deck

   Each player takes their own Company Deck and shuffles it.

   Place your deck face-down in front of you with enough room nearby for:

   Your Active Hires

   Your discard pile

   Any Incapacitated Hires

3. Draw your starting hand

   Each player draws 5 cards from their Company Deck.

   Keep your hand hidden from the other players.

   Remember: your maximum hand size is 7 cards.

   No Hires begin in play unless a card or rule specifically says otherwise.

4. Prepare the Job Deck

   Shuffle the shared Job Deck and place it face-down where everyone can reach it.

   Reveal the top Job and place it face-up in the center of the table.

   This is the Active Job.

   Only one Job is Active at a time unless a card or future rule specifically says otherwise.

5. Set Profit to 0

   Every player begins the game with 0 Profit.

   If you are not using a Player Tracker, use any clear method that lets everyone see your current Profit.

6. Prepare your Incapacitation area

   Leave room near your play area for any Hires that become Incapacitated during the game.

   If you are using a Player Tracker, you can record them there.

   If not, use a clear method to show which Hire is Incapacitated and how many turns remain.

7. Choose the first player

   Choose the first player at random, or use any fair method your group agrees on.

   Play then continues around the table in order.

06 / One turn at a time

The seven-step turn

Players take turns one at a time.

On your turn, follow these steps in order:

1. 01Start Your Turn
2. 02Preparation Window
3. 03Attempt the Active Job
4. 04Mayhem Window
5. 05Resolve the Job
6. 06Recovery Window
7. 07End Your Turn

1. Start Your Turn

   Any Hires you played on your previous turn become Active.

   Active Hires are ready to participate in Jobs.

   Then draw 1 card from your Company Deck.

2. Preparation Window

   During your Preparation Window, you may play up to 2 Hire cards from your hand.

   New Hires enter your staff Inactive. They cannot participate in a Job on the same turn they are played.

   At the start of your next turn, they become Active.

   You may also play your 1 Fix card for the turn during this window.

   You may play your Hires and your Fix in whatever order makes sense.

   Your staffing agency may have no more than 6 Hires at one time.

   Active, Inactive, and Incapacitated Hires all count toward this limit.

3. Attempt the Active Job

   You may attempt the Active Job once during your turn.

   Choose which of your Active Hires you are sending to the Job.

   The Hires you choose become the participating Hires.

   Check the Qualification shown on the Job and determine whether the Qualification or No Qualification effect applies.

   Apply any effect that changes the number of Required Hires.

   Your participating crew must meet the final Required Hires amount.

   Once the crew and Job effect have been determined, the crew is Clocked In.

   If you cannot or do not want to attempt the Active Job, you may skip it and move to your Recovery Window.

4. Mayhem Window

   After your crew is Clocked In, opponents get their chance to play Mayhem.

   Starting with the opponent to your left, each opponent may play 1 Mayhem card or pass.

   Each opponent gets only one chance during that Job attempt.

   Once the crew is Clocked In, Mayhem does not change which Qualification or No Qualification effect was already chosen.

   After every opponent has either played their one Mayhem card or passed, and before the Job resolves, check whether the participating crew still meets the Job's current Required Hires amount.

   Apply any Mayhem changes to Required Hires or to whether a participating Hire counts. A Hire that was returned, removed from participation, or Incapacitated does not count toward this check.

   If the remaining crew meets or exceeds the current Required Hires amount, continue to Job resolution. If it does not, the Job attempt ends without completion: the player does not gain the Job's printed completion Profit, the Active Job remains in place, and play continues to the Recovery Window.

   Do not recalculate the Qualification or No Qualification path. That decision remains locked from Clock In. The Active player may not add replacement Hires after Clock In to satisfy this check.

5. Resolve the Job

   Follow the Job and any Mayhem effects that apply.

   After the Job is fully resolved, gain or lose Profit as instructed.

   If the Job is completed, place it in the Job discard pile and reveal the next card from the Job Deck as the new Active Job.

   Participating Hires are not discarded after completing a Job. They return to your staff and remain Active unless something happened to them during the Job.

6. Recovery Window

   If you did not already play a Fix during your Preparation Window, you may play 1 Fix card now.

   If you skipped the Active Job, you still get a Recovery Window.

   You may never play more than 1 Fix during your entire turn.

7. End Your Turn

   Resolve anything that specifically happens at the end of your turn.

   Reduce any timed Incapacitation that is due to count down.

   If you have more than 7 cards, choose and discard cards until you have exactly 7.

   You cannot freely discard cards at other times unless a card effect or another rule tells you to.

   Once everything is settled, your turn ends and play passes to the next player.

07 / The assignment

Taking on Jobs

There is normally one Active Job face-up in the center of the table. On your turn, you may attempt that Job once.

