2001: A Space Odyssey | The Board Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Contents
• General Setup
  • HAL Setup
  • Crewmember Setup
• Gameplay
• HAL Turn
  • HAL Actions
• Crewmember Turn
  • Crewmember Actions
  • POD
  • Hand Size
• Crewmember Special Abilities
• End of the Game

Overview

3-5 players, 30 minutes, ages 10+.

This game is a "1 vs. many" game, in which one player takes on the role of the rogue supercomputer HAL, who is trying to shut down the Discovery on its journey to Jupiter. The HAL player does this by causing Malfunctions to the various systems on the ship with their HAL cards. If any 3 systems are terminated or if the Life Support system is terminated, then HAL wins.

The other players are crewmembers who are trying to disconnect HAL. They do this by playing sequences of Logic cards while in the HAL CORE. If the crewmembers can complete three sequences within the HAL CORE, they win.

Contents

• 1 Discovery Board
• 1 Monolith Standee
• 5 Crewmember Boards
• 5 Crewmember Standees
• 4 System Tiles
• 7 Door Tiles
• 1 HAL Marker
• 1 HAL Screen
• 1 HAL TRASH card
• 36 HAL cards
• 1 Crewmember DDT (Draw/Discard/TRASH) card
• 36 Crewmember cards

General Setup

1. Place the Discovery Board in the center of the play area.
2. Place the HAL Marker on the "6" space of the HAL Track in the middle of the Discovery Board.
3. Place the 4 System Tiles on their corresponding spaces on the Discovery Board with the black bar facing down.
4. Place the 7 Door Tiles beside the board.

HAL Setup

5. Choose 1 player to be HAL. They take the HAL Screen and stand it up in front of them.
6. Shuffle the HAL cards and place them face-down under the Draw space of the HAL screen to form a Draw pile that is in view of all players.
7. Place the HAL TRASH card near the HAL Screen in view of all players.
8. The HAL player draws 6 HAL cards into their hand, as indicated by the HAL Marker.
9. They choose 3 cards to place face-up in front of the HAL Screen. The HAL player must always have 3 cards in front of their screen. They are still considered part of HAL's hand, but are visible to the crewmembers.

Crewmember Setup

10. The other players are crewmembers. Each player chooses a color, takes the corresponding Crewmember Board in front of them, and places the corresponding Crewmember Standee on the POD BAY space. Note: One player MUST take the role of Dr. Dave Bowman (red player).
11. Randomly select one crewmember to go first. They take the Monolith token.
12. Place the Crewmember DDT (Draw/Discard/TRASH) card within easy reach of all crewmembers.
13. Shuffle the Crewmember cards and place them in a face-down Draw pile on the Draw side of the Crewmember DDT card.
14. Each crewmember draws 2 cards into their hand. Cards in hand are always kept secret.

Gameplay

Before the crewmembers realize that HAL has turned on them, HAL enacts a series of protocols for HAL's own preservation. HAL will take multiple turns in a row, based on the number of crewmembers in the game. Then, with the crewmembers quickly realizing HAL's plot, they begin to work to preserve their lives and the Discovery One. Play will move clockwise amongst the crewmembers, with HAL taking a turn after each crewmember. This continues until either HAL or the crewmembers win.

Note: During the game, crewmembers may not show each other the cards in their hands. They are free to talk about their cards, the plans they have, or anything else, but HAL is always listening! The crewmembers may not communicate in a way that the HAL player would be unable to comprehend. This means they cannot do things like whisper to one another, make secret gestures, or reference any information outside the game.

HAL Turn

To start the game, HAL takes multiple turns in a row, based on the number of crewmembers in the game:

Crewmembers	HAL turns
2 crewmembers	4 turns
3 crewmembers	3 turns
4 crewmembers	2 turns

For the rest of the game, HAL takes 1 turn after each crewmember turn.

Difficulty Levels: To play the game at a higher difficulty level for the crewmembers, HAL takes 1 extra turn at the start of the game. To play at an easier difficulty level, HAL takes 1 fewer turn at the start of the game.

