Abandon Ship
Abandon Ship Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Sinking Ship Game Board
- 5 Cheese Tokens
- 7 Life Preserver Tiles (each showing three colors)
- 7 Wooden Rats
- 8 Dice
- 8 Sinking Ship Tokens
Preparation
Place the board on the table so the waterline starts just below the space marked 1. Shuffle the cheese tokens and place them randomly number side up onto the specially marked decks of the ship. Place the seven rats on the space marked 1, in the bottom of the hold. Shuffle the sinking ship tokens and place them number side down next to the board.
Shuffle the life preserver tiles and give one to each player, setting the rest aside unseen. Look at your tile without showing it to the other players. This tile shows you the three rats you are trying to save from the sinking ship.
All eight dice start in the dice pool. Randomly select a player to go first.
Play
At the beginning of your turn, roll all the dice in the current dice pool.
Choose one of the dice and move a rat according to the following table:
- Number die (e.g. "3"): Move the rat that is the same color as the die forward the number of spaces shown. Remove that die from the dice pool.
- Forward-arrow die: Move the rat that is the same color as the die forward to the same space as the next rat ahead of it. If there are no rats ahead of it, nothing happens. Rats on the top deck do not count. Remove that die from the dice pool.
- Backward-arrow die: Move the rat that is the same color as the die backward to the space of the next rat behind it. If there are no rats behind it, nothing happens. Rats on the top deck cannot be moved. Remove that die from the dice pool.
- Number die shown inside a circle (e.g. a circled "2"): If the number or symbol showing is inside a circle, the rat moved may be of any color. Remove that die from the dice pool.
If the selected die shows an "x" icon next to the number, keep the die in the dice pool.
At the end of your turn pass the remaining dice from the dice pool to the next player in a clockwise direction. Now this player takes his turn, removing the die he uses from the pool (unless it shows the "x" icon) and passing the rest on. The game progresses in this way until only one unused die remains in the pool.
If you are passed only one die, raise the water as described below. After the water rises, take your normal turn using all the dice still in the game.
The Water Rises
When only one die remains, the ship sinks deeper into the waves. Reveal one sinking ship token. Raise the waterline the number of spaces shown on the token. Stop immediately if you cover a space with one or more rats. If the space has only one rat, the rat is washed away. Return the rat and the die of the same color to the box. They are no longer in the game.
If the space you just covered has more than one rat, nothing happens right away. The rats have the chance to escape. Play continues until only one rat remains on that space. That rat is washed away immediately, removing both the rat and its colored die from the game.
If all the water tokens have been revealed, the water will not rise any further.
Remember: Whenever a rat leaves play (including reaching the top deck), the die of the matching color is also removed from the game.
Cheese
On each of the main passenger decks you can find cheese! If you move a rat and it ends its movement on a space that still has a cheese token, you can take that cheese. This helps your score at the end of the game. The color of the rat you move does not matter — the cheese is yours!
Top Deck and Game End
When the first rat reaches the top deck (or beyond), it gets lost among the panicking passengers. Place this rat onto the scoring space marked with an "X" and return its colored die to the box. As the other rats reach the top deck (or beyond), they are placed on the next highest unoccupied scoring space. Their matching colored dice are returned to the box. Rats on scoring spaces are no longer in the game.
The game ends when the fourth rat reaches the top deck, or when only two rats remain in the game. In the latter case, both these rats are placed together on the highest scoring space that is not yet occupied. Each receives full points for that space.
Scoring
Turn over your life preserver tile, revealing your three rats. Add up the points for each of your rats. Also add any points shown on the cheese tokens you collected while escaping the ship. The player with the highest total number of points wins the game. If there is a tie, the player with the most cheese points wins. If there is still a tie, the game is a draw.
Worked example shown alongside a diagram of the ship's stern scoring spaces (marked "X 5 3 2") and three life preserver tiles: Adam: 5. David: 5 + 3 = 8. Eva: 5 + 2 + 2 = 9.
Credits
- Designer: Reiner Knizia
- Developer: Brent Keith
- Editors: Rob Hobart, Rob Vaux
- Cover Artist: Llyn Hunter
- Graphic Designer: Creative Instinct
- Sculpture Designer: Llyn Hunter
- Interior Artist: Llyn Hunter
- Creative Manager: jim pinto
- Production Manager: Dave Lepore
Reiner Knizia expresses his gratitude to all playtesters, in particular Iain Adams, Sebastian Bleasdale, Chris Bowyer, Martin Higham, Ross Inglis, Kevin Jacklin, Chris Lawson, and Graeme Tate.