You are never required to take a Job just because it is there.

Read these four fields

Qualification

The icon in the upper-right corner.

Effects

The Qualification and No Qualification instructions in the effect panel.

Profit

The lower-left value.

Required Hires

The lower-right value.

Choose your crew

Choose which of your Active Hires you want to send.

Inactive and Incapacitated Hires cannot participate in Jobs.

You may send more Hires than required unless the Job or another card says otherwise.

If that effect changes the number of Required Hires, apply that change now.

Your participating crew must meet the Job's final Required Hires amount. If it does not, you cannot attempt the Job with that crew.

Once the crew is Clocked In, the chosen effect stays locked. Resolve the Mayhem Window and staffing check before resolving the Job.

Complete the Job

If a card tells you to choose a participating Hire, the choice must come from the Hires assigned to that Job.

Once all Job effects have been resolved, the Job is completed.

Gain the Profit shown on the Job, along with any Profit gained or lost because of its effect or another card.

Apply all Profit gains and losses from that Job together, then update your Profit total.

Your Profit can never fall below 0. If the final result would put you below 0 Profit, remain at 0 instead.

Participating Hires return to your staff after the Job is completed.

Any Hire that became Incapacitated remains part of your staff but is handled under the Incapacitation rules.

Place the completed Job in the Job discard pile.

Then reveal the top card of the Job Deck and place it face-up as the new Active Job.

If you skip the Job

If you cannot or do not want to attempt the Active Job, leave it face-up.

It remains the Active Job for the next player.

08 / Manage your staff

Using your Hires

Qualifications

Every Hire has one Qualification.

You only need one participating Hire with the Job's matching Qualification to receive its Qualification effect unless the card says otherwise.

Having two or more matching Hires does not repeat the effect.

A Hire without the matching Qualification can still participate in the Job and still counts toward the number of Required Hires.

Your staff limit

Your staffing agency may have no more than 6 Hires at one time.

Active, Inactive, and Incapacitated Hires all count toward that limit.

If your staff is full and you want to bring in a new Hire, you may dismiss 1 Active Hire to make room.

Place the dismissed Hire in your discard pile, then play the new Hire Inactive as normal.

You cannot dismiss an Inactive or Incapacitated Hire to make room.

The new Hire still counts toward your limit of up to 2 Hires played that turn.

09 / Workplace interference

Mayhem cards

Mayhem cards are how you make somebody else's workday worse.

Most Mayhem is played while another player is attempting a Job. The card tells you exactly what it changes, who it affects, and what unfortunate thing happens next.

The Mayhem Window

When a player attempts a Job, they first choose their participating Hires and check the Job's Qualification.

Once the Qualification or No Qualification effect has been determined, that crew is Clocked In.

Opponents may then play Mayhem against that Job attempt before the Job resolves.

Starting with the opponent to the Active player's left, each opponent gets one chance to either play 1 Mayhem card or pass.

Continue around the table in turn order until every opponent has had their chance.

If an opponent passes, they cannot come back and play Mayhem later during that same Job attempt.

If a Mayhem card ends the Job attempt, the Mayhem Window ends immediately.

Play and resolve the card

• Play the Mayhem card from your hand.
• Choose any target required by the card.
• Follow the card's effect.
• After the effect is finished, place the Mayhem card in your discard pile.

If a Mayhem card tells the player attempting the Job to make a choice, that player makes the choice.

If it tells you to choose a Hire, you must choose a Hire that is a legal target for that card.

Mayhem does only what the card says.

Qualifications stay locked

A Mayhem card may target a participating Hire who has the matching Qualification for that Job unless a card or Job effect specifically protects that Hire.

If that Hire is removed, returned, or Incapacitated after Clock In, the Job still uses the Qualification or No Qualification effect that was already chosen.

The Job does not check the crew's Qualifications again.

Check the crew after Mayhem

Rules Reference: detailed timing and unusual interactions →

10 / Repair the damage

Fix cards

Fix cards are what you use when your staffing agency needs help getting back on its feet.

They can help recover Hires, reduce Incapacitation, replace cards in your hand, find new resources, or solve other problems that have gotten slightly out of control.

You may play no more than 1 Fix card during your entire turn.

If you play a Fix during one window, you cannot play another Fix during the other.

Play a Fix

• Play the Fix card from your hand.
• Make any choices required by the card.
• Pay any required cost.
• Follow the card's effect completely.
• Place the Fix card in your discard pile.

You may only play a Fix if you can make every required choice and pay every required cost shown on the card.

Fix cards do not stay in play after they are used.