On HAL's turn, HAL plays 1 card. HAL may play either a card from their hand, or one of the revealed cards in front of the HAL Screen. Played cards will either be placed beside the Discovery Board, the Discard pile, or the TRASH pile. The face-down HAL Discard pile will form on the Discard area and it may never be looked through. The face-up HAL TRASH pile will form next to the HAL TRASH card, and this is open information to all players. The HAL TRASH is never reshuffled.

HAL Actions

PLAY A MALFUNCTION CARD: The HAL player plays 1 Malfunction card from their hand and puts it beside the Discovery Board near the corresponding system. Remember that HAL's hand consists of both the revealed cards in front of the HAL screen as well as the unrevealed cards the HAL player is holding. If there are now 4 or more Malfunction cards next to a system, it is terminated. Flip that System Tile over to the black side. This immediately affects the abilities the crewmembers have, as seen on the black side of the System Tile. Malfunction cards stay beside the board until they are repaired by crewmembers.

Note: The LIF support system requires 7 Malfunction cards to be terminated.

HAL cards (number of copies in the deck):

• GRV Malfunction (x5): Play at the GRV system. If there are 4 cards there, terminate it.
• MEM Malfunction (x5): Play at the MEM system. If there are 4 cards there, terminate it.
• COM Malfunction (x5): Play at the COM system. If there are 4 cards there, terminate it.
• LIF Malfunction (x8): Play at the LIF system. If there are 7 cards there, terminate it. HAL wins.
• Close Door (x1 for each door): Close door [number]. [TRASH this card]
• Target (x2): Choose a crewmember and name a card. If they have it in hand, they must discard it.
• Scan (x3): Choose 1 crewmember. They must choose 1 card in their hand, reveal it to all players, and discard it.
• Lipread (x1): While this is revealed, crewmembers may not communicate or give cards.

System Tiles (operational / terminated):

• Gravity System [GRV] — Limit = 4. Operational: Crewmembers move 2 spaces. Terminated: Crewmembers move 1 space.
• Memory System [MEM] — Limit = 4. Operational: Crewmembers hand size = 6. Terminated: Crewmembers hand size = 4.
• Communication System [COM] — Limit = 4. Operational: Draw 2 at Picturephone. Terminated: Draw 1 at Picturephone.
• Life Support System [LIF] — Limit = 7. Terminated: Crewmembers lose (HAL wins).

EXAMPLE MALFUNCTION: HAL has played a fourth COM Malfunction card. Since the COM system has a limit of 4 Malfunctions, it is terminated, and the System Tile is flipped over. Crewmembers may only draw 1 card at the Picturephone until they have repaired (removed) at least 1 COM Malfunction card.

PLAY A DOOR CARD: The HAL player plays 1 Door card from their hand (either revealed or not) and places it face-up in the HAL TRASH pile. They then place the corresponding Door Tile on the appropriate space on the board. The tile is placed with the red side face-up, which means it is closed and cannot be moved through by crewmembers.

PLAY A TARGET CARD: The HAL player plays 1 Target card from their hand (either revealed or not) and places it face-down in the HAL Discard pile. The HAL player then chooses any crewmember, before announcing the name of any specific Crewmember card (for example, "Gravity Repair" or a "Logic card 7"). If the chosen crewmember has that specific card, they must reveal it and then place it face-down in the crewmember Discard pile. If the player has multiple copies of the card, they still only discard 1.

PLAY A SCAN CARD: The HAL player plays 1 Scan card from their hand (either revealed or not) and places it face-down in the HAL Discard pile. The HAL player then chooses any crewmember. They must discard 1 Crewmember card of their choice from their hand. They must reveal the card to all players (including HAL) and then place it face-down in the crewmember Discard pile.

LIPREAD CARD: If the Lipread card is ever 1 of the 3 face-up cards in front of the HAL Screen, it is considered active. This means the players may not speak or communicate with each other in any way, and they cannot give cards to each other. This continues until a crewmember plays a Cancel card to discard the Lipread card.

After playing a card, the HAL player immediately draws a new card from the HAL Draw pile into their hand. If the played card was revealed previously, the HAL player must then choose a card from their hand to place face-up in front of the HAL Screen. If the HAL Draw pile is exhausted and a card needs to be drawn from it, a new Draw pile is formed by shuffling the HAL Discard pile. The HAL TRASH pile is never reshuffled.

Crewmember Turn

On a crewmember's turn, they may first Move. Then, they may take any number of the following actions. Each different type of action may be performed no more than once per turn. Finally, they may draw cards.

Crewmember board summary: 1. MOVE — May move up to 2 spaces. 2. TAKE ACTIONS [may only do each once per turn] — GIVE, REPAIR, OPEN, CANCEL, RECOVER, DISCONNECT. 3. DRAW — End of turn. May draw card(s) as listed in your space. [hand size = 6]

Crewmember Actions

MOVE: Move up to 2 spaces in any direction. You may only move into spaces connected by a solid line. You cannot move through a closed Door token. Doors are not counted as a space. You may only move at the start of your turn. Note: If the Gravity (GRV) system has been terminated, you may only move 1 space.

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Dave can move up to 2 spaces to reach either Picturephone, the Podbay, or the POD, but cannot move to the Gravity System because Door 3 is closed.

GIVE: Take 1 card from your hand and give it to any other crewmember whose Crewmember Standee is on the same space as yours. This crewmember takes it into their hand without any other crewmembers seeing it.

REPAIR: Play any number of Repair cards that correspond to the system your Crewmember Standee is at. For each card played, 1 Malfunction card is removed from beside the system and is placed face-down in the HAL Discard pile. Some crewmember special abilities allow you to remove 2 Malfunctions with 1 Repair card. "???" Repair cards can be played at any system, but only ever remove 1 Malfunction card. Played Repair cards are placed face-down on the crewmember Discard pile. If after playing Repair cards, there are now 3 or fewer Malfunction cards at the Gravity (GRV), Memory (MEM), or Communications (COM) system, that system is now functioning again. Flip the System Tile back to its white side. This immediately restores that ability to all crewmembers. (For an example of the Repair action, see the end of this rulebook).

Repair cards:

• ??? Repair (x4): Discard 1 malfunction card from the system you are at.
• MEM Repair (x2): Play at the Memory System [MEM]. Discard 1 MEM malfunction card.
• COM Repair (x2): Play at the Communication System [COM]. Discard 1 COM malfunction card.
• GRV Repair (x2): Play at the Gravity System [GRV]. Discard 1 GRV malfunction card.
• LIF Repair (x2): Play at the POD Life Support System [LIF]. Discard 1 LIF malfunction card.

OPEN DOOR: Play one Open Door card from your hand and place it face up in the crewmember TRASH pile. Flip the corresponding Door Tile from the red to the white side. This means the Door has been manually opened. It may now be moved through and cannot be closed again. To perform this action, you must be in the space adjacent to the closed door token you want to open.

• Manual Override (x6): Open a closed door adjacent to you. [TRASH this card]

CANCEL: Play 1 Cancel card from your hand and place it face-down in the crewmember Discard pile. Choose any 1 of the 3 revealed HAL cards and place it face-down in the HAL Discard pile. You must be in the POD BAY or THE HAL-9000 CORE space to play a Cancel card.

• Cancel (x4): Play at the POD BAY or THE HAL-9000 CORE. Discard 1 revealed HAL card.

Note: After a card is canceled, the HAL player immediately draws a new card from the HAL Draw pile into their hand. They must then choose a card from their hand to place face-up on the empty revealed space on the opposite side of the HAL Screen.

RECOVER: Play 1 Recover card from your hand and place it face-down in the crewmember Discard pile. Secretly look through the crewmember Discard pile and choose any 1 card to put in your hand (except for a Recover card). No other player may see which card you chose. You must be in one of the PICTUREPHONE spaces to play a Recover card.

• Recover (x2): Look through the crewmember discard pile. Take any 1 card into your hand. Play at a PICTUREPHONE.

DISCONNECT: Play 3 Logic cards from your hand that form a sequence (For example, "3", "4", and "5". Note: Sequences cannot "wrap around" from 12 to 1.). These cards are placed face-up in the crewmember TRASH pile. Move the HAL Marker down 1 space. The HAL player must immediately discard 1 card of their choice (either revealed or not), and then has a smaller hand size for this rest of the game, as indicated by the HAL Marker. You must be in THE HAL-9000 CORE space to take this action.