Fixes do not interrupt

A Fix cannot interrupt:

• A Job while it is being resolved
• A Mayhem card while it is being resolved
• The Mayhem Window
• Another card or effect that is already being resolved

A card may specifically say otherwise.

Playing a Fix does not open a Mayhem Window.

11 / Out of action

Incapacitated Hires

When a Hire becomes Incapacitated, they are still part of your staffing agency, but they are temporarily unable to work.

• Cannot participate in Jobs
• Cannot count toward Required Hires
• Cannot provide their Qualification to a Job
• Still counts toward your 6-Hire staff limit
• Cannot be dismissed to make room for another Hire

Keep the Hire in your staff area and clearly mark that they are Incapacitated.

If you are using an official Player Tracker, record the Hire and any remaining Incapacitation time.

Timed Incapacitation

If an effect simply says a Hire becomes Incapacitated and gives no duration or special recovery condition, that Hire is Incapacitated for 1 turn.

If the card gives a different duration or recovery condition, follow the card instead.

The turn in which the Hire becomes Incapacitated does not count.

The Hire must miss the listed number of that player's future turns.

At the end of each of those turns, reduce the Hire's remaining Incapacitation by 1.

When the remaining number reaches 0, the Hire becomes Active again.

Recovering early

Some Job and Fix effects can recover an Incapacitated Hire or reduce the number of turns remaining.

If an effect says to recover an Incapacitated Hire, that Hire immediately becomes Active, unless the effect that caused the Incapacitation says it cannot recover that way.

If an effect reduces a Hire's remaining Incapacitation to 0, that Hire immediately becomes Active.

If this happens during your Preparation Window, the recovered Hire may participate in a Job later that same turn.

If a Hire recovers while a Job is already being resolved, it becomes Active but does not join the Job already in progress.

Special recovery conditions

Keep track clearly

You may use the official Player Tracker, dice, counters, paper, or another clear method to track Incapacitation.

For timed Incapacitation, record the remaining turns.

For a Hire waiting until any Fix is played, mark it clearly as FIX.

For an indefinitely Incapacitated Hire that must be recovered by a recovery-type Fix, use a different clear mark so everyone knows the Hire does not recover normally.

12 / Make a Profit

Winning the game

Reach the chosen Profit goal before everyone else.

Quick Game - 10 Profit

Standard Game - 20 Profit

You do not need to land on the exact number.

If the goal is 20 Profit and you reach 21, 22, or more, you still win.

Finish the effect, then check

Do not check for a winner in the middle of resolving a card, Job, or other effect.

Finish resolving the current effect completely, including every Profit gain or loss.

After everything from that effect has been settled, check your Profit total.

If your Profit is equal to or greater than the chosen winning total, you win the game immediately.

Any game effect that legally raises your Profit to the winning total can win the game. It does not have to come directly from the Profit printed on a Job.

If your Profit reaches the winning total during an effect but falls back below it before that effect finishes, you have not won.

Remember that your Profit can never fall below 0.

Apply all Profit gains and losses from an effect together before updating your total.

You do not need to finish the round after someone reaches the winning Profit total.

Once a player has fully resolved the effect that leaves them at or above the goal, the game ends.

13 / Put it together

An example turn

For this example, the Active Job is Backcountry Recovery.

1. Start your turn

   Any Hires you played on your previous turn become Active.

   Draw 1 card from your Company Deck.

2. Preparation Window

   You may now play up to 2 new Hires from your hand.

   Any new Hires enter your staff Inactive and cannot work this turn.

   You may also play your 1 Fix card for the turn during this window if you need one.

   For this example, you do not need a Fix.

3. Attempt the Active Job

   You decide to take on Backcountry Recovery.

   It requires 2 Hires, so you send:

   • Bigfoot - Survival
   • Old Rattlefog - Occult

   You have enough Hires to meet the Job requirement.

   At least one participating Hire has the listed Survival Qualification, so the Job will use:

   Your crew is now Clocked In.

4. Mayhem Window

   Starting with the opponent to your left, each opponent may play up to 1 Mayhem card or pass.

   For this example, everyone passes.

5. Resolve the Job

   Because Bigfoot has Survival, resolve Trail Marked: draw 1 card.

   Then complete the Job and gain its printed 2 Profit.

   Your participating Hires return to your staff and remain Active.

   Place Backcountry Recovery in the Job discard pile and reveal the next Job.

   That card becomes the new Active Job.

6. Recovery Window

   If you did not use a Fix during your Preparation Window, you may play your 1 Fix for the turn now.

   For this example, you keep it for later.

7. End your turn

   Resolve anything that happens at the end of your turn.

   Then check your hand.

   If you have more than 7 cards, discard cards of your choice until you have 7.

   Your turn is finished and play passes to the next player.

14 / Keep this nearby

Quick reference