• Logic Terminal cards numbered 1-12: [TRASH this Logic card]

IMPORTANT: When crewmembers play their second sequence of Logic cards, they must ensure that there will still be 3 Logic cards remaining in play that are able to form a third sequence.

Note: If the HAL player discards a revealed card, they must then choose a card from their hand to place face-up on the empty revealed space in front of the HAL Screen.

EXAMPLE DISCONNECT: Dave is at THE HAL-9000 CORE, and plays a sequence of 3 Disconnect cards, a "9", "10", and "11". The cards are placed face-up in the crewmember TRASH pile. Move the HAL Marker down one space from 6 to 5. The HAL player immediately places 1 card from their revealed or hidden cards to their discard pile. If a revealed card is discarded in this way, it must be replaced by a card from their hand.

DRAW CARDS: As your final action, you may draw cards from the crewmember Draw pile. The space you are on indicates how many cards you may draw. Drawn cards are added to your hand without anyone else seeing them. Note: If the Communications (COM) system is terminated, then players may only draw 1 card at a PICTUREPHONE space. You draw no cards at the POD BAY, POD, or THE HAL-9000 CORE spaces.

Played cards will either be placed on the crewmember Discard pile or the TRASH pile. The face-down crewmember Discard pile will form on the discard space and it may never be looked through. The face-up crewmember TRASH pile will form on the TRASH space and the cards contained within it are open information to all players.

POD

If you are on the POD space, you may only do one of the following on your turn: a) move OR; b) take the Repair action. This means that if the POD BAY Doors are closed while you are on the POD space, another crewmember will have to open them for you. Note: Only 1 Crewmember Standee may ever be on the POD space at a time.

Hand Size

Crewmembers have a hand size of 6 cards. They may exceed this, but as soon as they do they must immediately choose cards to discard until they only have 6 in hand. These discarded cards may not be revealed to any player.

Note: If the Memory (MEM) system is terminated, then crewmembers only have a hand size of 4 cards. If any crewmember has more than 4 cards in hand when the Memory (MEM) system is terminated, they must immediately discard down to 4 cards in hand. Crewmembers discard in clockwise order, starting with the player with the Monolith token. These discarded cards may not be revealed to any player.

If the crewmember Draw pile is exhausted and a card needs to be drawn from it, a new Draw pile is formed by shuffling the crewmember Discard pile. The crewmember TRASH pile is never reshuffled.

After finishing your turn, pass the Monolith token to the next crewmember player in clockwise order to indicate who will play next (the HAL player never has the Monolith token). Then it is HAL's turn.

Crewmember Special Abilities

DR. DAVE BOWMAN

• Once on your turn, you may ask a crewmember on your space to give you 1 card from their hand. You can only do this during the "take actions" part of your turn.
• Your LIF Repair cards remove 2 Malfunctions each.

DR. FRANK POOLE

• Your hand size is 7. When the Memory (MEM) system is terminated you only need to discard down to 5 cards in hand, and then your hand size is 5.
• Your MEM Repair cards remove 2 Malfunctions each.

DR. CHARLES HUNTER

• Once per turn when moving, you may move through a closed Door token. You may only do this for Doors 1-6, not the POD BAY Doors.
• Your GRV Repair cards remove 2 Malfunctions each.

DR. VICTOR KAMINSKI

• If you are at the POD BAY or THE HAL-9000 CORE at the end of your turn, you may draw 1 card.
• Your COM Repair cards remove 2 Malfunctions each.

DR. PETER WHITEHEAD

• HAL may not choose you when playing a Scan card. The HAL player must choose a different crewmember instead.
• You may use any Repair card to remove 1 Malfunction from any system. If playing multiple Repair cards in a turn, they may be of different types.

End of the Game

HAL immediately wins if any 3 systems are terminated, or if the Life Support system is terminated.

The Crewmembers win immediately after a third sequence of Logic cards is played.

EXAMPLE REPAIR: HAL has played 4 COM Malfunction cards, which flipped over the COM System tile. This has been restricting crewmembers to only being able to draw 1 card at Picturephone locations instead of 2. Dr. Dave is now on the Communication System location, and plays a COM Repair card. This will remove one of the COM Malfunction cards, thus flipping over the COM System tile, and allowing the crewmembers to draw 2 cards at Picturephone locations again.